Highlights

  • Elden Ring player beats game with Soldier of Godrick build, showcasing unique playstyles in FromSoftware's open-world game.
  • Soldier of Godrick boss fight spawns fanbase and jokes within community, leading to dedicated player runs for added challenge.
  • None_existent0 completes 50-hour Soldier of Godrick run, using only basic armor and weapons while defeating main and optional bosses.

An Elden Ring player beat the game with a build inspired by the lone Soldier of Godrick . Since its 2022 release, FromSoftware's critically acclaimed open-world game has offered users a variety of branching customizable playstyles to suit their specific tastes, with fantasies ranging from the trusted knight with a sword and shield to powerful spellcasters with esoteric specialties. With such a rich collection of weapons and magic, one player took the opportunity to create a character inspired by one of Elden Ring's first and most beloved boss fights.

For context, Soldier of Godrick is the boss in Elden Ring's optional tutorial dungeon. While he may have his own boss arena and an orchestral soundtrack to go with it, the Soldier of Godrick is, in truth, not much more a threat than any of the other grunts the player would have had to defeat as they made their way through the first dungeon. Due to the ease of the battle in contrast to other FromSoftware games' tutorial bosses, the Soldier of Godrick became an inside joke within the community, which led many players to purposefully exaggerate the difficulty of the fight to poke fun at the soldier.

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While the Soldier of Godrick pales in comparison to the rest of Elden Ring's boss fights, his lackluster abilities also fostered a sizable fanbase who were taken in by the lone soldier's underdog story. One such fan, Reddit user None_existent0, took it upon themselves to beat the game with a build inspired by the Soldier of Godrick, with the player using only the basic Soldier armor pieces and armaments throughout the playthrough. The Soldier of Godrick run took 50 hours to complete, with None_existent0 stating that they also defeated several difficult optional bosses, such as Malenia and Dragonlord Placidusax, along with all the main bosses.

Elden Ring Soldier of Godrick Build

  • Lordsworn's Straight Sword
  • Lordsworn's Greatsword
  • Lordsworn's Shield
  • Brass Shield
  • Godrick Soldier Helm
  • Tree-and-Beast Surcoat
  • Godrick Soldier Gauntlets
  • Godrick Soldier Greaves

Though this wasn't the first time a devoted player cleared the game as the Soldier of Godrick, fans still celebrated None_existent0's run, with users commending his rise to the Elden Throne. Several users additionally praised the Soldier of Godrick and lauded his great deeds in defeating the demigods. Other commenters jokingly claimed the run didn't count as a proper playthrough of Elden Ring and accused None_existent0 of using the most overpowered build in Elden Ring.

The Soldier of Godrick is one of the earliest enemies players will overcome in their journey through the world of Elden Ring, so it's unsurprising that the boss is such a memorable encounter despite his relative ease. Elden Ring veterans will likely take heart in knowing that the legend of "Soldier of God, Rick" continues to spread day-by-day throughout the player base even two years after the title's release.