AnElden Ringduel concluded in a manner so satisfying it was the pinnacle of poetic tragedy. With how accurate the hitboxes can be inElden Ring, gratifying ways to avoid attacks and defeat bosses have been a staple of online content for the game since launch, but such moments when battling in multiplayer are rather rare and so much more special for it.
Duels inElden Ringare a perfect representation ofhow self-constructed the FromSoftware PvP community is. Continuing a tradition from theDark Soulsseries, Duels can be considered the “ranked mode” ofElden Ring, but absent of any leaderboards or skill-based matchmaking. After the release of a new FromSoftware title, and once a fair number of people have played through the game, PvP gradually becomes more populated. It has resulted in a collection of individuals that have generated their own entertainment within the playgrounds offered by FromSoftware across the years.
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InElden Ring, the location chosen by the community for these rule-bound confrontations is justbefore the elevator into Raya Lucaria Academy, which happens to be the stage of the proceeding battle. A video uploaded to Reddit by Zansacu shows the host is equipped with the seldom-seen Coded Sword as part of a respectable Faith build. However, the blade of pure holy energy goes unused here, with the player instead running towards an invader in the middle of casting Magma Breath.
As molten material coats the ground, the host performs Inescapable Frenzy, one of the fewFrenzied Flame incantations scattered throughout the Lands Between. Inescapable Frenzy takes a moment to complete its animation, in which time the magma underneath burns away at the player’s health bar, but the incantation manages to catch the invader in time. Now immune from damage, the host drains their enemy’s remaining health shortly before the Madness build-up reaches a critical point and finalizes the kill.
Even a pyrrhic victory is denied, as the lingering magma immediately causes the host to emit the scream of death once again. Comments were in accord about how cinematic the mutual demise was, with Zansacu expressing their glee at successfully grabbing someone with Inescapable Frenzy, a notoriously difficult incantation to implement in PvP. The impressive damage dealt by both Magma Breath and Inescapable Frenzy comesin the wake of two consecutive updates toElden Ringwhich significantly improved a variety of skills, sorceries, and incantations.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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