Maidenless behavior (by Charborgg
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)Elden Ring memes.
- "Ohhhhh, Elden Ring..."ExplanationA line from the original reveal. It became this in the intervening years prior to the gameplay trailer.
- "Ohhhhh! Rise now, ye Tarnished!"ExplanationA Mondegreen of the line "Arise now, ye Tarnished." It's a joke that the narrator is having an orgasm while he's saying his lines.
- Glaive Master HodirExplanationSince it took two years between the reveal of the game and any tangible information about gameplay and release date, with total silence in between, fans of the Soulsborne series started making fake posts on subreddits asking for help fighting made-up bosses for the game, the most memorable of which being Glaive Master Hodir.
- Jokes about designers visiting the subreddits to steal ideas, or players booting up Elden Ring expecting to meet Glaive Master Hodir are also popular.
- HollowingExplanationIn the two-year gap between the reveal and the release date being confirmed, fans of the Soulsborne series started making jokes about turning Hollow, a state from Dark Souls that results from the lack of hope or drive.
- The Second Great HollowingExplanationAfter the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was announced in February of 2023, fans were hoping for a trailer or release date announcement at pretty much every big gaming event since, with their last, desperate hope before the end of the year being the Game Awards 2023. When it came and went with no such trailer or announcement, fans realized that they were most likely in for a similarly long wait as the above before they would receive any new information about the DLC. It wouldn't be until very close to a full year after the first teaser image that fans got another official nod to it, with a trailer released on February 21st of 2024.
- Poison SwampExplanationAfter the announcement, fans of the Soulsborne series started to joke about the inevitable poison swamp that shows up in all of Miyazaki's games. The meme gained further traction when, in an interview, Miyazaki revealed that he actually knows how hated poison swamp areas are, but greatly enjoys making them… which is why there are multiple swamps in Elden Ring.
- Deathblight Swamp. ExplanationAs FromSoftware DLCs have a reputation for being ludicrously difficult compared to the base game, fans started joking that Shadow of the Erdtree would have a level that instantly kills you if you stay in it too long. There is a swamp level shown in the gameplay trailer, but only time will tell if it truly is Deathblight. Miyazaki's comments in interviews, where he said that he saw the making of a new poison swamp a "point of introspection" that he hoped players would feel upon encountering it, did not help allay fears about how awful the swamp would be.
- Deathblight Swamp. ExplanationAs FromSoftware DLCs have a reputation for being ludicrously difficult compared to the base game, fans started joking that Shadow of the Erdtree would have a level that instantly kills you if you stay in it too long. There is a swamp level shown in the gameplay trailer, but only time will tell if it truly is Deathblight. Miyazaki's comments in interviews,
- Elden Ring Wins by Doing Absolutely NothingExplanationElden Ring won the 2020 game awards for Most Anticipated game. At that point, the reveal trailer was nearly two years old and there hadn't been any news about the game since then.
- Dark Souls II 2 ExplanationWith the game's colorful art direction, wide areas, extremely nonlinear world progression outside of the legacy dungeons, and the return of powerstancing and twinblades (a weapon class previously exclusive to DSII), it's become common to joke that the game is specifically a Spiritual Successor to Dark Souls II, especially as the latter was originally intended to be more open world. It was eventually revealed in an interview with Miyzaki after the Shadow of the Erdtree reveal trailer that "Dark Souls II" did indeed have important influence on the design of "Elden Ring."
- Dark Souls: Breath of the WildExplanationBecause Elden Ring is the first fully open-world Soulslike made by FROMSoftware, and Breath of the Wild is another extremely popular open-world game, comparisons were inevitable. The game allowing you to beeline for the main objectives and ignore the brunt of the story doesn't hurt. Both games were also released shortly after Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West respectively, completely overshadowing them.
- Also common: Dark Souls But Big and Dark Souls With A Horse.
- Elden Ring's bosses are much more talkative than previous Soulsborne games, and certain lines have become memetic — especially player kill lines that you're likely to hear often.
- "Put these foolish ambitions to rest."ExplanationThe Disc-One Final Boss of the Network Test, and first boss of the first Legacy Dungeon, Margit The Fell Omen, says this after he kills the player. And with him being easily the most difficult challenge in the Network Test, with his hyper-aggressive AI and his devastating combo attacks, needless to say the players who got to play the test have heard this phrase a lot, and it's always brought up at least once when discussing the boss. He was such an infamous challenge, Fromsoft had to mention that they nerfed him in the final release, and it seems it did little to quell his reputation, as weeks later they dedicated an entire section to him in an official Early Tips guide. It also doesn't help that even if Margit has been nerfed, his true self Morgott is even harder than he was in the Network Test, and uses the same line every time he kills the player.
