With the release of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, players of all stripes—from longtime Soulslike veterans to newbies eager to experience Hidetaka Miyazaki’s latest masterpiece—have flocked to the game. As someone who has dabbled in Soulslikes since the original Demon’s Souls, it warms my hollowed heart to see this. However, it’s not all Estus Flasks and sunshine. Many people have been hyper-critical about how others play the game, and it’s really frustrating.
Let me shed some light on the matter for those unfamiliar with what’s happening. With Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, some feel that FromSoftware has made the game easier than Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne by including Spirit Ashes. These are essentially AI versions of human co-operators that provide assistance through the Lands Between and now, the Land of Shadow. These Spirit Ashes can be the difference between defeating a difficult boss and banging your head against it for hours. Yet, some players feel that using these summons is unfair, labeling others as cheaters or worse.
It’s funny because I’ve used Spirit Ashes occasionally and been called out for it. But it’s apparently fine if I pop a potion that gives me nearly infinite magic and face-melt a dragon with my Comet Azur spell or use an overpowered poise-breaking strength build. Okay, sure, Jan. It’s frustrating since Spirit Ashes are tools provided by FromSoftware for players to use. Yet, some people can’t get out of the mindset—or get their heads out of their asses—that they have no right to dictate how others play a game. I’ve even seen players place messages over co-operators (summons that are part of a questline or other forms of AI-controlled help) to prevent others from using them. Talk about being a crappy player… no, a crappy person.
You’d think people would find something else to complain about, like leveling various weapons and gear or using Bleed or Greatshield builds that make most of the game trivial. Or when we can summon human players who are vastly superior to Spirit Ashes—well, except for the Mimic Tear. Nothing beats the Mimic Tear. The whole point of playing a Soulslike is to play the game your way with the tools given by the creators. If Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team didn’t want people to use Spirit Ashes, they wouldn’t have put the damned things into the game. What’s next? Removing certain weapons because someone is pissy over those?
Is it impressive to take down a boss without using Spirit Ashes? Sure. Yet, the goal is to defeat the boss by any means possible. I understand that people have opinions, but you have zero say until you’re facing the boss yourself and have beaten one. ZERO! These critics are worse than backseat gamers and aren’t helping anyone. So, I say this with all sincerity: shut the hell up.
But Spirit Ashes make the game too easy
Do they really? I mean, is that the honest truth or just more bullshit? This really grinds my gears because it’s simply not true. Sure, I’ve seen many people take down bosses using Spirit Ashes, from longtime veterans to newcomers. I’ve used them myself. However, I’ve also seen people summon Spirit Ashes, thinking it would secure an easy win, only to get their asses handed to them. Either the boss demolishes the summons quickly or ignores them and targets the player.
Bringing a Spirit Ash into the fight doesn’t guarantee an instant win; people need to understand that. I’ve watched numerous streamers play Elden Ring and say, “I’ll just summon and get an easy kill,” only to find them still struggling with the same boss hours later. This literally happened to a big-name streamer recently, and they got really pissed, taking it out on the chat.
The game is being review-bombed on Steam because people claim that the DLC is too hard. Yes, that includes people trying to take down bosses with Spirit Ashes. So, go ahead. Go try telling those frustrated folks that the game is too easy with the AI summons. I’d wager they won’t believe a word you say.
Seriously, just shut up
Telling someone or trying to force them to play the game they paid for the way you want them to play makes you a horrible person. It makes you worse than telling someone to “Git Gud.” Let people play the game they want to play it. Let them have fun, you know, the entire reason we play video games in the first place.
As for me, I’ll keep on using my Spirit Ashes in any way I feel fit. I may not need them, but I’ll do it because I can. Because Fromsoft told me I could. And more importantly, I know it will piss off some person who probably doesn’t even play the game but has plenty of stuff to say regardless.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
Be sure to check out our Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree review!
