Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco has “called out” Elden Ring fans struggling with the dfficulty by suggesting they “level up your Scadutree Blessing”.
In a brief message posted on social media platform X, Bandai Namco US said simply: “This is a suggestion”.
“The best advice coming straight from the source,” said one Tarnished.
“This is the developer’s [sic] way of telling us Tarnished we are noob plebs,” teased another.
Some are speculating that Bandai Namco’s message follows news that the Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has fallen to a “mixed” user rating on Steam after players logged their disappointment with the PC version’s performance issues.
An aggregate score of almost 27,000 players has seen the critically acclaimed DLC stumble on PC, and whilst most players comment favourably on the game’s stunning presentation and world building, others take issue with the capped FPS, stuttering, and “bosses with jerky roll-catch movements and a plethora of physically nonsensical moves”.
If you’re having trouble even getting to the DLC, fear not: Elden Ring pros are helping players beat two key bosses to enable fellow Tarnished access Shadow of the Erdtree.
As Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t accessible until you’ve taken out both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood – something a surprisingly high number of Elden Ring players have yet to do – Elden Ring experts are offering their time and expertise to fell the great enemies to help players jump into the new content.
FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games are notoriously difficult to beat, but creator Hidetaka Miyazaki recently said it would “break the game itself” to turn down the challenge.
“If we really wanted the whole world to play the game, we could just crank the difficulty down more and more. But that wasn’t the right approach,” he said. “Had we taken that approach, I don’t think the game would have done what it did, because the sense of achievement that players gain from overcoming these hurdles is such a fundamental part of the experience. Turning down difficulty would strip the game of that joy – which, in my eyes, would break the game itself.”