9 Elden Ring Features that Redefined the Standard for Open World RPGs

FromSoftware is known for creating incredible games, but few have resonated with players as much as Elden Ring. It took everything fans loved about the Dark Souls series and expanded on it with a massive, beautiful, and often perilous open world to explore.

Soulslike games aren’t for everyone – they require a lot of patience, as you often need to fight bosses many times just to learn how they work. But if you enjoy the incredible feeling of accomplishment that comes from overcoming a tough challenge, games like Elden Ring are perfect. Here’s what makes Elden Ring stand out and raise the bar for other games in the genre.

9. Minimal HUD Elements

It’s More About Relying On Your Eyes

Lots of open-world role-playing games use a lot of on-screen displays – things like big maps or constant instructions – to tell you what to do. While those elements can be helpful, I really appreciate that Elden Ring doesn’t rely on them as much. It’s one of my favorite things about the game.

This game intentionally leaves out many typical on-screen displays, forcing you to pay close attention to your surroundings and embrace exploration. While a map is available, you’ll need to actively check it. If you explore thoroughly, you might even discover some of the game’s most challenging and rewarding optional bosses.

8. The Underground Layered Experience

Levels Upon Levels of New Areas to Discover

As a huge fan of Elden Ring, I’ve been thinking a lot about the different areas in the game, and I’ve started grouping them into three types of places. There are the areas that are just… nice to explore, like Limgrave, Leyndell, and the Altus Plateau. Then there are the truly awful, hellish zones – Caelid and Farum Azula immediately come to mind. But then there are the areas that are genuinely beautiful. For me, Nokstella and the Siofra River fit that perfectly—and it’s interesting to me that both of those are located underground. It feels like it’s not an accident!

Elden Ring seems vast at first, but exploring The Lands Between reveals even more hidden areas that feel like entirely new worlds.

7. Map Interconnection

A Cave Might Lead to Somewhere You Don’t Expect

Seamless exploration isn’t new to games, and Elden Ring didn’t create the idea. But very few games connect different areas as naturally as it does. You might stumble into a magical chest that teleports you to a crystal cave, only to find the exit opens onto the wild lands of Caelid.

This is true for many other dungeons, mines, and caves as well. Usually, there’s more than one way to get where you’re going, so you can pick the path that works best for you. You might have already discovered that some caves are home to dangerous enemies and tough bosses. But if you enjoy fighting, like I do, Elden Ring has some fantastic Strength-based weapons that will help you defeat most opponents quickly.

6. Ashes of War

Immense Weapon and Build Flexibility

If you’ve played previous Dark Souls games, you might remember a similar system. Back then, you could modify your weapons with infusions like Sharp, Raw, or Poisoned. Each infusion offered different advantages and worked better depending on your character’s stats.

I absolutely loved how Ashes of War worked in Elden Ring! It wasn’t just that there were so many different options, but you could actually change them whenever you wanted. In other games, once you modify a weapon, you’re stuck with it. But in Elden Ring, I could swap things around on the fly, which was awesome. And if you really want to get the most out of those Ashes of War, finding the best talismans is a must. Trust me, you’ll become seriously powerful!

5. Stakes of Marika

A Most Welcome Breath of Fresh Air

As a big fan, I really liked the change from the Bonfires in Dark Souls to the Sites of Grace in Elden Ring. They just fit the world of The Lands Between so much better, visually. But honestly, sometimes the Sites of Grace are placed a little too far from tough bosses. It can be super frustrating to have to run back through everything after you die, and it feels like a bit of a slog sometimes.

That’s why Stakes of Marika are so helpful – when you can find them, they save a lot of time and make revisiting bosses much less annoying.

4. Torrent’s Vertical Traversal

Horseback Riding Taken to a Whole New Level

Image Via FromSoftware

For years, open-world RPGs have let players travel on horseback. But Elden Ring changed things up. Unlike previous games where you simply rode across the land, Elden Ring lets you use air currents to ride vertically, opening up new areas to explore.

It’s true that this feature can sometimes be frustrating, and like any FromSoftware game, it carries risks – you might even fall to your death! But that challenge is a big part of what makes these games so enjoyable.

3. Complex NPC Questlines

Easy to Miss, Yet Often Greatly Rewarded

I’ve been playing FromSoftware games for ages, and they’ve always had side quests given by NPCs. But honestly, with each new game, those quests get way more complicated and interesting. Elden Ring is huge, so I’m pretty sure I missed a bunch of them on my first run. It’s crazy how easily you can mess up a quest too – even a small wrong choice or being a little late to something can totally change how it ends!

Lots of open-world RPGs have quests you get from characters, but I don’t think any are as good as those in Elden Ring. These quests can give you really valuable rewards, like the Bull-Goat Armor Set, which you get from Patches’ quest and is one of the heaviest armor sets in the game.

2. Time-of-Day Exclusive Encounters

Some Enemies Only Appear at Certain Times

Unlike previous Dark Souls games, Elden Ring has a day-night cycle that makes the world feel more alive and also affects when you’ll encounter certain enemies. A good example is the Night’s Cavalry bosses, which appear in areas like Limgrave, the Weeping Peninsula, and the Altus Plateau—but only at night. These bosses are entirely optional challenges.

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Having enemies appear only at certain times of day can make exploring more unpredictable and change how difficult it is to travel through different areas. While the Night’s Cavalry bosses aren’t too hard, if you’re having trouble defeating them, you might want to look up some of the strongest character builds available in Elden Ring.

1. Alternative Routes

Not All Roads Lead to a Challenge

Having different paths and ways to explore really makes Elden Ring special. Many open-world games let you choose where to go and what enemies to fight, but Elden Ring gives you even more freedom and options.

Players will find Margit and Godrick to be the first truly difficult encounters in the main game. While beating them is a great way to prepare for tougher challenges ahead, the game does allow you to bypass them with alternative paths. Similarly, you can avoid some of the hardest bosses in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, like Midra. However, I suggest facing every challenge to fully enjoy the game.

2026-06-07 21:40