Elden Ring's Turtle Pope wins modded deathmatch through peaceful means

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Miriel, Pastor of Vows, miraculously claims victory by doing nothing at all

Elden Ring's Turtle Pope sits on a hill in the desert
(Image credit: FromSoftware / BjornTheBear)

Elden Ring's Turtle Pope has emerged victorious in a deathmatch without resorting to violence of any kind.

It turns out Miriel, Pastor of Vows, a. k. a Turtle Pope, is the mightiest of all of Elden Ring's creatures, well, sort of. The holy reptile was recently part of a battle involving Elden Ring's best animal field bosses and managed to come out on top, but not by landing the most powerful blows, but in typical Turtle Pope fashion, by doing nothing at all. 

Hilariously, the second round sees Miriel emerge victorious as the final two fighters knock each other out simultaneously. The camera pans in on the turtle, who appears to be having a snooze, utterly oblivious of the carnage that's just taken place around him. Later rounds show the creatures duking it out while scaled to the same level and given the same amount of HP. Miriel doesn't manage to win any of these, but coming out on top twice while not compromising on his morals makes him the overall winner in our eyes. 

If you've yet to pay a visit to Turtle Pope, you can find him hanging out in the Church of Vows, where he'll offer to share his knowledge of Sorceries and Incantations with you. As one Elden Ring fan discovered, it's possible to kill the lovable NPC, but you really shouldn't. "I have to live with this on my soul now, don't do this," warned the guilt-ridden player. "There is nothing to gain, and you lose not only the convenience of him, but you lose a part of yourself too."

If you've already conquered the Lands Between, find your next great virtual adventure with our pick of the best new games for 2022.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.