Elden Ring: all of the updates about FromSoftware’s open-world hit – The Verge

Nightreign is shaping up to be a fast and frantic take on Elden Ring

2025-02-19T12:35:11-05:00

A bunch of Verge staffers came back from the weekend chatting about our experiences with Elden Ring Nightreign's network tests. We generally enjoyed the fast-paced, co-op-focused spin on Elden Ring that takes cues from roguelikes and battle royale games - and when things were good, they were really good. But we also ran into some frustrating connection issues that we worry could dampen the experience of the full game if they're not worked out.

Read more about what we thought below. The game will be officially released on May 30th.

While playing the Elden Ring Nightreign network test, the word that kept coming to mind to describe it was " …

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Elden Ring Nightreign’s director isn’t sorry about how stressful it is

2025-02-14T09:01:05-05:00

My first time playing Elden Ring Nightreign, I was stressed the hell out. My team and I were in an underground dungeon, trying to make our way past traps and dangerous blind corners, all while knowing there was an invisible clock ominously ticking down above our heads. If we were still underground when it hit zero a deadly storm called Night's Tide would close in, potentially trapping us. That kind of anxiety was exactly what Elden Ring combat designer and Nightreign's game director Junya Ishizaki had in mind.

Speaking with Ishizaki after my time with the game, I was surprised to learn one of the main inspirations for Nightreign - a co-op f …

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Elden Ring Nightreign takes a big swing at a bigger audience

2025-02-12T15:40:25-05:00

It's inaccurate and reductive to call Elden Ring Nightreign a Dark Souls take on Fortnite. And yet, if pressed for an extremely brief elevator pitch - say, the kind you'd give to your friends who are curious about soulsborne games but are put off by all the discussions of their difficulty - it's about as best as you could do. In my hands-on time with the game, I was compelled to ask my team at the outset of our very first run, "Well… where we droppin' boys?" as we flew over the map in the claws of spectral birds. The similarity to Fortnite and other battle royale games was so striking, the reference simply had to be made. But once we got on …

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Shadow of the Erdtree’s new perfume weapons are seriously broken and seriously fun

2024-07-02T15:30:00-04:00

Imagine if those aggressive salespeople at the Macy's perfume counter were shoving napalm in your face instead of Chanel No. 5: that's what it feels like playing with the new perfume bottle weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree.

The early days after any Souls game release are always some of the best. The speedrunners and content creators have found the best / most busted builds, while the developers haven't had the time to nerf them yet. People post all kinds of wild videos of bosses melting within seconds, going down so fast they don't even have time to trigger their second or third phases. It happened in vanilla Elden Ring with Hoarfrost Stomp …

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Erdtree gets a little easier with new Elden Ring update

2024-06-26T13:45:34-04:00

Shadow of the Erdtree is gonna get easier. Bandai Namco has seemingly heard the great hue and cry from reviewers and players alike that Erdtree is far too difficult. In response, the publisher is implementing a "calibration update" that will reduce the level of difficulty by making players stronger. According to the patch notes for this update:

The attack and damage negation has been increased for the first half of the maximum amount of blessing enhancements, and the second half will now be more gradual.

The attack and damage negation granted by the final level of Blessing enhancements has been slightly increased.

The key to understanding …

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Even Elden Ring’s game director knows Erdtree is too hard

2024-06-22T10:43:12-04:00

As I work my way through Shadow of the Erdtree, the new DLC for Elden Ring, I can't help but think that game director Hidetaka Miyazaki is trolling the shit outta me.

Speaking with him at Summer Game Fest two weeks ago, Miyazaki said that Erdtree is "by far the biggest in scale in volume" than any other FromSoftware DLC before it. But he also said Erdtree is "about the same volume as the Limgrave part of the base game," the starting area of Elden Ring, containing "slightly more content."

I don't buy it. While it's impossible to accurately compare scale in game, I've played the game for 30 hours and have already found the new areas in the …

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Here are some small but helpful tips for starting Shadow of the Erdtree

2024-06-20T13:25:52-04:00

Before Shadow of the Erdtree finally goes live, Bandai Namco has implemented a patch that adds a couple of small features and updates just in time for the DLC's launch in a few short hours. FromSoftware also shared a new launch trailer to herald the DLC's arrival, but it's chockful of spoilers, so beware. The update isn't particularly earth-shattering, but it does include some things worth keeping in mind before all you Tarnished get your head beat in by the vicious monsters patrolling the Shadow Lands.

Firstly, we get new hair options! I was pretty down on Elden Ring's character creator for its lack of Black hairstyles. It just didn't make …

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Shadow of the Erdtree reintroduced me to Elden Ring by kicking my ass

2024-06-18T10:00:00-04:00

In my first moments with Shadow of the Erdtree, I found myself in a graveyard dotted with incorporeal gravestones… and puddles of glowing blood. By the time I remembered what those bloodstains meant and the imminent danger I was in, I was ripped to shreds by a man I did not see or hear coming, leaving behind a new little blood puddle to mark the occasion.

I have not stopped grinning since.

Shadow of the Erdtree is the long-awaited expansion of 2022's game of the year, Elden Ring. According to FromSoftware, this will be the only DLC for the game, giving Tarnished one last crack at the Lands Between.

Most of my time with the DLC has been w …

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s new trailer is a dramatic call to arms

2024-05-21T11:27:04-04:00

With only a month until release day, there's a new story trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree, and the Elden Ring lore hounds have their work cut out for them.

FromSoftware has been slowly teasing Shadow of the Erdtree and its story beats ever since the gameplay trailer was released back in February. All we knew then was the DLC would take place in the Land of Shadow and feature a bunch of new horrors straight from the slightly warped imagination of game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

This new Land of Shadow was connected somehow to Miquella - the dude in the egg with the withered arm. The trailer mentions him prominently, giving the impression …

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Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree trailer is full of new ways to die

2024-02-21T10:10:43-05:00

Wake up, Tarnished. It's time to visit the Shadow of the Erdtree.

In Shadow, it looks like we're going to a darker part of the Lands Between, and of course, there are all sorts of new lil' freaks to fight. But the biggest news is that the DLC's main antagonist appears to be Miquella, the twin brother of Malenia, meaning "Let me solo her" might have to change his name soon.

In 2023, FromSoftware confirmed the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was in development. No release date was given at the time, and FromSoftware went radio silent afterward, as we've had no significant updates on the DLC since its announcement almost exactly a year ago. But now …

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