An Elden Ring player met an untimely end at the hand of a Draconic Tree Sentinel, but victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat by their surviving Mimic Tear. An armor-clad knight that lies atop a fire-breathing steed guards the entrance to Elden Ring's Royal Capital, Leyndell, and is notorious for catching out unsuspecting Tarnished who underestimate it.
Not much else has sparked such controversial discourse regarding Elden Ring than FromSoftware's inclusion of Spirit Ashes, summoned NPCs that act as companions during combat. These ghostly allies often take on the appearance of enemies that can found throughout the Lands Between, including a few legendary variants that represent figures of historical importance. The rift formed by Spirit Ashes is fundamentally between those who believe they trivialize confrontations with bosses, encounters expected to be challenging, unique, and complex, contrasted with others that consider the NPC aids to be a welcome form of accessibility, as well as a compelling addition to FromSoftware's newest punishing release.
In a video uploaded to Reddit by ConstantWolverine1, the player is seen concluding a recent retreat, drinking from their Flask of Crimson Tears before rushing back towards the Draconic Tree Sentinel. An already depleted health bar is reduced further as an attack from horseback triggers hemorrhaging, placing the boss a mere few hits away from defeat. But as Torrent circles around, a mighty swing, infused with red lightning, is dragged up from the ground, unceremoniously dismounting the player.
Unable to quickly roll to their feet, the Tree Sentinel's following overhead attack executes the Tarnished. With all hope seemingly lost, the player's death animation proceeds, but as the words "You Died" begin fading in, their surviving Mimic Tear rushes into the fray, landing the final blow needed to unlock Leyndell, Royal Capital. Fortunately, "Enemy Felled" graces the screen before the player is forced to respawn, meaning the victory was confirmed.
Comments joked about the reserved manner in which the Mimic Tear Spirit Ash achieved victory, casually wandering in from off-screen to triumph with a single light attack. Others likened the pyrrhic success to experiences had while playing cooperatively, where the host dying triggers a frantic rush to defeat the boss before their game can reset. Additionally, many claimed that it is not ideal to battle when riding upon Elden Ring's trusty steed Torrent, but caveated that his speed is incredibly useful against dragons.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.