Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree is finally here. The huge game, from Dark Souls developer FromSoftware, is set in a world created in part by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.
As The Verge reports, the game largely lives up to the massive hype, but it didn’t have a perfect launch. Bandai Namco issued a PSA on the day of release, promising updates to fix a PS5 save bug and some PC issues. Bandai Namco did in fact implement that patch that added a couple of small features and updates just in the nick of time for the launch.
The update isn’t particularly earth-shattering, but it does include some things worth keeping in mind before all you Tarnished get your head beat in by the vicious monsters patrolling the Shadow Lands.
New Hair Options
Firstly, we get new hair options! The previous version didn’t have many (any?) black hairstyles. It just didn’t make sense that the character creator was so robust and detailed but lacked hairstyles that represent a good chunk of the human population. But in this version, there are five new styles to choose from, with two of them being dreadlocks.
To change your appearance, all you have to do is visit Fia, Deathbed Companion’s room at the Roundtable Hold. She should have a mirror you can interact with that will let you change your appearance. However, if you have completed Fia’s questline, neither she nor her mirror will be present at the Roundtable Hold. Instead, travel to the Raya Lucaria Grand Library site of grace and talk to Rennala. You’ll be able to change your appearance through her.
The New Items Feature
Secondly — and this is arguably the best little housekeeping update the game has had — the new patch lets you see all your recently acquired items. From now on, new items you pick up either in the Lands Between or the DLC’s Shadow Lands will be marked with a little exclamation point. The game will even collect those new items under their own tab, though that “new items” tab isn’t enabled by default. You have to go into the game’s settings and select the “Show recent items tab” option.
Tarnished note: remember, you cannot apply weapon greases to enchanted weapons like the Moonveil Katana. Carry around a high-powered but basic weapon to use them.
The “new items” feature makes choosing the right gear and weapons to tackle all the new threats in Shadows of the Erdtree so much easier. Enable it right away.
Other Patch Additions
Beyond that, the patch adds a bunch of weapon balance changes and helpfully tweaks the summoning pool feature for folks who need help taking down Mohg, Lord of Blood, in order to access the DLC. The new patch will also let you summon your faithful horse-goat Torrent during the Elden Beast fight, which will undoubtedly make that final encounter loads easier. You can read the patch notes in detail here.
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