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  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Elden Ring

Elden Ring bosses won't require a trek to get back to

News
By Hirun Cryer published 11 February 2022

To help reduce player stress, checkpoints are closer than before

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The storyteller in Elden Ring
(Image credit: FromSoftware)
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Running back to bosses in Elden Ring will be a lot easier than in past FromSoftware games like Dark Souls.

The new information comes from UnGeek, which got the chance to ask Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao about checkpoint placement before bosses. "We were more mindful of this distance between the Sites of Grace and the Stakes of Marika in each boss fight," Kitao explains, adding that the developer wanted to "reduce the stress" of running back to a boss encounter.

"The Stakes of Marika in particular, are placed strategically in order for us to alleviate that stress when exploring in the open and to encourage exploration," adds Kitao. This is no doubt a massive relief to players that have been stuck on past FromSoftware bosses, and end up running back through scores of enemies to simply have another go at trying to not be killed by a deadly boss.

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  • Dark Souls: Remastered FromSoftware head Hidetaka Miyazaki says games like Elden Ring and Dark Souls aren't "simply cranking up the difficulty"
  • Nioh 3 shogun in plate armor helmet 15 years after Dark Souls, Nioh 3 faced the exact same problem and "people felt that the game was a little bit easier"
  • Macduff running from a monster during the upcoming PS5 game, Crimson Desert. Crimson Desert is "not a Soulslike," Pearl Abyss says, but "does that mean the game's easy? Hell no"

Elden Ring's two checkpoint systems are Sites of Grace and Stakes of Marika, both of which can revive the player after their untimely demise. Like with past FromSoftware games, all felled enemies will be revived upon the player's death, but at least at seems like we won't be trekking back through hordes of the buggers, for which Demon's Souls was a particularly bad offender.

Additionally, Kitao confirms to UnGeek that there won't be a boss rush mode. You might recall that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, FromSoftware's most recent action game in 2019, added a boss rush mode over a year after launch. Kitao reveals to the outlet that there won't be a boss rush mode in Elden Ring, and the developer currently has no plans to add one for the new game.

Elden Ring tips | Is Elden Ring on PS4? | Elden Ring classes | Elden Ring bosses | Elden Ring Ashes of War | Elden Ring weapons | Is Elden Ring a sequel to Dark Souls? | Will Elden Ring be on Game Pass? | How to get the Elden Ring horse 

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Hirun Cryer
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Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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