Several of the towers sprinkled across the Lands Between in Elden Ring, known as rises of various names, act as some of the most difficult puzzles to complete across the game. To that degree, the Heretical Rise in the Mountaintop of the Giants acts as one of the more interesting twists on these puzzles that usually just require finding some hidden spirits or seals.
One player, however, has discovered a different way to find the secret to the Heretical Rise, being granted not only a clue as to how to cross into the building, but a direct path through the puzzle that has killed many others. This is thanks mostly to the way that the online multiplayer features of Elden Ring work, even when not actively playing with another summoned player.
As can be seen in a recent post to the Elden Ring subreddit, this discovery shows that some players can arrive at the invisible bridge in front of Heretical Rise and see a trail of bloodstains floating in thin air. These bloodstains specifically are those left by other players, likely ones that attempted to make the crossing from one end of the invisible bridge to the other and fell to their deaths on the way. With all of these markings on the ground together, it makes for a hilarious view as the previous mistakes of other players falling from Elden Ring's deadly ledges.
The result had the original poster and dozens of following comments laughing at the sight of these bloodstains leaving a path for the player to follow almost all the way to safety. Many fans also came to comment on the nature of Elden Ring's online multiplayer and how it can benefit players through things like messages and these bloodstains, as they can reveal secrets that some might otherwise pass over. Although, the helpful nature of these features don't usually make for such a hilarious sight with nearly a dozen bloodstains building a path for a player to follow.
Online capabilities are still one of the largest draws to Elden Ring and the rest of the FromSoftware catalog. Players willing to help each other has led not only to community legends like Let Me Solo Her, but also to the development of subreddits like Beyond the Fog to bring struggling players together with helpful fans. Of course, not every bloodstain in Elden Ring is entirely helpful, although they might still lead to encounters just as hilarious as this bloody path along an invisible bridge.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.