Like previous FromSoftware games such as Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne , the storyline of Elden Ring is enigmatic and fragmentary, with very little direct exposition given to the player. To gain a clear picture of what what happened to the Lands Between and how the Tarnished protagonist can change the status quo, players generally need to seek out NPCs scattered throughout the open world, collect items with lore descriptions, and observe their environment for contextual cl

This isn't the first time FromSoftware has been criticized for making excessively difficult games with Bad first impressions. Back when it released Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice , a stealth action game about a prosthesis-bearing shinobi in a fantastical version of Japan's Warring States era, a few video game journalists published articles criticizing the game for lacking an "easy mode." From the perspective of these video game journalists, the high base difficulty made the gameplay and combat of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice less approachable and frustrating for players who didn't have a high skill level. FromSoftware fans and other game journalists responded to this critique by pointing out that overcoming grueling challenges was core to the appeal of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and a traditional "easy mode" wouldn't necessarily be the best way to make it more appealing to a wider audie

In some of the critiques of Elden Ring (including its easily improvable co-op) published on social media sites, game developers asserted that Elden Ring has bad UX, short for User Experience. In the context of video games, UX/User Experience refers to a branch of video game design focused on making a game intuitive and emotionally satisfying to play. To create a good User Experience in video games, UX developers will use play-testing, player feedback, and even psychological analysis to fine-tune aspects such as the user interface, the sensory feedback players receive when they press controller buttons, and how quickly players can grasp the game's rules and go

Malekith the Black Blade is a lesson in death. It’s a classic Soulsborne fight where everything is not as it seems. The fight begins against a beast clergymen but in the second phase Maliketh is revealed and he is hungry for blood. He flies across the arena and delivers his destined death ability onto the player, reducing their max

The Ruin-Strewn Precipice is the alternate route to reach the Altus Plateau. The entrance to this lengthy dungeon is accessible by going through the Ravine-Vailed Village in Liurnia. The Ruin-Strewn Precipice has a variety of enemies, such as Miners, Giant Bats, and Land Octopuses at the very top. It is a larger dungeon with a total of three Sites of Gr

The gameplay and obtuse storytelling of Elden Ring takes the fantasy action RPG mechanics codified by Demon's Souls and Dark Souls and spices it up with a vast open world players can explore on horseback (specifically, through the frequent use of Elden Ring 's horned spectral steed named Torrent , summoned when the player character blows on a whistle ring). This open world exploration introduced new players to From Software's Soulslike series of games and attracted the attention of open-world game designers from other game studios. Some of these game designers publicly expressed a dislike for how Elden Ring broke certain rules of game design, while simultaneously wondering how Elden Ring became so successful despite breaking those ru

Kalé's cut questline reveals more information about the story and lore of Elden Ring 's Three Fingers , like how the people of Leyndell buried it in an attempt to contain the Frenzied Flame. When the merchant sees that the player has embodied the flame of frenzy, he seeks to obtain that power for himself. Kalé claims that the Frenzied Flame can " melt away the curses, suffering and despair " of his people while also destroying the Golden Order. However, when he does access the Three Fingers Kalé is merely burned by the flame, suggesting that the frenzied energy requires a particularly suitable h

While Kalé himself is greatly developed through his cut questline, much is also revealed about his nomadic merchant clan. In Elden Ring proper little is revealed about the group except that it conforms to a nomadic culture and was relatively unaffected by the Shattering of the Elden Ring. Kalé's people are " spurned by the grace of gold ," and thus often take the role of merchants that sell valuable goods at a fair price. Other than Kalé, the traveling merchants in Elden Ring rarely share their names, though they do set themselves apart through accessories like bird feathers in their hats. They are also a peaceful people, which makes their fate even more tragic (though they will defend themselves with Frenzied Flame magic when threaten

Prayerful Strike is a great Ash of War for any paladin build. When used, the player raises their armament, then slams it onto the ground. Every successful hit restores HP to the player and nearby allies. While the slam animation can take a long time, the health restoration makes it the perfect Ash of War to help a player get through a difficult area. It can also be useful for players assisting others with the many Elden Ring bosses . Prayerful Strike can only be applied to axes and hammers. It is dropped by an invisible scarab leaving footprints on the lake near the west entrance of Leyndell, Royal Capi