- "May the curse seep to thy very soul."ExplanationOnce Omen King Morgott initiates his second phase, he vomits his cursed Omen blood all over the throne room of Leyndell, making him go ballistic with shame and rage, and his victory quote changes to this. Note that this is most likely similar in nature to the Dung Eater's Seedbed curse, and you can tell just how much you pissed Morgott off.
- "Lowly Tarnished... Thou'rt unfit even to graft.."ExplanationTaking Margit's Disc-One Final Boss throne is Godrick the Grafted, the first Lord Boss of the game. He has since gained a reputation of being the Beef Gate of the game as a whole, with many mechanics, the start of the game's main story, and much of the world outside Limgrave requires him to be killed first. And the game makes it very clear it wants you to explore and prepare before taking on the Lords, as he is unforgivingly difficult for an early-game Souls Boss (yes, this is by the standards of Dark Souls), with his erratic and highly mobile moveset and his huge AOE attacks. As such, his Have a Nice Death quote is often parroted on message boards.
- "A crown is warranted with strength!"ExplanationUttered by Godfrey, The First Elden Lord in his second phase: Hoarah Loux. A powered-up hyper-aggressive version of him where he ditches his weapon and armor in favor of Fighting Game-style ground slams and grab moves. While he is definitely a tough fight (not surprising, given he is the penultimate boss (at least if you consider Radagon and the Elden Beast a single boss fight; if not, Godfrey/Hoarah Loux is the third-to-last boss)), he is also considered by many to be one of the game's best.
- "I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella."ExplanationThe win quote of Malenia, Blade of Miquella. You'll be hearing it a lot, as she's widely considered to be the hardest boss in the entire game.
- "Let your flesh be consumed. By the Scarlet Rot."ExplanationA widespread follow-up to the above quote, as this is Malenia's quote when defeating you in phase two once she becomes Malenia, Goddess of Rot. Her second phase is no easier than her first, to put it mildly.
- "Miquella is mine, and mine alone."ExplanationUttered by Mohg, Lord of Blood, another Superboss found in the late game, who is also one of the candidates for the most evil character in the story. His utterly unforgiving difficulty combined with his genuinely depraved actions in the backstory have made him one of the most talked-about fights in the game, with his win quote encapsulating much of what makes him a memorable character.
- "Put these foolish ambitions to rest."ExplanationThe Disc-One Final Boss of the Network Test, and first boss of the first Legacy Dungeon, Margit The Fell Omen, says this after he kills the player. And with him being easily the most difficult challenge in the Network Test, with his hyper-aggressive AI and his devastating combo attacks, needless to say the players who got to play the test have heard this phrase a lot, and it's always brought up at least once when discussing the boss. He was such an infamous challenge, Fromsoft had to mention that they nerfed him in the final release, and it seems it did little to quell his reputation, as weeks later they dedicated an entire section to him in an official Early Tips guide. It also doesn't help that even if Margit has been nerfed, his true self Morgott is even harder than he was in the Network Test, and uses the same line every time he kills the player.
- "But unfortunately for you, you are maidenless."ExplanationBefore you meet Melina, you'll likely talk to Varre, who will tell you that your quest is hopeless because you don't have a Finger Maiden to help you level up. This was immediately taken to mean that the Tarnished has no girlfriend.
- "NO MAIDENS?"ExplanationA crossover-meme of "NO BITCHES?" taken from Megamind. With comments from characters over the Tarnished being "Maidenless", there has been art replacing Megamind with Melina or Varre, and later, recreations of a frowning Megamind using the customization options to make the reference.
- Maidenless behaviorExplanationFan Nickname for any action deemed deplorable or excessively horny.
- "NO MAIDENS?"ExplanationA crossover-meme of "NO BITCHES?" taken from Megamind. With comments from characters over the Tarnished being "Maidenless", there has been art replacing Megamind
- Touch Grace.ExplanationA pun on the "Touch grass" meme, as players literally have to touch sites of Grace to activate checkpoints and resting spots in the game.
- L + no maidens + touch graceExplanationMany players make jokes playing on Twitter's "ratio" and "L + [x]" insult messages, often with even more game-relevant additives like "tarnished" and "unfit to graft".
- "Reach out and touch grace"ExplanationA pun on a lyric from Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," but where "faith" is replaced with "grace."
- Turtles/Turtle PopeExplanationTurtles in general are beloved by fans, due to being friendly, adorable, and the "dog" messages. One in particular, a NPC magic teacher named Miriel, Pastor of Vows, is particularly adored by the title "Turtle Pope," due to both the charm of a tortoise in a pope hat and being one of the kindest NPCs in the game.
- "Once again Tarnished, weird, but not a sin." ExplanationShould you give Miriel spellbooks containing non-Golden Order incantations, Miriel has no issue teaching you them (compare to Corhyn, who can also take Incantation books but will be disgusted by all except the Golden Order Principia), on the basis that learning is not heresy since it is merely the pursuit of knowledge. Due to Miriel being basically a pope in look, this led to a resurgence in an older meme like this◊, with the text adjusted to being about the Tarnished, such as the Tarnished talking about marrying Ranni.
