{"id":508,"date":"2026-04-16T09:35:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T01:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maintenance.czmywlkj.top\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/elden-ring-the-ultimate-open-world-action-rpg-experience\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T09:10:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T01:10:42","slug":"elden-ring-the-ultimate-open-world-action-rpg-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/elden-ring-the-ultimate-open-world-action-rpg-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Elden Ring: The Ultimate Open-World Action RPG Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Elden<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Okay, real talk. I bought Elden Ring on launch day because I have zero self-control when it comes to FromSoftware games. Demon’s Souls back on PS3? Played it. Dark Souls 1, 2, 3? All of them, all the way through. Bloodborne? Beat it three times. Sekiro? That one actually made me throw my controller (sorry, not sorry).<\/p>\n

So when Elden Ring was announced with George R.R. Martin doing the world-building, I was hyped. Like, properly hyped. Pre-ordered it, took the day off work, the whole deal.<\/p>\n

And then I didn’t play it for three weeks because I got distracted by something else. I don’t even remember what. That’s the kind of gamer I am.<\/p>\n

When I finally booted it up, I made a Vagabond because it sounded safe. High Vigor, decent armor, a shield that isn’t useless. The game starts you on a beach, gives you a horse immediately (which, by the way, was a game-changer for me because I’ve always hated how slow Souls games feel), and then just… lets you go.<\/p>\n

No tutorial. No “go here, do this.” Just a massive open world and a subtle glow on the map telling you vaguely where to go.<\/p>\n

I spent my first four hours riding around Limgrave hitting wolves with a longsword and wondering why everything was level 30 when I was level 15. Turns out I was supposed to go south, not north. The game doesn’t tell you that. I love and hate that about FromSoftware.<\/p>\n

The Story (Or: Why Am I Doing This Again?)<\/h2>\n

So, the Elden Ring is broken. Queen Marika shattered it. Her kids\u2014the demigods\u2014have the pieces (Great Runes), and now the world is messed up. You’re a Tarnished (someone brought back to life because the Elden Ring is broken and they need a new lord), and you’re supposed to collect the Runes, become Elden Lord, fix the world, yada yada.<\/p>\n

Here’s the thing about FromSoftware storytelling: it’s all in the item descriptions and the environment. There’s almost no exposition. You find a dead body, read a ring description, and suddenly you know this person’s entire tragic backstory. It’s brilliant, but it also means if you don’t read item descriptions, you have no idea what’s going on.<\/p>\n

I didn’t fully understand the plot until my second playthrough. On the first one, I was just following the gold markers and hitting things until they died.<\/p>\n

Queen Marika is the central mystery. She broke the Ring on purpose\u2014but why? The game hints at it, but never outright tells you. Her children are the bosses you fight: Godrick (who grafts body parts onto himself because he’s insecure about his lineage), Radahn (who’s holding back the stars because his mentor is up there somewhere), Malenia (who’s never lost a fight and has a rot problem), and others.<\/p>\n

The whole “Elden Lord” thing also has different endings depending on who you side with. Ranni’s ending is the one most people go for because she’s got that cold, mysterious witch vibe. Personally, I went with the Age of Stars ending because the idea of the Elden Ring being in the night sky instead of some physical object appealed to my edgy side.<\/p>\n

The Classes (And Why I Restarted Three Times)<\/h2>\n
\"Classes\"\/<\/figure>\n

I said I started as Vagabond. That’s true. But I also restarted as Samurai because I saw someone online doing a katana build and it looked cool. Then I restarted again as Astrologer because I wanted to try magic. Then I went back to Vagabond because I’m indecisive and also bad at committing to things.<\/p>\n

Here’s the thing about classes in Elden Ring: they don’t matter that much. You can respec later at Rennala in the Academy. So your starting class is really just about the first 10-15 hours of the game. After that, you can build whatever you want.<\/p>\n

