Elden Ringis an incredibly ambitious title that adds a variety of new and updated features to the Soulsborne formula. Player-vs-player invasions are one of the many returning features that originated in previous FromSoftware titles, butElden Ring’s unique mechanics have led to some twists on how invasions play out. Recently, oneElden Ringinvader tricked a host into range by pretending to be AFK.
Players going AFK has been a recurring issue across the gaming community for as long as video games have existed.Elden Ringhas suffered from AFK rune farmersin particular, though gamers are already finding counters to this disreputable tactic. The defining element of being AFK is the player character being left completely motionless and presumably defenseless.
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Redditor Oscarburr26 recently shared a video showcasing one way that a clever invader can use the assumption of being AFK to their advantage. The video begins by showing their character standing completely motionless in what appears to be one ofElden Ring’s many foggy swampswith the distinctive red glow of an invader. The host player being invaded is standing on a distant rooftop, shooting arrows that appear to do no damage to Oscarburr26’s character. After about a full minute of trying to inflict damage to the motionless character, the host player climbs down and runs over to try melee attacks, thus falling into the invader’s trap.
As soon as the host player gets within melee range, Oscarburr26 lurches to life and takes them down in about five seconds. The whole fight only cost the invader about a quarter of their health. Apparently, it’s likely that thehost player was using a Shortbowwith Stormwing Bone Arrows. Unfortunately for them, Shortbows have a high damage drop-off and the arrows weren’t enough to overcome Oscarburr26’s Banished Knight Armor Set.
SomeElden Ringplayers have avoided invadersby using trickery and disguises, but this is a rare instance of an invader turning the tables. According to Oscarburr26, they waited about 20 minutes to lure the host player into range and kill them. FromSoftware titles are well known for their psychological elements, especially during grueling boss fights. However, pretending to be AFK for 20 minutes to lull an opponent into a false sense of security demands a different set of skills. If this is anything to go by,Elden Ringplayers are learning a different kind of psychological, video game warfare.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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