- "Once again Tarnished, weird, but not a sin.
- As always, the messaging system immediately provided a flood of memes:
- "Try fingers but hole"ExplanationThe latest incarnation of "Try tongue but hole" seen in previous games. "Tongue" is no longer an option in message creation, but "fingers" now is, and it happens to be a more than adequate replacement for a body part you may want to "try" on someone's "but hole".
- "dog"ExplanationA player message frequently found near just about every type of animal in the game (the most frequent being the turtles and the nomadic merchants' pack mules), with the possible exception of the actual dogs. Most of this is also due to the game's message system lacking the words for most of the passive animals in the game, including turtles.
- "Could this be a bird?"ExplanationThe reliable exception to the rule above is butterflies, which are consistently called birds in relation to the "Is this a pigeon?" meme.
- "Could this be a bird?"ExplanationThe reliable exception to the rule above is butterflies, which are consistently called birds in relation to the "Is this a pigeon?" meme
- "fort, night"ExplanationA multitude of messages have cropped up all over the game referencing Fortnite, due to the existence of the words 'fort' and 'night' in the message creator, combined with Fortnite's own memetic status, to a point where some Japanese players confused it for an actual hint. Variations such as "fort knight" or "fort... morning/evening?" have also cropped up.
- "Hidden Path ahead"/"Liar ahead"ExplanationAs Elden Ring has a number of new players not used to the way hidden areas are done, many, more experienced players used the chance to put messages pointing at hidden areas that are not true. This is usually done by just putting it near random walls, or by putting it at the end of an area that could reasonably have one. This has happened enough times that you'd see messages calling out false messages — sometimes you'd see the latter without the former and it's enough of a cue to not investigate.
- "No horse ahead"ExplanationOccasionally, you may see these inexplicable messages in similar dead ends. This is due to Chinese players using the messaging system to insult the author of the false message, using homophones to say their mother left them. An inversion of the "fort, night" translation confusion above, if you will.
- "No horse ahead"ExplanationOccasionally, you may see these inexplicable messages in similar dead ends. This is due to Chinese players using the messaging system to insult the author of the false message
- "you don't have the right, O you don't have the right, so to speak you don't have the right, O you don't have the right"ExplanationA common semi-gag message that's frequently put down before some manner of barrier that won't open unless the player obtains an item or does something that allows them to progress past it. This sometimes also appears at doors that should open, but turn out to be mere decoration.
- "Offer rump/If only I had a giant, but hole"ExplanationA duo of messages that's frequently found in front of or around some manner of pole jutting up from the ground; which range from the reasonable, such as the various small poles dotting the landscape, to the ridiculous, such as gigantic obelisks and spires.
- "edge, lord" and various other messages about "edge"ExplanationFound near Ensha of the Royal Remains, the guy in the skeleton armour who just leans against a wall and never says anything.
- "Try jumping"ExplanationOne of the biggest new mechanics of the game compared to previous entries is a dedicated jump button and mechanics built around it. Given the Soulsborne community's propensity to troll others by placing urging notes near death drops, the inevitable happened, with this being added to the trickery.
- "Behold, jumping!" / "Praise the jumping!" ExplanationAs a mechanic carried over from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Elden Ring features jumping as an action that can be performed with the press of a button, making it the first, truly Dark Souls-like installment to avert the Insurmountable Waist-High Fence problem that has plagued previous Soulsborne games. Upon release, many players took advantage of this new mechanic by placing messages on top of various waist-high objects and obstacles, which either praise From Software for finally adding something as mundane as a jumping mechanic, or jokingly treat the very act of jumping itself as a ground-breaking discovery or revelation.
- "old codger"ExplanationWhile amusing by itself, and often written for elderly characters (such as Iji who literally refers to himself as an old codger in conversation) and the above mentioned turtles, it is most frequently used in reference to the unique "Light Nobles" that spawn when activating a white tree of light. Once spawned, they will lead you to a cave of some kind... very... very... very slowly. The only thing stopping this from being a full on Escort Mission is that the Noble cannot die (though, given his penchant for leading you straight into very dangerous enemies, you have a high chance of dying). It's not an uncommon sight to see the Noble's path littered with messages disparaging the "old codger", proclamations of "I can't take this", and contrasting rousing messages telling people not to give up. Some of which are practically a bread crumb trail right to the place already.
- "Ahh, I’ve failed…" ExplanationCarried over from Dark Souls. There are some areas that require impressive jumping skills to reach but provide absolutely no rewards or secrets for getting to, and often are in Dungeons so they can only be escaped by dying. These despairing messages tend to cluster around them.
