Elden Ring: 12 Things the Game Doesn't Tell You

1. The Map Is Blank Until You Find Fragments

Each region of the Lands Between has a Map Fragment waiting at a glowing stone obelisk, usually near a road. Until you collect it, that region appears as a rough terrain outline with no detail. Map Fragments for Limgrave, Weeping Peninsula, Liurnia, Caelid, and every other region are all found at these obelisks — look for them on roads and at crossroads. The obelisk locations are marked on the blurry pre-fragment map as a small icon, so you can navigate to them even before activation.

2. You Can Respec — But It Costs Larval Tears

After defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (the second major story boss, in Liurnia of the Lakes), she offers a service called Rebirth — a full stat respec for the cost of one Larval Tear. There are roughly 18 Larval Tears in the game across various locations and enemies. Don't feel locked into your starting class or early stat investments. If your build isn't working, a respec is available once you reach Rennala.

3. Ashes of War Change Your Weapon Scaling

Applying an Ash of War to a weapon does two things simultaneously: it replaces the weapon's special skill, and it changes the weapon's stat scaling affinity. A sword with a Magic affinity Ash of War will scale with Intelligence instead of Strength/Dexterity. Matching affinity to your primary stats dramatically increases damage. Experiment at any Site of Grace — Ash of War application is free and reversible.

4. Whetblades Permanently Unlock Affinities

Certain special items called Whetblades permanently unlock new Ash of War affinity options at Sites of Grace. Without them, you can only apply standard affinities (Heavy, Keen, Quality). Key Whetblades: the Iron Whetblade (Stormveil Castle, unlocks Magic/Fire/Lightning/Sacred) and the Glintstone Whetblade (Raya Lucaria Academy, unlocks Cold). Finding Whetblades early dramatically expands your build options.

5. Crouching Reduces Detection

Holding the crouch button (B/Circle) reduces your detection radius significantly. Enemies that would spot you walking will often ignore you crouching. Use this to sneak past dangerous enemies in the early game, set up backstabs, or avoid aggro-ing entire camps. Backstabs deal ~3× your normal hit and stagger almost every standard enemy — always look for opportunities to approach from behind.

6. Torrent Has a Double Jump

Your spectral steed Torrent has a double jump activated by pressing the jump button a second time in mid-air. This isn't explained explicitly, but it enables reaching ledges, cliff edges, and terrain that looks inaccessible on foot. Many secret areas in Limgrave and Liurnia are specifically designed around Torrent's double jump. If a cliff looks nearly reachable, try it on Torrent.

7. Multiplayer Requires Furlcalling Finger Remedy

To see other players' summoning signs on the ground (for co-op), you must first use a Furlcalling Finger Remedy — craftable with 2 Erdleaf Flowers, which grow as yellow plants throughout Limgrave. This consumable reveals all nearby summoning signs for a limited time. Without it, the world appears entirely single-player. Golden summoning signs are friendly co-op; red signs are PvP invaders.

8. Stonesword Keys Open Some of the Best Loot

Fog walls guarded by imp statues require Stonesword Keys — a limited resource. Two high-priority uses: the imp fog in the Fringefolk Hero's Grave (accessible from the tutorial area) contains useful early gear, and the fog in the Roundtable Hold's basement leads to a critically important NPC and item. Stonesword Keys are sold by some merchants and found throughout the world — never waste them on trivial rooms.

9. NPC Questlines Break If You Kill the Wrong Boss

Several NPC questlines have conditions tied to specific boss kills or whether certain characters are alive. Killing an optional boss before speaking to a relevant NPC can permanently lock you out of that quest's rewards and story content. When you encounter a new NPC, exhaust all their dialogue before proceeding with nearby boss fights. The most commonly missed early questlines involve White Mask Varre, Boc the Seamster, and Roderika.

10. Flask Allocations Are Adjustable

Your healing Flask (Crimson Tears for HP, Cerulean Tears for FP) allocation between charges is fully adjustable at any Site of Grace. If you're not using magic or Ashes of War, shift all charges to HP flasks. As you find Golden Seeds (at glowing trees) and Sacred Tears (in churches), your flask charges and healing power increase — these upgrades are among the highest-priority finds in the game.

11. You Can Ride Torrent in Some Boss Fights

Several open-world bosses — particularly the field bosses scattered across Limgrave — can be fought on Torrent. The mounted combat system lets you gallop past attacks and reposition extremely quickly. The Tree Sentinel (the golden knight near your starting point) is much more manageable on Torrent than on foot, circling around his attacks and landing one hit per pass.

12. Pause Is Hidden But Exists

Elden Ring has no obvious pause button, but you can effectively pause by opening the menu and then going into any full-screen sub-menu (like Equipment or Map in certain configurations). A more reliable method: open the inventory, then go to any item's "Use" or "Info" screen — time stops while reading item descriptions. Essential for taking a break mid-combat without dying.