Warning, spoilers for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree lie ahead.
Hello. There’s a fresh patch just dropped for Elden Ring, and it’s full of balancing changes that’ll no doubt effect your highly sophisticated build that relies on waiting for the enemy to attack, then dodging and shouting ‘Boo!’ at the top of your lungs. The big headliner? Some tweaks to Shadow of the Erdtree’s big final boss that look like they’ll make him easier to beat.
Look, before you start drafting an angry letter to FromSoft about the need to stick to its principles of making things tougher than a very cheap steak, maybe take a look through the changes first, yeah?
As detailed in the notes for Elden Ring version 1.14, your friend and mine Promised Consort Radahn – who may or not have Hidetaka Miyazaki riding on his back depending on which mods you’re using – is a big focus of the changes.
What’s happened to him? Well, the way the action plays out at the start of that battle has been switched up, some of his moves have been changed, some attack effects have been made easier to see. On top of those, the health and stamina damage of some of Radahn’s attacks – as well as the range of his “non-weapon-based” onslaughts – has been decreased.
Beyond this, the patch has seen FromSoft dish out some PvP-exclusive balance adjustments affecting weapons types like backhand blades and spears, in addition to skills like scattershot throw, discus hurl, and weed cutter. Also included are a bunch of general balancing adjustments to a range of weapons, weapon arts, and spells. Plus, as you’d expect, plenty of bug fixes.
So, there you go. Maybe it’s time for you to try taking on the Promised Consort via saxophone or dance pad again, safe in the knowledge that he’ll be slightly less well-equipped to leave you staring at that infamous splash within the first five seconds.
While we’re chatting about that particular boss, not long after the DLC arrived dataminers dug up what they reckoned to be some cut dialogue that would have seen him break his silence and say a thing.