- "Dung"/"Likely Dung" ExplanationThanks to the bizarre obsession with dung the game seems to have, it was added as a word in the message system. Players quickly realized they could use it to talk... dung... about any NPCs, bosses, chest loot, or whatever else they do not like. Selivus and (fittingly enough) The Dung Eater are popular targets.
- "dastard!" ExplanationAn old and archaic word for a dishonorable or despicable person, fans have been using it as a substitute for... a more well-known similarly spelt word. Typically left around NPCs reviled by the community, like Selivus mentioned above, or other things treated with offense, like a corpse carrying turtle neck meat.
- dastard ahead... but lovable sort! ExplanationSimilar to the above, but always found next to the beloved recurring Dirty Coward Patches.
- "snake?, snake!" "Visions of snake..." "it's like a dream..., snake..." and various other snake-related messages.ExplanationCommonly found around any sufficiently tall ladder in the game.
- "lover ahead" ExplanationA message pinpointing a popular character people find attractive, like Ranni or Blaidd.
- "Try throwing Elden Ring" ExplanationAs a fantasy setting where the central MacGuffin is a golden ring, The Lord of the Rings jokes were inevitable. Expect to see this message scattered around the lava pools of the Mordor-esque Mt. Gelmir.
- "Plump sort" ExplanationReplaces "fatty" from the earlier games. Sometimes used to describe rotund enemies, such as Omens and the Godskin noble, but more often than not positioned in front of gaps that look like you should be able to fit through, but can't.
- "didn't expect weak foe; therefore time for introspection" ExplanationA self-deprecating message often found in the Mimic Tear's boss arena. The Mimic Tear is usually not considered a difficult boss, but its whole gimmick is copying your character, down to stats, equipment, and weapons...
- Could this be a giant?ExplanationExpect to find variations of this (or the use of the word "dragon" instead) in front of windmills up north in the Altus Plateau, mostly because the Don Quixote jokes just write themselves.
- "Weak foe ahead" ExplanationA sarcastic message typically found just before difficult bosses, and a surefire way to know that This Is Gonna Suck.
- "bloodstain?" "bloodstain? could this be a sacrifice?" "bloodstain? but weak foe..." ExplanationA message used to express bafflement at the abundance of bloodstains (left behind when a player dies, showing said player's last moments) in certain areas where dying is seen as unexpected or unlikely, such as ordinary cliff edges where several players have thrown themselves off the edge for the hell of it (somewhat similar to the tradition of leaving bloodstains in Majula in Dark Souls II, but more vague and spread out), or in boss arenas against humanoid enemies who are easily staggered.
- Torrent Elden RingExplanationA post meant to introduce Torrent, the steed that will accompany the player, was misinterpreted by many as a message to pirate the game.
- Elden Ring's perfect anti-piracy system.ExplanationOn the flipside, jokes that they named the horse Torrent specifically so that any attempt to search for actual Elden Ring torrents would be unsuccessful.
- THE LOOOOOOOOATHSOME DUNG EATER!! ExplanationAt the end of the opening cinematic, the narrator calls out the names of several of the major Tarnished who have arisen in the wake of the Shattering. One of them is the Loathsome Dung Eater, and the narrator's particularly grandiose and bombastic way of reciting his name, one that is seen as hilariously lame and underwhelming after a series of very awesome ones, quickly became beloved by the fanbase. A fandub adds multiple Added Alliterative Appeal examples.
- SIR GIDEON OFNIR, THE ALLLLLLLLLL KNOWING! explanationFrom the same intro, the narrator really hams up when reading Gideon’s title, leading to a tradition of typing out Gideon's full title in screaming All Caps when discussing him.
- Stop cheating and play the game as the developers intended.ExplanationA meme based on a Self-Imposed Challenge that playing the game in any way other than as a solo, Strength-focused, melee-only character is not only not how the developers intended the game to be played, but is in fact cheating. Which poses the question of why the developers bothered to put all that other stuff in the game if they didn't want you to use any of it.
- "If you used [X] you didn't beat the game." ExplanationA continuation of the previous meme, but in this one it is said that using any of the aforementioned "cheats" at any point means that even if you become Elden Lord and end the game, you did not truly beat the game. Due to how many things have been considered broken, people online started mocking the sentiment by replacing [X] with extremely mundane or ridiculous things, like using the jump button or not beating the game bare fisted.
- Fighting the Tree Sentinel. ExplanationThe Tree Sentinel, an overworld boss found immediately after exiting the starting area, quickly gained notoriety for wiping the floor with any player who tries to fight it early, thanks to its speedy horseback attacks and spell-reflecting greatshield. It also gives relatively poor rewards despite its difficulty, just a few thousand runes and a halberd that requires Strength, Dexterity, and Faith investment to use (though it is an excellent early weapon for Strength/Faith builds for players who prefer larger weapons and are willing to make the investment). Players made many jokes about repeatedly throwing themselves against it despite not even planning to use its spoils. Similar jokes apply to the Crucible Knight, a challenging evergaol boss found a bit later who drops a high-level incantation.
