Evidently FromSoftware may be wanting to up the stakes with PvP as well, as there’s a rumored PvP arena DLC coming at some point in the future. A modder named Lance McDonald went viral after discussing some potential placeholder assets and unfinished areas in a colosseum, which can be found in the northern part of Limgrave. Considering this place is inaccessible to the player under normal means, it’d make a lot of sense to assume that some kind of combat-focused expansion to Elden Ring is on the way. Assuming it’s PvP-related, adding a colosseum or gladiator-style combat scenario for players would make a lot of sense for Elden Ring post-launch.
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Invasions and Co-Op: Dark Souls’ Innovative Multiplayer
Invasions PvP and Co-op have been the sole multiplayer aspects of Dark Souls and Soulsborne games, other than the asynchronous messaging system that helps guide Souls players along. Invasions allow for intentionally inserting a degree of chaos into a standard playthrough, or can assist with grinding/testing out certain builds, as well as otherwise changing up the single-player gameplay. On the flip side, players can summon friends with co-op if they need assistance with a particularly challenging boss fight. It’s an unconventional multiplayer design that’s grown in usage with other single-player games, but the mechanic grew in popularity primarily with Dark Souls.
Multiplayer both adds a layer of challenge and unpredictability, as well as a layer of support for players that want it, that remains entirely optional. Players can choose to engage with multiplayer in Soulslike games (except Sekiro) in any capacity, or ignore it entirely and experience the game entirely through single-player only. It’s a simple and ingenious design that allows for multiplayer capability without functionally interrupting the core gameplay loop, or necessitating a separate standalone mode. Elden Ring, with is vast build diversity and variety of playstyles, emphasizes the unique multiplayer setup of Soulslike games, and why it’s been so successful for FromSoftware.
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Dedicated PvP DLC For Elden Ring Makes Sense
Multiplayer in Elden Ring functions just as organically as previous Dark Souls games, but the game may receive a more dedicated arena for PvP play, specifically. This seemingly empty arena could be the staging area for a competitive-focused region dedicated to fighting in a gladiator-style amphitheater. There’s some sparsely detailed chambers, multiple spectator stands, among other things like lifts that lead to nowhere, that could potentially be updated and fleshed out into a fully playable arena. PvP is good as it is with invading other players’ instances, but having a standalone area where players can engage in PvP opens up competitive play to something new.
Having a stadium with a separate mode could be a very innovative addition to Soulslike multiplayer, with Elden Ring pitting players against one another in tournament-style fights. Players could compete for Runes or some kind of exclusive rare loot like additional Larval Tears, or even something as ambitious as new weapons and equipment that can’t be found otherwise.
There’s plenty of potential in having a specific region dedicated strictly to a competitive mode, something FromSoftware most recently dabbled in with Dark Souls 3. Plenty have tested their mettle in Dark Souls PvP and the arena mode’s beforehand, but with Elden Ring’s popularity, a whole new slew of Tarnished have something to prove.
The other likely scenario, assuming this arena location on the Elden Ring map isn’t for PvP, could be this colosseum is for some kind of boss rush mode. That’d be disappointing, even though plenty of Elden Ring players would be excited for a dedicated boss rush mode with its own rewards. FromSoftware games have had plenty of mods and official boss rush modes implemented in DLC/updates, but never has there been a dedicated arena mode for PvP on the scale of the location in Elden Ring currently.
Arena DLC in previous Dark Souls games may not have made a huge splash among the Soulslike community, mostly due to its tangential nature and lacking content. However, with the variety of builds and weapon diversity in FromSoftware’s latest epic, adding an arena with ambitious tournament-style PvP would make a lot of sense for Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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