How Hard Is Elden Ring?

Summary Elden Ring's difficulty is a key feature, requiring skill and perseverance to overcome its punishing bosses.

Spending time learning enemy attack patterns and utilizing allies is crucial to success in Elden Ring's challenging gameplay.

Despite its notorious difficulty, Elden Ring rewards dedicated players with a sense of hard-won triumph and a truly rewarding gaming experience.

As a Soulsborne game, it is far from surprising that Elden Ring can be difficult to play. Between the sheer scale of the Lands Between and the opponents encountered there, Elden Ring poses a steep challenge to overcome. However, by overcoming these difficulties, reaching one of Elden Ring’s many endings can be a very rewarding experience.

To some extent, the difficulty of any video game is related to the individual player; some may excel at navigating combat systems which require fast reflexes, for example, while others can struggle in the same situation. Of course, the health pools, techniques, and other attributes of enemies also play an important role in a game’s overall difficulty, and Elden Ring has no shortage of famously hard bosses. However, there is still plenty to consider when judging how truly difficult Elden Ring is in its entirety.

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Elden Ring Is An Incredibly Hard Game To Complete

It cannot be denied that Elden Ring is among the most difficult modern video games. As with FromSoftware’s other iconic Soulsborne games, it is characterized by its punishing boss battles and unusual level-up system. This forces the Tarnished to pay for a single increased stat at a Site of Grace, instead of the increase triggering automatically as it might in other games. It is not enough to just defeat foes; the Tarnished must also, crucially, make it back to safety. As fast travel is not always an option, this can mean a tense journey through hostile territory ensues.

In addition to this additional challenge in growing stronger, although Elden Ring does have an ideal progression route, it does not provide the player with any advance warning of an enemy’s own strength (as a level indicator might do in other games). Instead, the only way to find out is to actually engage a given foe in combat, which without preparation can lead to some quick and painful defeats. On the other hand, gaining familiarity with the attack patterns of a given enemy is a crucial step in learning to defeat them, no matter how strong the Tarnished may be.

Additionally, Elden Ring has a steep learning curve, guaranteeing that the Tarnished will die countless times before reaching the end of the game. Because of this, it can be easy to become frustrated with Elden Ring, to the point that creator Hidetaka Miyazaki apologized to Elden Ring fans who complained about the difficulty. However, this is also a key part of Elden Ring’s appeal; the same difficulty means that beating bosses, as well as the game as a whole, often elicits feelings of hard-won triumph, a testament to the player’s undeniable skill and tenacity in striving to become Elden Lord.

Elden Ring’s Design Rewards Perseverance

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The most powerful bosses in Elden Ring can be split between those required to finish the game, such as the Elden Beast, and optional bosses like Malenia. Of course, these bosses are all immensely powerful in their own ways, utilizing unique tactics that require tailored strategies to overcome. For example, Malenia’s speed and health-stealing attacks make expert dodging skills a necessity to counter her. If aiming to win all of these extremely tough fights, the lifespan of Elden Ring can increase dramatically between making attempts and grinding to level up, potentially taking well over 100 hours to complete.

Related Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree's Length Could Be Revealed By This Soulsborne Trend If Elden ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC follows in the footsteps of other Soulsborne games, its time for completion may not be unpredictable.

Although gaining extra levels and upgrading equipment can do plenty to place the Tarnished on equal terms with a boss, doing all of this takes time. The same goes for learning the attack patterns of bosses and deciding how best to survive them. Beating Elden RIing requires pattern recognition, skill, and a degree of luck, all of which only come with perseverance. Elden Ring is not a game that can be beaten without serious effort, although it does offer the player every tool needed to succeed.

For those who struggle with a boss, summonable allies can often offer a valuable edge. Spirit Ashes offer a wide variety of support options, but it is also possible to summon other real players via the internet.

Given the notorious reputation of Soulsborne games, Elden Ring’s difficulty is far from surprising. However, it is also important to keep in mind that the game is fair in its own way; as long as one is dedicated to improvement, all of its obstacles can eventually be overcome. After all, despite its difficulty, the game is intended to be beaten, just as any video game is. Finishing Elden Ring may be a particularly long process, but ultimately it is also a rewarding experience.