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How to make elden ring challenging: player seeks handicaps

Players Seek Ways to Increase Difficulty | Elden Ring Challenge Sparks Community Discussion

By

Maya Thompson

Aug 28, 2026, 06:55 PM

2 minutes of duration

A gamer customizing character build in Elden Ring, focusing on strategies to add difficulty, with level cap suggestions visible on screen
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Gamers are turning to community forums for advice on increasing the difficulty in Elden Ring. A dedicated player expressed concerns about feeling overpowered after completing various FromSoftware titles, notably the Souls series and Sekiro, before facing challenges in the latest game.

Players Feel Overpowered in Elden Ring

The discussion began when one player, whoโ€™s focused on a faith and strength build, shared their experience of breezing through the game. Their current progress includes completing Ranni's quest and much of Raya Lucaria. The combination of skills and extensive gameplay seems to have led to a sense of imbalance in their experience.

"Rolling through any enemy is just not cool to me," the gamer confessed, seeking community suggestions for effective handicaps.

Community Responses Encourage Challenging Playstyles

Responses flooded in from fellow players who also shared tips on self-imposed challenges:

  • Restrict Healing: Suggestions included only using blue flasks for restoration.

  • Play Style Changes: One commenter urged starting a new character with specific limitations like no weapon usage or leveling up. Others suggested not using spirit ashes during fights, as they significantly ease difficulties.

  • Leveling Caps: Setting level caps for each area or boss was also recommended, to maintain challenge as players progress.

The community's advice highlighted a wide range of creative and sometimes humorous ways to ramp up difficulty. For instance, players jokingly suggested using Dance Dance Revolution mats as controllers.

Sentiment Mix: Encouragement and Humor

While many players find creativity in difficulty-enhancing methods, others questioned how gamers could dominate while still seeking more challenges. One user succinctly commented, "Posts like this are just strange to me."

The overall mood leans towards camaraderie in pushing limits, mixing serious suggestions with light-hearted banter.

Key Insights from the Discussion:

  • ๐Ÿ”น "Youโ€™re way overleveled" โ€“ Community member advising on level checks.

  • ๐Ÿ”ธ Many players emphasize exploration helping gauge difficulty.

  • โ—๏ธ "Elden Ring rewards courage and exploration as much as skill." This sentiment often echoed in various comments.

As players continue to share advice and strategies, Elden Ring remains a focal point for discussions on gameplay balance and personal challenges. Can gamers find a way to match their skills to the game's design? Only time will tell as the community pushes through together.

Looking at the Horizon of Gameplay Challenges

As the Elden Ring community explores various difficulty adjustments, thereโ€™s a strong chance that game developers may take notice and introduce built-in options for heightened challenges. Given the increasingly vocal player base, experts estimate that within a year, we could see features like difficulty sliders or unique modes catering to players craving more. This shift might reshape future game designs, prompting studios to consider player feedback more seriously than ever before. The desire for more challenging experiences could not only enhance gameplay but also foster a more engaged community as players seek to share their journeys and trials.

Treading Unseen Paths of Gaming History

This situation echoes the early days of arcade gaming in the 1980s, where players sought to add their own challenges to enhance enjoyment. Just as gamers in those days turned to high score challenges and self-imposed rules to squeeze more out of simple mechanics, today's players are crafting personal hurdles to elevate their engagement with complex narratives and mechanics. The parallel lies in the notion that regardless of technological advancements, the human need for challenge and achievement remains timeless, turning a shared gaming experience into a deeply personal adventure.