Everything That's Coming In Elden Ring's Day One Patch

It's finally time. After initially being announced at E3 2019 and going through a near five-year development cycle, "Elden Ring", the highly anticipated spiritual successor to FromSoftware's critically acclaimed "Dark Souls" series and a game that was co-developed by revered fantasy author George R.R. Martin — the man behind "Game of Thrones." So far, things look pretty good for the new property, with the PlayStation 5 edition of "Elden Ring" collecting a near-perfect score of 97/100 on Metacritic based on early access reviews from critics. However, no game is without its issues, minor or otherwise — not even a game as critically acclaimed as "Elden Ring." 

Companies typically collect data pre-release, through quality assurance and beta access, and determine what aspects of their games need fine tuning or a complete overhaul. These changes are usually made pre-release and are prepared in a day one patch that is distributed simultaneously with a game's worldwide release to consumers. "Elden Ring" arrives with a "Day One" patch of its own after hitting shelves and digital marketplaces on February 25. Here's what the patch aims to fix.

When it comes to playing a game, any visual issues will be among the first things to be noticed. These could include wonky facial expressions, character models, screen tearing, or any multitude of things. Frame rate is a visual issue that isn't seen, per see, but felt. Assuming you are playing on a high-end PC or next-gen console, it's likely you are demanding the game you're playing to run at, at the very least, 60 frames per second and consistently stay around that range without dipping too low. 

Apparently, FromSoftware found an issue where frame rates in "Elden Ring" were dropping "under certain conditions" in-game. Of course, frame rate issues at certain points, even when in a cutscene, can kill the immersion and reduce your lush and beautiful digital world to a stutter step. Luckily, FromSoftware was able to pinpoint such issues and rectify them before release in its patch.

Outside of that, FromSoftware also provides "improved player controls" as part of the day one patch. It is unknown if this is to address a bug or simply optimize the existing control scheme/responsiveness in-game. So long as any issue that would hypothetically send your character into an unintended tailspin is gone before gamers see it, it's a win!

Outside of a skipping frame rate from time to time, another issue that can pull gamers right out of an immersive experience is when there are bugs in the world itself. According to patch notes, FromSoftware either discovered or were alerted to some of these issues in "Elden Rings" and has done its due diligence to remove these immersion breakers from the game. Such issues seemed to be focused around in-game text, including a "text bug" that appeared when using certain languages, as well as undefined "text adjustments." The notes didn't reveal whether these included subtitles or action prompts.

Among other issues the needed addressing was in regards to BGM (background music), which also includes "addition" of new assets and adjustments to existing ones. Event fixes and adjustments were also made to some NPC interactions in-game. It seems like the team behind "Elden Ring" wanted to fine-tune some of the more atmospheric elements of the game.

Ray tracing is one of the most talked-about aspects of optimizing the graphical quality of next-gen games. What makes ray tracing such a useful tool is its ability to generate real-time, nearly photorealistic effects when it comes to shadows, lighting, and reflections, and can add a whole new level of immersion to any game that utilizes it, typically at the expense of a higher frame rate. Such a tool could be useful for getting the most visually out of a game like "Elden Ring," a game that many feel already looks gorgeous.

However, those wishing to use ray tracing in "Elden Rings" upon getting the game are unfortunately out of luck, at least for now. According to the patch notes, the "timing for the implementation" of ray tracing will be present in the game's day one patch, but it will not be available until a later patch sometime in the future.