Shortly after the announcement of Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring's highly anticipated DLC, we received a new patch 1.09. This patch brought with it a highly anticipated feature that fans had been waiting for since before the game's release. The addition of this feature was met with mixed reactions from the community, with some praising it as a game-changer and others condemning it as a major misstep.
Despite the divisive nature of the update, it cannot be denied that it had a significant impact on the game. Some of the changes it introduced were highly beneficial, while others proved to be more controversial. In this article, we will take a closer look at the various changes brought about by patch 1.09 and examine their impact on the Elden Ring experience.
While some may argue that the update has left some players feeling weaker, it's important to note that the fundamental character-building mechanics of the game remain the same. Therefore, you can always prepare yourself by enhancing your character's abilities with runes in Elden Ring. Now let's focus on some major changes that the update brought.
Introduction of Ray Tracing
Elden Ring fans have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of patch 1.09, which promises to add some major visual improvements to the game. And now, the wait is finally over! With this update, players can now enjoy the stunning visual effects of ray tracing.
This feature was first discovered through data mining last year in October, and fans have been eagerly anticipating its official release ever since. Though the update targets all platforms, ray tracing is currently only available for PC, Xbox Series X, and the PS5.
What Is Ray Tracing?
So, what exactly is ray tracing? In simple terms, it's a rendering technique that simulates the way light interacts with virtual objects in a game. By tracing the path of light rays, this technique produces more realistic lighting effects, smoother reflections, shadows, and textures. The result is a more immersive and engaging game world that draws players in like never before.
As the visuals of the game continue to improve with this addition, your inventory can also get better. So, if you're looking to enhance your Elden Ring experience even further, you may want to consider buying these valuable items in Elden Ring.
Enabling ray tracing in Elden Ring is a breeze. Simply head to the settings menu and toggle ray tracing on or off in Game Options. However, be warned that playing with ray tracing enabled may impact game performance, including frame rate and resolution.
The Downside of Ray Tracing
Ray tracing is a powerful feature that can make games look stunning, but it's also known to be resource-intensive and requires a powerful machine to run smoothly. Unfortunately, it seems that Elden Ring's latest patch didn't implement this feature as well as it could have. Players are reporting significant drops in performance when ray tracing is enabled.
Even those playing on high-end PCs with an RTX 4090 are experiencing massive stuttering and frame drops as low as 30 FPS. But it's not just PC players who are facing these issues; even Xbox Series X players are reporting drops as low as 5 FPS. Some players have also experienced crashes while attempting to fast travel, even with ray-traced visuals turned off. Many players were not happy with it, and it remains to be seen if FromSoftware will be able to address these issues with future patches. Here you can find more information regarding ray tracing in Elden Ring, as well as the preferable system requirements.
Major PvP Balance Adjustments
The Inescapable Frenzy incantation power and grab angle have been increased, as well as the power, range, and grab angle of the Lifesteal Fist skill. However, players should note that the power of two-handed jumping attacks has been decreased, along with the power of heavy and heavy running attacks of Fist and Claw weapon types.
The Founding Rain of Stars spell and Terra Magica spell enhancement effect have also been decreased. Moreover, the effectiveness of several skills and talismans, including Determination, Royal Knight's Resolve, Claw Talisman, Lord of Blood's Exultation Talisman, and Contagious Fury skill of the Jellyfish Shield, has been reduced.
Additionally, the buffs granted by certain items, such as the White Mask head armor (attack power), and Raptor's Black Feathers armor (jump attack damage), have been decreased.
Finally, the damage buff of the Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Lightning-Shrouding Cracked Tear, and Holy-Shrouding Cracked Tear, (if activated with the Flask of Wondrous Physick) have all been decreased.
General Balance Adjustments
A series of general balance adjustments have been made to the game to improve gameplay. These adjustments include adding an invincibility window when respawning in the colosseum, increasing the scaling of Magic, Fire, Flame Art, Lightning, and Sacred attributes when infusing weapons with certain Ashes of War, and increasing the attribute scaling of various weapon types, including the Colossal Sword, Great Axe, Hammer, Flail, Great Hammer, and Colossal Weapon.
