Elden Ring features cues in the environment and in the player's UI that subtly notify players of different mechanics. Without any interpolative menu or text prompts for each, players may not always know when certain options in Elden Ring's combat or traversal are available to them, but they greatly help players once they are learned.
Cues in the environment include pathways in Elden Ring that are invisible to the naked eye and require players to smack on unassuming walls. Others involve quick camera pans to notice crevices players can drop into while they descend or ascend on an elevator lift platform. However, a lot of players may also overlook the environmental cues that exist within the player's own UI when they enter specific areas that allow for optional methods. Such is the case with one fan who was previously unaware of what the purpose was of Elden Ring's tiny stone obelisks.
Redditor u/Nuu111, after "150 hours" in Elden Ring, felt the need to finally ask what these obelisks were. Many fans have since come to their aid and explained that they are rebirth monuments that indicate to the player that they may summon Spirit Ashes in that particular area. This stone monument is easy to miss if players are not taking close surveys of the environment. Of course, in order for players to summon any of Elden Ring's many Spirit Ashes, they must have first retrieved the Spirit Calling Bell from Renna at the Church of Elleh in Limgrave.
One reason why these obelisks may have been overlooked for spirit summons is that a much more notable signifier is apparent. On the left side of the screen, above where the player's special armament skill will be labeled, players will also see a spectral monument icon that looks like a tombstone. Because this icon stays on the player's HUD UI for as long as they are within the summon area, there is essentially no need to look for a tiny stone obelisk in the environment. Elden Ring's Stakes of Marika behave the same way with a visual indicator baked into the HUD.
Stakes of Marika allow players to revive at the statue instead of at the last site of grace they have rested at, which can be a relief when Elden Ring's open world is so expansive with so much land stretched between each boss encounter. Players will also see the Marika statue icon placed in with the tiny icons that represent current stat buffs and debuffs when they are within an area where its effects will be applied upon death. As such, there are many cues for players to keep an eye out for that can indicate to them when other features are readily available to them.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.