AnElden Ringplayer had been struggling immensely against one of the game’s first bosses during all attempts using a controller, but once they switched to using a keyboard and mouse, the boss was felled in only a handful of tries. Like previous games developed by FromSoftware,Elden Ringis largely known for its difficulty, but it is also known for its versatility for in-game builds that tailor a player’s experience to be what they want it to be and to experiment with what makes the game manageable.
While a keyboard and mouse sit with controllers as the typical way to play video games, experimenting with different control methods to enhance the experience of playing FromSoftware games has been a tradition in the community going back to the originalDark Souls.One of the most recent examples of this is anotherElden Ringplayer using a banana controllerto beat a boss, but methods like these are more often used as unique challenges as opposed to making the game easier.
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After failing to beat Margit the Fell Omen 100 times while using a controller, Reddit user amirgelman noted in their post that they switched to using a keyboard and mouse and beat the boss in only a few attempts. Margit is sometimes seen asElden Ring’strue tutorial bossas he serves as one of the first main challenges for many players but is meant to have them learn how many bosses operate in the game when it comes to their attack patterns while leaving room to experiment with mechanics. Amirgelman took the lesson of experimenting to see what works and applied this to switching from a controller to a keyboard and mouse which proved to be what they needed to succeed.
The top comment replying to the post stated that amirgelman was either new to using controllers or the previous practice had helped, to which they replied that it was probably both. Despitecontrollers being more popular with PC players, many are more accustomed to using a keyboard, and mouse and this appears to be the case with amirgelman, as having far more familiarity with one grants advantages over using the other when it comes to comfort and feel.
While some do resort to unorthodox play methods to give an extra challenge,Elden Ring’s intense difficulty has broken controllersover frustrations with the game. If amirgelman had not thought of using a keyboard and mouse after dozens of attempts, a similar fate could have awaited their controller, but thankfully that switch potentially saved it and allowed them to progress in one of last year’s best games.
Elden Ringis out now for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
