Elden Ring becomes "a spectator sport" as the action RPG's latest patch transforms Spirit Ash summons into boss-slaying machines more worthy of becoming an Elden Lord than us

Malenia seen in Elden Ring's cinematic story trailer.
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring's new patch buffed almost every single Spirit Ash summon in the game, and it looks like some of them might have been slightly overtuned as they're now wreaking havoc on bosses. 

As well as every spirit summon (except for Mimic Tear) receiving attack power and damage negation buffs when leveled up to +8 and higher, alongside when your Shadow of the Erdtree Revered Spirit Ash Blessing is at +5 or higher, 81 out of the 84 Spirit Ashes have been given extra, individual buffs. For many of them, this simply ensures that they "will no longer stagger as easily," but others also got HP and attack boosts. 

Clearly, these alterations have made a massive difference to certain summons, as one Reddit user shows off their Horned Warrior Spirit Ashes completely decimating the duo Crucible Knight and Misbegotten Warrior boss in Redmane Castle all by itself. It's not clear how upgraded the Horned Warrior is, but throughout the entire fight, it doesn't even drop below half-health (admittedly, the Golden Vow incantation that the player uses helps here). Not only that, but thanks to its new patch buffs (the aforementioned stagger resistance, as well as an HP boost and increased damage negation to everything but Pierce), it doesn't get staggered once, despite being hit by an onslaught of attacks.

"Will no longer stagger as easily." from r/Eldenring

Admittedly, this duo of enemies don't make for the absolute hardest boss fight in the game, but even so, the fact that one summon could defeat them without so much as breaking a sweat is absolutely wild. "Elden Ring is now a spectator sport," another Reddit user concludes

Even before these changes, some players had managed to pull off solo Spirit Ash playthroughs of Elden Ring, blasting through the action RPG like a bizarre, violent version of Pokemon. Now, though, it seems that those types of runs are even more viable than ever, especially with Spirit Ashes other than Mimic Tear. And hey, remember that there's absolutely no shame in using summons – director Hidetaka Miyazaki personally admits to using "every scrap of aid that the game offers," and he's one of the people who made it.

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Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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