'Elden Ring': New Patch Tones Down Overpowered Skills And Weapons

Some of the best gear in “Elden Ring” got nerfed after the implementation of Patch 1.03, which brought a lot of new additions, bug fixes and balance changes to the game.

Three weeks after launch, FromSoftware released the 1.03 patch that aimed to address some glaring bugs and overpowered equipment in “Elden Ring.” The two most notable balance changes in the patch are nerfs for the Sword of Night and Flame and the Hoarfrost Stomp Ash of War.

The Sword of Night and Flame’s weapon skill damage was toned down as it was simply too powerful for a weapon that can be obtained early in the game. Even at just +3 upgrade level, the sword can do over 1,000 damage in one hit, and players could bypass its hefty stat requirements by killing the dying dragon in Caelid.

Meanwhile, Hoarfrost Stomp received a nerf to both its raw damage output and casting time, severely reducing its overall DPS. This Ash of War, which can be found either as a standalone version or as part of the Icerind Hatchet, is one of the main damaging tools used by many “Elden Ring” speedrunners, including Distortion2 who finished the game in just 28 minutes.

The Mimic Tear summon also received a hefty nerf to its damage output and behavior.

On top of these nerfs is a host of buffs to sorceries. Some spells, like Loretta’s Mastery and the Carian Greatsword, have had their FP costs reduced to increase the frequency of their use. Meanwhile, Comet spells have had their overall efficiency improved thanks to a buff to their damage and a reduction to their FP consumption.

Some consumables received notable buffs as well. All offensive cracked pot items had their damage values increased, while some Aromatic items received improvements to their damage or durations.

Most importantly, FromSoftware fixed the bug that prevented some Arcane weapons like the Marais Executioner’s Sword and Rivers of Blood from scaling properly with their primary attributes.

The devs also left a note saying that they are some “other enemy and weapon balance changes,” but they did not elaborate any further than that.