Elden Ring is finally getting a brand new DLC, and it is looking very appealing, judging from the trailer. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team have really gone above and beyond in making this DLC as appealing as they can for their fans. A sprawling new map, a number of new locations to discover—who knows how many secrets are hidden in this world? They really worked very hard on it.
But a DLC does not always have to mean more of the same. Sometimes developers add a bunch of new gameplay mechanics to the DLCs to give veteran players the feeling of experiencing something brand new altogether. And it seems Miyazaki and his team have also come up with a way to make Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree an out-of-the-ordinary experience for their fans.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree would feature some interesting new gameplay mechanics
FromSoftware’s Soulslike games are something else; they feature the kind of environment that tells a story of its own. They feature so many weapon types and weapons that players have to really think before choosing one. And then there are character classes and leveling up. Just by choosing a different character type, players can end up with a completely different character.
This kind of freedom in gameplay is hardly seen in JRPGs. This freedom, combined with the Soulslike mechanics, assures that every player feels that their decision matters in the game. Another thing about these Soulslike titles is the fact that they give players the freedom to go back to previously explored areas and grind.
Grinding means killing certain enemies again and again in order to get more XP and level up. This can work for players when they are dying from a boss again and again and they require some extra levels to match that boss’s power. This is why people spend hundreds of hours playing these games; they are literally grinding away.
FromSoftware decided to change this mechanic in Sekiro. They removed the mechanic of leveling up using enemy souls altogether. In that game, players received the attack power of stronger bosses. It was a completely skill-based game that required players to input all they had into it so they could be more powerful. No grinding, nothing.
Upon asking, Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed that they have implemented a similar mechanic in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree too. This means players cannot just get OP and then enter the DLC area. They would be matched in every way and start from point one. Defeating enemies would grant them something similar to attack power, and they would get more powerful as time passed.
He said, “Think of the attack power system in Sekiro. Separate from the original level system there is an “attack power” that is only enabled in the DLC areas. This was introduced in order to give freedom to meet the threats mentioned earlier, so you can do something like exploring other areas before going back to challenge bosses that were too strong the first time, allowing you to more easily experience this even in the high-level range.”
It’s an interesting way of making sure the game remains challenging as well as fun for all the players.
Is it really done to encourage exploration?
Hidetaka Miyazaki mentioned that they added this power thing to the game to make sure players explore the game and then come back to the challenging bosses. But encouraging people to explore more was never an issue before, they were exploring the game inside out even before.
Maybe they wanted to make it more challenging than ever before. And that might not be a bad thing at all. Elden Ring might be an excellent game, but it can still be considered one of the easiest games in FromSoftware’s catalog.
