Wholesome Elden Ring Invader should be a lesson for all of us

One solo Elden Ring player is setting an example of how to pull off the perfect invasion – and by golly, if they aren’t just the hero we need in Soulslike games.

Elden Ring, like other games in the Soulsbourne series, is tough going at the best of times. Throw in invasions – where players can sneak into your game and murder you while you’re distracted fighting the AI enemies –, and Elden Ring can go from daunting, to a swift ‘nope!’ pretty fast. So seeing this Redditor take pity on newcomers to the game has warmed the cockles of my grizzled old heart.

u/VeraKorradin (opens in new tab) shared their wholesome approach to Elden Ring invasions over on the game’s subreddit. The post’s title says it all: “Invading to kill high-level summons… Yes! Invading to kill genuinely new people which can ruin their first experience in Elden Ring…. No! As an invader, we can be dicks, it’s our job, but never to shun people away.”

They follow up their invaluable PSA with a video showing how events played out for them when invading in this exact scenario.

invading_to_kill_high_level_summons_yes_invading from r/Eldenring

Doing it right

The gameplay video shows them defeating the summon, at which point, the invadee turns tail and runs. But the kind-hearted Redditor (after a lot of gesticulating) persuades them to come back and gifts them a Hero’s Rune. The text overlay reads: 

“Most invasions have a high-level summon and fighting them is the fun part. But after beating high-level summons, and watching the host run, I don’t want new players to have a bad ‘first [Elden Ring] experience.

“Invaders can be dicks. But we don’t wanna shun anyone away from [Elden Ring].”

And then off VeraKorradin pops in a cloud of fairy dust and sprinkles. Metaphorical ones. But it’s truly what their exit deserves to be accompanied by.

I’m not a hardcore Souls player by any means; the games are a slog that I know full well I won’t make it through. But jeez, is it ever annoying when you’re trying to get to simply survive and some jumped up little git with something to prove pops in. 

Of course, it’s all part of the game, but like VeraKorradin in the video points out, you don’t have to ruin someone else’s good time. And they’re not the only one (not) fighting the good fight. A few commenters are similarly giving newer players a break.

“As invaders, we do get to make a choice,” says u/Snoo61755 (opens in new tab). “It is just part of the game, but sometimes you can tell if someone’s going to be particularly set back, or isn’t a match in the first place. I don’t want invasions to be littered by ‘codes of honor’ or anything, but it’s nice to recognize when someone’s just having a rough time.”

I absolutely hated invasions in Dark Souls 3. ‘Hi, hello, welcome. Clearly I am outmatched and just trying to enjoy myself for an evening. Your character looks like it’s just done a victory lap at every cosplay convention going; mine looks like it fell into a pile of soiled laundry and rolled out wearing whatever stuck. I am clearly not down for any of this.’

In the absence of heroes like the ones from Reddit, I fell back on my secret weapon: time. Time to whip out a white branch and seamlessly blend into my surroundings. Time to watch you run around aimlessly until that rock-hard resolve turns limp. Until it’s time for you to leave empty-handed and find someone else to terrorize for a sense of validation. 

If you’re petty enough to decide to beat the snot out of a lowly, dusty undead like me, I can make the time to return the favor.     

I don’t know where all the wholesome players were at back then, but I’m glad they’re out in full force for Elden Ring. Even if I’m sitting this one out.