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The Lands Between and the Realm of Shadows are two settings in which environment plays an instrumental part in defining lore and story. Mystery is found in the tight writing of item descriptions, the pained moans of demi-gods as they switch phases in-battle, and in detrital environments crumbling before you. When Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree dropped earlier this month, each and every player was wracked with the same lack of knowledge and foresight, and the mysterious ‘heartbeat’ controller vibrations confused all.
There might now be a plausible explanation and, courtesy of ScreenRant, we might know what it is. There are two thoughts here. PlayStation players have disproportionately reported vibrations, though this isn’t a console exclusive tid-bit of lore, but it is in fact a glitch. It’s reported that the vibrations occur as a result of Bloodfiends and Messmer’s knights fighting. Each time the area is loaded, the fight auto-triggers. Apparently, this is the source of the mysterious vibration.
That is the boring answer, though. Despite the patterns spotted with the Bloodfiends, others have been noticing it outside of the area too. Now this, I’m interested in. It’s often reported that you will experience the controller vibrations near the your first meet Igon around the Ellac River Grace. This has led many to think that it’s a response to Bayle the Dread, one of the more difficult Dragon bosses in the expansion. ScreenRant thinks it functions as a ‘lure’ to lead you to the Dragon’s Pit dungeon, which is not far off at all.
Yet, the fact that there are reports of the vibrations in other locations is disappointing, and makes it seem much likely that it’s a glitch.
If the next update for Elden Ring sees patch notes addressing controller vibrations, I’ll be pretty disappointed.
