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After finally making it to the Roundtable Hold in Elden Ring, one may leave the area wondering what the red square debuff with an arrow pointing downwards is. It will seem that it has suddenly appeared underneath the health bar for no obvious reason. At first, there doesn't seem to be a way to clear it and there's no obvious cure available in Elden Ring's Status screen. In actuality, the health debuff happens when the player character accepts a hug from one of the Hold's residents named Fia.

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Like many things in the world of Elden Ring, the seemingly warm embrace comes with a catch of its own. Fia is a deathbed companion found in a bedroom located at Elden Ring's Roundtable Hold. Upon meeting her, she will ask the player's character if they will "allow her to hold them briefly." If accepted, the player will be rewarded with the Baldachin's Blessing as a reward, but is it worth it?

Should You Allow Fia To Embrace You?

Elden Ring Fia Choice

The tricky part of deciding whether to allow Fia to embrace the player's character is balancing the risk versus its reward. On one hand the Baldachin's Blessing is very useful, giving a temporary boost to the character's poise stats. Then on the other, the 5% decrease in health stats may cause some issues for players that still have a lot of exploring to do or ground to cover in their travels.

However, when it comes to strong opponents and bosses, having an increased buff in the character's poise thanks to the blessing will mean that they can withstand several heavy blows without having their guard broken.

Furthermore, using the Baldachin's Blessing will cure the health debuff after using it. So, the timing of using the blessing will make a huge difference when using it over short distances and en route to fight a boss. So making use of Fia's embrace in Elden Ring is a double-edged sword that will require some timing on the player's part.

Baldachin's Blessing Stats

Elden Ring Baldachins Blessing
  • How to Obtain: A Gift from Fia after accepting her embrace
  • Item Type: Consumable
  • Effect: Uses FP to boost the character's Poise temporarily and cures the red square 5% health debuff after choosing to embrace Fia.
  • FP Cost: 20
  • Storage: 1 at a time
Elden Ring Fia Talking In Secret

Even though Fia will only gift the player character with one Blessing at a time, there is no limit to how many times one can obtain one from her. Moreover, choosing to embrace her a second time will trigger a secret conversation and a quest relating to the character D and the Deeproot Depths.

Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Complete Guide To Elden Ring: Weapons, Tips, Tricks, Bosses, & Builds