Elden Ring is an action role-playing game played in a third person perspective, with gameplay focusing on combat and exploration. It features elements similar to those found in other games developed by FromSoftware, such as the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Set in an open world, players are allowed to freely explore the Lands Between and its six main areas; these locations range from Limgrave, an area featuring grassy plains and ancient ruins, to Caelid, a wasteland home to undead monsters.[1] Open world areas are explorable using the character's mount, Torrent, as the primary mode of transportation, along with the ability to fast travel outside of combat. Throughout the game, players encounter non-player characters (NPCs) and enemies, including the demigods who rule each main area and serve as the game's main bosses.[2][3] Aside from open world areas, Elden Ring also features hidden dungeons, such as catacombs, tunnels, and caves where players can fight bosses and gather helpful items.[4]
The player chooses a character class at the start of the game, which determines their starting spells, equipment, and attributes.[5] Combat with enemies can be within melee range, or from a distance using ranged weapons or spells. Attacks from enemies can be blocked using shields or avoided by dodging. Spells in Elden Ring allow the player to enhance their own weapons, fight enemies from afar, and restore lost hit points. The player can memorize a limited amount of spells, which can be cast using a staff or Sacred Seal item.[6][7] Weapons in Elden Ring can be improved using Ashes of War, obtainable "enchantments" that grant weapons new capabilities. Ashes of War can be applied to or removed from weapons, and each Ash adds a Weapon Art, a special ability that can be used during combat.[8] Aside from direct combat, stealth mechanics can be used to avoid enemies entirely, or allow for the targeting of foes with critical hits while hidden.[9][10]
Checkpoints called Sites of Grace are located throughout the game's areas; they are places where the character can increase the power of their attributes, change memorized spells, swap Ashes of War, or travel using the fast travel mechanic. Upon death, players respawn at the last Site of Grace where they rested; alternatively, they may choose to respawn at Stakes of Marika provided they died in the area.[8][11][12][13] To increase their attributes at Sites of Grace, the player must spend runes, an in-game currency acquired by defeating enemies.[14] Runes can also be used to buy items and improve weapons and armor. Dying in Elden Ring will cause the player to lose all collected runes at the location of death, and if the player dies again before retrieving the runes, they will be lost forever.[15]
The game contains crafting mechanics, which require materials in order to create items. To craft a certain item, the player must have the item's crafting recipe. Recipes can be found inside collectables called Cookbooks, which are scattered throughout the world. Materials can be collected by defeating enemies, exploring the game's world, or by trading with merchant NPCs. Crafted items range from poison darts and exploding pots to consumables that temporarily increase the player's strength in combat.[16][17] Similar to the Dark Souls games, the player can summon friendly NPCs called spirits to fight enemies.[18] Each type of summonable spirit requires its equivalent Spirit Ash for summoning; different types of Spirit Ashes can be discovered as the player explores the game world. Spirits can only be summoned near structures called Rebirth Monuments, which are primarily found in large areas and inside boss fight arenas.[19]
Elden Ring has a multiplayer system that allows players to be summoned for both cooperative and player versus player (PvP) play over the Internet.[20] Cooperative play involves the placing of a Summon Sign on the ground, which causes the sign to appear in the world of online players who have used a Furlcalling Finger Remedy. If another player interacts with the sign, whoever placed down the sign is summoned into their world. Cooperative players remain in the same world until the boss of the area is defeated, or until a summoned player dies and is sent back to their home world. PvP combat involves using a Summon Sign to directly challenge another player to a duel, or using items called the Bloody Finger or Recusant Finger to invade the worlds of others. World hosts may also use a Taunter's Tongue to increase the likelihood that their world will be invaded by others, as well as decreasing the time between invasions.[21][22][23]
Synopsis
Premise
Elden Ring takes place in the Lands Between, a fictional landmass ruled over by several demigods. It was previously ruled over by the immortal Queen Marika, who acted as keeper of the Elden Ring, a powerful force that manifested as the physical concept of order. When Marika eventually shattered the Elden Ring and disappeared, her demigod children began warring over pieces of the Ring in an event called the Shattering. Each demigod possesses a shard of the Ring called a Great Rune, which corrupts them with power. In the game, the player character is a Tarnished, one of a group of exiles from the Lands Between who are summoned back after the Shattering. As one of the Tarnished, the player must traverse the realm to repair the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord.
