Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is almost upon us (check the Elden Ring DLC release time here for your region and platform). Today should be a time of celebration for ye Tarnished - eager for more lashings, boss-induced self-doubt, and decaying beasts - but a new Elden Ring patch has slightly dulled my buzz with a nerf to two of the game's best boss-cheesing strategies, including my beloved bubbles.
Make sure you beat Mohg, Lord of Blood in Elden Ring and Starscourge Radahn if you want to start the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
For the untarnished, Bubble Shower is an ability exclusive to the Envoy's Long Horn weapon - you essentially blow magical bubbles towards enemies in an attack that quickly eviscerates boss health pools (and guided me to the credits.) Both its base damage and poise damage have been nerfed, according to the 1.12 patch notes. The severity of the nerf remains unclear at the time of writing, but still, I say again: my beloved bubbles.
On the other hand, Cerulean Hidden Tear, the Physick item that temporarily eliminates all FP (mana) consumption and unshackles players to endlessly cast spells, also received a nerf in the form of decreased effect duration. A sad day for cheesers, for sure. Horror of horrors, your Comet Azur may be slightly shorter now.
It's especially distressing news considering Elden Ring's director Hidetaka Miyazaki, in some of his scariest comments yet, explained that Shadow of the Erdtree has "pushed the envelope in terms of what we think can be withstood by the player." Yet here I stand with weaker bubbles. At least he admits the base game's poison swamps "went a little too far."
