Tag: Elden Ring

The worst video game characters of all time

Grand stories and clever heroes may linger in our minds after the credits roll, but the worst video game characters leave their own mark too

Grand stories and clever, sympathetic heroes may linger in our minds long after the credits roll, but the worst video game characters leave a mark just as indelible. They may be poorly written, with thin personalities, unbelievable motivations, or dialogue that grates on your soul. Some are just terrible people in general, characters who, though not the villain or even a threat, certainly do their best to make life more difficult than it needs to be for the heroes of the piece. These are the worst characters we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

 

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has been officially announced

Shadow of the Erdtree is in development at FromSoftware.

More than a year after Elden Ring‘s release, we’re finally hearing an official announcement regarding a significant content update.

On Tuesday, FromSoftware announced Shadow of the Erdtree – the first major DLC expansion for Elden Ring. No other details are available right now, as the studio only made a short tweet confirming that the DLC is in development.

Thankfully, a beautiful bit of concept artwork was released for Shadow of the Erdtree. In it, we can see what appears to be the Erdtree’s charred husk surrounded by golden wheat fields. There’s also a character riding the player’s horse Torrent, which most seem to think is Miquella. It’s hard to say, really – check the image for yourself below.

Elden Ring came out in February 2022, and since then, the only significant DLC has been its Colosseum update – which added more PVP locations for those of us eager to blitz other players and come out victorious. It was a minor, free patch that left many fans wanting more.

Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t the only major project at FromSoftware either. There’s also the highly-anticipated Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, which is supposedly coming out sometime in 2023 – though no exact date is available yet.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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This streamer just beat Elden Ring’s Margit with a guitar

The Elden Ring dance pad streamer set herself a new challenge – beating the RPG with a guitar as a controller – and already felled Margit

The Elden Ring dance pad streamer set herself a new challenge – to beat the entire RPG with a guitar as a controller – and she’s off to a strong start already. Twitch streamer MissMikkaa posted an update on Twitter after overcoming the first boss, and the one that players often consider the most difficult: Margit.

MissMikkaa posted a video clip of the fight’s last 30 seconds or so, where some quick thinking and careful planning helped ensure she won the day. The streamer said in replies that she uses AccousticInputs to bind key functions to certain frequencies on the guitar, so attacking, dodging, and the like depend on hitting the right sound at the right time.

She said the challenge is “really hard,” but takes a few steps in the beginning to ensure she can get accustomed to the guidelines she set herself. One of those is finding Greyoll, the decaying dragon in Caelid, via a handy shortcut and using the Runes from him to power up the Tarnished’s vigor stat. This helps reduce the amount of damage they take, which is handy in general, and especially in this instance.

The Tarnished is outfitted with what looks like samurai gear and uses a giant club to take Margit down.

The challenge was a hit with fans, who called MissMikkaa the “queen of Elden Ring” and said how impressive it is that she manages to keep the game fresh and exciting after almost a year. MissMikkaa isn’t stopping at Margit either. The goal is to complete the entire game using just an acoustic guitar.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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This fan might have finally fixed Elden Ring’s stuttering issue on PC

A fan found a possible fix for the award-winning RPG’s persistent PC stuttering problem with a simple solution, and it seems to work

One Elden Ring fan may have found a fix for the award-winning RPG’s persistent PC stuttering problem with a simple solution: disabling e-cores on newer Intel processors. Elden Ring’s PC performance has suffered from this stuttering issue even during the game’s review period. The action will, at random, stop for a second or slightly less and then catch up by moving at double speed for another second or two.

The situation is hardly ideal in a game where precision matters so much. There’s seemingly no trigger for the bug. It’s just as likely to happen during a boss fight as it is when you’re scaling a narrow precipice and trying not to fall and die.

YouTuber thsea4021 (thanks, DSOS) demonstrated a few short runs of the game with e-cores – Intel’s efficiency cores that use less power – enabled and disabled, while running around the initial Limgrave region. Elden Ring stuttered and experienced frame rate drops with e-cores enabled, but after thsea2041 disabled them, the problem seemed to resolve itself. Elden Ring was even able to hit a stable 60 fps.

You can disable them permanently through your computer’s advanced options or disable them for Elden Ring via the task manager each time you boot the game.

The solution may not come as a surprise to some. Intel users have debated whether e-cores are harmful to PC game performance since Intel first introduced the feature, and it seems their effects vary on a game-by-game basis. 

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Elden Ring wins Steam Awards’ Best Game You Suck At distinction

Elden Ring won big at the Steam Awards, but not just in the usual categories, as fans decree it’s the best game to be bad at

Elden Ring won big at the Golden Joysticks and The Game Awards 2022, and it’s not earning accolades just yet. It also earned distinction in the Steam Awards, where fans choose their favorite games in a variety of traditional and unorthodox categories, including game of the year and Best Game You Suck At. Elden Ring won both.

