A new update for Elden Ring has made sweeping changes to the game, ranging from additional NPC quest options to balance changes for some of the more-contentious abilities. While the patch notes show it primarily improved your chances of surviving in the Lands Between, it also features two major nerfs for the already legendary Hoarfrost Stomp and Mimic Tear.
Available now across all platforms, Elden Ring v1.03 decreases the damage done by Hoarfrost Stomp and increases its casting time. The Mimic Tear also does less damage and had its “behavior pattern” adjusted.
After testing both, they’re definitely still viable for helping with those tough bosses, particularly if you have your Mimic Tear using Hoarfrost Stomp alongside you–it will indeed still cast the ability fairly often, and the frostbite effect still makes a big difference, as does the stagger you get after a hit. I was actually able to defeat a boss I had struggled with earlier and still used both abilities heavily.
Still, reducing an ability’s effectiveness like this when some of the bosses in Elden Ring are among the hardest in From Software’s entire library seems a little cruel. If enemies are going to use every trick in the book, players should be able to as well. There are more friendly faces in the game now, however, as more NPCs were actually added as part of the update.
Full patch notes are below, including several buffs for magic users, bug fixes, more NPC options, and icons to help keep track of the NPCs you’ve found. For more help, check out our Elden Ring guides hub.
Elden Ring v1.03 Patch Notes
Additional Elements Added
- Added a function to record an icon and the name of an NPC on the map when you encounter that NPC.
- Added NPC Jar-Bairn.
- Added new quest phases for the following NPCs: Diallos/ Nepheli Loux/ Kenneth Haight/ Gatekeeper Gostoc.
- Added some summonable NPCs in multiple situations.
- Increased the number of patterns of objects player can imitate when using Mimic’s Veil.
- Added night background music for some open field area.
Bug Fixed
- Fixed a bug that prevented summoned NPCs from taking damage in some boss battles.
- Fixed a bug that sometime prevented the player from obtaining item after boss battle.
- Fixed a bug that causes dialogue to be skipped when talking to NPCs and using custom key configurations.
- Fixed a bug that causes the player to freeze when riding.
- Fixed a bug that causes arcane to scale incorrectly for some weapons.
- In situation where the player cannot obtain more than 2 talisman pouches, added talisman pouch to Twin Maiden Husks shop line up.
- Fixed a bug that prevented the user from warping to sites of grace from the map at the end of the game.
- Fixed a bug that prevented the player from moving to the next area after the battle with the Fire Giant.
- Fixed a bug which causes some weapons to have incorrect scaling after strengthening.
- Fixed a bug which causes some weapons to not use stat scaling.
- Fixed hang-ups in certain occasions.
- Fixed a bug which incorrectly displays multiplayer area boundary when playing online.
- Fixed a bug that allows player to activate Erdtree Greatshield’s weapon skill without absorbing an attack using a special combination of item and incantation.
- Fixed a bug which causes Fire’s Deadly Sin incantation to have different effect.
- Fixed a bug with the Ash of War, Determination and Royal Knight’s Resolve, where the damage buff will also apply to other weapons without that skill.
- Adjusted the visual effect of Unseen Form spell.
- Deleted the Ragged armor set from the game which was mistakenly obtainable in previous patch.
- Fixed a bug that causes some hostile NPCs to drop Furlcalling Finger Remedy.
- Fixed a bug that causes incorrect sound effect to play in some situations.
- Fixed a bug which causes visual animation and hitboxes to not be displayed correctly on some maps.
- Fixed bugs which causes incorrect visual and behavior for some enemies.
- Fixed a bug that causes incorrect stat parameter for some armor.
- Text fixes.
- Other performance improvement and bug fixes.
Balance Changes
- Increased the drop rate of Smithing Stone for some enemies.
- Added Smithing Stone to some early game shop line up.
- Increased shield’s effectiveness.
- Increased the damage for all offensive cracked pot items.
- Increased the damage for the following items: Spark Aromatic/Poison Spraymist.
- Increased the effect duration for the following items: Uplifting Aromatic/ Ironjar Aromatic.
- Increased HP healing for Torrent when using the following items: Rowa Raisin/ Sweet Raisin/ Frozen Raisin
- Reduced FP consumption and increased the damage of the following sorceries: Glintstone Cometshard/ Comet/ Night Comet
- Increased the damage of the following sorceries: Gravity Well/ Collapsing Stars/ Crystal Barrage
- Decreased FP consumption of the following sorceries: Star Shower/ Rock Blaster/ Gavel of Haima/ Founding Rain of Stars/ Stars of Ruin/Greatblade Phalanx/Magic Downpour/ Loretta’s Greatbow/ Loretta’s Mastery/ Carian Greatsword/ Carian Piercer/ Shard Spiral
- Raised projectile speed and range of Great Glintstone Shard
- Decreased Ash of War, Hoarfrost Stomp’s damage and increase cast time.
- Increased Ash of War, Bloody Slash’s self-inflict damage while slightly lowering the damage and increasing the cast time.
- Decreased weapon skill, Sword of Night and Flame’s damage.
- Increased FP consumption and lower duration of Ash of War, Barricade Shield.
- Changed FP consumption timing of Ash of War, Prelate’s Charge.
- Decreased the damage of spirit summoned when using the item Mimic Tear Ash and changed the spirit’s behavior pattern.
- Other enemy and weapon balance changes
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