That said, some starting classes are genuinely easier than others. Vagabond and Samurai are the “I want to actually enjoy this game” choices. Wretch is for people who hate themselves (it starts with all stats at 10 and no gear). Prophet and Confessor are fine if you want to do a faith build, but they’re not as smooth as Astrologer for intelligence or Samurai for dexterity.<\/p>\n

If you’re new to FromSoftware games, go Vagabond or Samurai. If you’re feeling brave, Astrologer lets you nuke things from orbit, which is always fun.<\/p>\n

The Open World (It’s Actually Good)<\/h2>\n
\"Regions\"\/<\/figure>\n

Open world games usually make me groan because they’re 80% filler. “Go collect 50 herbs.” “Light 12 towers.” “Talk to 40 NPCs who all say the same thing.” Elden Ring could have been that, but it isn’t.<\/p>\n

The world is dense. Like, genuinely dense. There are caves, catacombs, ruins, boss fights, and NPCs packed into every corner. And because it’s FromSoftware, they’re not copy-pasted. Every dungeon has a unique layout, a unique boss, and usually a unique weapon or spell at the end.<\/p>\n

Limgrave is the starting area. It’s beautiful\u2014rolling green hills, misty forests, ruined churches. The first time I saw the Tree Sentinel (that massive knight on a horse near the beginning), I tried to fight him at level 12. He one-shot me. I came back at level 60 with a +12 weapon and he still almost killed me. That’s FromSoftware for you.<\/p>\n

Stormveil Castle is the first “legacy dungeon”\u2014a more linear, interconnected level in the classic FromSoftware style. It’s got multiple paths, hidden walls, and a boss (Godrick) who grafts a dragon’s head onto his arm mid-fight. It’s ridiculous and awesome.<\/p>\n

Then there’s Caelid. Oh, Caelid. You can technically go there at level 20, but you shouldn’t. It’s a scarlet rot swamp filled with giant dogs, scorpion monsters, and a dragon that will end your life if you get close. The aesthetic shift from Limgrave’s greens to Caelid’sreds and purples is jarring. I love it.<\/p>\n

Liurnia is the magic region. It’s got the Academy of Raya Lucaria, which is a legacy dungeon filled with magic-users and a boss (Rennala) who’s more of a puzzle fight than a “hit until dead” fight. The vibe is very “mystical lake with floating candles,” and it works.<\/p>\n

Altus Plateau and the Mountaintops of the Giants are later-game regions. The Mountaintops especially is where the game starts to really test your patience\u2014freezing damage, tough enemies, and the Fire Giant, who is a 10-minute boss fight if you’re under-leveled.<\/p>\n

Farum Azula (the crumbling dragon city) and the Haligtree are endgame areas. They’re brutal. Farum Azula in particular has some of the hardest enemies in the game, and the boss (Maliketh) hits like a truck.<\/p>\n

The Bosses (The Whole Point of Playing)<\/h2>\n
\"Bosses\"\/<\/figure>\n

Let’s talk about the bosses, because that’s why most people play these games.<\/p>\n

Godrick is the first “real” boss, and he’s a great introduction. Not too hard, but not a pushover either. His phase transition (where he grafts the dragon head on) is iconic.<\/p>\n

Margit and Morgott are the same person, sort of. Margit guards the way into Stormveil, and Morgott guards the Erdtree in Leyndell. They’re both fantastic fights\u2014fast, aggressive, and they hit hard. Morgott’s second phase is genuinely one of my favorite boss phases in the game.<\/p>\n

Radahn is the festival boss. You summon NPCs to help you (including a wolf man and a red-headed guy who’s absolutely terrible at fighting), and you fight him in an open field while he jumps around and does gravity magic. It’s one of the most memorable boss fights I’ve ever done. Also, his horse is named Leonard and I will not accept criticism of Leonard.<\/p>\n

Rykard is the serpent boss. You literally cannot hurt him with normal weapons\u2014you have to use the Serpent-Hunter spear that’s sitting in his arena. It’s a cool mechanic, and the fight itself is a DPS check more than anything else.<\/p>\n

