The Duskbloods is a multiplayer-only game from Elden Ring and Dark Souls devs FromSoftware, that pits eight players against each other in vampiric combat. If you were expecting another Elden Ring: Nightreign but in the style of Bloodborne, that's not what The Duskbloods is promising – this game isn't just about bringing down massive bosses but also putting other players in their place and hopefully emerging victorious as the best Bloodsworn. It is admittedly quite a confusing game though, so here's I've laid out some key details for how multiplayer works in The Duskbloods.
Is The Duskbloods a PvP multiplayer game only?
The Duskbloods is multiplayer only but is a PvPvE game, with a much greater emphasis on fighting enemies and bosses. In short, while PvP does feature, you won't be fighting other players the whole time.
And if the sound of PvP of any kind sends shivers up thine spine, don't fear as game director Hidetaka Miyazki himself said you don't need to be good at PvP games to do well in The Duskbloods – he says he's bad at PvP in other games too.
How does The Duskbloods multiplayer work?
Every Duskbloods match is a sort of multi-round battle royale where you and seven other players compete to earn Virtue Points before facing a final challenge to decide the victor. Round one allows all players to charge around the map doing whatever they can to earn these points, which is usually defeating bosses, collecting them from specific spots, and stealing them from dead players.
Round two is much the same but may have some special events or effects running. Then, at the end of round two, the two players with the fewest Virute Points are eliminated from the game, culled by Dusk. For round three, a Ritual Site opens on the map, beckoning players to battle each other for great Virtue Point rewards. At the end of round three, the bottom three players are eliminated.
That leaves the final three players to duke it out in PvP arena combat, with the last Bloodsworn standing being the ultimate winner. So, while the likelihood of fighting another player increases as a match goes on, it's not necessarily the focus. Having said that, there are ranked and casual match options, so if you want something a bit sweatier, you can queue into a ranked match instead.
If you're also wondering if The Duskbloods on PC is happening, I've got bad news for you.
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