Souls games are notoriously hard, and while some veterans have said Elden Ring is more approachable because of its open design, that doesn’t make it the case for everyone. Facing terrible foe after terrible foe can be quite demoralizing for those who are not too used to death in Elden Ring out of the gate.
So, when players get to Roundtable Hold pretty early in Elden Ring and find a woman named Fia who is handing out hugs, it seems like a good choice. Player morale can be down, she needs a hug, and it seems like a sweet little character interaction where someone holds the player—who has been left bleeding and weeping by every early boss from Margit the Fell Omen to Godrick the Grafted—but no, perhaps that hug cuts deeper than any boss in the game.
PSA: Don’t Accept Fia’s Hugs in Elden Ring…
Players may have forgotten the intro already by this point, getting lost in the big ole world of Elden Ring, but if they recall correctly, there is a scene about a woman called Fia, the deathbed companion. Sure, she sits with people as they die and that’s an entire profession. That may not be enough to scare someone off from a hug, but when they realize that the hug actually bestows a semi-permanent DEBUFF on the Elden Ring player, that’s a nice little knife twist.
Hugs are nice and gentle things, and Fia seems to receive the same warm sensation that perhaps players can find in knowing that there are some kind and loving parts to Elden Ring's punishing gameplay. But no, anyone who hugs Fia gets a 5% health debuff—which is more annoying than anything, but that about makes it worse. This is because some Elden Ring players, early on, may not realize that they were debuffed by Fia.
…Unless You Are Preparing for an Elden Ring Boss
Not only is this an emotional betrayal, but there is some practical use to it. It’s not just a free hug; it’s a “changes Facebook status to ‘It’s Complicated’” hug. See, that debuff isn’t necessarily going to get anyone killed, but if players use the Blessing they receive from Fia, it buffs their Poise. This is great for a boss battle, and the health debuff goes away after that. At this time, players could hug Fia again before facing another boss.
Now, it may seem like players can get a hug before facing bosses, and that’s a slightly hopeful way of looking at this Elden Ring character betrayal. A player’s first time hugging Fia likely won’t be due to a boss fight though, meaning many have fallen into Fia’s trap. At the end of the day, it’s pretty clear that Fia’s hugs have strings attached; they’re not warm, free, or consoling.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.