Elden Ring has sold over 20 million copies since its 2022 release, and its difficulty has become legendary among gamers. The game stands apart from others by avoiding traditional easy or hard modes. Players’ decisions shape their entire experience through the treacherous Lands Between.
Death comes often to players as they learn enemy patterns. My time with the game showed that Elden Ring’s difficulty has more layers than most realize. The game equips players with various tools to succeed – from spirit summons to exploration options. New players might miss these helpful features at first.
Let me share some proven strategies to help you overcome the challenges of Elden Ring. These tips cover everything from mastering its unique combat system to preparing for the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. With my approach, you’ll be able to transform those tough boss fights into achievable goals, whether you’re stuck on a challenging enemy or simply looking to enhance your gameplay. For those who haven’t yet experienced the game, don’t forget to grab your elden ring steam key to dive into this epic adventure.
The Psychology Behind Elden Ring’s Challenge
Elden Ring’s difficulty does more than just challenge players – it creates specific psychological responses that boost the gaming experience. FromSoftware built their design philosophy on a simple idea: players should adapt through tough challenges, not easy guidance. This shapes a unique experience for players.
How failure teaches more than success
Death in Elden Ring teaches you something new each time. Players see every defeat as a puzzle they need to solve. The game’s constant deaths, lost progress, and unclear directions create strong emotional responses that help players grow.
Players face tough challenges in Elden Ring that lead to what psychologists call “reflective learning.” You stop, think over what went wrong, and change your approach. This matches what psychology tells us – negative emotions help us build better ways to cope and become more resilient.
“The game just needs experimentation and learning and doesn’t provide an obvious hand-holding experience like most mainstream ones,” notes one analysis. The game’s tough design changes how players experience it:
- Players see failures as experiments
- Deaths show you what to do differently
- You learn patterns through repetition
- Setbacks help you develop patience
The game’s community makes learning from failure normal. Players wear their defeats like badges of honor that show their dedication to getting better. A player said it well: “There’s a really solid feedback loop of learning and getting better that makes death feel less like a waste and more like gaining experience”.
The satisfaction of earned victory
Hidetaka Miyazaki created Elden Ring with big questions in mind: “If death is to be more than a mark of failure, how do I give it meaning? How do I make death enjoyable?”. His approach makes failure a vital part of success.
Psychologists’ concept of operant conditioning explains why players love Elden Ring. Death becomes part of the journey rather than the end. The emotional reward grows much larger when you finally win.
“The thrill of finally beating a fight after hours of attempts is unique because you feel like you’ve actually gotten better,” one player shared. Miyazaki agrees: “I just want as many players as possible to experience the joy that comes from overcoming hardship”.
The game’s design supports your growth. Players naturally explore new areas when they hit a tough spot. They find new landscapes, weapons, and characters they might have missed. This exploration lets you take breaks between intense fights so frustration doesn’t take over.
Elden Ring’s difficulty creates meaningful experiences rather than punishment. One player summed it up perfectly: “This is going to be hard, but I can do this”. This hope changes frustration into a journey of growth – making every victory feel earned and deeply rewarding.
Tools and Systems That Balance Difficulty
Elden Ring stands out from other challenging games. It doesn’t just test your skills but gives you many built-in systems that work like unofficial difficulty settings. Players can adjust these tools based on their priorities and how they want to play.
Spirit summons as difficulty modulators
FromSoftware’s most creative way to balance difficulty comes through spirit summons. You can collect and call upon defeated enemies to fight with you in certain areas. These summons aren’t “cheating” – they’re built right into the game experience.
“What we’ve tried to do is design the spirit summons where they’re placed throughout the game and how you will level them up throughout the game in a way that doesn’t make the game just drastically easier whenever you bring them out,” FromSoftware explained. You need to balance your investment between spirits and your character’s growth.
The system runs deep. You can upgrade spirits to +10 using Grave Gloveworts or Ghost Gloveworts. Each level makes them hit harder and survive longer. Many players don’t know that bosses keep their normal health when you use spirit summons, unlike when you bring in other players.
Leveling and weapon upgrades
Making your weapons stronger is vital to handle difficulty. The game lets you upgrade in different ways:
- Early-game upgrades at the Church of Elleh anvil (up to +3)
- Mid-to-late game upgrades via Smithing Master Hewg at Roundtable Hold (up to +25 for normal weapons, +10 for special weapons)
Upgrades do more than boost damage. They improve how weapons scale with your stats, making you much more effective in combat. Smart upgrade choices can make boss fights easier without changing how you play.