And then there’s Malenia.<\/p>\n

Oh, Malenia.<\/p>\n

She’s optional. She’s in the Haligtree, which is a pain to get to. And she is, without a doubt, the hardest boss in the game. Her “Waterfowl Dance” attack is a spinning flurry of strikes that has killed more players than I can count. I died to her 47 times. Not exaggerating. 47 deaths. When I finally beat her, I literally stood up and cheered. My roommate thought something was wrong with me.<\/p>\n

Malenia is controversial in the community because some people think she’s overtuned. I think she’s fair, but just barely. If you learn her patterns, she’s beatable. But man, those first ten deaths hurt.<\/p>\n

The final bosses (Radagon and the Elden Beast) are… fine. They’re not bad, but they feel a bit anticlimactic after Malenia and Maliketh. The Elden Beast in particular is a bit of a slog because it moves around the arena a lot and has a massive health pool.<\/p>\n

Spirit Summons (They’re Not Cheating, I Don’t Care What Anyone Says)<\/h2>\n
\"Spirit<\/figure>\n

FromSoftware purists will tell you that using spirit summons is “cheating” and “not the intended experience.” These people are wrong, and I will die on this hill.<\/p>\n

The Mimic Tear is the best spirit ash in the game. It clones your character, your gear, and your stats. So if you’re playing a mage, your Mimic is a mage. If you’re playing a strength build, your Mimic is slamming things with a greatsword. It’s genuinely game-breaking if you upgrade it enough, and I love that.<\/p>\n

Black Knife Tiche is the aggressive option. She’s fast, she does death blight damage, and she doesn’t have as much health as Mimic, but she’s more fun to watch because she’s constantly diving in and out.<\/p>\n

Lone Wolf Ashes are the budget option, but they’re surprisingly good. A pack of wolves that distract bosses while you stab them in the back? Yes, please.<\/p>\n

The best part about spirit ashes is that they let you play the game your way. Want a challenge? Don’t use them. Want to actually make progress without losing your mind? Summon away. The game gives them to you for a reason.<\/p>\n

Weapons and Builds (The Part Where I Spent 100 Hours in the Character Builder)<\/h2>\n
\"Weapons\"\/<\/figure>\n

Elden Ring has the best weapon variety in any FromSoftware game, period. There are 300+ weapons, and almost all of them are viable depending on your build.<\/p>\n

Straight swords (like the Longsword or Lordsworn’s Straight Sword) are the reliable, boring option. They’re not flashy, but they work. Greatswords (like the Claymore or the Greatsword aka “the guts sword”) are slower but hit like a truck. Katanas have built-in bleed buildup, which is disgusting in the early game.<\/p>\n

Speaking of bleed\u2014that’s the meta. Bleed builds are broken in Elden Ring, especially with the Seppuku ash of war or the Rivers of Blood katana. If you want to trivialize the game, do a bleed build. If you want to actually have a challenge, don’t.<\/p>\n

The Ashes of War system lets you change a weapon’s skill and affinity. So you can take a basic longsword and give it “Lion’s Claw” (a massive jumping slam) or “Bloodhound’s Step” (a dodge that makes you invincible for a split second). It’s an incredibly deep system, and I spent way too much time messing around with different combinations.<\/p>\n

Magic users, rejoice: sorceries are genuinely good in this game. Comet Azur (a laser beam that doesn’t stop) can melt bosses if you set it up right. Rock Sling (a gravity spell that uses intelligence but deals physical damage) is the MVP of the early game because most enemies have low physical defense but high magic resistance.<\/p>\n

Incantations (faith magic) are also solid. The Dragon Communion incantations let you breathe fire, summon lightning, or do a breath attack that literally rot-ifies enemies. The Blasphemous Blade is a faith-based greatsword that heals you on kill, which makes it one of the best “I don’t want to be stressed” weapons in the game.<\/p>\n

