Since Elden Ring’s momentous (record-breaking) release, fans have been clamoring for various changes to the game’s weapon balance and, most importantly, multiplayer accessibility. Now, it seems like FromSoftware has finally answered our prayers, including significant nerfs to some of the game’s most infamous tools of destruction -– Bloodhound’s Step and the Rivers of Blood will terrorize us no longer!
Cutting to the chase, Patch 1.06 is rolling back the effectiveness of the Bloodhound’s Step, an Ash of War that allows players to completely and quickly dodge attacks while blinking out of existence with each use. While very useful for some of the game’s more annoying bosses (Fire Giant, I’m lookin’ at you), Bloodhound’s Step has held an omnipotent tyrannical fist around the game’s multiplayer community. Now, each repeated use will render the ability less and less effective, slowing down with each use. However, in a wider change to low equip loads, where a lighter player can roll further (à la Bloodborne), Bloodhound’s Step will now project you further when carrying less.
Following the Bloodhound’s fall from grace, another tyrant of the multiplayer community has long been the Rivers of Blood katana and its corresponding Ash of War, Corpse Piler. A late-game weapon only accessible once reaching the Mountaintops of the Giants, the katana’s skill allows players to cut an ‘X’ motion in the air, spreading streams of blood that damage opponents with physical damage, bloodloss buildup, and (if that wasn’t enough) additional fire damage. Post-patch, the Rivers of Blood is simply not as effective, netting less damage and bleed per each blood trail, in addition to the blade itself dealing reduced damage overall. However, this damage reduction appears to be minimal based on the patch notes, so it remains to be seen how this change will affect the katana’s overuse in multiplayer.
In some smaller changes, to magic-users expected chagrin, the fan-favorite Glintstone Pebble now deals decreased damage but has increased range, at least for the Ash of War version. Additionally, the faith weapon Cipher Pata has an increased hitbox on its special Ash of War, Unblockable Blade. Another needed change comes with the Opaline Hardtear, an item that appears to negate physical damage. Upon use, players instead found it only provides reduced elemental damage – now, this has been fixed, giving the Opaline Hardtear its proper qualities as described. In another wider improvement to strength-based classes, Greatswords and Great Hammers now allow for faster rolls after attacking and quicker charged attacks, while Axes are simply faster overall. Finally, a long list of more obscure bug fixes can be found in the original post.
Last but certainly not least, FromSoft has made multiplayer a bit more accessible, adding a function “to send summoning signs to summoning pools in multiple areas, including distant areas.” No longer will players have to wait extended periods to find a single summon sign by a specific spot, hopefully decreasing the bloated wait times. Further, for players opting to avoid multiplayer altogether, White Mask Varre’s questline (which requires 3 separate multiplayer invasions) now includes an additional NPC that allows players to bypass the multiplayer aspect. Of course, in true FromSoft fashion, the NPC’s name and location are kept secret, though some gamers have already found the guy. But, now that most of these desired changes have been made, the rumored DLC will hopefully follow.