FromSoftware really did think of everything.
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00:00 Elden Ring and its ever-deepening lore, mechanics and expansive world is pretty assuredly dominating
00:06 the lives of a lot of gamers right now.
00:08 Whether you're a FromSoftware devotee who's played every Soulsborne game end-to-end or
00:12 a newbie to the studio's brutal offerings, it's undeniable how rich each title is.
00:18 2022 RPG Elden Ring is absolutely no exception.
00:22 It's packed to the brim with granular combat considerations, dense RPG mechanics and lore
00:27 tidbits that are extremely important to the overall narrative.
00:31 For this list, though, we're putting the spotlight on the mechanics, story elements and features
00:36 that Elden Ring could definitely have done without.
00:39 But the fact that FromSoftware decided to include them anyway is exactly what we love
00:43 about them.
00:44 Just how pointless you find each of these entries will depend on what you like out of
00:48 your RPGs, but it's worth mentioning that each one is still cool in its own unique way
00:52 regardless.
00:53 I'm Jess from Mockulture and here are 9 pointless details in Elden Ring that'll blow your mind.
00:59 9.
01:00 Accurate instrument playing for merchant songs
01:03 One of the few characters in Elden Ring who is not actively trying to kill you are the
01:07 merchants.
01:08 And while his haunting song played upon his string instrument is stunning in and of itself,
01:13 there's a little more going on here.
01:15 Attentive players discovered that the NPC's hand movements line up perfectly with the
01:19 melody being played.
01:21 A violin player weighed in to confirm that the shifting and vibrato animations are impressively
01:26 replicated.
01:28 Why FromSoftware would go to the effort of implementing this when it is arguably a pointless
01:32 detail is anybody's guess, but I think we can all agree, we love they decided to do
01:37 it anyway.
01:38 8.
01:39 It won't let you fall
01:40 That title probably has you feeling a little suspicious since I'm sure if you're playing
01:44 Elden Ring, you've fallen off many things many times to many deaths.
01:49 While that's true, there is one circumstance where the game won't let you fall to your
01:53 death.
01:54 While traditionally attacking with your weapon, you've probably noticed that your character
01:57 tends to step forward to execute a swing.
02:00 In noticing that animation, you'd be forgiven for being pretty hesitant about attacking
02:04 anything close to a ledge.
02:06 Funnily enough, though, despite the game's apparent delight in killing you off 100 ways
02:11 from Sunday, it won't let you tumble off a cliff to your death just for attacking too
02:15 close to a ledge.
02:16 You'll still be able to jump off intentionally or unintentionally, but a much appreciated
02:22 invisible wall will pop up if you're just trying to hack at something hanging out near
02:26 an edge.
02:27 That said, if you aren't at an edge where the drop would be fatal, you can and will
02:31 still fall to the landing below.
02:33 This probably isn't a tip you want or need in your arsenal since it just is the way the
02:37 game is programmed, so it's kinda pointless but definitely cool nonetheless.
02:41 7.
02:42 Starscourge Radan's powers and his steed, Lennard
02:46 General Radan, now Starscourge, is a very large boss who rides a very tiny horse.
02:52 Well, the horse is probably regular size, but given that Radan is enormous, it begs
02:57 the question of how he manages to stay atop his comparatively little steed.
03:01 Of course, the studio could have gotten away with just making this another incredible grand
03:05 enemy design without a lot of explanation as to what is exactly happening and getting
03:10 into the whys and hows, but we know from software and we know they love the whys and hows.
03:15 If you're a "read every item description" type, you might already be across this one,
03:20 but it's the description for the remembrance of the Starscourge consumable that sheds a
03:24 little more light on the matter.
03:26 It reads, "The Red Lion General wielded gravitational powers which he learned in Celia
03:31 during his younger days.
03:33 Also, he would never have to abandon his beloved but scrawny steed."
03:37 The Red Lion, of course, being Radan, and his beloved scrawny steed, is Lennard.
03:42 If you're wondering how we know the horse's name, that's because one clever player dug
03:46 through the NPC AI scripts for the reference names and uncovered one for Radan that read
03:51 "Radan and Lennard".
03:53 In essence, this formidable boss is using gravity magic so he doesn't squash his tiny
03:58 little steed underneath him, so hopefully he's not too uncomfortable under there.
04:02 6.
04:03 The backstory of the crappiest summon
04:05 If you've spent any time at all battling in the harsh and unforgiving world of Elden
04:09 Ring, you've probably come to appreciate the usefulness of summons.
04:13 That said, much like all the gear you'll come across, not all summons are made equal.
04:17 There's one such example which might have you giving up on the idea of summons altogether,
04:22 but there's a pretty good reason as to why.
04:24 The Noble Sorcerer is one of the spirit ashes you can come across and call upon when needed,
04:29 but this guy really isn't much use.
04:31 Despite the promising name, summoning this guy immediately feels like a waste of time
04:35 because he'll basically rock up, stand around, maybe fire off a spell and get killed.
04:41 The item description for it reads "Spirit of a nobleman who once asked to be given a
04:46 place at Raya Lucaria to learn glintstone sorceries.
04:50 His talents were insufficient to be worthy of donning the stone crown, however, and he's
04:54 only capable of using the most rudimentary sorcery."
