Five Hidden Mechanics in Elden Ring Every Player Should Know

Aug-29-2024

 

Elden Ring is known for its vast, immersive world and challenging gameplay. But it doesn't just throw tough enemies at you—it also hides many of its most useful mechanics in plain sight. Understanding these hidden mechanicss can transform your experience, making you a formidable force in both PvE and PvP. Here are five essential mechanics that every Tarnished should know.

 

 

1. Buff Stacking: Maximize Your Power

There is no detailed introduction to the utility of buffs in Elden Ring, buffs can significantly enhance your character's performance. However, not all buffs can be stacked. The game has five main buff categories: aura, body, weapon, regeneration, and unique buffs. You can only have one buff from each category active at a time (except for unique buffs, which can stack infinitely). By learning to mix and match these buffs effectively, you can reduce the game's difficulty significantly. For example, combining a weapon buff with a body buff can give you a powerful edge in combat.

 

 

2. Counter Attacking: Exploit Enemy Vulnerabilities

Simple attacks, strong attacks, powerful weapon skills, guard counters, and counterattacks can all cause damage to enemies, but the game does not have a good introduction to counterattacks.

 

Counterattacking in Elden Ring isn't just about timing; it's about using the right weapon. Piercing weapons, like spears and rapiers, deal extra damage when you hit an enemy during their attack animation. This can be especially devastating when combined with the Spear Talisman, which increases counterattack damage by a whopping 45%. To execute a counterattack, strike your enemy as they wind up for an attack, and watch as your damage soars.

 

 

3. Feinting: Outsmart Your Opponents

Feinting is a lesser-known but highly effective mechanics, especially in PvP. Some players may have heard of this mechanics, but may have never experienced it.

 

Some weapons, like thrusting swords, allow you to cancel the animation of a charged heavy attack. This can be a game-changer when you find yourself overcommitting to an attack, giving you a chance to dodge or change tactics on the fly. Use feints to confuse and outmaneuver opponents, catching them off-guard with unexpected moves.

 

 

4. Hyper Armor: Power Through the Pain

An important aspect of any build is the amount of hits the Tarnished can take before flinching. This is affected by the player's total poise, calculated by combining the pose of all armor pieces that they are currently wearing. It can also be influenced by talismans like the Bull-Goat's Talisman. However, there is another number that goes into the calculation before the game decides whether an attack should be interrupted or not.

 

That number is the hyper armor that any given attack gives the player. Each attack that a player performs will give them a certain amount of hyper armor, additional poise on top of what their armor already gives them. This means that certain attacks will let players power through hits better than others and make trades more favorable for them, interrupting their enemy. Typically, larger weapons will have hyper armor with most attacks, while lighter ones will only have it with some of them. You can get some weapons equipped with more Hyper Armor by devoting some Elden Ring Runes. Charged attacks and some weapon skills, will have more hyper armor, making them the best option for trading damage with opponents in most cases.

 

 

5. I-Frames: Paths to invincibility

I-Frames are a mechanism that helps players dodge. If there are some I-Frames, the player will become invincible during the dodge process. Since Fast rolls have more I-Frames than Medium rolls, dodging attacks will become more simple and easy. In a similar way, heavy rolls own fewer I-Frames than both Medium and Fast rolls, making it much more difficult to dodge attacks in the situation of being encumbered.

 

However, what many people do not master is that there are other methods to embrace I-Frames in Elden Ring. Mounting and dismounting Torrent while standing gives the player I-Frames while lasting for a short period. In addition, the following weapon skills also promise players I-Frames:

 

Ash of War: Quickstep

Ash of War: Bloodhound’s Step

Ash of War: Vow of the Indomitable

Ash of War: Raptor of the Mists

Bloodhound’s Finesse Skill

Dynast’s Finesse Skill

 

 

Conclusion

Elden Ring's world is full of challenges, but with these mechanics in your toolkit, you'll be better prepared to face whatever the game throws at you. Whether you're buffing up before a boss fight, counterattacking with precision, or dodging like a pro, mastering these hidden mechanicss will make your journey through the Lands Between much more enjoyable—and much less deadly. Happy adventuring, Tarnished!