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In the most From Software masochist fashion, there’s a few players out there who are refusing to update to Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s latest patch so they can enjoy the difficulty of the original build.
Just this morning, an update was pushed which buffed Scadutree Blessings, making the earlier portions of the expansion easier. It should be noted that the later portions of the game are are unaffected, so it’s hardly an easy mode.
This update comes only a few days after Hidetaka Miyazaki said to make the game easier would ‘break the game itself‘, which some have said is a little slice of hypocrisy.
Online debates have already kicked off too. Elden Ring’s new ‘easy mode’ is the target of discussion, with some complaining while others have praised the balancing act. I suppose there is some sense to this. From Software’s signature, no matter how much you praise the lore and exploration, is the difficulty. The challenge is part of the prize, and reaping your reward is all that much better thanks to this. That said, I agree that Shadow of the Erdtree falls under the pitfall of difficulty for difficulty’s sake, as my colleague has recently discussed in his thoughts.
There’s been a handful of players who have rebelled against the update – refusing to allow it to impair their experience getting whupped by the Blackgaol Knight and Messmer. Everyone’s entitled to play the game how they want. Some people want to cry tears of frustration while playing a game, others want to have fun. At the end of the day, who’s really watching.
The update comes during the gaming journalists are bad at video games discourse, which has been cemented with a Journalism Mode added in via mods. As much as I think I have to support my fellow colleagues, I can’t help but think it’s a very, very funny add-on to make.
