While “no-hit” runs are something of a tradition in Soulsborne games, the idea of playing through Elden Ring without ever taking a point of damage from any source is one of those concepts that intimidates even the best Soulsborne runners. As for an Elden Ring “pacifist” run…well, that’s kind of a new concept for Soulsborne titles that really showcases the various ways you can play (and eventually beat) this game. Here’s what you need to know about those stunning no-damage and pacifist Elden Ring runs:
Elden Ring: The No-Damage Run Explained
GinoMachino deserves a standing ovation for his recent “no-hit” Elden Ring run, but he still technically received damage several times through his playthrough. After all, even if Elden Ring players dodge every enemy attack, they can still lose health due to fall damage, environmental hazards, and certain skills and spells (e.g., the Bloody Slash Ash of War). Recently, though, Twitch streamer Seki surpassed GinoMachino’s already impressive feat by completing Elden Ring without taking any amount of damage. According to Kotaku, Seki spent countless attempts planning and practicing his no-damage run; he might have only streamed his accomplishment for three hours, but he trained for over 130 hours to get there. Apparently, the biggest hurdle he faced was the final boss (the Elden Beast) as one of its attacks, Elden Stars, can only be avoided by staggering the creature. Seki spent “dozens of hours” trying to get the timing right, and more often than not the spell would hit him, forcing Seki to start over. So what’s next for Seki? Believe it or not, he thinks an “All Remembrances No-Hit” attempt is in order.
Elden Ring: The Pacifist Run Explained
Streamers such as Seki demonstrate that it’s possible (if incredibly challenging) to beat Elden Ring without taking any damage, but what if someone told you they beat the game without dealing any damage? Well, that’s exactly what Iron Pineapple did. Unlike a No-Damage run, Iron Pineapple’s Pacifist run had one simple rule: Beat the game without ever attacking. To be fair, you could maybe argue that challenge is easier than a no-damage run since Iron Pineapple didn’t have to start over from scratch if he was ever hit. However, Iron Pineapple still ran into countless roadblocks that he only overcame through adaptation (and a little assistance from the occasional glitch). Since Iron Pineapple couldn’t rely on any weapons (until he got the Mimic Tear), he instead focused on Spirit Ashes and Incantations. He started with the Prophet class due to its high Faith, and he also chose the Fanged Imp Ashes as his keepsake. Iron Pineapple put most of his early points in Vigor and Mind, and he “killed” enemies by letting allies (both Spirit Ashes and summoned NPCs) do all the heavy lifting while he hung back and healed them. However, when that wasn’t an option, he either ran past opponents or cheesed them. His cheese tactics in this instance included tricking monsters into jumping off cliffs (or pushing them off via the incantation Rejection), leading enemies into deadly geysers, and, on occasion, jumping over a fog door to bug out a bosses’ AI. Every victory where Iron Pineapple didn’t have to fight counted as a win in his book (even if it was the result of a glitch or gravity). While older FromSoftware games (probably) couldn’t be beaten without ever attacking, the game’s Spirit Ashes are a big part of the reason why a pacifist run in Elden Ring is technically possible. More importantly, Iron Pineapple demonstrated that the Mimic Tear is still one of Elden Ring’s strongest Spirit Ash allies, even after the Patch 1.03 nerf. Given the sheer creativity of many Soulsborne players, odds are we will experience even more mind-boggling Elden Ring runs in the future.
