Elden Ring patch quietly made boss duos less aggressive

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Foes like Godskin Duo and Valiant Gargoyles just got less ferocious

Elden Ring rykard boss fight god devouring serpent
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring's group boss fights just got a bit more manageable thanks to a patch - and FromSoftware never even announced it.

Last week, YouTuber Illusory Wall put out the video just below (via VG247), revealing that FromSoftware had quietly made several changes to Elden Ring without letting players know. It turns out patch 1.04 for Elden Ring quietly reduced the aggressiveness of boss fights where you're facing more than one enemy at once, like the Valiant Gargoyles or the Godskin Duo.

According to Illusory Wall's research, you're now far less likely to be attacked by multiple boss characters at once when facing off against them. The number of 'primary' attackers has been reduced, and the boss characters who aren't the primary attacker will hang back from the fight, generally acting a lot less aggressively than previously.

This makes some of Elden Ring's most notorious encounters a lot more manageable for the average player. You'll no doubt have heard players bemoaning the likes of the Godskin Duo near launch earlier this year for being overly aggressive, or the Valiant Gargoyles for being a pair tough to take on at the same time.

However, Illusory Wall mentions that not every boss duo or group in Elden Ring has actually been affected by these changes. The likes of the Erdtree Avatar Duo, for example, or the Crucible Knights, haven't actually benefitted from both these changes. Either way, this patch should still make most boss groups in Elden Ring a lot less stressful than they were before. 

Here's why 2022 is the year of Elden Ring with Starfield's fall into the first half of 2023.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
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.