It’s no secret that Elden Ring has created a major stir in the gaming community, with bosses constantly trending online, lore tidbits being debated, endings being discussed, and secret changes from each Elden Ring update put together. Perhaps one of the most disgusting discoveries made to date involves soap’s existence in The Lands Between.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEADIn short, soap only exists in the underground regions of Elden Ring. Its recipe, ingredients, and all required to make it do not exist or spawn anywhere except beneath The Lands Between. This means the various denizens above do not know it exists and probably suffer from terrible, terrible hygiene. Naturally, this means all of Elden Ring’s various bosses probably smell even worse than the average enemy, and players have been discussing which smell the worst.
As the Goddess of Rot, many think that Malenia isn’t just Elden Ring’s strongest boss, but its stinkiest too. She corrupted the entirety of Caelid, after all, and had been sleeping at the base of the Haligtree—in that armor—for an incredibly long time. Some actually hope that the Rot’s coloration means it actually smells sweet, but looking at Malenia and the Lake of Rot may dissuade many of this notion.
Another character, if not exactly a boss, that probably smells terribly is the Dung Eater. Given his known proclivities, it’s hard to imagine that he smells better than any other Elden Ring character. At the same time, many are putting Radahn’s name up there too. Radahn is essentially zombified by the Scarlet Rot, his horse probably sweats terribly, and many point out that he probably doesn’t change his armor after bathroom breaks…and that’s assuming he takes bathroom breaks. Radahn may still have the power to hold back the stars, but that doesn’t mean he can fight off BO. One user also pointed out that Fia's occupation as a deathbed companion probably comes with a few foul odors, too.
One of the final bosses of Elden Ring, Radagon, is also brought up for discussion, with many thinking he has a more earthy smell to him than others. This is due to the way his body is rotted out and its more stone-like appearance, likely meaning he smells better than Malenia or Radahn at least. One Reddit user was quick to point out that Elden Ring’s demigods may not smell the way humans do, but at the same time, there’s no official lore that says they don’t—jokingly or not. Others also noted that “Smell-o-vision” would likely be terrible in The Lands Between.
Obviously, it’s not a very serious conversation, but it is a funny one. Soap implies the existence of BO, and some of these characters, bosses or not, cannot smell great as a result. Fans may never know, however, how hygiene-conscious every Elden Ring character in The Lands Between truly is.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.