Summary
There isn’t much time left beforeElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC arrives, and fans are gearing up to tackle it. Even two years after the initial launch ofElden Ring, the excitement surrounding FromSoftware’s latest fantasy epic has yet to subside. With the starting point and requirements for entering Shadow of the Erdtree’s mysterious Land of Shadow already known, many players are making sure they have save files prepped to jump into the DLC at its launch. As a leak has indicated that previews are coming soon, hype for Shadow of the Erdtree is about to reach its climax.
Given how much content this expansion is poised to offerElden Ring, it’s easy to see why. A whole new region estimated to be around Limgrave’s size and possibly even more dense, new additions to the story, and plenty of new challenges await players in Shadow of the Erdtree. There’s even anew poison swamp courtesy ofElden RingdirectorHidetaka Miyazaki, which was apparently made with their now-memetic reputation in mind. With luck, that won’t be the only part ofElden Ring’s DLC that acknowledges its memes, and players can enjoy another bout with one of FromSoftware’s silliest bosses.
Elden Ring’s Tutorial Boss Was An Unusually Comedic Surprise
Like theDark Soulstrilogy andDemon’s Soulsbefore it,Elden Ringfeatures a dedicated tutorial area. Somewhat likeDark Souls 2’s tutorial, it’s an optional cave off to the side of the starting area after the Grafted Scion prelude fight. It’s effective enough at introducing the basic mechanics, even if it was easy to miss.Elden Ringplayers don’t visit this caveon repeat playthroughs for any kind of refresher, however. Instead, they’re most likely enjoying one ofElden Ring’s strangest and most memetic one-off bosses at its end.
The Soldier of Godrick Quickly Became An Early Elden Ring Meme
Crossing a fog wall at the end of the tutorial will present players with the Soldier of Godrick, a named boss complete with a boss’s health bar. Only, it doesn’t really have a boss’s health, or any standout features at all. This foe is actually just a mundane Godrick Soldier enemy that players can encounterwanderingElden Ring’s Limgrave region, and its peers are just as easily felled. Being wedged in between the Grafted Scion and a Tree Sentinel, two bosses beyond most starting players’ reach, highlights the Soldier of Godrick’s low difficulty so much that fans couldn’t help but fall in love with this awkward tutorial “boss.”
FromSoftware Should Revisit Elden Ring’s Most Prominent Meme Boss
Plenty of jokes, videos, and mods were made about the alleged high difficulty of the Soldier of Godrick, andElden Ring’s boss randomizerspotentially placing them in ridiculous places only added to the humor. It’s not hard to imagine that FromSoftware has noticed this community in-joke, and responding to it with a straight-faced acknowledgment would theoretically be very easy. Shadow of the Erdtree presumably has themed soldier enemies just like most ofElden Ring’s regions, so introducing a “Soldier of Messmer” fight should fit in. Its execution, however, is where the memes come in.
Shadow of the Erdtree Can Officially Give The Soldier A Real Fight
This new Soldier can’t be a pushover like the original, even if an exact copy of the old fight wouldn’t be a drain on Shadow of the Erdtree’s resources. Instead, this Soldier should be ludicrously tough, both stats-wise and in its moveset. A return of theRunebear transformation gag from baseElden Ringcould work, but it would be more exciting to let this Soldier embody its memes. High health and damage, infinite poise and parry resistance, and an abrupt switch from a standard sword to the DLC’s new martial arts weapon would make for a fitting callback toElden Ring’s beginning inside its endgame content.
Elden Ring
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ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
