Mobility is vital in the world of Elden Ring. From seeking Torrent to constantly running the numbers on what equipment can be brandished without undertaking a heavyweight load, investigating the vast Land's Between and going up against its ruthless bosses relies upon a constant player awareness of stats and build which can be tailored to unique play styles and even customized to resemble characters from Game of Thrones.
Indeed, the options to approach Elden Ring's encapsulating story quests are very much at the player's mercy, which is furthered by its multiple class types. Much like publisher From Software's predecessors in the Souls-Borne series, Elden Ring allows characters to improve their vigor, strength, and endurance, which allow for swifter attacks and the ability to take more damage when engaging in brawls. With equipable weapon skills also offering offense approaches via its Ashes of War options, one fan has utilized one of the best swords in the game for a different reason than combat.
One Redditor named Brauchwirn3t has posted a short clip to the Elden Ring subreddit showing how the Sword Dance weapon art can be used to travel long distances without fear of falling to death. Using three strikes of the Hand of Malenia katana across a substantial area, the player unleashes the spinning slash attack repeatedly to branch the gap over a pit in style. Many have since responded to the initial upload with its potential as a speedrunning strategy, while others, query how to obtain the weapon given its late-game appearance.
Several commenters have also replied comparing the similarity of the motion to tactics used in the Destiny series, and Mario Odyssey for making ground across long distances. However, its majestic weapon skill and location has been at the centre of the discussion. Given that the sword can only be obtained from Malenia, Blade of Miquella, a notoriously difficult late-game encounter, its usefulness as a speedrunning strategy has been identified as a potential for new game plus categories only.
The differences between Elden Ring's overall player base is evident from the upload. While the Elden Ring's dedicated speedrunning community continues to improve its record in the any% category, hailing its open-word as an aspect they aim to push further in terms of shortcuts, others are marveling at the potential for obtaining new equipment and skills as they continue their grind.
Over two weeks since its release, Elden Ring has been met with acclaim from fans of the Souls-Borne franchise and an exciting introduction to its unforgiving mechanics for new players. Despite From Software president Hidetaka Miyazaki's concern over the game prior to its release, its player base continues to explore the Lands Between with curiosity, detailing their journey across unforgiving landscapes and doing so with a sense of style.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.