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- Just over a week after FromSoftware released the 1.12.2 calibration update for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, the studio has released a second, much larger balance patch for the game.
- The biggest changes in the update include nerfs and fixes for broken weapons from the Elden Ring and Ashes of War DLCs, including the damage of the Lightning Perfume Bottle and Frenzyflame Perfume Bottle weapons, the effectiveness of the Rolling Sparks and Swift Slash abilities, and the stun of the Fire Knight’s Greatsword.
- Attack shields have also received a nerf to their blocking abilities, while the Carian Sorcery Sword, one of the worst weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree, has received an intelligence scaling buff.
- The Commander Gaius and Golden Hippo bosses have also received some changes: both now spawn further away from the fog wall on repeat attempts, and the Golden Hippo’s bite attack has been nerfed on its active frames.
Just over a week after developer FromSoftware updated the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC with a major calibration update, another, much larger patch has been released for the studio’s award-winning open-world action-reality expansion. Update 1.12.3 is now available for download on all Elden Ring platforms and is required if you plan on playing online.
The most significant changes in the patch are nerfs to several of the most broken and overpowered weapons that players have been using since the DLC launched on June 21. These include tweaks and fixes to the Rolling Sparks Ash of War weapons as well as the Lightning Perfume Bottle and Frenzyflame Perfume Bottle which allowed players to nearly one-shot many bosses, the damage and animation duration of the Backhand Blades-exclusive Swift Slash ability being completely destroyed and nearly impossible to counter in PvP, a bug that caused the Blood Demon’s arm to gain higher scaling and bleed stack than intended when receiving an Arcane Infusion, and an issue that allowed the Fire Knight’s Greatsword to stun other players.
Thrust Shields, one of Shadow of the Erdtree’s powerful new weapon types, have also received a fix that reduces their effectiveness. Previously, incoming attacks blocked while thrusting with these shields would consume less stamina than intended, allowing players to endlessly backstab bosses while easily defending against non-grab attacks. This issue has now been fixed, forcing players to be more careful with the timing of their attacks.
Indeed, the bulk of the update consists of nerfs, though one weapon did receive a much-needed buff: the Carian Sorcery Sword. This thrusting sword is a unique weapon in that it’s the only one in Elden Ring that can be used to cast Sorcery spells, but its underwhelming intelligence scale made it the worst new weapon in the DLC. This update did, however, buff it considerably (and slightly reduced its base damage to help keep things balanced), so hopefully the Carian Sorcery Sword is much more viable now than it was before the patch.
Other notable changes include some tweaks to two bosses, Commander Gaius and the Golden Hippo, which will undoubtedly make them a lot less of a pain to fight. Specifically, in their arenas, both bosses will now be located where they were when you first started the fight with them instead of new locations closer to the fog wall, giving you more time to react to their aggressive charge attacks. The Golden Hippo’s bite attack has also been nerfed, as it was previously “connecting with players more easily than intended.”
The rest of the patch largely boils down to a few more bug fixes and minor tweaks, which you can read about in the full patch notes section below. FromSoftware also has some recommendations for players experiencing performance issues, with the developer recommending PS5 players use the Rebuild Database option when using the console in Safe Mode, and PC players make sure Elden Ring’s Ray Tracing isn’t enabled if they typically play with it disabled.
Analysis: A surprising patch, with two outliers
I was hoping that FromSoftware would quickly address ridiculously damaged weapons like the Perfume Flasks and the Fire Knight’s Greatsword as well as the Ashes of War like the Rolling Sparks and the Rapid Lunge, so I was incredibly happy to see fixes arrive just a few weeks after Shadow of the Erdtree launched. PvE and PvP should now be in a much more balanced state, which is ultimately the goal.
