Elden Ring's developers know most players use guides, but still try to cater to those who go in blind: 'If they can't do it, then there's some room for improvement on our behalf'

elden ring let her solo me
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Raise your hand if you've played through a FromSoftware game without using a guide. If your hand's up, you're a rare and impressive bird, clearly suited to a life of luxury in some billionaire's menagerie. I can't think of a developer I associate more heavily with online guides and wikis than FromSoftware. While it's certainly possible to beat their games without outside help, I think the vast majority of players look up weapons, NPC questlines, boss strategies, even basic item descriptions to better piece together what the heck is going on in Dark Souls or Elden Ring.

Who's related to who? Who betrayed who? Whose magic and hubris destroyed the world? To the internet! 

PC Gamer magazine issue Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

(Image credit: Future)

I always assumed FromSoftware knew good and well that its players turn to wikis and multi-hour YouTube videos to explain everything, and FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed as much in our interview for PC Gamer's cover story on Shadow of the Erdtree, which you'll be able to read before the expansion's out.

"Of course players are going to consult guides, and there's going to be a wealth of information on the web and in their communities where they have access to the secrets and the strategies. We expect that," he said.

But as FromSoftware's games have become more and more popular, I wondered if the studio has tried harder to surprise or outsmart players. Some of the bosses in Elden Ring do seem to have attack patterns peppered with long wind-ups, surprise fast swipes and changes in rhythm that are meant to catch longtime Souls players off guard. Does the studio do the same with its secrets and try to design around guides? Or do they totally ignore them?

"We obviously understand [players use guides], but we don't make or plan anything with that as a prerequisite. If anything, we try to cater to the player who is completely blind and wants to go through organically. If they can't do it, then there's some room for improvement on our behalf, and we'd like to try to embrace those players more in the future."

For Shadow of the Erdtree in particular, Miyazaki said, once players have made it through enough of the base game to access the expansion, the developers "have faith that they will be able to continue, find these secrets and overcome these challenges." 

There's no need to feel sheepish if you do play FromSoft's games with a Fextralife tab open at all times, though; Miyazaki casts no shade in your direction:

"We don't necessarily cater to players who are reading guides as they go. Of course, it's a perfectly valid playstyle, and we respect those players who like to approach it with a guide in hand. We just want to let you know it's not our prerequisite, designing the game in their favor."

On that note—if you're diving back into Elden Ring for the DLC, check out our Elden Ring guide with links to build suggestions, NPC quest walkthroughs, where to find enough smithing stones to upgrade your gear, and more. 

TOPICS
Wes Fenlon
Senior Editor

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.

When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).

Read more
Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot
The game director of Elden Ring: Nightreign has delivered an ultimatum to gaming couples everywhere: Find a third wheel or play by yourself
Junya Ishizaki next to an image from Elden Ring: Nightreign
Elden Ring Nightreign director didn't want to 'encroach too much' on the lore fans hold sacred by including Dark Souls bosses, but admits 'I thought it'd be kind of fun'
The boss of Dawntrail's 4th raid, Wicked Thunder, holds an Electrope cube to the air and floods it with levin.
'It's simply impossible to make a difficulty level that's just right for all players': How Final Fantasy 14's lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail's dungeons and raids
elden ring nightreign
3 hours with Elden Ring Nightreign helped me accept it's not the co-op FromSoft game I asked for, but damn fun in its own right
The Dry Devil from Kingdom Come 2 wields a torch and grins. Overlaid next to him is a picture of the Adoring Fan from Oblivion, holding a torch and smiling.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dev says it deliberately avoids the 'instant gratification' of modern games, channelling the best of Bethesda like Morrowind and Oblivion
Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot
Elden Ring Nightreign's Steam page lets slip it'll have DLC bosses and player characters
Latest in RPG
Alligator skull with glowing eyes on human body and cords coming out sitting at piano with "The Norwood Etudes" ready to play
My new most anticipated RPG let me be a kleptomaniac gourmand set loose in a noir city on a quest to make 'the perfect sandwich'
Rise of the Ronin review
Rise of the Ronin review
Wyrdsong concept art
Wyrdsong, the RPG from ex-Bethesda talent, isn't dead—but it's no longer an open world: 'We're down to a skeleton crew'
A lolporrit squeals in excitement while being driven in a moon buggie in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, patch 7.2.
Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.2's trailer has me finally hyped to get stuck back in—and to go to the moon and pilot some mechs, because why not
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 barbers change hairstyle - Henry sitting on a horse wearing armour.
How to find a barber and change hairstyle in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Key art of the videogame Lunacid, showing a pale, long haired knight in purple armor contemplating a purple, flaming sword surrounded by the different phases of the moon.
One of my favorite indie RPGs is getting a follow-up made with FromSoftware's 25-year-old Super Mario Maker for first person dungeon crawlers
Latest in News
Aloy - Horizon
'I feel worried about this art form:' Unsurprisingly, the real Aloy from Horizon isn't a fan of AI Aloy
Crying laughing emoji with disturbing realistic elements for REPO
REPO's first update will add a new map and a 'duck bucket' so we can finally give that pesky quacker a time out
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games