- Havel! ExplanationThe Draconic version of the Tree Sentinel found later in the game terrified players for a different reason; his armor, combined with his new dragonbone club and greatshield, marks him as this game's equivalent of the infamous Havel the Rock from Dark Souls. Add to that the fact he is on a horse of his own (a firebreathing one, no less), and one very, very quickly understands the players' terror.
- Elden Ring, now with improved UX!ExplanationShortly after the game's launch, developers from Ubisoft and Guerilla Games were seen criticizing Elden Ring for "lack of care for user experience", particularly the game's UI compared to Horizon's (and similar open world games') HUD, and also Elden Ring's lack of a quest book, which was a point of contention for some. The mean-spirited Tweets caused players to lash back and mock those developers, while also generating discussion over how much a game is allowed to "hold your hand" with tracking objectives or pointing out optional content and the like. This meme is an accurate summary to how formulaic modern open-world games have become, down to the microtransactions, and a mockery of how much Ubisoft's games have not deviated from the formula.
- TOGETHAAAA!!! ExplanationRykard's slurred, raspy voice has made him a very popular character, particularly the way he says the word "together". Expect to see people spam this in livestream chats whenever Rykard takes the stage.
- Caelid ExplanationCaelid very quickly gained a memetic reputation as one of the most horrifying, god-forsaken hellholes to be found in the game, owing to its nightmarish, Womb Level-esque visuals, the sheer difficulty spike between it and its adjacent area, and the fact that it's right next to Limgrave — not to mention the transporter trap placed near the starting area that sends unwitting players right into the heart of Caelid. Most of the memes made about Caelid compare it to Hell, emphasizing just how much players want to get the hell out of there even after they've reached higher levels.
- "Gary, Indiana." ExplanationAnother meme returning from Dark Souls, Western fans have found great joy in editing screenshots of the game to feature the names of real, mostly American locales in the font that comes up when entering a new area, typically in areas considered to be hellholes — most of which are sections of the aforementioned Caelid. Some examples can be found in this thread.
- "Gary, Indiana." ExplanationAnother meme returning from Dark Souls, Western fans have found great joy in editing screenshots of the game to feature the names of real, mostly American locales in the font that comes up when entering a new area, typically in areas considered to be hellholes — most of which are sections of the aforementioned Caelid. Some examples can be found in this thread
- Elden Bling ExplanationMuch like "Fashion Souls" from its predecessor, this is used for the player behavior of picking their armor for style over substance. Can also be used jokingly for combinations that look really ridiculous.
- "I offer you an accord." ExplanationA quote from the cutscene where Melina gives you the Spectral Whistle to summon Torrent with. Jokingly compared to the Honda automobile model of the same name. A popular FromSoft game hacker, Zullie the Witch, even had a mod made replacing Torrent with the car for April Fool's Day.
- Golden Order Totality ExplanationThis gesture is the memetic "T-pose to assert dominance" pose.
- Unga BungaExplanationThe community's nickname for pure STR builds.
- "This dog does 11,640 damage per second" ExplanationA bug causes the small bleed-inflicting dogs to deal damage an absurd amount of times if one of their bite attacks connects, enough to one-shot almost any build. When Zullie the Witch, a popular FromSoft game hacker, posted a video explaining the bug, the phrase in the thumbnail became popular for out-of-context posts.
- NIHIL!ExplanationThe phrase used by Mohg during his true boss fight as he transitions to his second phase. Since it's repeated three times as he stabs into the air with his trident, dealing immense damage to the player (if they haven't gotten the required Physick tear) and healing himself — it has left quite an impression on many players fighting him and will be often repeated any time discussion about Mohg crops up. Since his boss weapon also lets the player use his Signature Move for themselves, it also shows up in clips showcasing it. To a lesser extent, his earlier shouted counting-down throughout phase one of "Trēs", "Duo", and "Ūnus" also gets this treatment.
- "It's Mohging time."ExplanationA variant on "It's morbing time" used in reference to the Lord of Blood himself. Fans like to joke about Mohg saying this during his intro cutscene or during his transition to his second phase. Getting killed by his Rite of Blood in phase 2 is sometimes referred to as "getting Mohged".
- Sex! Explanation Hackers have discovered cut voicelines that reveal Mohg originally counted down from six to his phase transition... with the result that Mohg would yell "sex!" when he placed the first ring, since that's Latin for 'six'. Gamers were quick to joke about the devs finally adding sex to the game.
- The deeds done by Mohg on Miquella have become notorious to the point they spawned a whole slew of memes, some of which are described below.
