Nightmare difficulty: Elden Ring fans have started to "git gud" with the new weapons and gameplay mechanics introduced in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. However, a group of highly skilled (and highly patient) players is taking FromSoftware's challenge to the next level.
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first expansion created by the Japanese studio FromSoftware for Elden Ring. The game, which merges the "Soulsborne" formula with a new open-world design, features some challenging boss fights, including the infamous demigod Malenia. SotE has already been purchased by five million players, but FromSoftware was forced to tone down its extreme difficulty level a bit just a few days after the DLC's release.
"Traditional" gamers may find Elden Ring and SotE very difficult or even impossible to complete, but streamers and FromSoftware's most loyal fans have turned the ER expansion into a new challenge. Souls gamers aren't just completing SotE by killing major bosses and the literal god awaiting them at the end of the map; they are doing so while using the most uncomfortable controllers and controller-like devices they can find.
Twitch streamer MissMikkaa managed to beat all SotE bosses using her customized dance mat as a controller. The last boss took 52 tries and seven hours of "dance-padding," Mikkaa said, while the entire DLC went down in one week after 325 deaths. "Gravity" seemingly killed her character the most (69 times). "I hope Miyazaki is proud of me," the streamer said after completing her feet-hurting ER tour de force.
I DID IT! ALL bosses of my dance pad Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree run have been deFEETed!
– MissMikkaa (@MissMikkaa) July 8, 2024
The last boss fell after 52 tries and 7 hours of dance-padding (my feet hurt). DLC took me 7 days in total with 325 deaths; 69 of them to gravity, nice.
I hope Miyazaki is proud of me. pic.twitter.com/DqbgLxTCXz
Mikkaa's bio on X states that she "plays a lot of Elden Ring." She previously completed the base game with a dance mat and played two different ER instances simultaneously (killing Malenia in both) using the aforementioned dance mat and a more traditional controller. to dance at all.
Despite its difficulty and carefully designed bosses, Elden Ring has attracted a variety of extreme challenges and highly skilled players who complete the game with the most preposterous setups imaginable. Dance mats are just the tip of the ER iceberg, as someone even managed to defeat one of SotE's hardest bosses, Messmer the Impaler, "with mind control and zero hands."
Klein Tsuboi, a player best known as "Let me solo her" after turning into a specialized Malenia killer for other players in need of help, is also back to the fight after the SotE release. He is now known as "Let me solo him," and is helping ER players fight bosses in the DLC while wearing a ragged mantle and a pot on his head.
Twitch streamer beats Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtree with a dance mat
