Ready for some Elden Ring secrets? Now that Elden Ring has been out and about for over a month and the impressions have settled in, it's time for us to look beyond the actual content of the game. Or, rather, to use the existing content to intuit or discover juicy, exciting Elden Ring hidden secrets that would otherwise have been forgotten about!

Indeed, as any FromSoftware fan will know, this studio's games are positively loaded with stuff that isn't apparent at a glance. From massive lore implications to finding hidden weaponry and gadgets while rune farming, Elden Ring plays host to possibly the biggest, most comprehensive array of secrets we've ever seen in a game.

Par for the course for something quite as massive as Elden Ring, truth be told. Still, we know that everyone loves learning something new, and not everyone has the time or the willpower to sift through FromSoftware's obtuse item descriptions and metaphysical lore implications to open the locked door to all the secrets. Scroll ahead at your own risk, though: spoilers abound!

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15 Exciting Elden Ring Secrets You Need to Know About

Now, note that some of these presuppose some existing knowledge of the game's lore. If they don't make sense at first, they will once you play through more of Elden Ring. These are all set up in no particular order, and some are lore-based while others have genuinely interesting gameplay effects. It's gonna be a good idea to check them all out and see what rings a bell, and maybe do a revisit once you're more familiar with the ins and outs of Elden Ring in general.

#15: Nepheli Loux might be related to Godfrey

Naming schemes are quite the thing in Elden Ring, and though it takes a bit to come to terms with all the Gs, Rs, and Ms (...) present in the game, it's clear that FromSoft didn't name their characters willy-nilly. It's curious, then, that Nepheli Loux, the charming warrior that helps the player out every so often, shares her last name with Godfrey himself, who was also known as Hoarah Loux.

#14: Godwyn may be infecting The Lands Between, post-mortem

Players who explored the creepy Stormveil Castle may have already discovered the strange, Cthulhu-looking head residing deep beneath castle premises. Coincidentally, that's also where Rogier the Spellsword meets his gruesome fate. Well, that big old face is just the start of it, because crabs that live in the area over Godwyn's Deeproot Depths throne have a face growing on them, too.

The face keeps popping up in more places than one could count, and the working theory is that it's the Prince of Death - Godwyn - who has managed to fuse with the roots of the Erdtree, and may now be exerting his influence on The Lands Between. Literally. DLC material? We think yes.

#13: Weather affects your spellcasting

No, seriously. Spell damage changes depending on the weather. So, rainfall will reduce the effect and damage of fire-based spells, while lightning spells may end up dishing out way more damage than it usually would. Wetness is an actual status effect in Elden Ring, albeit one that's hidden from the player. It may be a good idea to wait for rain before taking on fire-based enemies!

#12: Falling golden leaves boost Rune acquisition

Here's a strange one: it's hard to miss the lovely visual effect that kicks in every so often at night - the golden leaves that fall from towering Erdtrees. Well, believe it or not, this seems to have an actual gameplay effect, in that it slightly increases your Rune acquisition rates while it's taking place. If you're rune farming, then, be on the lookout for the golden leaves.

#11: Melina isn't the only Maiden you have access to

In certain playthroughs that don't alight with the Greater Will, players may end up getting dumped by Melina, which would cause a problem if the game didn't have a solution ready to go. Namely, spiting the Greater Will means aligning with a different celestial super-entity, namely the vicious Frenzied Flame. This leads to dealing with the Three Fingers, and this evil counterpart of the already distressing Two Fingers will ensure that the player still has a way of upgrading their abilities - through Irina/Hyetta!

#10: Radahn's horse has a name, and lore

Players who have already fought - and beaten? - General Radahn will immediately notice the comically undersized mount that Radahn rides into battle on. While it might sound odd to hear that a corpse-devouring, star-killing ontological monstrosity still loves its horse, Radahn actually does. In fact, the horse's name is Leonard, and Radahn specifically studied gravitational magic some as not to burden Leonard any more than he used to back when he was "human."

#9: The Silver Scarab - it exists

The Silver Scarab is a special amulet-tier item that boosts the player's Discovery stat by whopping 75 points. This makes item farming substantially easier, but the bad news is that getting the Silver Scarab is no mean feat. As per Its Shatter's guide video, players will first need to have attained both of the two Secret Haligtree Medallions, and then visit the Grand Lift of Rold site of Grace before activating them. Doing so will unlock a special area filled to the brim with Land Octopus creatures and the like. The reward, though, is well worth the trouble.

