With the release of Elden Ring coming closer each day, fans have been speculating how this installment will further enhance the Dark Souls formula. After all, when Dark Souls was first released in 2011, it changed the face of the gaming industry. Its grueling difficulty, unique level design, and medieval aesthetic inspired a horde of Soulslike games that tried to mimic its success.
However, none have managed to capture the magic the way that Dark Souls has. Gamers are hoping that Elden Ring will change all that. The addition of mounts and an open world has already raised the bar high. These new changes to the gameplay are impressive, but there is one mechanic that fans of the original Dark Souls are praying will return: the ability to sever the tails of enemies.
Bring Back Tail Cutting
In the first Dark Souls game, many enemies and bosses had appendages that could be severed if enough damage was dealt to them. Most often, these appendages were tails attached to fearsome dragons or monstrous demons. Cutting these tails off served multiple purposes that added an extra layer of complexity to Dark Souls‘ thrilling gameplay.
Cutting off the tail or appendage of an enemy meant that it couldn’t use that limb to attack anymore. If a player was having a particularly hard time with a tail sweep attack, they could choose to focus their damage on that body part and remove it from the boss’ arsenal. This allows for different strategies on how to deal with certain bosses and makes the fight easier.
Some bosses even dropped rare weapons if the player was able to cut off their tails. Famously, the Moonlight Greatsword could be obtained if Seath Scaleless‘ tail was removed. Many of these weapons could only be obtained from the tails of these bosses, who only appeared once. This meant that if a player killed a boss without removing its tail, then that weapon was lost until the next playthrough. This mechanic gave players a secondary objective that granted a satisfying reward when facing powerful bosses.
Tail Cutting Has Been Gone For Too Long
Sadly, with each new installment of the franchise, the tail cutting mechanic has slowly been phased out. In Dark Souls 2, only a small number of enemies have appendages that can be severed. The arms of the Rotten, the head of The Duke’s Dear Freja, and the tail of Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon can all be cut off, but no special weapon is granted for doing so. An even fewer number of bosses have appendages that can be removed in Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3. In fact, in Dark Souls 3, there are no bosses that have tails that can be cut off.
Without this mechanic, there is no real incentive to fight bosses in a particular way. Special attacks or moves can’t be taken away from them, and there’s no worry about missing a one-time item. Players can just fight bosses in a normal and straightforward manner because they know that all of the possible rewards will be given to them just for killing them. The tail cutting mechanic elevated gameplay, and it has been sorely missed.
Will Tail Cutting Return In Elden Ring?
So far, there has been no confirmation that tail cutting is coming back in Elden Ring. Enemies with tails have been spotted in the game, including a truly terrifying dragon. Many players who participated in the network tests have attempted to sever its tail, but it doesn’t seem possible. It’s important to note that the network tests were not done on the final version of the game, things could change before the game’s release.
Elden Ring is already shaping up to be one of this year’s best games. Long-time fans are dying to explore this new world that FromSoftware has created in collaboration with George R. R. Martin. Reintroducing the ability to cut off the tails of bosses to get unique weapons and rewards could be just the thing to push Elden Ring to the next level. It’s definitely a mechanic that would make a lot of fans happy.
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