Co-op play and NPC summons
The game’s co-op system helps when challenges feel too tough. A Furlcalling Finger Remedy shows golden summon signs that let you bring up to two players into your world.
Co-op works differently from spirit summons. Each extra player makes bosses tougher, so fights don’t become too simple. The game also places NPC summon signs near boss fog walls for specific fights.
Message system as community support
The message system might be Elden Ring’s most unique way to balance difficulty. Players leave notes to warn about ambushes, point out hidden items, and share battle tips. It’s like having a player-made guide right in the game.
“Every message in Elden Ring has the potential to be its own two-sentence micro-guide for the game—no Google searches required”. Players write these messages to help others through challenges they’ve faced themselves.
The system has gameplay benefits too. Your health gets restored when others rate your messages positively. This can save you during tough boss fights. Helping others helps you back, which encourages everyone to work together in this mostly solo game.
These connected systems show how FromSoftware handles difficulty with care. Players get many paths to victory while keeping the core challenge that makes winning feel great.
Adapting Your Mindset for Souls-like Games
Success in The Lands Between needs more than quick reflexes—it needs a fundamental change in your mentality. My countless deaths and victories taught me that mastering Elden Ring’s difficulty isn’t about game mechanics. It’s about building a mindset that turns frustration into growth.
Embracing death as a learning tool
Death in Elden Ring isn’t just a fail state—it’s a teaching mechanism built into both gameplay and narrative. Players learn “not to run away from failure but instead to embrace it and use it as a chance to learn and improve.” Traditional games treat death as punishment, but Elden Ring makes it vital to success.
Each defeat gives you critical information about enemy patterns, attack timings, and strategy flaws. Your brain builds a mental map of boss movements as you face them. A player once said, “If you find yourself dying a lot, just remember that each death is a new chance to analyze what you did wrong and learn how to do better.”
This death-as-teacher approach mirrors real-life learning processes. The cycle creates what psychologists call “frustration tolerance”—knowing how to handle setbacks without giving up. You develop skills useful beyond gaming by studying enemy attacks and rolling at the right moment.
Developing patience through persistence
Patience sets apart successful Elden Ring players from those who quit early. A veteran player put it well: “Patience is the key element to success. Being okay with dying, trying again, and learning what Elden Ring expects from you all starts there.”
This mindset needs several key changes:
- Cool analysis instead of emotional reactions
- Seeing attempts as data collection, not failure
- Growth happens during struggle, not victory
- Bosses have distinct phases needing different approaches
“Button mashing is a tactic that many people might start employing in Elden Ring when combat gets too hectic,” one guide points out. This reactive approach leads to defeat. Precise, thought-out movements with composure work better.
The game’s lessons reach beyond the screen. Players often say Elden Ring taught them about handling complex problems. “If I can’t solve the issue, it’s not the end of the world… just need to step back, breathe, think over, prepare and try again.”
Finding joy in incremental progress
Elden Ring is notoriously hard, but satisfaction comes from small victories along the way. Setting modest, achievable goals keeps you motivated throughout your trip. You might nail dodging a boss’s devastating attack or find a hidden pathway—these small wins keep you going between major victories.
Other players make the challenge better. The community turns solo challenges into shared experiences. Messages, strategy videos, and forum discussions create friendship that makes the trip less lonely. “Elden Ring’s community is a rich source of support and camaraderie,” one player mentions.
Your own improvement brings the real satisfaction. “The thrill of finally beating a fight after hours of attempts is exceptional because you feel like you’ve actually gotten better,” a player explains. This captures Hidetaka Miyazaki’s vision: “I just want as many players as possible to experience the joy that comes from overcoming hardship.”
These mindset changes turn punishing difficulty into a rewarding trip of self-improvement. They prepare you for Elden Ring’s challenges and its upcoming DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, which early reviews hint might test your newfound patience even more.
Alternative Approaches to Challenging Content
The Lands Between lets you try different ways to beat tough challenges beyond just fighting head-on. These approaches make Elden Ring easier to play without losing what makes it special.
Learning to get stronger through exploration
The game world was built “with exploration in mind.” When you really look around, you’ll find rewards that make tough fights much easier. A veteran player puts it well: “Running around, exploring, and finding dungeons is one of the main ways you’ll not only find unique weapons but also build up your runes to get more levels”.