- If the Tarnished could talk ExplanationGiven that Mohg has kidnapped Miquella, the twin brother of Malenia, who is Miquella's protector who has no idea where he currently is, a number of amusing imagined scenarios have been depicted where the Tarnished just tells Malenia that Mohg has her brother, enabling her to travel to Mohgwyn Palace to exact revenge and rescue Miquella.
- Mohg: to Catch a Predator ExplanationMohg lusts after his half-sibling, Miquella, who is cursed to live in the body of a child. Considering how depraved the Omen demigod already is, this pedophilic implication was the cherry on top of the horrifying cake. Jokes quickly spread that Mohg wouldn't be out of place in the popular show about arresting online child predators.
- "I'M FUCKING YOUR BROTHER."ExplanationAnother Mohg meme, there are numerous videos and macros about him interrupting Malenia with this exclamation. An example. Often paired with Morbius (2022) references for whatever reason.
- If the Tarnished could talk ExplanationGiven that Mohg has kidnapped Miquella, the twin brother of Malenia, who is Miquella's protector who has no idea where he currently is, a number of
- Hot Single MILF In Your AreaExplanation A phrase often used when talking about Rennala, since after her separation from Radagon and her mothering of multiple demigods as well as with her comely looks it's a pretty apt, if silly, descriptor.
- She got the dog in the divorce. ExplanationThe logical conclusion of the existence of the Red Wolf of Radagon and why Rennala has him, as the divorce between Rennala and Radagon is very important lorewise.
- Racist MorgottExplanationSince fans have taken notice that Morgott seems to harbor a lot of undue prejudice for Tarnished (exacerbated by lines he says like "Thy kind are all of a piece"), it's common to portray him as an extremely racist Politically Incorrect Villain who wants to kill the Tarnished less because they're a threat to the Golden Order and more because they are Tarnished.
- The Uncle Ruckus of Omens Explanation Morgott, despite being an Omen himself, detests the Omens and actively seeks to protect the system responsible for their oppression. This has naturally led to him being compared to probably the most infamous Boomerang Bigot in fiction.
- Let Me Solo Her ExplanationMalenia is considered one of the hardest bosses in the game. One player posted about encountering another player named "Let me Solo Her" (otherwise known as "The Jarnished", so called due to wearing nothing but the Jar Helm) placing their summon sign outside of Malenia's arena, and the player then, well, solo'd her. Said jar-headed player even uploaded gameplay of themself flawlessly beating a Malenia with boosted health on their own, while taking time to exchange emotes with the world master in the distance. "Let Me Solo Her" became a legend and an instant meme, even getting fanart, analysis about why he became so famous, and a rap by JT Music. Bandai Namco even gave the player a personalized award for his 1000th Malenia kill.
- Let Me Solo Her vs. GiantdadExplanationCrossing over with the "Giantdad" meme, it is easy to contrast the two fan figures, as one is an unstoppable but altruistic ally for co-op and the other is a figure universally hated in PVP. Fanart was immediately made pitting the two against each other.
- Let Me Solo Her vs. GiantdadExplanationCrossing over with the "Giantdad" meme, it is easy to contrast the two fan figures, as one is an unstoppable but altruistic ally for co-op and the other is a figure universally hated in PVP. Fanart was immediately made pitting the two against each other
- They look extremely similar in bad weather ExplanationA negative Twitter review of the game made by a Bioware dev heavily criticized its art direction but also revealed some Genre Blind assumptions on the reviewer's part. The biggest ones are assuming that the Tree Sentinel is a good guy due to its shining gold armor, and assuming Godrick Soldiers and Merchant Kalé are all hostile since the former attacked them first and both are seated at a campfire. The latter is horribly justified with "difficult to differentiate in bad weather," never mind that you cannot lock on to non-aggressive merchants and it will take effort on your part to turn them aggressive. This became the subject of mockery.
- Valstrax! ExplanationFans of Monster Hunter quickly noticed that Radahn's phase transition attack, where he crashes down from the sky like a meteor, is extremely similar to the monster Valstrax's notorious signature move and began making reactions to show their horror at the realization.
- Soldier of Godrick. ExplanationThe boss at the end of the tutorial is a standard Godrick soldier armed with a greatsword, who is naturally rather easy to beat. This has led to a slew of jokes about Soldier of Godrick's fabled difficulty, making him out to be one of the most dangerous bosses in the game and getting such titles as "Soldier of God, Rick."
- "The great Kenneth Haight!" ExplanationKenneth Haight is found in Limgrave, yelling for help reclaiming his ruined castle, and promises to knight the player as a reward, but ultimately never gets the chance to do so. His Large Ham tendencies and Small Name, Big Ego mentality, when combined with his rather pitiful state in-game as a solitary figure who's unable to offer you much in the way of reward for helping him (despite going on about his incredible generosity), have led to jokes about how Kenneth Haight truly is great... a great warrior, that is, who could easily take the throne of Elden Lord if he so desired, and whose generosity is both sincere and always demonstrated promptly.
