With updates and support for the game continuing to drop over a month after its release, Elden Ring is still one of the most popular games on the market. Between its opportunity for single player or cooperative play, a massive open world filled to the brim with enemies and friends, and a PVP system that allows for players to test their skills against one another, Elden Ring is a Swiss army knife of gaming.
The PVP system, which has a thriving Elden Ring community abiding by certain rules, allows players to face off against a single enemy or potentially take on 3 enemies at a time. It is a meta defined by who can deal the most damage the quickest, with bleed builds allowing for crazy one-shot potential and magic builds that keep most players at a distance.
However, while there are plenty of competitive PVP players around, there are as many players who invade or duel simply looking for a good time. For example, one Elden Ring player disguised as an NPC tricked players into leaving their world after invading, leading to them getting free souls and a furlcalling finger remedy. However, one player recently found tragedy when engaging with invaders as one of the invaders is struck down while trying to be helpful.
What happened is that Reddit user Bouchen had invaded a player with the intent to kill, causing a fight to break out. The fight was looking pretty even for Bouchen and the host until another invader joined the fray, turning the tide in Bouchen's favor. However, something clicked inside Bouchen that made them reconsider their invasion, instead causing them to attack their fellow invader. Unfortunately, the host had drawn their Moonveil kitana in the same moment, leading to a successful but tragic double kill. Much like another tragically poetic Elden Ring duel, the ending left the host mourning their fallen dueling partner so much that they collapsed in grief.
As stated previously, Elden Ring and previous FromSoftware games have a thriving PVP community. As such, players tend to help one another out even when they are supposed to be on separate teams. Such was the case with Bouchen and the host who, despite their differences, worked together and mourned together. For honorable fellows such as these two, the potential for Elden Ring PVP DLC zones would allow them to continue their fight to a more honorable conclusion in the future.
While it is still unclear why Bouchen decided to change sides and help their foe, who they revealed they had been fighting for over 3 minutes before the clip, the result was a melancholy double kill that brought the host to their knees. Perhaps the two will meet again one day in glorious combat, but until then, Bouchen's sacrifice will surely be remembered.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.