A recent update forElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreehas delivered something that countless players have been begging for since its launch. Though it has been the recipient of copious amounts of praise,Shadow of the Erdtreewas also criticized for being too difficult, and this patch is aiming to remedy that in one key way.
Spoilers ahead forElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Of all the complaints aboutShadow of the Erdtree’s difficulty, none have been more widespread or spirited as those surrounding the final boss fight against Promised Consort Radahn, who has teamed up with Miquella to become more menacing than ever before. The two-phase battle starts off as hard but reasonable before becoming chaotic, terrifying, and a strong contender for FromSoftware’s most challenging boss fight. Following a torrent of criticism, much of which is warranted,Elden Ring’s 1.14 patch made a number of key changes to the Consort Radahn encounter, though whether this is a good or bad thing is a matter of subjectivity.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Radahn Nerf: The Good and the Bad
Consort Radahn Is a Far Easier Fight Now
The1.14 patch came toElden Ringon September 10, implementing the following changes to Consort Radahn’s boss fight:
While some of these changes, as they are described in the patch notes, are vague, it’s clear what problem areas FromSoftware was targeting. The improved visibility of attack effects may be the most impactful and wise change introduced in this update, as overabundant visual noise was one of the most prevalent andpoignant critiques of the Radahn fight. Other tweaks, like the decreased stamina damage dealt by certain attacks, are clearly designed to facilitate shield-focused builds, making specific defensive options more viable.
In general, these changes seem motivated by a desire to make theShadow of the Erdtreefinale less frustrating, but not necessarily easier. One of the biggest problems with the original Radahn fight was how it could railroad players into a certain playstyle. For example, high-faith-defense, high-HP builds were essentially required for the pre-patch fight, as many of Radahn’s faith-based attacks in phase two were incredibly difficult to dodge, and could easily one-shot the player. Thus, these changes should make for a better overall experience, but they don’t come without issues.
Some Elden Ring Players May Find Consort Radahn Too Easy
Just like withElden Ring’s first Radahn nerf, these changes to Consort Radahn’s fight could undermine the DLC’s final challenge. Though several vocal critics have denounced the original Consort Radahn fight as being poorly designed, there are many others who appreciated its difficulty. Contrary to what some detractors say, none of Consort Radahn’s attacks are impossible to avoid—they just take a keen eye and a good amount of trial and error to work around. Moreover, making Consort Radahn less aggressive and lethal may actually make him underwhelming, much like how many players found the post-nerf Radahn of the base game to be far too easy after getting updated.
From both a narrative and gameplay perspective, Consort Radahn ought to pose a significant, almost impossible-to-overcome challenge:Consort Radahn will be the last boss mostElden Ringplayers face, so it’s important that he is appropriately tough, and perhaps even frustrating. Then again, even the most dedicated FromSoftware fans were having issues with the original Consort Radahn fight, so there’s certainly reason to believe this power shrinkage was the right call.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