- COULD HAVE GONE PRO IF I HADN'T JOINED THE GOLDEN ORDER!ExplanationAs soon as MGR fans noticed how easy it is to compare Godfrey to Senator Armstrong, a flood of copypastas of Armstrong's infamous rant modified to suit the First Elden Lord ensued.
- "Zanzibart...forgive me..." Explanationa tweet◊ by Gearbox Software writer Sam Winkler attacking the cryptic way Fromsoft games handle their lore ended up going viral after Elden Ring's release. It caught on especially well with /v/, where some anons felt (or said out of contrarianism, as is oft the case on /v/) that From's usual formula of delivering lore via ambiguous dialogue and item descriptions was wearing thin, which was only exacerbated by some characters in the game◊ (like Maliketh, D's Twin Brother, and Edgar) literally saying "X... forgive me..." verbatim. Pro-Fromsoft posters turned the attack on its head by playing along, pretending that Zanzibart and the Myrmidon of Loss are actual characters in the game and discussing the best strategies to defeat them or coming up with fake phases and backstories.
- WARRIOR! Explanation (Endgame Spoilers!)The line said by Hoarah Loux almost right after killing Serosh who was meant to hold him back. The way Hoarah Loux delivers this line and utilizes his sheer strength in wrestling moves further endears him to the fanbase. Expect this line to be spammed in livestreams during Godfrey's phase transition and in Twitch, spammed alongside the Gigachad emote.
- Scarlet Rotussy. ExplanationA meme that started as a way to poke fun at people who got hot and bothered over Malenia’s naked second stage, despite the fact she’s basically a walking lump of Scarlet Rot by that point.
- Goldmask Posting/"..." Explanation A joke based around "quoting" The Noble Goldmask, a perpetually mute Tarnished whose only response to any attempt at talking is "..." Fans usually either react with effusive praise for the original poster's brilliant profundity or another ellipsis (with other commentators remarking as though an intense debate were going on between the two or more Goldmask posters).
- Deathbed Companion STD Explanation (Slightly NSFW)Players can allow Fia to embrace them, granting them Baldachin's Blessing, an item that is consumed for a brief Poise boost in exchange for a 5% Maximum HP Reduction whenever it's being held in their inventory. Because of the nature of Deathbed Companions, it's commonly joked that Fia gave the Tarnished STDs by allowing her to embrace them.
- Arteria Leaf, the best item in the game! ExplanationA number of items hidden in difficult-to-reach areas turn out to be rare crafting materials instead of anything that would be more valuable. Players would start joking that your prize for traveling to obscure corners of the world would be Arteria Leaves, which are used in niche crafting recipes.
- The vegetarian merchant. ExplanationThe Nomadic Merchant near Fort Haight begs you to buy something from him as he is starving and desperately needs money for food. Except that his inventory contains several kinds of meat, and he is currently seated at a campfire that he could easily use to cook it, leading to many jokes about this particular merchant being just that dedicated of a vegetarian/vegan that he'd rather starve than resort to eating meat.
- "Find the Albinauric woman. She hides in a cave to the west of the Laskyar Ruins which jut from the mist-shrouded lake of Liurnia. She knows the location of the medallion's counterpart, I am sure."ExplanationAn infamous line of dialogue from Gideon. Players frequently note the difficulty of actually finding her despite Gideon’s directions (and indeed because of them, seeing that the cave in question is in fact south-southwest of the ruins), and the fact that he’ll still repeat the dialogue even after you’ve found her.
- Basilisk of the Rot, what is your wisdom?ExplanationA snowclone of the "Senpai of the Pool" meme, depicting a player asking a basilisk partially submerged in the Lake of Rot for advice. Usually used specifically to explain obscure game mechanics.
- Farming Albinaurics at Mohgwyn Palace.ExplanationMohgwyn Palace is notorious for being a very popular place to farm Runes, with the most notable method being used is to kill the Albinaurics resting near the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site of Grace. Because of how notable this method is, many players often joke about farming them, such as claiming that they're worse than Gideon (who massacred an entire village of Albinaurics for one of the halves of the Haligtree Secret Medallion).
- Chicken Farming ExplanationAnother popular rune farming method in the same location involves walking up to the ledge and using a bow to hit a Blistered Giant Crow (which resembles a giant chicken) in the ledge below and immediately running back in the hopes that the Crow falls off the ledge, instantly giving you 11k runes. Use the site of grace to respawn and repeat ad infinitum.
- Vigor check!ExplanationOften used in multiplayer, invoked whenever a summoned phantom or an invasion target has too little HP to avoid getting one-shotted.
