Elden Ring is a gacha game in this fan's terrifying Genshin Impact crossover

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Be strong, ye Tarnished; resist the temptations of the weapon banner

Elden Ring x Genshin Impact
(Image credit: Reddit user IWillNotBark / FromSoftware)

Elden Ring weapons are even more enticing when they're packed into a gacha banner styled after Genshin Impact. 

We can thank Reddit user IWillNotBark for this remarkably thorough crossover. Their vision of a gacha-fied Elden Ring uses Genshin Impact's banner template to great effect, offering the popular Hand of Malenia katana and Starscourge Greatsword as five-star weapon options with the Black Knife, Marais Executioner's Sword, and Nightrider flail as four-star stand-ins. 

The detail that went into this fan art is impressive. IWillNotBark used Runes in place of Genshin's Primogems, with what looks like the Golden Order Seal icon used to represent Wishes. Genshin's secondary currencies, starglitter and stardust, have become Radagon and Marika's Soreseal talismans, and there are even character and standard banners to go with this weapon banner. 

As you'd expect, Malenia herself is a five-star character on rate-up alongside her signature weapon, while Rennala is serving as the face of the standard banner. It seems that even Great Rune holders like Rennala can wind  up in the permanent character pool, which kind of makes sense given the aftermath of her fight. Incidentally, these banners imply that Radahn is also a five-star character, which is a fitting rank for the beloved, freshly buffed behemoth. 

I have a lot of love for Genshin Impact, a game you should totally try, plus playing as Malenia does sound fun, but this mockup still terrifies me. Elden Ring's brilliance is largely tied to its freeform build-crafting, and tying that down with gacha RNG would be like pouring soy sauce over cereal. But that's not gonna stop me from contemplating whether this would be a good banner if it was real. 

Genshin's weapon banners are famously cruel, but they can be worth rolling as long as you're happy to get either available five-star and you have enough resources leftover to guarantee the next character you want. New characters are almost always better, but weapons can be a big power boost for your favorites. With Malenia and Radahn's signature weapons up for grabs – both build-defining powerhouses in Elden Ring – this banner is actually pretty good. In fact, it's better than Genshin Impact's next actual weapon banner, which includes one of the worst claymores in the game. That said, this banner wouldn't get a single Rune from me; you'd best believe I'm saving for Ranni and the Dark Moon Greatsword. 

In less terrifying fan art, community champion Let Me Solo Her has been immortalized after carrying countless Tarnished in Malenia's fight. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.