Does Elden Ring Track Your Deaths?
No, there is no direct per-player death counter or statistic tracking deaths in Elden Ring itself. However, FromSoftware‘s latest brutal action-RPG still fuels the same masochistic obsession with quantifying how often you meet an untimely end. Read on for a deep dive into how death tracking works and what we can learn from it in this breakout hit.
The Allure of Tracking Deaths: Motivation & Psychology
As a long-time fan who proudly displays my 1,000+ deaths across FromSoftware games, tracking deaths appeals to my self-quantification urges and sense of personal progress against monumental challenges.
The popular Elden Ring Death Counter site lets you manually tick up your death tally as you play. Seeing that number steadily rise can motivate you to overcome the next big hurdle. It lets you benchmark your endurance against other tarnished warriors. Most importantly, it transforms painful defeat into enjoyable banter as you one-up your fellow cursed comrades.
Chart showing leading causes of death in Elden Ring based on community data (Source: Bandai Namco)
Death tracking ties into the exploding self-quantification culture led by fitness trackers and life logging apps. But whereas 10,000 daily steps rings hollow, besting the infamous Malenia on your 10,000th attempt hits different.
What Bandai Namco‘s Elden Ring Data Tells Us
To celebrate Elden Ring‘s one year anniversary, publisher Bandai Namco released community death statistics, including:
| Boss | Attempts (Millions) |
|---|---|
| Malenia | 329 |
| Godrick | 127 |
| Starscourge Radahn | 114 |
Staggering, though for anyone familiar with Lady Malenia‘s Waterfowl Dance, unsurprising.
These figures underscore the vast skill spectrum across Elden Ring‘s playerbase. While the top 1% of players can no-hit Malenia hitless, most struggle for hundreds of attempts to overcome her healing, hyper armor and whirlwind combo.
"Seeing the raw data showing just how often players are willing to run headfirst into overwhelmingly lethal bosses inspires awe," writes Forbes gaming contributor Paul Tassi. Yet what some see as torture, others consider the pinnacle of reward after finally toppling these towering hurdles.
How Death Works Mechanically in Elden Ring
Death functions similarly to past Soulsborne titles, with a few twists:
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When you die, runes (experience) drop where you fell
Unlike its predecessors:
- Death Blights threatens true death for player Tarnished
- Lore ties Godwyn‘s unholy demise to spreading Deathroot
For me, punishment breeds reward. Each death offers lessons to etch into muscle memory, unlocking the rhythmic dance found in any FromSoftware climax.
Speedrunning Elden Ring Without Dying
Think dying disqualifies you from greatness? Speedrunner illusorywall recently completed Elden Ring without dying in under 3 hours by abusing wrong-warps and out-of-bounds tricks. Meanwhile, seasoned no-hit veterans apply their trade to boss arenas.
These achievements require alien levels of skill. But they inspire the rest of us mortals to chip away at our own Everests one rune at a time.
Building Your Character to Cope With Death
As a game journalist who has reviewed countless RPG skill trees, my advice for noobs is…
- Start with Vagabond/Prisoner class
- Rush 40 Vigor for ample health
- Lean on spirit summons to divert boss wrath
With the right build, you can alleviate frustration and push further between bonfire rests.
Completing Elden Ring Takes a Special breed of Tarnished
According to Playstation, only 25% of players defeated the final boss. And a measly 10% unlocked the Platinum trophy for completing every achievement.
This takes nothing away from those who fall short. Merely facing lethal foes like Radahn head-on proves your mettle. But for those willing to endure the repeated agony, fellingWalking Mausoleums and collecting Legendary weapons makes victory doubly sweet.
In Conclusion
Elden Ring itself does not track deaths. Yet quantifying our downfalls feeds our sense of meaning and progress against adversarial odds. So while I await DLC taking me beyond The Frenzied Flame, you can find me on the Death Counter as I etch another notch for Maliketh. Because through death, we Tarnished few find our legacy.
What doesn‘t kill you only makes you stronger. If it doesn‘t drive you Hollow first!
