Ways To Make An Elden Ring Playthrough As Hard As Possible

Summary

• Avoid using lock-on to make Elden Ring more challenging, forcing manual tracking of enemy movements.
• Equip Daedicar’s Woe for doubled damage taken, increasing difficulty without advantages.
• Challenge yourself by banning magic, healing items, and using low-tier weapons & no armor in Elden Ring.

Elden Ring is already quite a challenging game, especially since it’s made by FromSoftware, the creators of the Dark Souls franchise. However, even with this Action RPG testing the player’s limits with various boss battles that players are likely to die to repeatedly, some players may still wish to make Elden Ring even harder.

Those players who enjoy a spot of masochism should take these further steps in Elden Ring to make the gameplay harder for themselves if they believe that the original gameplay has gotten too easy, or even just to spice things up a little. From removing armor to never leveling, this is how to make Elden Ring as hard as possible.

8

Never Use The Lock-On

Players Must Focus On Where They Hit

One of the most useful mechanics in Elden Ring is the lock-on mechanic that allows a player to follow the movements of an enemy without having to manually follow where the boss has gone at all times. This is incredibly useful when taking on bosses in Elden Ring that use the entirety of the arena or have intense sets of moves that they play through quickly.

Players who are looking to make Elden Ring harder for themselves should opt to never use this lock-on mechanic and instead must either follow the boss around manually or wait for the right moment to attack. Players may find themselves in for a challenge when taking on bosses like Malenia or Maliketh without this mechanic.

7

Use Talismans That Increase The Damage Taken

Daedicar’s Woe Doubles The Damage Taken

While one way to make Elden Ring harder is by using no talismans at all, as these usually give the player an advantage, one talisman a player can use to give themselves more of a challenge is the Daedicar’s Woe. This talisman, which the player obtains at the end of Rya’s quest, has no advantages to being used and only exists for players who want to make the game harder for themselves.

When the Daedicar’s Woe talisman is equipped, the damage the player takes is doubled. This means that not only bosses but also the regular enemies the player encounters will deal significantly more damage to them, making it far more likely that the player will die from attacks if they can’t dodge out of the way.

6

Don’t Use Any Summons

Both Ashes And Players Cannot Be Used

Players that need some extra assistance in Elden Ring can either summon other players to help them or use Spirit Ashes to summon in an AI ally to either tank hits or do some extra damage for the player. These summons can make Elden Ring far easier for players, as they don’t have to worry about doing the most damage or being the solo target of a boss.

By removing the use of Spirit Ashes or the aid of other players, it is up to only the players themselves to challenge enemies and learn how to avoid being attacked, as the boss will have no distractions. Some players that have been commonly using summons may be in for a big surprise by how much harder Elden Ring becomes.

5

Magic Has Been Banned

Melee Weapons Only For A Harder Time

Elden Ring has one of the greatest magic systems in an RPG, with the player having a wide variety of spells to experiment with. Some of the magic available is also incredibly deadly, especially if a player has built their character around using certain types of magic, which also increases the damage these spells do.

Magic also makes the game easier for players, as the majority of spells allow them to stay a distance away from damage but still do a decent amount of damage. Players that are looking to make the game harder should completely ban the use of any spells in their playthrough and instead focus on using melee weapons only, which would force them to stay close to the lethal bosses.

4

No Healing Or Buff Items

Players Will Need To Avoid Taking Damage At All Costs

Alongside damaging spells, there are also various magic that allow the player to heal themselves. However, a player can take this a step further to make their game harder for themselves by not only stopping themselves from using magic that allows them to heal themselves but also preventing themselves from using only healing potions.

Avoiding the use of heals or items that can buff their character means a player must be even more careful when taking on both basic foes and bosses, as being hit means that health will be permanently lost until they encounter a bonfire, which resets their health.

3

Only Use Low Tier Weaponry

Battles Require More Patience

While some players may be inclined to have the best of the best when it comes to both weaponry and armor in Elden Ring, players looking to torment themselves in this challenging action RPG should instead attempt to play the entirety of Elden Ring while using some of the weakest weapons in the game.

Some of these weapons may even be considered not weapons at all, such as the torch, which can do damage, but nowhere near as much as a simple sword could do. This is only one example of a weak weapon the player could use to make the game harder for themselves, though a player could even consider not using a weapon at all and instead use their bare hands.

2

Never Wear Any Armor

Getting Hit Could Kill The Player

One of the go-to ways in Elden Ring to make Elden Ring as hard as possible is by stripping the player entirely of their defenses. This can mean quite literally removing all the armor the player wears. Although in Elden Ring, a player should avoid getting hit anyway as the damage done by bosses can be a lot, armor can reduce some of that damage while also making the player resistant to certain types of damage.

By having no armor, the player purely relies on how much their total health is in the hopes of surviving the damage taken, while also trying to avoid getting hit in general. There is one advantage to wearing no armor, and that is that the player can move a lot quicker due to no weight.

1

Don’t Ever Level Up

Players Will Have To Survive With Their Starting Stats

One of the hardest challenges in the Souls franchise has been completing the game without leveling up. Players can even take on this challenge while playing Elden Ring, as they can choose to never spend their runes to level up the stats of their character.

For those who want a challenge but not to make the game too difficult for themselves, they can decide on one of the basic Elden Ring classes that starts the character with a few levels, but those who want to make the game as hard as possible should start with Wretch. This class doesn’t only start at level 1 but also has no weapons or armor, meaning the player will have to work toward finding these things while still remaining at level one.