04:57 So essentially this dude failed at learning magic and now you can summon him to watch
05:02 him continue to be bad at it in the ghostly flesh.
05:05 The lore is easily missable and pointless, but it's a cute humorous addition that's
05:09 a fun inclusion for attentive players.
05:11 Number 5 - A slight adjustment for certain armor types.
05:14 There are a substantial amount of untraditional armor sets and pieces in Elden Ring, plenty
05:19 with designs that while admittedly impractical, do look super freaking cool.
05:24 One example is the Twinned Armor, which features a silver bust encrusted into the breastplate.
05:30 It depicts two entwined twins of gold and silver respectively, and it looks awesome
05:35 and incredibly cumbersome.
05:37 Interestingly, this clearly occurred to From Software as they adjusted the character model
05:41 to account for the armor.
05:43 You'll notice that when the armor is equipped, your character holds their weapon higher than
05:47 normal to account for the protrusion.
05:49 It's a welcome detail, but not one that would have upset players were they to not address
05:53 it, particularly since the same can't be said for the multiple armor sets that do clip
05:58 into one another.
05:59 I'm looking at you, permanently skewered pumpkin head.
06:02 Number 4 - Footprints in the sand.
06:04 As mentioned, you have loads of different options when it comes to what gear you want
06:07 to equip and how each piece complements your chosen playstyle.
06:11 While the intricacies of these choices aren't pointless at all, what could be considered
06:15 pointless is what happens when you wander across the sand.
06:19 This one was uncovered by Soulsborne super sleuth and Twitch streamer Lance McDonald,
06:23 and while it may be very minute, it's pretty damn charming.
06:27 Basically, if you walk across a sandy beach with shoes on, you'll leave shoe prints,
06:31 but if you take your shoes off, you'll leave little footprints, complete with those little
06:34 dots for your toes.
06:35 It's a lovely little detail that, much like the rest of the entries on this list, showcases
06:40 the developer's attention to detail, even down to the most mundane aspects.
06:44 Number 3 - The overworld is always rendered.
06:48 This one is pointless because it doesn't actually affect the way that you're going
06:51 to play the game at all, but I think you'll find it pretty mind-blowing anyway.
06:54 This little detail was also uncovered by Lance McDonald, who revealed that Elden Ring always
06:59 loads in a very low-detail copy of the entire overworld at all times, no matter where you
07:05 are.
07:06 This is because the weather progression and timekeeping through the day/night cycle is
07:09 handled by ensuring consistency across the entire map, so there must be some version
07:14 of the overworld rendered at all times.
07:16 Though none of the actual geometry of the game is rendered in, and this system uses
07:20 as little RAM as possible, it's still more than you might expect.
07:24 Number 2 - Getting custody of the dog.
07:27 One of the bosses you have to fight in Raya Lucaria Academy is called the Red Wolf of
07:31 Radagon.
07:32 Now, this is interesting because Radagon is the ex-husband of Renala, the master of Raya
07:38 Lucaria.
07:39 If all those R names are getting confusing already, then I apologise for this next bit.
07:44 Basically, before the shattering of the Elden Ring, Radagon was a warrior of the Golden
07:48 Order who fell in love with the woman he was supposed to be fighting, the full moon queen
07:53 Renala.
07:54 They had three kids called Rani, Raikit and Radan.
07:57 Yes, that Radan, the one with the little horse.
08:00 Radagon abandoned her after the shattering of the Elden Ring, however, and things went
08:04 sideways.
08:05 Awful as that may be, the fact that his dog appears as a boss in her castle suggests they
08:10 must have got a dog while they were together, and she kept it.
08:13 It's a tiny, pointless detail, and one you might not even notice since there's a good
08:17 chance you don't know who Radagon is when you meet his dog, but it's pretty darn cool
08:22 all the same.
08:23 Number 1 - You can take a bath
08:25 Okay look, this entry is as close as we're getting to an actual tip, so it might seem
08:30 a little less pointless, but we are talking about soaping yourself down in a grand gothic
08:35 fantasy RPG, so I'm gonna allow it.
08:37 You might already know that if you go rolling around in poison, you'll get coated in the
08:41 stuff, which is usually not good news for your health bar.
08:45 Poison is a huge pain in Elden Ring, so knowing how to deal with it quickly before it takes
08:49 you out is very important.
08:51 And it turns out the answer lies in one of the most mundane items in your inventory - a
08:56 bar of soap.
08:57 Elden Ring may offer up a world of fantasy adventures, horrifying creatures, and gorgeous
09:02 yet threatening biomes, but even here, taking a bath is never a bad thing.
09:06 Using the soap duly gets you all cleaned up, and dramatically reduces and reverses your
09:11 poison buildup.
09:12 Unless you run out of soap, in which you may want to take advantage of one other silly
09:16 detail in the game, and that's standing on breakable objects to give yourself a breather.
09:21 That gives you a window to wind that poison meter back down so you can live another day.
09:26 Or another minute.
09:27 This is Elden Ring after all.
09:28 That's the end of our list, but do let me know down in that comment section if you can
09:31 think of any other pointless details in Elden Ring that blew your mind.
09:35 As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thank you so much for hanging out with me.
09:40 If you like, you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account, where I'm @JessMcDonald,
09:44 And make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more gaming goodness.