My personal favorite build was a dex\/arcane bleed build with the Rivers of Blood katana and the White Mask helmet (which boosts attack when something bleeds nearby). It’s disgusting. I love it. No regrets.<\/p>\n

The DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree (More Content, More Pain)<\/h2>\n

June 2024. The DLC drops. I pre-ordered it. Of course I did.<\/p>\n

The Land of Shadow is beautiful and terrible. It’s roughly the size of Limgrave but much denser. The new weapons (throwing blades, great katanas, etc.) are fun. The new incantations and sorceries are solid. But the difficulty spike is real.<\/p>\n

Messmer the Impaler is the new Malenia in terms of community discussion. He’s got fire snakes, he’s got a spear, and he’s got a second phase that will end you if you’re not careful. I died to him 23 times. Not as many as Malenia, but still.<\/p>\n

The Scadutree Fragments are a new progression system for the DLC. You collect them to boost your attack and defense specifically in the DLC areas. It’s a smart way to prevent overleveled players from steamrolling the content, but it also means if you don’t explore and find fragments, you’re going to have a bad time.<\/p>\n

The final boss of the DLC (Promised Consort Radahn, or “Radahn but he’s got Miquella now”) is… divisive. Some people think he’s the best boss in the game. Some people think he’s overtuned and unfun. I’m somewhere in the middle\u2014he’s a great fight, but the arena is too small for how much he moves around.<\/p>\n

Things I Didn’t Like (Because Honesty Matters)<\/h2>\n

Look, I love this game. It’s probably my GOTY for 2022. But it’s not perfect.<\/p>\n

The Mountaintops of the Giants feels undercooked compared to the rest of the game. It’s big, but there’s less to do there. The Fire Giant is a DPS check, not a skill check, and that’s annoying.<\/p>\n

Some late-game areas (like the Haligtree) are genuinely a pain to navigate. Not because they’re hard, but because they’re confusing. I got lost in the Haligtree for an hour and then died to a falling trap and had to do it all again.<\/p>\n

The multiplayer (co-op and PvP) is janky. Invading other players’ worlds is fun in theory, but in practice, half the time the connection is bad or the host has three summoned phantoms and you stand no chance. Also, the matchmaking is based on weapon level and rune level, which means if you don’t know the meta, you’re either over-leveled or under-leveled for every fight.<\/p>\n

And can we talk about the ending? There are six endings, but they’re all just slightly different cutscenes. I wish there was more variation in what actually happens to the world based on your choices. The “choose your ending” mechanic feels like it should matter more than it does.<\/p>\n

Should You Play It?<\/h2>\n

Yes. Obviously yes.<\/p>\n

Even if you’ve never played a Souls game before, Elden Ring is the most accessible one. The open world lets you go somewhere else if you’re stuck. The spirit summons make boss fights manageable. And the build variety means you can play the game however you want.<\/p>\n

That said, it’s still a FromSoftware game. You will die. You will get frustrated. You will look up walkthroughs because something doesn’t make sense. That’s okay. That’s the experience.<\/p>\n

I give it an 9\/10. It’s not a 10 because of the technical performance issues (frame drops in the open world, occasional stuttering) and because Act III\u2014wait, wrong game, sorry. Because the late-game areas feel slightly less polished than the early and mid-game. But it’s still one of the best games I’ve played in years.<\/p>\n

Also, Torrent (your horse) is the best video game horse ever. Fight me.<\/p>\n

Available on:<\/strong> PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC (Steam)<\/p>\n

What’s your Elden Ring hot take? Mine is that the Wretch starting class is actually fun if you’re bored. Tell me I’m wrong in the comments.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Okay, real talk. I bought Elden Ring on launch day because I have zero self-control when it comes to FromSoftware games. Demon’s Souls back on PS3? Played it. Dark Souls 1, 2, 3? All...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":636,"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions\/636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xymaintenance.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}