Some weapon types have also seen improvements in their speed, range, and recovery time, such as the Great Hammer, Great Axe, Great Sword, and Curved Greatsword. Flail weapons have undergone significant changes, including increased speed, reduced attack recovery time, and increased poise when using two-handed attacks.
Running attacks have been given a speed boost, and the attack recovery time has been reduced for various weapon types such as the Straight Sword, Twinblade Sword, Curved Sword, Katana, Axe, Hammer, and Halberd. The first attack speed of Straight Sword, Curved Sword, and Whip weapons has been increased, and guard counters have been sped up for weapons like the Great Sword, Colossal Sword, and Great Curved Sword.
Whip weapons have also seen a decrease in attack recovery time. The Claw weapons now deal more damage, and the Great Club has been given Holy damage and Faith scaling. Damage negation has also been adjusted based on affinity, with a higher damage negation when blocking Holy damage.
Finally, the Twinblade Talisman has been made more effective, the rolling distance for lighter equipment weights has been slightly reduced, and the hitbox size has been decreased for certain attacks of the Thrusting Sword, Heavy Thrusting Sword, Spear, Great Spear, and Halberd.
AoE Adjustments
The Ashes of War adjustments in Elden Ring Update 1.09 bring some notable changes to the game.
For instance, the Lifesteal Fist now has an increased target grab range, while Surge of Faith sees an increase in projectile generation speed. Flame Spit and Tongues of Fire both have increased guard speed and blocking amount, with Flame Spit also having its fireball angle adjusted.
The Great Oracular Bubble has an increase in projectile generation speed and reduced recovery time. Viper Bite has reduced time before rolling is possible after using the skill, while Shriek of Milos has increased close-range poise damage.
Spearcall Ritual sees an increase in projectile generation speed, while Cursed-Blood Slash has increased projectile generation speed and reduced recovery time. Gold Breaker has reduced recovery time.
I Command Thee, kneel! has increased attack generation speed, Starcaller Cry sees an increase in the speed of follow-up attacks, and Spinning Wheel has increased attack generation speed and now has a roll and heavy attack cancel timing while using the skill.
Bug Fixes
Elden Ring 1.09 update has also arrived with a plethora of bug fixes. Among the fixed bugs are issues with weapon scaling and status build-up, such as the Scarlet rot status build-up not being properly reflected when using certain weapons with Blood or Cold affinity. Furthermore, the update addresses issues with weapon skills, talisman effects, and skill power reduction while under the Golden Vow effect.
The update also improves stability in Colosseum matchmaking, fixes camera positioning when respawning in the Colosseum, and corrects a bug where a player could receive credit for a kill when dying due to the Death status effect. In addition, the update improves online multiplayer stability and addresses several performance issues.
Has Patch 1.09 Update Nerfed Incantation and Sorcery Builds?
The latest 1.09 update has accidentally caused a critical bug that has been causing headaches for players who prefer to use sorceries and incantations. The bug inhibits the damage output of magic wielders in the game, making it difficult to progress through the late-game stages.
One of the incantations tested was Flame Sling, which allows players to hurl fireballs at their enemies. In both versions 1.08 and 1.09 of Elden Ring, the base damage for Flame Sling is 308. However, when the Howl of Shabriri buff is applied, the damage output of Flame Sling increases by 25% to 385.
Unfortunately, in version 1.09, the same buff only results in Flame Sling dealing 308 damage, which is its base damage without any buffs. The issue is not limited to Flame Sling alone; Golden Vow, another incantation that is designed to increase the player's damage output by 15%, also suffers from the same problem.
While the bug might not seem like a significant issue, it affects many spells and incantations in the game, resulting in decreased damage output for magic wielders. In a challenging game like Elden Ring, where every encounter is a life-or-death situation, even a slight difference in damage output can make all the difference. FromSoftware is likely to fix this bug in a future update, but until then, magic wielders might have to resort to melee combat to progress in the game.