Every game comes with its share of quirks, and Elden Ring is no exception. As players journey through the vast landscapes and intricate terrains of this masterpiece, some have stumbled upon unexpected glitches and bugs. Sometimes the Elden Ring glitches allow alternative ways to approach the game, other times they are just amusing or annoying. In some instances, these anomalies provide even shortcuts or unforeseen advantages. Killing enemies without getting damaged might be useful if you are stuck with a boss or for speedrunners revamping their runs that don’t have the necessary abilities and equipment for such bosses.
Even when they aren’t necessarily useful as is, they can reveal fascinating insights into the game and its mechanics. In this article, we’ll dive deep into these glitches, shedding light on the secret workings of Elden Ring. You’ll find infinite stamina exploits, easy ways to kill bosses and invaders, infinite rune glitches, and much more.
Estus Cancel Glitch
Players have discovered that they can interrupt the animation associated with consuming estus, making the healing process substantially quicker. This enables them to return to action with minimal delay after replenishing their health. This powerful exploit can be used very effectively in players vs. player battles, where regaining health fast is important. To use this exploit, there needs to be an enemy to lock on to. The player needs to face at least 90 degrees away from the target to start drinking the flask.
To use the glitch, the player simply faces away from the target, uses the flask, and once it has performed the heal, presses the lock button which should lock into the target. After this, the player can move freely as the animation is canceled. While it is fairly easy to perform, there are a few things to note about this strategy.
Firstly, this is more easy to perform when wielding a single-handed weapon. Secondly, it is much more convenient in one-on-one fights, since the player can’t have another opponent in the direction they are facing when drinking the flask. Lastly, the healing effect happens when the player character knocks back the drink after lifting it up, this is the moment to look for the cancel.
Infinite Rune Glitch
Runes are all-important in the world of Elden Ring. Just like Souls in Dark Souls titles, these Runes can be used for various upgrades on your characters. Gaining a good amount of runes without fear of dying is one of the most valuable things in the game. This is where this Elden Ring glitch comes in.
In Fort Faroth, you need to find the sleeping dragon. Simply attack the dragon until it moves. Now move away to the southeast towards the Lost Grace nearby and rest. You’ll wake up and the dragon is still there with you having extra runes. This can be done over and over again until you have enough Runes.
Stagger Entry Glitch
This is one of the most abuse-worthy glitches in the entire game. Those that wish to exploit this issue, can kill any boss in the game. This doesn’t require any special gear, which makes it immensely powerful. It uses a bug in the mist entry to a boss fight, where a player can enter the battle without the boss attacking the player at all. This means that the player can kill the boss with any weapon and not retain any damage from it.
To abuse this glitch, the player needs an enemy to attack them on the other side of the mist. When the player is hit by an attack and staggered, they need to enter the mist at exactly that moment. This requires quick reflexes and accurate controls, but if done right it will grant a free boss kill.
Crucible Knight Boss Glitch
It is possible to kill the Crucible Knight without ever engaging in close combat battle. This is especially useful for those who don’t have the abilities and equipment to take on tough enemies. It requires a little bit of hiking to find the right spot and a bow with poison arrows. In the Redmane Castle, you’ll need to find the stairs that lead up to the castle wall near the Crucible Knight. It is seen in the distance on top of the other castle wall and the player can simply kill it from a distance with poison arrows. After killing it from afar, it won’t anymore spawn in its location, so you need to only dispatch the easier enemies.
Stamina Regen Glitch
By rapidly equipping and unequipping a talisman (Endtree’s Favor), players can exploit a glitch in Elden Ring that instantly refills their stamina bar, effectively granting them endless stamina. This dramatically alters gameplay, as stamina management is a crucial element of the game. This is also one of the easier exploits to perform and only requires this one specific item. The item is not particularly hard to find either. It is located in the Stranded Graveyard. Look for the Imp Statue Fog Wall behind which is the Fringefolk Hero’s Grave and you’ll find the talisman.
Jump Invulnerability
The invulnerability frames during a standing jump seem to be overly generous, allowing players to evade damage more easily than might be expected. Players have suggested that the action is similar to rolling and makes the character nearly invincible. However, the i-frames given by jumps only affect the lower parts of the character. So while jumping seems to offer very powerful dodging ability for certain types of attacks, it doesn’t protect at all against others.