- Reformed Orthodox Rabbi Bill Clinton.ExplanationAt the end of the Game Awards 2022, in which Elden Ring won Game of the Year, a random audience member, later identified as Matan Even who would become well-known for showing up at random events, used the Bavarian Fire Drill tactic to hide himself amongst the developers who went on stage to accept the award, remaining unnoticed until after Miyazaki finished his speech, at which point he took the mic in order to "nominate this award to my reformed orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton", getting the very last word of the entire show in the process. Naturally, the internet reacted with a massive outpour of memes due to the sheer bizarreness of the whole thing.
- Yo, Sellen's fucking BALLIN'!Explanation (spoilers)A hilarious way to describe Sellen's fate at the end of her questline, namely being transformed into a School of Graven Mages.
- Do not hurt Kalé and the Turtle Pope, OR ELSE.ExplanationAs Kalé and Miriel are two of the kindest and friendliest NPCs that you will encounter in the game, killing them is seen as an unforgivable crime among the fanbase. This is true especially in the case of Miriel, whose immense health pool means you'd actively have to try to kill him, making it all the more despicable.
- I am Melania/Milenia/Melanie, Blade of Michael.ExplanationFor some reason, a good portion of the playerbase tends to misspell Malenia's name, despite the fact that it's constantly displayed on-screen just above her health bar. She also says her name every time she kills you during her first phase, and subtitles are enabled by default, so you'd think people would know how to spell it by now. They could be confusing her name for the similarly-named Melina, but even then...
- IT'S SPELLED MALIKETH!ExplanationJust like Malenia, a huge portion of the fanbase tends to misspell Maliketh's name as "Malekith". Again, his name is displayed above his health bar and he says his name every time he kills you.
- Radagon's theme.ExplanationRadagon's boss music, a Triumphant Reprise of the game's main theme, is generally considered to be such a rapturous piece of Awesome Music that it has been edited into countless videos, many of them completely unrelated to Elden Ring, to impart an epic and triumphant feeling
- [X] build makes the game too easy! [Y] build:ExplanationA meme that started in the Elden Ring subreddit, initially mocking those who claim that using certain builds makes the game too easy, countering back with another build. It quickly gained traction as more and more unconventional and memey builds (i.e. small shields only, throwing knives only, pots only, spamming poison smoke only) were showcased with every new post, with all of them turning the Draconic Tree Sentinel at Leyndell into a Butt-Monkey extraordinaire.
- "The only thing Martin added to the game was the incest." explanationWhile the game proudly advertised George R. R. Martin 's involvment in writing the story, many people have noticed that Elden Ring's worldbuilding (of demigods driven mad by their power, of exploring the ruins of their conflict in a world prey to greater forces, etc...) isn't that different from FromSoftware's previous games, leading to jokes that Martin's only contribution to it was Mohg's attitude toward Miquella. (A definitely tongue-in-cheek accusation, as Martin has been confirmed to have created basically everything pre-Shattering and Miyazaki took it from there, meaning the actual story beats encountered in gameplay are obviously going to feel his storytelling influence).
- Carian Siblings age guess ExplanationThe vague age of the Carian siblings has often been a source of much debate amongst fans as, unlike Godfrey's and Radagon-Marika's lineage, it isn't clear whose the oldest and whose the youngest. There are currently three camps in the debate.
- The first believes Radahn to be the oldest and Ranni to be the youngest. This largely rests upon the idea that Radahn, having the body of a jock and a headstrong attitude, resembles that of the stereotypical eldest brother. Meanwhile they use the JP translations from Rojier that describes Ranni to be specifically the youngest as evidence.
- The second believes the opposite, with Ranni being the oldest and Radahn being the youngest. Supporters use Radahn's loyalty and naive admiration of the Golden Order and Godfrey as behavioural evidence that he is the youngest, as his loyalty must only be so when the Golden Order was at its height, or somewhere just before the Shattering. Likewise, Ranni's more calm and compose behaviour does not strike someone as the youngest, with her giving Rykard the Blasphemous Claw as a case of Big Sister Instinct. This is further supported when Iji specified that Ranni was First Heir, indicating seniority. They also use the fact that Iji has higher credentials than Rojier as Iji has direct familiar links to Ranni, as well as the fact that Rojier's other assumptions regarding the lore tend to be thoroughly disproven.
- The third believes Rykard is the oldest, although his has the least support. Supporters usually used Rykard's aged face before his ascension as evidence of his seniority. Although most would regulate Rykard as middle child for fun.
- "I do not invade for Rune Arcs. He who invades for Rune Arcs has forgotten the face of his father. I invade for violence."◊ExplanationA triple crossover based on invader philosophy, based around the Gunslinger's Creed and everyone's favorite Zweihander-toting PVP griefer.
