While previous FromSoftware games likeDark Souls 3andBloodbornefeatured some extremely excruciating boss encounters such as Nameless King and Orphan of Kos,Elden Ringdelivers more than a few difficult roadblocks. Of course, while the game’s man mandatory boss fights are serious tests of a player’s resolve,evenElden Ring’s dungeons and Evergaols harbor hazardous bossesthat can bring down the toughest of the Tarnished. One diligent Reddit user, however, came up with a hilarious method to exploit the AI of certain bosses, circumventing what otherwise might’ve been an arduous battle.
Dungeons and catacombs can be pretty difficult, particularly if the player is underleveled for the area they’re exploring. WhileElden Ringdoes feature a hidden mechanic that allows players to check whether or not they’ve completed a dungeon, the game doesn’t disclose which boss lurks in the depths, nor does it offer a suggested level or overtly hint at a boss’ particular weakness. As a result, mechanics such as the one employed by Reddit user H4RBiNG3R are more important than they might seem, and frustrated players may want to take full advantage of them.
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When coming up against the dual threat of two Burial Tree Watchdogs in the Minor Erdtree Catacombs inElden Ring’s notoriously-brutal Caelid region, H4RBiNG3R hardly had to lift a finger. They began the fight by hurling a handful of Crystal Darts at one of the Watchdogs which causes them to attack anything nearby, friend or foe. From there, the player took a load off and watched as the two bosses destroyed each other. In the end, one Watchdog remained, though it only had roughly one-quarter of its health left.
Unfortunately, as pointed out by the original poster, the Crystal Darts can’t be relied on all that heavily, as they don’t imbue the desired effect on all targets. Most notably, they don’t work on the Crystalians, another recurring boss found inElden Ring’s many mines which often come in pairs. Still, finding workarounds is imperative to otherwise under-equipped players. The alternative could likely turn intoa seven-hour bought with an otherwise unimportantElden Ringboss, as was the case for one unfortunate streamer.
On the whole, some ofElden Ring’s boss encounters have gone down among community members as somewhat controversial. While bosses in FromSoftware’s earlier games stuck to easily-recognizable patterns, bosses inElden Ringfeint, dodge, pause, and stagger in awkward ways which can make them annoyingly unpredictable. While spirit ashes and co-operative summons are always an option, sometimes the most satisfying solution comes from capitalizing on a semi-broken circumstance.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
