Elden Ring and Dark Souls dataminer "overwhelmed" as community clubs together to cover "a looming $15,000 in medical expenses" in a single afternoon

Elden Ring and Soulsborne dataminer and content creator Zullie the Witch says they "don't know how to express how unprepared I was for the level of generosity I've received" after their community came together to help cover $15,000 in medical expenses in just one afternoon.

Zullie's YouTube channel is a veritable treasure trove of hidden details and cut content found in the likes of Elden Ring, the Dark Souls trilogy, Sekiro, and more, that chances are you'd never know about if not for their efforts. They're the same person who found that the Spirit Eels in Shadow of the Erdtree have little hidden legs, for example, and discovered that making Elden Ring's massive Great Dragon Greyoll move around like one of the action RPG's regular dragons can totally crash your game.

In a pinned comment on their latest YouTube video about Elden Ring Nightreign, Zullie said they were "reluctant" to ask for donations, but stated: "I am clawing my way out of a pit of depression, but the pit is deep and my claws are blunt. I'd been hoping to get back to making videos at the start of the month, only to find myself just slipping in at the end of it instead. Between that, the fact I haven't been able to secure a sponsor video in a while, and a looming $15,000 in medical expenses, I'm reluctant to do this, but I'm openly asking for donations."

Despite Zullie insisting that viewers shouldn't donate "anything that would actively trouble you to lose," within hours, they removed their donation links "because this has already smashed every expectation I had and I'm kind of overwhelmed by how quickly and emphatically you've all lent your support." A quick glance at their Ko-fi page illustrates just how many people have rallied together for the cause – it's packed with donations and wholesome messages that are constantly rolling in even as I write this story.

"I've always been a deeply anxious person, and a large emphasis of that anxiety lately has been financial issues, so I truly didn't anticipate seeing the bulk of those issues get crushed into nothing in the span of a single afternoon," Zullie writes. "I'd been deeply reluctant to ask for assistance, especially because I felt like I had avenues of addressing these problems that weren't available to the average person, like vying for sponsor money or trying harder to make more videos, but having finally asked, I don't know how to express how unprepared I was for the level of generosity I've received."

Zullie says the feeling is "conflicting, because I've always been ashamed of even slightly inconveniencing others," but ultimately concludes that "choosing to suffer in noble silence was still suffering." They add: "Thank you all so much, I'm hardly able to comprehend, let alone express, what I'm feeling right now."

Elden Ring Nightreign launches on May 30, and there's no doubt it's one of the most exciting new games of the year.