One really needs to watch their step in the world of Elden Ring, as proven by one player plunging to their death thanks to an ill-placed handwaving emote. In the grand tradition of FromSoftware titles like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, Elden Ring is incredibly punishing in its combat and gameplay, although things are somewhat mitigated by the game’s open-world setting, which allows players to move on to a less-challenging spot and level up until they are strong enough to defeat the foe that was giving them trouble before. Still, gamers who enter the realm of the Lands Between should expect to see FromSoftware’s signature “You Died” red text several times before they finally beat Elden Ring’s endgame boss.
In only a month since Elden Ring was first released in late February, players have uploaded countless gameplay clips and even larger montages of their custom-made Tarnished meeting a gruesome end while questing to become the Elden Lord. From menacing bosses like the Godskin Duo to even the lowly goats and dung beetles that scurry about in Elden Ring, there is no shortage of monsters, animals, and other hazards that can and will spell certain doom for a player who isn’t fully prepared for battle. However, even in a world filled with death and danger, sometimes a Tarnished is killed purely by accident.
Such was the case with Reddit user alangm0, who posted a gameplay clip of a particularly notable death to the Elden Ring subreddit. While standing atop a tall castle, alangm0 decided to jump up onto the ledge and wave hello to a PVP invader approaching the grounds using an emote. This proved to be a mistake, as the handwaving animation in question causes the player character to take a small step forward – and that small step was all it took for alangm0 to lose their balance and go plummeting to their death on the ground below.
So apparently, using the “Wave” gesture makes your character take a small step forward… from Eldenring
Brutal-yet-humorous deaths are only some of the many Elden Ring-related videos and social media posts that have made the rounds online since the game’s release. Some players have managed to discover neat tricks and mods to avoid a grisly end in Elden Ring, including summoning spirit ashes to battle a particularly difficult boss while they rest nearby. Others instead turn their attention toward the equally-unfortunate NPCs that populate the Lands Between, such as one who was recently stomped on their head like a Goomba from Super Mario. Lastly, while Elden Ring is a polished game for the most part, there has been no shortage of glitches that result in players riding massive arrows into battle or to even taking off flying in the skies above Elden Ring’s open-world sandbox.
All of this unpredictability is part of the reason why Elden Ring has been so popular for players and streamers alike, including one designated Twitch stream that became the third-highest viewed Twitch feed in the history of the platform. At the end of the day though, the world of Elden Ring is a deadly and unforgiving place – one where even giving a neighborly greeting to an enemy can prove to be a deadly mistake if one doesn’t watch where they are going.
