Elden Ring, like the other titles by developer FromSoftware that came before it, is a game with difficult combat, rich lore, and an intriguing design. Invasions are one elements of the Dark Souls franchise and Elden Ring that have proven to be the bane of some player's experience with the game. They are an aspect of Elden Ring's limited multiplayer elements, which allow one player to enter another's game with the intent of killing said player.
This can lead to some frustrating moments for the player being invaded, as the invader can come at any time, meaning that even during a boss fight in the open world, an invader can create another dangerous enemy to defeat. Invasions can lead to some funny, creepy, and annoying moments for players, and unlike the messages that appear when an Elden Ring player chooses to go online, invasions cannot simply be ignored when they occur.
One Elden Ring player, though, decided to end their invasion experience without a duel to the death, instead making their invader believe they were simply another enemy in the game. Reddit user xdc_lis dressed themselves up as a regular enemy in the Church of Elleh area of the game before rushing over to a patrolling enemy and killing them. The player then took the enemy's patrol route, walking around as an NPC would before they received the notification that they are being invaded.
The invader quickly looked around for the player, running past their target a few times. The invader then disappeared, still searching, before eventually returning to their world, gifting the impersonator the Runes usually associated with defeating an invader. Many players wondered how xdc_lis got away without being spotted, though a player's name will only appear when an invader locks onto the player, meaning that in the clip xdc_lis's invader likely never locked onto what they thought was a random NPC. Compared to the epic duels that can take place in Elden Ring's invasions, this clip shows quite the pacifistic route.
For the invading player, they were likely disappointed to find out they'd been bamboozled by a simple disguise. Yet other Elden Ring players have also shared their terrible invasion experiences, with one player ending up ambushed by three players waiting around the corner of a shack to kill them. With a huge open world and plenty of opportunity for creative plays like this one, Elden Ring's invasions offer a unique take on PvP in a traditionally single-player experience.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.