Brandon Sanderson is not one to shy away from boasting his gaming accolades, and he’s also been an outspoken fan of everything FromSoftware-related, including especiallyDark SoulsandElden Ring. However, it wasn’t clear exactly how big of anElden Ringfan he was until a discussion with some friends on his official YouTube channel released yesterday.
In aYouTubesit-down with Dan Wells and Wes Chu,Sanderson says that he “beatElden Ringat Soul Level 1,“a feat that even the most hardcore Souls fans rarely accomplish. This may or may not come as a surprise to Sanderson fans, but it definitely tracks, given his often-expressed love for the game.
“I Beat Elden Ring At Soul Level 1”: Sanderson Does What Most Players Can’t
One Of Us, One Of Us
For the uninitiated, Soul Level 1 means not leveling up in a Souls game, which are notoriously difficult to begin with.Elden Ringis anincredibly challenging game, and you’d typically have to “grind” levels to be able to defeateven the first boss of the game.
So Sanderson’s not-so-humble brag here is well-earned, considering that bragging rights are usually the main reason to pull off this sort of feat. Sanderson says"it didn’t take me long, because I’ve played these games since … Demon’s Souls.“If you weren’t convinced already that Sanderson wasa true Souls fan,there shouldn’t be any lingering doubt.
Sanderson Makes It Sound Easy
Learning Souls Mechanics Has A Lot To Do With Muscle Memory
Sanderson actually makes a pretty good point about how this accomplishmentisn’t too difficult if you commit to the game and persevere.“I knew the bosses, and I knew how the mechanics work,“he says, pointing out that muscle memory frombeating the gamemultiple times before made the Soul Level 1 run much easier.
He also delves into the strategy, highlighting that Soul Level 1 requiresavoiding taking damage at all.“you may deal a decent amount of damage just off of how you build your weapons and things; you just can’t take hits if you don’t level up,” he says.
Whilehe makes it sound easy,learning how to avoid damage via dodging, blocking, rolling, etc. does take a considerable amount of time and trial and error. Sanderson says that if you"deal enough damage to a boss before you take damage, you can beat most of them,“which is both incredibly obvious and incredibly challenging.
Sanderson’s love for all things Souls-related cannot be denied after this reveal, and he’s definitely earned some bragging rights for a Soul Level 1 run throughElden Ring.
