Elden Ring continues to blow fans away and keep them interested for hours on end, even months after the title was released. Developer FromSoftware is making sure that fans stay happy with its latest release by regularly updating the game to keep up with weapon balance and bugs.

The most recent update is addressing many minor issues while also addressing some things that have not exactly been problems for players, but will definitely improve upon the gameplay and make navigating this notoriously difficult game a little easier. FromSoftware has been very clear about to how it is changing the game and what it wants to do to create an even better experience within Elden Ring.

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Why Elden Ring Needs Quality of Life Improvements

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Every FromSoftware fan knows that each title will punish them unapologetically all while providing very little explanation of the story or mechanics. Part of the fun in these games is figuring out how each one plays and discovering new story elements, weapons, and abilities as the game progresses. However, there is a point at which players become frustrated with the lack of information and the developers should step in to further explain or flesh out a concept in order for the players to fully comprehend or appreciate a particular concept.

One of the biggest quality of life updates before this most recent update came in the form of the map in Elden Ring now displaying the location of certain NPCs and merchants. Though players did enjoy the idea of a bare-bones map with little to no extra icons, unlike many open-world games as of late, it came to a point where certain NPCs would become forever lost or had to get rediscovered if the player neglected to memorize where they were located. For that reason, the developers chose to add markers for certain characters, not to create more clutter on the map, but to ensure players did not miss important details.

FromSoftware has been keeping a close eye on its most recent title, and many players have been discovering different tricks and exploits that were not intended for the final game. Several weapons, items, abilities, and enemies have been adjusted since the game’s release to ensure that no player has an unfair advantage over any adversaries, whether it was another player invasion or a boss.

Key Items After Update 1.05

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The official Patch Notes have addressed a few elements that the developers deemed to be major changes that came with the update. The first of which involves the Twin Maiden Husks merchant in the Roundtable Hold and its inventory carrying over into New Game Plus.The Twin Maiden Husks sells upgrade items and materials, provided that the player has first acquired the Bell Bearing item that correlates with the material. These Bell Bearings are hard to obtain because the boss enemies that hold them are infamously difficult to defeat. That being said, the Bell Bearings are worth the risk, and with them now transitioning through New Game Plus, players will only have to find the key item once in order to purchase upgrade materials in any New Game Plus advancement.

Additionally, one of the items listed on the developer’s notes states that it has added “emphasis to the choice of the Sacred Flask and several other options that can be strengthened in the grace menu.” Though this change is not made abundantly clear in the notes, Elden Ring players have found that the option to upgrade the Sacred Flask is now highlighted with a dot if the player has the item required for upgrading the flask. Though this is a subtle addition, it was likely included to ensure the players are more aware of the key items in their inventory and are able to make the most out of the Sacred Flask.

The final major change is the addition of sound effects when other players’ summon signs appear in Elden Ring. This particular change may not seem as major as the first two, but it could help newer players notice summon signs and make it easier for players to play cooperatively by giving an audio cue to the host player when their partner places their sign. Ideally, this addition will be beneficial, but could possibly become overbearing in high-traffic areas.

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How Elden Ring's Weapons, Skills, and Bosses are Affected

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Similar to previous updates, Elden Ring's 1.05 update features a plethora of bug fixes to weapons and abilities that have become unbalanced or exploited in some way. Most of the changes affect recovery time or attack power in very particular circumstances that likely would not apply to the average player.

However, some players have found that certain weapons, spells, or abilities can be used to effectively bypass invader or enemy guards or completely decimate a boss from outside the boss arena. The Frost Stomp skill was one of the first abilities that had to be dialed back because it was proving to be too easy to spam and exploit. Similarly, this recent patch has fixed a bug with the Ice Spear skill that made it completely unblockable, and also adjusted many more weapons and skills in order to balance their power.

The most notable changes made to bosses apply to Malenia and The God-Devouring Serpent. Players noticed a bug in the fight with Malenia that would reduce her HP substantially, while some found it impossible to actually complete the battle with the God-Devouring Serpent due to a glitch in the fight. Developers also noticed how some bosses could be attacked and defeated with the use of well-placed ranged attacks without ever entering the boss arena. Luckily, all of these issues have been addressed and corrected by FromSoftware.

One additional fix only affects players on PC: the ability to return to the desktop directionally from the pause menu in-game. Previously, PC players have had to save and exit the game to the title screen and then close it out entirely, which led to some frustration due to the unnecessary steps and waiting. The update now gives them to option to save and exit directly to desktop from the pause menu. This final modification is a perfect example of how the smallest changes can go a long way for the Elden Ring community. There will definitely be additonal updates to address more issues, but this recent update has done a lot to further balance and polish this already exceptional title.

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

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