Is Dark Souls 3 Harder Than Elden Ring? It Depends Who You Ask
As a hardcore Souls veteran gamer, I‘m constantly analyzing and debating the brutal but fair difficulty that makes FromSoftware‘s titles so iconic. And one question on every fan‘s mind lately – is Dark Souls 3 harder than Elden Ring? Well, it depends who you ask.
For newbies and casual fans, Elden Ring‘s early game open world provides a much smoother difficulty curve compared to Dark Souls 3‘s steep initial learning cliff. But for seasoned Souls experts, Elden Ring‘s insane late game areas and exploitability may offer less challenge than the finely tuned Dark Souls 3.
Elden Ring‘s Early Areas Let Newcomers Get Their Bearings
Right from the get go, Dark Souls 3 throws new players into the deep end with linear levels full of tough enemies like Lothric Knights and fire breathing Wyverns. The claustrophobic High Wall of Lothric is a brutal welcome for fresh meat.
Meanwhile, Elden Ring opens up the sweeping vistas of Limgrave, letting new Tarnished ease into the Lands Between through cave dungeons and mini-bosses. Limgrave feels like a peaceful Miyazaki countryside before the real challenges emerge later on.
| Location | Dark Souls 3 | Elden Ring |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Area | Lothric High Wall ☠☠☠☠☠ | Limgrave ☠☠ |
| Early Game | Undead Settlement ☠☠☠☠ | Weeping Peninsula ☠☠ |
| Mid Game | Road of Sacrifices ☠☠☠ | Liurnia ☠☠☠ |
As this table shows, Elden Ring‘s early game areas like Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula have fewer deadly enemies and more room for exploration than notoriously punishing Dark Souls 3 starter zones like Lothric High Wall. Elden Ring eases newbies in rather than crushing dreams immediately.
The Late Game Is Where Elden Ring Shows Its Teeth
After lulling you into a false sense of security, Elden Ring pulls no punches in the late game. The difficulty spikes massively once you reach areas like Elphael, Haligtree, and the Mountaintops of the Giants.
That frosty mountaintop is chock full of new demigod-slaying baddies like the Misbegotten Crusader and Fire Monks who hit like trucks. Good luck fighting them on treacherous cliff edges where one wrong step means death.
Even Dark Souls 3 brutal gauntlets like the Grand Archives and Archdragon Peak can‘t compare to the onslaught of pain Elden Ring throws at you in the late stages. And don‘t get me started on Malenia, Blade of Miquella. Let‘s just say she makes Sister Friede look like a chump.
| Location | Dark Souls 3 | Elden Ring |
|---|---|---|
| Late Game | Irithyll Dungeon ☠☠☠☠☠ | Mountaintops ☠☠☠☠☠☠ |
| End Game | Grand Archives ☠☠☠☠ | Farum Azula ☠☠☠☠☠ |
| DLC | Ringed City ☠☠☠☠☠ | Haligtree ☠☠☠☠☠☠ |
Elden Ring‘s savage late game zones and DLC-worthy areas like Haligtree and Farum Azula live up to the Souls legacy of brutal difficulty, exceeding anything thrown at players in Lothric.
Elden Ring‘s Bosses Will Make You Tear Your Hair Out
Thought Sister Friede and Slave Knight Gael gave you trouble in Dark Souls 3? Elden Ring‘s end game bosses on another level. Let‘s compare the fiercest lineup from both titles and see who comes out on top:
| Boss | Dark Souls 3 | Elden Ring |
|---|---|---|
| Final Boss | Soul of Cinder ☠☠☠☠☠ | Radagon ☠☠☠☠☠ |
| Secret Boss | Nameless King ☠☠☠☠☠ | Malenia ☠☠☠☠☠☠ |
| DLC Boss | Slave Knight Gael ☠☠☠☠☠ | Maliketh ☠☠☠☠☠ |
As you can see, Elden Ring‘s optional bosses like Malenia and Maliketh are a step above even the hardest base game and DLC bosses in Dark Souls 3. Malenia is arguably the toughest FromSoft boss ever with her health stealing, rot explosions, and endless Waterfowl Dance combo. Absolute controller snapping madness!
Overpowered Builds Trivialize Elden Ring More
Here‘s where Souls veterans may argue Elden Ring loses some difficulty integrity compared to the finely tuned challenge of Dark Souls 3 – the potential to become completely and utterly overpowered.
With over 100 unique weapons and spells to mix and match, Elden Ring offers the most build variety of any Souls game. You can annihilate bosses without breaking a sweat using certain magic builds. Comet Azur alone can melt most story bosses in seconds. Broken spirit summons like Mimic Tear also reduce bosses to mere pinatas once you swarm them with combined attacks.
In Dark Souls 3, the mapping of attributes and weapons led to more balanced PvE builds. Magic was not nearly as OP, forcing you to carefully learn boss patterns rather than spam your way to victory. Elden Ring potentially lets veterans exploit their way to success more easily.
The Verdict? Elden Ring Has a Wider Difficulty Range
So in summary, here‘s my take as a grizzled Souls vet:
Elden Ring‘s early game areas cater more to newcomers than the ruthless entry barriers of Dark Souls 3.
But late game Elden Ring raids up the difficulty to new heights of insanity that exceed anywhere in Lothric.
Bosses like Malenia and Maliketh represent a shocking new tier of challenge unmatched in previous titles.
Yet overpowered builds allow veterans to trivialize Elden Ring bosses more than the finely tuned fights of DS3.
So while Dark Souls 3 maintains a more consistent difficulty curve, Elden Ring has greater extremes – more accessible for noobs but also more abusable for experts. This leads to a wider spectrum of challenge suiting veterans and newcomers alike. And that variance helps explain disagreements within the community over which game truly represents the bigger test of skills.
As a Souls lover, I believe there‘s merit to arguments on both sides. But one thing is certain – with these two games together, we hollows have been blessed by Miyazaki with some of the most rewarding yet brutal combat ever designed. Praise the Sun!