Basically, if the player looks to avoid horizontal slashing attacks, ground trembling blows, or anything similar, jumping can be immensely powerful. For AoE attacks or ones that manage to hit the character anywhere above the waist, it is not as convenient. The length of the invulnerability during jumps is amazing, though. It lasts 25 frames with a mere five-frame recovery time after the jump. This means that the dodge is very easy to time and with only a little window for damage.
Multiplayer Stunlock
Unlike in Dark Souls III, where consecutive hits reduced hit stun to prevent continuous stagger, Elden Ring appears to lack this mechanic. This makes it possible for two or more players to repeatedly stagger an enemy, rendering them helpless. This is not necessarily a glitch, as it might be an intended mechanic. However, considering that it breaks some elements of the game and doesn’t provide a way to respond, makes it onto the list.
Fall Damage Boss Glitch
The fall damage in Elden Ring is a complex thing. Many, perhaps even most, people playing the game have undoubtedly found themselves dead after a fall. This fall damage is also applied to enemies with certain restrictions. This means that it is technically possible to damage and even kill bosses with fall damage. In theory, this might be harder to do, but it definitely has happened.
In certain situations, the enemy can plummet a fairly short distance and die instantly. This obviously makes a challenging boss fight super easy. From the video evidence, it seems like the fall damage is not relative to the size of the creature either, which makes for comical deaths. In addition, even flying creatures, like the Flying Dragon Greyll are subject to this. The glitch has only limited exploitability but certainly can help kill a powerful foe in some situations.’
Starscourge Radahn Glitch
There’s an easy way to avoid some of the battle against this powerful boss. The first phase where Radahn shoots arrows can be skipped very easily. To use this glitch, just move away from the boss to the back of the area until the boss disappears from sight. Now returning to the battle should prompt the boss to skip the first step and attack you.
Backstab Issues
There have been multiple instances where backstabs don’t function as intended. It’s speculated that this might be due to the game failing to accurately check the range or angle between the attacker and the defender, leading to failed backstab attempts even when they appear to be correctly executed. This is not necessarily very exploitable unless someone figures out how to avoid backstabs altogether, but it is certainly a glitch of sorts nonetheless.
Cliff Kills
These are not necessarily glitches, but strategies to easily dispatch computer invaders. In many situations, you can lure them towards a cliff and make them jump to their deaths. Use their attack mechanics and movement against them near the cliffs against them. This is a good way to kill them without needing powerful characters. This trick can be done at least in Corpse-Stench Shack, Church of Inhibition, and Smoldering Church. You can also use the same tactic against Bell Bearing Hunter and Death Rite Bird bosses.
Shield Heal Glitch
An anomaly seems to arise when using the holy ground ability. The area-of-effect buff transfers damage from one weapon’s buff to another, leading to probably unintended consequences. This makes the area heal targeting friendlies adds an effect from the other wielded item. This means that the healing also damages them, which is likely not very convenient for most situations. Similar to the Tranquil Walk of Death glitch from Dark Souls.
Invisible Magic Glitch
This glitch has resurfaced from Dark Souls Remastered in Elden Ring. The visual effects of magic sometimes become invisible to players, yet they can still inflict damage, leading to confusion during battles. The players are able to cast spells on enemies without the enemy seeing the effect. This makes it impossible to avoid the damage, making for a very unfavorable battle for the recipient.
This specific exploit uses an Ash of War by the name of Carian Retaliation, which lets the user parry magic with their shields. This effect is also applied to your own magic, which turns them invisible to the players but doesn’t remove any of the other characteristics like the damage. This glitch used in PvP is not conducive to fair battles, so we don’t suggest using it. However, perhaps knowing about the glitch you can spot the enemy casting and can do something about it.
Commander O’Neil Glitch
Defeating this boss is super easy once you know the trick. After killing all the spirits and summoning the Commander, you’ll simply find a high spot where you can shoot arrows or cast spells at the target without issues. At least one of these spots can be found on a dark root. The Commander will not be able to attack you.
There are tons of other bugs, glitches, and exploits in Elden Ring that didn’t make this list. Also, some of the mentioned glitches might be patched or are not as relevant due to new strategies. If you happen to have a favorite glitch in mind, please share it with us down below!