FromSoftware's Elden Ring has been widely praised as one of the greatest open-world action RPGs of all time, combining the punishing design of Soulslike combat with the freedom of a sprawling, interconnected world. Yet, while the game excels in providing unforgettable encounters and breathtaking exploration, it also comes with its fair share of Elden Ring Runes mechanics that push beyond "challenging" and veer into the realm of outright frustrating.
Difficulty is the appeal of Soulslike games-players know going in that bosses will punish mistakes, exploration will test patience, and death will be frequent. But there's a thin line between difficulty that feels rewarding and tedium that makes players groan. Elden Ring, for all its brilliance, has several mechanics that many fans consider irritating, repetitive, or simply not fun to engage with. Let's break down some of the most notorious offenders.
1. Losing Runes and the Death Penalty
Every Soulslike fan is familiar with the formula: die, drop your "souls" (or in this case, Runes), and scramble back to reclaim them before dying again. While this mechanic keeps stakes high and forces players to master encounters, it can also feel punishing in the wrong way.
Imagine spending an hour farming enemies to save up Runes for a weapon upgrade, only to misstep on a cliff or be one-shotted by a boss's unpredictable attack. Now those hard-earned Runes are sitting in the middle of a lava pool, or worse, near an enemy that killed you in the first place. Losing progress like this doesn't always feel like a test of skill-it often feels like the game punishing you for daring to make one mistake.
The tension of losing Runes is undeniably part of Elden Ring's identity, but it's also one of the mechanics that make players sigh the loudest when it happens.
2. Long, Tedious Dungeons
The Lands Between are full of catacombs, caves, and legacy dungeons that test both your combat ability and your endurance. Some of these are masterpieces of design-Stormveil Castle and Leyndell, for example, are unforgettable. But others? They can feel like endless slogs of repetitive hallways filled with ambushes and copy-paste enemies.
Players often find themselves trudging through dungeons that rely more on tedium than creativity. Traps that feel cheap, long runs back to bosses, and cluttered enemy placement can turn exploration into a chore. The payoff-usually a talisman, weapon, or upgrade material-sometimes doesn't even feel worth the suffering, especially when the dungeon feels more like padding than meaningful content.
3. Ambushes Around Every Corner
One of FromSoftware's signature tricks is placing enemies in sneaky, sometimes hilarious ambush positions. The first few times this happens, it feels like clever design, teaching you to stay cautious and observe your surroundings. But after the fiftieth time of being stabbed in the back by a goblin hiding behind a doorway, the novelty wears off.
Elden Ring doubles down on these "gotcha" moments, especially in narrow dungeons or when traversing cliffsides. The problem isn't that ambushes exist-they can add tension-it's that they're so frequent and often feel cheap rather than clever. Instead of promoting strategy, they encourage paranoia, making players poke every corner of a room just to avoid being blindsided.
4. Status Effects That Drain Your Willpower
Scarlet Rot. Poison. Death Blight. Frostbite. If there's one thing Elden Ring loves, it's layering on punishing status effects. While they fit thematically into the world's hostile environments, these mechanics can feel especially oppressive in certain areas.
Take the infamous Lake of Rot, where every step ticks away at your health bar, or the swamps where poison is unavoidable. Building up resistance helps, but often the only real "strategy" is sprinting through as fast as possible while chugging flasks. That turns these zones into endurance tests rather than engaging combat arenas.
Death Blight in particular has drawn ire-it's an instant kill mechanic that punishes players harshly with little room for counterplay. Status effects should add flavor to encounters, but in some areas of Elden Ring, they feel more like mandatory suffering.
5. Boss Runs and Checkpoint Frustration
One of the most universally hated mechanics across Soulslike games is the long run back to a boss after dying. While Elden Ring introduced Stakes of Marika to mitigate this issue, not every boss benefits from this quality-of-life improvement. In certain fights, players still endure long treks past respawned enemies just to retry a battle.