It beat out Stray, God of War (2018), and Dying Light 2 for Game of the Year and pushed aside Total War: Warhammer 3 and the exceptionally complicated grand strategy game Victoria 3 to take the crown as the “toughest game we’ve ever loved.”

Elsewhere in the Steam Awards 2022, Final Fantasy 7 Remake won best soundtrack, beating Hatsune Miku Project Diva Megamix and Metal Hellsinger, while fans crowned God of War as the best story-rich game instead of A Plague Tale: Requiem.

Stray won in the Most Innovative Gameplay category, perhaps unsurprisingly, as the first game where you play exclusively as a cat. Death Stranding was labeled the best game on the go, winning against Marvel Snap and even Vampire Survivors, perhaps fueled by the recent announcement of Death Stranding 2 during The Game Awards.

Finally, fans called Hitman 3 the best VR game, and if you haven’t checked it out for yourself yet, IO Interactive is offering an easier-to-comprehend way to catch up on the World of Assassination trilogy soon.

Head over to Steam to check out the full list for yourself.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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You need to see this incredible Pokemon and Elden Ring mod

This Elden Ring mod imagines what it would be like if Pokemon Scarlet invaded The Lands Between, and the result is amazing, if slightly terrifying

A new Elden Ring mod imagines what it would be like if Pokemon Scarlet invaded The Lands Between, and the result is amazing, if slightly terrifying. Twitter user Arestame posted a promotional video showing several Pokemon Scarlet assets in Elden Ring, including Malenia in a Naranja Academy uniform and Koraidon taking Torrent’s place, though it’s not all fun and games.

In one scene, Meowscarada, Sprigatito’s final evolution, takes the place of a stealthy enemy and stabs the Tarnished, dressed as a student, in the back – not the ideal behavior for a beloved friend and partner. Skeledirge, Fueococo’s final form, shows up instead of Elden Ring’s many Magma Wyrms, which seems rather fitting. Meanwhile, Quaxly sits menacingly on the beaches of Limgrave, presumably replacing the sturdy little goo piles you normally encounter there.

Best of all, though, is what Arestame did to the Walking Mausoleums. Gone are the bone houses where you normally duplicate Great Runes, and in their place is a Pokemon Center.

Whether Arestame plans on making the Pokemon Elden Ring mod publicly available remains to be seen, though. It’s not on NexusMods yet, and they haven’t responded to requests for comment. This might just end up being a “what if” video, but either way, it’s certainly one of the more imaginative mashups out there.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The best games of 2022 in no particular order

With the year drawing to a close and a packed 2023 on the horizon, it’s time to look back at the best games of 2022

With The Game Awards at an end, the year is drawing to a close, and while there’s plenty to look forward to in 2023 – including Starfield and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – for now, it’s time to take a look back at the best games of 2022. Despite a seemingly endless stream of delays, 2022 was packed with games, from big-budget spectacles like God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring, to surprise indie hits such as the adorable hero’s adventure Tunic and the retro-horror hit Signalis.

Choosing between so many games is no easy task, but we’ve done it anyway and listed our top picks below.

Elden Ring Colosseum tips: how to secure victory in the new PvP arena

The Elden Ring Colosseums give much tougher battles than even the biggest bosses, so we’ll help you get ahead.

Patch 1.08 for Elden Ring is here and it’s bringing us a great new PvP mode in the Colosseums. PvP has always existed in FromSoftware games, but this new update takes it to a whole new level, with up to six players being able to enter the arena at once, fighting in teams, duels, or a chaotic free-for-all.

With all the control over matchmaking and queues that you’d expect, getting into a match is easy, you just need to know where to go. We’ve got a list of all the Elden Ring Colosseum locations if you haven’t already found them. Once you’re there, coming out on top isn’t easy, so we’ll give you some tips to help you out.

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Elden Ring Colosseum locations: How to find and enter every Colosseum

The Colosseums have finally opened their doors to Elden Ring players, so we’ll tell you where to find these new PvP arenas.

It’s been a long time coming, but Elden Ring’s Colosseums are finally open for business. Curious players and data miners have been searching for the purpose of these structures since they were first discovered, and now we finally know their hidden function, their great purpose, their grand secret: You can do battle in them – it feels like we should’ve guessed that.

With up to six players able to get in on the action at once, you can battle other players in team battles, a series of 1-on-1 duels, or going all-out in a free-for-all skirmish. It’s the kind of no-frills PvP that fans of FromSoftware games have wanted for a long time. If you want to take part, we’ll tell you where to find all three Colosseums and how to enter them.

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5 biggest changes in Elden Ring patch notes 1.08

Elden Ring’s latest patch gives PVP players a good reason to return to the game.

Elden Ring just got a brand new patch, bringing the game up to version 1.08 – but this isn’t just your usual suite of balance adjustments and bug fixes, no, this introduces brand new content to the game. In this free update, the Colosseums that have been present in The Lands Between from the beginning are now open, and intense battles are raging inside. 

For everything in the new update, just read through our breakdown below.

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