When you think about Elden Ring, odds are the phrase ‘too easy’ isn’t what comes to mind.
After all, the game’s relentless array of difficult boss battles is essentially designed, among other things, to offer a frequently insurmountable challenge that’ll threaten to push even the most hardened of players to their limits.
However, it seems that some players just aren’t feeling as much heat from Elden Ring’s many trials and terrors as they would ideally like because, despite survival mechanics and a battle arena already adding more optional hurdles to the Lands Between, one modder has decided to go all out and give the game a straight-up hard mode.
Elden Ring Gets Even More Difficult, if Such a Thing Is Actually Possible
The mod in question is called “Hard Mode” and was uploaded by modder TrashPanda69420, who states that the impetus for its creation was simply that they “thought Elden Ring was too easy, so I made hard mode”.
How did they accomplish this arguably unnecessary mission? Well, the answer is via a raft of changes that are guaranteed to leave you yelling ‘oh, come on’ at your screen.
The first of these affects the game’s sites of grace, which, with the addition of the mod, won’t heal your character whatsoever. That’s right, not one measly health point.
That’s far from all of your newfound health woes though, as flasks of crimson tears will now only heal you by exactly one health point while you’re at lower levels, before shutting off the supply and not healing you at all once you hit higher levels.
This lack of healing might not be as much of a problem if the mod didn’t also ensure that enemies have new game plus-equivalent damage without them dropping any extra runes.
If these aren’t enough, you’ll also have to prepare to be kept in the dark as to what’s going on, as both your health and focus point bars will be completely broken for maximum confusion.
Finally, the cherry on top of this terrifying sundae is that whenever you can heal yourself, doing so will use up stamina, just as an extra kick in the teeth.
TrashPanda69420 seems to reckon these additions will make the game pretty near unbeatable, but also promises that: “if someone beats this mod fair and square I will make the bosses harder and weapons worse”.
Following this, they go full evil genius mode, declaring: “I will keep making it harder until NO ONE can beat it.”
So, join in with that clearly implied maniacal laugh, prepare to die pretty quickly and make sure to follow us for more updates on the wacky worlds of Elden Ring, Skyrim, and Fallout modding.