Elden Ring: all of the updates about FromSoftware’s open-world hit

Imagine if those aggressive salespeople at the Macy’s perfume counter were shoving napalm in your face instead of Chanel No. 5: that’s what it feels like playing with the new perfume bottle weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree.

The early days after any Souls game release are always some of the best. The speedrunners and content creators have found the best / most busted builds, while the developers haven’t had the time to nerf them yet. People post all kinds of wild videos of bosses melting within seconds, going down so fast they don’t even have time to trigger their second or third phases. It happened in vanilla Elden Ring with Hoarfrost Stomp, and it’s happening again with Erdtree’s perfume bottles.

Shadow of the Erdtree is gonna get easier. Bandai Namco has seemingly heard the great hue and cry from reviewers and players alike that Erdtree is far too difficult. In response, the publisher is implementing a “calibration update” that will reduce the level of difficulty by making players stronger. According to the patch notes for this update:

The key to understanding this update is the Scadutree Fragments. They are DLC-specific upgrade materials that increase a player’s attack and defense. The fragments are scattered throughout the map, requiring considerable exploration to find, but the increased power they grant makes them a high-priority resource.

Before Shadow of the Erdtree finally goes live, Bandai Namco has implemented a patch that adds a couple of small features and updates just in time for the DLC’s launch in a few short hours. FromSoftware also shared a new launch trailer to herald the DLC’s arrival, but it’s chockful of spoilers, so beware. The update isn’t particularly earth-shattering, but it does include some things worth keeping in mind before all you Tarnished get your head beat in by the vicious monsters patrolling the Shadow Lands.

Firstly, we get new hair options! I was pretty down on Elden Ring’s character creator for its lack of Black hairstyles. It just didn’t make sense that the character creator was so robust and detailed but lacked hairstyles that represent a good chunk of the human population. There are five new styles to choose from, with two of them being dreadlocks. I chose the loose loc option so my Tarnished can finally get rid of her abhorrent pigtails. I’m not sure if the “white hairs” option was present in the base game or a new addition with this patch, but I really like how it adds gray to my locs, reminding me of when I started picking out errant gray hairs when I had locs.

In my first moments with Shadow of the Erdtree, I found myself in a graveyard dotted with incorporeal gravestones… and puddles of glowing blood. By the time I remembered what those bloodstains meant and the imminent danger I was in, I was ripped to shreds by a man I did not see or hear coming, leaving behind a new little blood puddle to mark the occasion.

I have not stopped grinning since. 

With only a month until release day, there’s a new story trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree, and the Elden Ring lore hounds have their work cut out for them.

FromSoftware has been slowly teasing Shadow of the Erdtree and its story beats ever since the gameplay trailer was released back in February. All we knew then was the DLC would take place in the Land of Shadow and feature a bunch of new horrors straight from the slightly warped imagination of game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Wake up, Tarnished. It’s time to visit the Shadow of the Erdtree.

In Shadow, it looks like we’re going to a darker part of the Lands Between, and of course, there are all sorts of new lil’ freaks to fight. But the biggest news is that the DLC’s main antagonist appears to be Miquella, the twin brother of Malenia, meaning “Let me solo her” might have to change his name soon.

Elden Ring, the game that feels like it was released several years ago but was in fact launched just this February, has announced a massive update. According to Bandai Namco on the game’s website, the patch intends to “encourage more versatility in terms of gameplay” — if “encourage” also means “make you a nigh unkillable god in single player.” A lot of weapons and spells were buffed, very few things were nerfed, and it seems like it’s going to get a lot harder to kill your friends in PVP. The patch notes are indeed massive, but I’ve picked out a few highlights.

Glintstone Pebble / Shard Spiral: increased attack power

One of Elden Ring’s most polarizing features is its willingness to withhold information. While it’s less arcane than earlier FromSoftware titles like Dark Souls, the game constantly hands you items, quests, and mechanics with very little explanation. But after 130 hours and counting in the Lands Between, I’m in love with how well it sometimes deploys that obscurity. And there’s no better example than Elden Ring’s map, which has transcended a simple open-world convention to become one of my very favorite pieces of the game.

If you’re still in the early areas of Elden Ring, you might want to skip this post because I’m going to talk about a mechanic that relies on mystery. But if you’ve played a bit of the game, you might know what I’m talking about. Elden Ring’s map offers a constant give-and-take of showing players new spaces to explore, then pulling back a curtain to more places that they didn’t even realize could exist. It withholds information only to reveal it in a way that’s delightful, satisfying, and entirely in keeping with the world’s vast scope. It’s not just an interface element — it’s a meta-game in its own right.

Elden Ring is just so massive and its bosses are so tough that the average player will probably take over 60 hours to beat it. But speedrunners, assisted by some traditional speedrunning tricks and the game’s own open design, have somehow managed to beat the sprawling game in under 30 minutes.

For a speedrunning enthusiast, the first days of a game’s release are extremely exciting. New techniques and optimizations are constantly being discovered, as boss behaviors and the runner’s own luck work with or against them, making almost every run a possible world record. While every runner is ostensibly competing against the clock, two runners have emerged in the Elden Ring speed community, each racing to post lower and lower times.

In Elden Ring, it’s killed or be killed — brutally. The game is designed to put you ever on the defensive, ready to lash out before you yourself can be lashed. But that shoot first, ask questions later mindset led to an event I truly and deeply regret. I killed a dragon, and I feel really awful about it.

In Elden Ring, even the damn flowers are dangerous, but contrary to the game’s reputation, not everything in the Lands Between wants to kill you. There are those cute rodents that scurry about and delightful little donut-rolling sheep that exist only to bleat at you as you zip by them on Torrent. I’ve had so many peaceful moments sitting on the edge of a cliff, gazing in wondrous awe at the golden Erdtree with a convocation of eagles for company. I’d never think to kill any of these creatures because, for one, they’re worth a pitiful amount of runes, and secondly, they’re harmless. (Editor’s note: killing the calm, wise old tortoises should be punished by a full game restart, even if it’s an accident.)

It seems like everyone, even people who don’t usually partake in FromSoftware games, is playing Elden Ring. It’s currently the seventh most played game on Steam based on number of concurrent players and has a score of 97 on Metacritic, putting it on track to be this year’s highest rated game.

And while I have enjoyed the bits of Elden Ring I’ve played, I’m not too keen on joining the rest of my Tarnished colleagues in the Lands Between just yet. I’m gonna wait for the guide writers, speedrunners, and wiki editors to catch up, because from my dabblings in FromSoftware games, I know that in order to truly enjoy Elden Ring, I’m gonna need a lot of help that just doesn’t exist yet.