That said, I’m surprised to see two things that didn’t get adjusted in 1.12.3: the Impenetrable Thorns sorcery and the DLC’s final boss fight. The former is undeniably overpowered in PvE with its ability to take out bosses in a few casts thanks to its insane bleed stack, while the latter has a specific melee combo that isn’t entirely avoidable without the use of shields, some defensive Ashes of War, or the Rip Deflector. I thought these would be adjusted in Shadow of the Erdtree’s first major update, and I’m disappointed to see they weren’t; hopefully fixes will be available in a follow-up patch soon.
Elden Ring Update 1.12.3: Patch Notes
Here are the official patch notes for update 1.12.3, taken directly from Bandai Namco Official Website.
PvP-exclusive balance adjustments
- Decreased the damage and damage animation of the Swift Slash skill’s shear void effect.
General Balance Adjustments
- Carian Sorcery Sword’s intelligence scale has been increased and base damage has been slightly decreased.
- The range of throwing attacks has been extended for the following weapons:
- Smithscript Dagger / Smithscript Circus
- The boss placement during the new Golden Hippopotamus and Commander Gaius boss fight has been changed so that they are in the same position as during the first fight.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where the Rolling Sparks skill would deal more damage than intended.
- Fixed a bug where the skills Rolling Sparks and Wall of Sparks would not deal any damage while certain special effects were applied to the player.
- Fixed a bug where some special effects of a right-handed weapon were also applied to the following weapon skills when cast with the left hand:
- The Weak Lord’s Frenzied Flame
- Discus throw
- Fixed a bug where successfully shielding while attacking with the Attack Shield weapon type would consume less stamina than intended.
- Fixed a bug where players were unable to cancel the attack recovery of two-handed heavy attacks by rolling for certain Backhand Blades type weapons.
- Fixed a bug where the Lightning Perfume Bottle and Frenzyflame Perfume Bottle weapons would deal double damage under certain circumstances.
- Fixed a bug where the Blood Demon Arms weapon’s arcane scaling was higher than intended when setting an affinity. The status stack of Heavy Attack has also been reduced.
- Fixed a bug where the Faith scaling of the Gazing Finger weapon was not being applied correctly.
- Fixed a bug where the damage animation of some Fire Knight’s Greatsword attacks against players was different than expected.
- Fixed a bug where the attack affinity of some of the Fire Knight’s Greatsword’s attacks was different than expected.
- Fixed a bug where some affinities for the following weapons were higher than intended:
- Smithscript Dagger
- Smithscript Circus
- Axe Smithscript
- Smithscript’s Great Hammer
- Lance Smithscript
- Golem Fist
- Smithscript Shield
- Fixed a bug where enemies would heal when the maximum HP reduction effect applied by Black Knife Tiche wore off.
- Fixed a bug that caused summoned NPCs to behave differently than intended under certain circumstances.
- Fixed a bug where the Golden Hippo boss’s unblockable bite attack would connect to players more easily than intended.
- Fixed a bug that caused text to display differently than intended.
- Several other performance improvements and bug fixes.
Possible unstable performance fixes
- For the PS5 version of the game, choppy framerate can be improved by using the “Rebuild Database” option from the device’s Safe Mode.
- On some PC versions, Ray Tracing may be enabled inadvertently and cause unstable performance. Please check the Ray Tracing setting in “System” > “Graphics Settings” > “Ray Tracing Quality” from the title screen or game menu.
- In the PC version, the message “Inappropriate activity detected” may appear without cheating.
- To resolve this issue, please verify the integrity of the game files before restarting the game.
- In the PC version, unstable frame rate may be caused by third-party applications that control mouse behavior. Disabling these third-party applications may improve performance.
In PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S versions, rule files can be downloaded by connecting to the server.
If the rule version shown in the lower right corner of the title screen is not 1.12.4, please select LOGIN and apply the latest rule before enjoying the game.
Online play requires the player to apply this update.
More updates will be released in the future so you can continue to enjoy ELDEN RING more comfortably.
Stay tuned for more news by following our social networks or joining us on the official ELDEN RING Discord server here.
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