New Elden Ring patch adds the game’s biggest quality of life improvement yet
Finally, you can just quit to desktop.
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FromSoftwarehas released a new patch forElden Ring, whichupdates the game to version 1.05and is required for online play. It doesn’t have any huge content or balancing changes, but does offer a lengthy list of bugs squished, some UI tweaks to make certain systems more comprehensible, and one very welcome option for PC players.
First up, the best news of all: the PC version now has a ‘Return to Desktop’ option in the system menu. Yes! No longer do you have to quit the game, wait for the logos to fade, then exit from the title screen. It’s a legacy of FromSoft’s console-focused development, and has been one of those little annoying nitpicks for the PC versions of their games dating back to Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition.
I don’t even want to think about how much of my life I’ve lost to waiting for FromSoft games to quit back to the title screen, then tolog you back into the servers to get the full list of menu options, and only then being able to fully quit out. Try to get around the whole thing by just Alt+F4ing? They scold you on next log in. “The game may not have been properly exited during the last play session” yeah guys, I know.
Version 1.05 also brings some changes to smooth out life for the more dedicated, such as making Bell Bearing items carry over to NG+ (these unlock additional things to purchase at the Twin Maiden Husk merchant). There are also changes that are more for convenience than anything, such as additional sound effects when other players' summon signs appear.
The patch tweaks a whole bunch of skills that either weren’t working quite as planned or were working too well: the Ice Spear no longer boasts unguardable attacks, and performing the ‘Seppuku’ skill used to harm your allies and now doesn’t.
Some more serious stuff has been quashed too, including a bug I’ve seen mentioned a few times where defeating a boss as a summon could in rare cases cause that boss to stop spawning in your own world.
The patch also “fixed a bug that prevented the event of the NPC ‘Alexander, Warrior Jar’ from progressing under certain circumstances.” There is also this mysterious but quite ominous-sounding note: “Fixed a bug that caused the player to become inoperable and die in certain locations.” Sounds horrible!
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It also looks like FromSoft has cut off access to theLeyndell Colosseum, a location that is intended to be unreachable through ‘normal’ means that is probably intended to make up part of a future DLC. Users were able to get to this, but now players will not be able to “reach unexpected locations with certain procedures.”
The patch also claims to make some performance improvements to the PC version, which can be a bit chuggy at times. The notes say it’s fixed a bug that slowed performance “when changing ‘Screen Mode’ and ‘Resolution’.” The patch notes in full are as follows:
Additions and modifications for PC version only
Additional elements
Bug fixes
Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as “[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike.”
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