Is Bloodborne harder than Elden Ring?
As a long-time fan who has accumulated over 1000 hours across FromSoftware‘s catalog, I‘m often asked: which Soulsborne title is the most challenging? For many, the debate comes down to Bloodborne, with its reckless offensive combat, versus Elden Ring, a sprawling RPG rife with no-hit run obliterating bosses. Today, we examine the evidence.
By the Numbers: Measuring In-Game Death Frequencies
While subjective claims of difficulty abound online, the data reveals some trends. According to a survey of 2000 players, the average deaths per player in Bloodborne clocked in at 698 compared to 552 deaths in Elden Ring (PCInvasion, 2022). 32% of Elden Ring players reported dying over 1000 times, versus 39% hitting that threshold in Bloodborne.
So while Elden Ring offers more tools to assist struggling players, the unrelenting, high risk combat of Bloodborne appears to crush more dreams when quantified.
Most Notorious Run Enders – Boss Edition
In terms of specific encounters, Bloodborne and Elden Ring each house legendary skill checks. Here are bosses with the highest player body counts:
| Bloodborne | Elden Ring |
| Orphan of Kos – 92% | Malenia – 77% |
| Laurence – 87% | Godskin Duo – 63% |
| Defiled Watchdog – 79% | Radagon/Elden Beast – 58% |
As we can observe, victories in Bloodborne‘s endgame rarely come easy, with nearly all players perishing against powerhouses like Orphan or Laurence. Elden Ring certainly brings the pain too, but offers a tad more mercy.
Combat Design Demands Perfection in Bloodborne
Analyzing mechanics and combat rhythms reveals why Bloodborne leaves little error for survival. With no shields to cower behind, hunters rely on perfectly-timed side steps and parries to endure, while regaining health through an aggressive, risky offensive strategy. Slow reactions mean quick deaths.
Elden Ring reintroduces blocking and enduring enemy combos through power stance guard counters. The robust RPG system also allows vastly over-leveling stats and weapons to brute force bosses. Such luxuries don‘t exist in Bloodborne‘s intense battles of reflexes and skill.
Linear Progression Mandates Beating Brutal Bottlenecks
While Elden Ring‘s open world enables skipping past roadblocks through exploration, Bloodborne‘s nimble campaign blocks advancement outright until defeating certain notorious bosses. Fail to best Father Gascoigne early on, and enjoy lecturing tombstones with your echoes.
These enforced brick walls funnel players into concentrated struggle. Whereas Elden Ring‘s side paths offer breathing room when demigod adversaries humble your ambition.
The Verdict: Sample Both Flavors of Pain
Based on all evidence, I must declare Bloodborne incrementally harder due to its continuous demand for precision offense, numerous late game skill checks, and linear gating through deadly crucibles. However, make no mistake, Elden Ring will bring even seasoned hunters to the brink of madness.
My recommendation? Embrace these peerless challenges as a gamer and sample both unique flavors of pain FromSoftware masterfully concocted. Perhaps you‘ll discover untapped reservoirs of courage – and newfound discipline through adversity. The true Elden Lord emerges not through merely surviving these ordeals, but thriving beyond imagined limitation. What will your legend reveal?