The guiding lights point straight to tough bosses like Margit, but the game wants you to explore first. Look for skulls with glowing eyes that contain golden runes as you travel. These discoveries will boost your character’s power level significantly.
Using magic and status effects
Magic gives you a smarter way to fight than close combat. Spellcasters can “kite enemies endlessly and be a lot safer than you would be at melee range”. The Meteorite Staff works great with Rock Sling spell to take down difficult bosses.
Status effects give you big advantages against tough enemies:
- Blood Loss deals instant damage of 15% plus base damage to enemy’s max HP
- Frostbite hurts enemies and cuts their defenses by 20%
- Scarlet Rot causes heavy damage over time
Weapons like Eleonora’s Poleblade build up Bloodloss fast with their “quickfire ability”. The Antspur Rapier can apply multiple harmful effects at once.
Using the environment to your advantage
The surroundings offer tactical edges throughout your journey. Pillars work great as cover – especially when facing bosses with rolling attacks like the Godskin Noble. You can block devastating moves by staying behind these structures.
Remember that “use the environment, the weather, and the time of day to gain an advantage” during fights. This approach turns impossible-looking battles into winnable ones through smart positioning rather than pure fighting skill.
What to Expect from Elden Ring DLC Difficulty
FromSoftware’s DLCs have always taken challenge to extreme levels, and Shadow of the Erdtree seems ready to follow suit. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki says the expansion “has redefined the limits of what we think players can handle”. Players should expect a brutal experience that surpasses even Elden Ring’s standards.
Patterns from previous FromSoftware expansions
The most demanding challenges in FromSoftware games come from their DLCs. Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters brought us incredibly tough bosses like Orphan of Kos and Laurence the First Vicar. Dark Souls’ Artorias of the Abyss started the trend of putting the toughest content behind progression barriers. This helps players reach the right skill level before they tackle DLC content.
These expansions aren’t just harder—they’re built as endgame content for players who are skilled at base game mechanics. A player points out that “FromSoftware always starts their DLC right after development of the main game is finished”. This lets them build on everything they learned during development.
Preparing your character for Shadow of the Erdtree
Players need to defeat both Mohg, Lord of Blood and Starscourge Radahn to access Shadow of the Erdtree. These tough bosses naturally filter out unprepared players. Here’s what else you need:
- Level 100-150 will give you a reasonable challenge
- Get all Golden Seeds and Sacred Tears to make your flasks work better
- Stock up on items that protect against magic, fire, lightning, and frost
The DLC brings a new scaling system with Scadutree Fragments that work as “Shadow of the Erdtree’s new ‘leveling’ system”. Players can boost their attack power and damage protection separately from their character level.
New challenges based on trailer analysis
The trailer shows more than ten new boss fights. Miyazaki says the optional bosses are “especially difficult”. Messmer the Impaler stands out—players guess this boss might be as tough as Malenia.
The new area is full of scary enemies. You’ll face everything from a fire giant with a burning cage to what players call “a terrifying hippo thing with glowing spikes”. These enemies will test more than just fighting skills—you’ll need to learn eight new weapon types.
The expansion’s difficulty matches “the second half of Elden Ring”. The new progression system lets players adjust their own challenge level, which fits perfectly with FromSoftware’s belief in earning victory through adaptation.
Conclusion
My time in the Lands Between has taught me something valuable – Elden Ring’s difficulty isn’t just a wall to bang your head against. It’s a chance to grow as a player. Sure, you’ll die a lot, but each death teaches you something new. Your patience grows, and what once seemed impossible starts to feel doable.
Raw skill isn’t everything in this game. The real key is making smart use of all the tools at your disposal. You’ve got spirit summons, weapon upgrades, and co-op play to help manage tough fights. The game rewards players who take time to learn about its world and think strategically, rather than those who just try to perfect their dodge-rolls.
These lessons will matter even more when Shadow of the Erdtree arrives. The expansion will push veteran players harder than ever, but the basics still apply. Patient preparation and steady persistence will guide you through. New challenges like Messmer the Impaler and fresh weapon types await, but the satisfaction comes from taking on these challenges head-on rather than shying away.
Note that dying in Elden Ring doesn’t mean you’ve failed – it’s just another step toward getting better. The right approach and mindset will help you do more than just survive. You’ll end up thriving in this beautifully crafted world of challenge and reward.