#8: You can destroy fireball throwers in catacombs

If you find yourself having trouble with fireball throwers that dish out damage at a range in catacombs, try using your spells or arrows to destroy the bloody thing at a range! As strange as that might sound, this is a genuine tactic for passing through dangerous dungeons with ease, so give it a whirl.

#7: Kill Patches once and for all

Oh, hey, you know that one NPC that appears in every single FromSoftware game, whose "quests"/ boss fights invariably lead to death and disappointment for the player? Naturally, Patches is in Elden Ring as well, but this time players can finally decide his fate. Visit the Murkwater Cave's boss arena and loot the chest for Patches to drop in like a boss encounter. Before you finish him off, though, Patches will stop the fight and beg for mercy, and it's up to you whether you grant him that or not. We will admit, though, that leaving Patches alive and going on a quest for him is... par for the course.

#6: The 50-hit Secret Wall

Secret walls are - much like Patches himself - a mainstay in FromSoftware games. Here's the kicker, though: no one says every secret wall needs to reveal itself after just one hit. Indeed, players have uncovered a ridiculous secret wall that takes 50 hits before the spell is broken. 50 hits! The sheer cheek of this inclusion is horrific for its implication. After all, how many secret walls could've been missed beforehand by now, if some of them are so darn tanky?

#5: Marika and Radahn are one and the same being

Here's a funny one that can change a person's entire outlook on the core conflict behind Elden Ring: Marika and Radahn are, in fact, the same person. Well, creature. There's actually a lot of lore that explains the nature of their (its?) relationship with one another (itself?), but the fact that Radahn left Renalla to marry Marika and subsequently have children with her (Malenia, Miquella) is either curious or disturbing, depending on your conclusions. This particular thread of lore may be explored further with DLCs, mind.

#4: Don't evade through debuff fluids

Another sensible, although "hidden" mechanic in Elden Ring is that you do not want to roll through dangerous, debuff-giving fluids. Think poisonous swamps, the rot-water, erm... lava. Yeah, avoid rolling through any of those, because doing so will simply increase the speed at which your character's given debuff stacks up.

#3: There is a way to escape grab attacks

Elden Ring has got no shortage of annoyingly powerful enemies / boss fights that, out of the blue, can lash out and grab your character to deal immense damage in the process. Those annoying wheeled Iron Maiden monstrosities, for one, are a particularly sore point for any player who has discovered them already. But, if you immediately begin mashing the shoulder buttons of your controller (RB/LB, R1/L1) as soon as you're grabbed, you'll escape the animation way faster. This is not communicated to the player in any way, shape, or form. Naturally.

#2: The middle of the map hides a potential DLC area

Players who've already gone and uncovered all parts of The Lands Between noticed that there's currently no way to figure out what hides in the middle of the central lake, just off the coast with the great Erdtree. Well, through the magic of glitches and CheatEngine, a streamer by the name of Elajjaz has found out that there's nothing there. Or, rather, there's an empty void where something would fit right into. Like a new DLC-sized expansion of some sort. Just theorycrafting, of course, but there's gotta be a reason why it's not just water all the way through.

#1: The Age of Absolute

While players managed to piece together most of the game's various endings rather early on, one remained elusive. The so-called 'Age of Absolute' ending has now, however, been pieced together as well, and it's... odd. Appropriately so, one could argue. Basically, it consists of Three Fingers literally being joined with Two Fingers, and the player Tarnished bowing to the resulting horror. Do keep in mind, however, that this ending is technically unattainable right now, and may have been pieced together purely as a fan project. Time will tell!

But Wait, There's More...

If you find yourself yearning to read more about Elden Ring - potentially while the game's downloading - then you're at precisely the right place. From comprehensive guides to gameplay summaries, 2Game can tell you basically everything you need to know about FromSoftware and Bandai Namco's crowning achievement. Here's a shortlist of content to check out:

• Elden Ring's Gameplay: As Good As It Gets
• A Comprehensive Starter Guide to Elden Ring
• Top Early Items & Artifacts in Elden Ring
• Elden Ring Endgame Preparation Guide
• How Big is Elden Ring, Really?

And, if you're here at 2Game, odds are good that you're playing Elden Ring on PC. We won't lie: it's not an amazing experience at this point in time. FromSoftware has got a bit of tech debt to deal with by now, and it's good that the quality of the game more than makes up for how poorly it performs on PC. So, if you're looking to get some PC performance tweaks going for Elden Ring, check out our guide for that, too.

Alright, you're all ready and good to go by now! We hope this article tickles your imagination as much as it did ours. Nothing quite like a good virtual conspiracy theory to get you pulled back into a FromSoft game, is it now?

Play Elden Ring on PC today!