The repetition of these runs wears thin quickly, especially when the enemies on the way aren't challenging anymore but simply time-wasters. Instead of encouraging mastery of the boss, it adds an extra layer of frustration that artificially extends playtime. Players want to fight the boss, not repeat a gauntlet of trivial enemies.
6. Camera Struggles and Lock-On Issues
It's one thing to lose to a boss because of poor timing or a bad decision. It's another to lose because the camera decided to swing wildly into a wall while you're fighting a massive dragon. Lock-on targeting in Elden Ring is useful, but against towering bosses or multiple enemies, it often feels like it works against you.
Whether it's trying to dodge tail swipes you can't see or being funneled into awkward angles, camera struggles remain one of the most frustrating mechanical issues. In a game where precision is everything, fighting the camera should never be part of the challenge.
7. Farming and Grinding
Progression in Elden Ring often requires farming materials-Smithing Stones for weapon upgrades, Fulgurbloom or Trina's Lily for crafting, or Runes for leveling up. While farming can sometimes feel rewarding, it can also become repetitive and mind-numbing. Spending hours running the same route to farm Albinaurics or Knights just to afford one upgrade takes away from the game's otherwise dynamic pacing.
Grinding isn't inherently bad, but when the drop rates are low or the resources are gated behind specific enemy types, it can feel more like busywork than meaningful progression.
Conclusion: Love and Frustration Hand-in-Hand
Despite these annoyances, players keep coming back to Elden Ring because the highs outweigh the lows. The sense of triumph after defeating a brutal boss, the joy of discovering a hidden area, and the satisfaction of perfecting a build are experiences few games can replicate.
But that doesn't mean the frustrations don't matter. For many players, these tedious mechanics create roadblocks that sour otherwise brilliant design. They're reminders that even a near-masterpiece can have flaws.
Ultimately, Elden Ring is a game about enduring suffering to reach moments of glory. Perhaps the annoying mechanics are intentional, meant to amplify the relief of victory. Still, it's fair to say that sometimes, we don't want to Elden Ring Items battle Scarlet Rot swamps or spend twenty minutes recovering lost Runes. We just want to enjoy the journey without the torment.
Difficulty is the appeal of Soulslike games-players know going in that bosses will punish mistakes, exploration will test patience, and death will be frequent. But there's a thin line between difficulty that feels rewarding and tedium that makes players groan. Elden Ring, for all its brilliance, has several mechanics that many fans consider irritating, repetitive, or simply not fun to engage with. Let's break down some of the most notorious offenders.
1. Losing Runes and the Death Penalty
Every Soulslike fan is familiar with the formula: die, drop your "souls" (or in this case, Runes), and scramble back to reclaim them before dying again. While this mechanic keeps stakes high and forces players to master encounters, it can also feel punishing in the wrong way.
Imagine spending an hour farming enemies to save up Runes for a weapon upgrade, only to misstep on a cliff or be one-shotted by a boss's unpredictable attack. Now those hard-earned Runes are sitting in the middle of a lava pool, or worse, near an enemy that killed you in the first place. Losing progress like this doesn't always feel like a test of skill-it often feels like the game punishing you for daring to make one mistake.
The tension of losing Runes is undeniably part of Elden Ring's identity, but it's also one of the mechanics that make players sigh the loudest when it happens.
2. Long, Tedious Dungeons
The Lands Between are full of catacombs, caves, and legacy dungeons that test both your combat ability and your endurance. Some of these are masterpieces of design-Stormveil Castle and Leyndell, for example, are unforgettable. But others? They can feel like endless slogs of repetitive hallways filled with ambushes and copy-paste enemies.
Players often find themselves trudging through dungeons that rely more on tedium than creativity. Traps that feel cheap, long runs back to bosses, and cluttered enemy placement can turn exploration into a chore. The payoff-usually a talisman, weapon, or upgrade material-sometimes doesn't even feel worth the suffering, especially when the dungeon feels more like padding than meaningful content.
3. Ambushes Around Every Corner
One of FromSoftware's signature tricks is placing enemies in sneaky, sometimes hilarious ambush positions. The first few times this happens, it feels like clever design, teaching you to stay cautious and observe your surroundings. But after the fiftieth time of being stabbed in the back by a goblin hiding behind a doorway, the novelty wears off.
Elden Ring doubles down on these "gotcha" moments, especially in narrow dungeons or when traversing cliffsides. The problem isn't that ambushes exist-they can add tension-it's that they're so frequent and often feel cheap rather than clever. Instead of promoting strategy, they encourage paranoia, making players poke every corner of a room just to avoid being blindsided.
4. Status Effects That Drain Your Willpower
Scarlet Rot. Poison. Death Blight. Frostbite. If there's one thing Elden Ring loves, it's layering on punishing status effects. While they fit thematically into the world's hostile environments, these mechanics can feel especially oppressive in certain areas.
Take the infamous Lake of Rot, where every step ticks away at your health bar, or the swamps where poison is unavoidable. Building up resistance helps, but often the only real "strategy" is sprinting through as fast as possible while chugging flasks. That turns these zones into endurance tests rather than engaging combat arenas.
Death Blight in particular has drawn ire-it's an instant kill mechanic that punishes players harshly with little room for counterplay. Status effects should add flavor to encounters, but in some areas of Elden Ring, they feel more like mandatory suffering.
5. Boss Runs and Checkpoint Frustration
One of the most universally hated mechanics across Soulslike games is the long run back to a boss after dying. While Elden Ring introduced Stakes of Marika to mitigate this issue, not every boss benefits from this quality-of-life improvement. In certain fights, players still endure long treks past respawned enemies just to retry a battle.
The repetition of these runs wears thin quickly, especially when the enemies on the way aren't challenging anymore but simply time-wasters. Instead of encouraging mastery of the boss, it adds an extra layer of frustration that artificially extends playtime. Players want to fight the boss, not repeat a gauntlet of trivial enemies.
6. Camera Struggles and Lock-On Issues
It's one thing to lose to a boss because of poor timing or a bad decision. It's another to lose because the camera decided to swing wildly into a wall while you're fighting a massive dragon. Lock-on targeting in Elden Ring is useful, but against towering bosses or multiple enemies, it often feels like it works against you.
Whether it's trying to dodge tail swipes you can't see or being funneled into awkward angles, camera struggles remain one of the most frustrating mechanical issues. In a game where precision is everything, fighting the camera should never be part of the challenge.
7. Farming and Grinding
Progression in Elden Ring often requires farming materials-Smithing Stones for weapon upgrades, Fulgurbloom or Trina's Lily for crafting, or Runes for leveling up. While farming can sometimes feel rewarding, it can also become repetitive and mind-numbing. Spending hours running the same route to farm Albinaurics or Knights just to afford one upgrade takes away from the game's otherwise dynamic pacing.
Grinding isn't inherently bad, but when the drop rates are low or the resources are gated behind specific enemy types, it can feel more like busywork than meaningful progression.
Conclusion: Love and Frustration Hand-in-Hand
Despite these annoyances, players keep coming back to Elden Ring because the highs outweigh the lows. The sense of triumph after defeating a brutal boss, the joy of discovering a hidden area, and the satisfaction of perfecting a build are experiences few games can replicate.
But that doesn't mean the frustrations don't matter. For many players, these tedious mechanics create roadblocks that sour otherwise brilliant design. They're reminders that even a near-masterpiece can have flaws.
Ultimately, Elden Ring is a game about enduring suffering to reach moments of glory. Perhaps the annoying mechanics are intentional, meant to amplify the relief of victory. Still, it's fair to say that sometimes, we don't want to Elden Ring Items battle Scarlet Rot swamps or spend twenty minutes recovering lost Runes. We just want to enjoy the journey without the torment.
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