Elden Ring Players Are Hilariously Abusing The Game's Messaging System
Although the Lands Between is a sometimes macabre place with its horrific monsters and tyrannical leaders, there's always a bit of fun to be found when you want to take some time away from hacking your way through Margit the Fell Omen, Maliketh the Black Blade, and the Elden Beast.
One of Elden Ring's unique features is the ability to leave messages for others. It means your journey around this tormented realm doesn't feel quite as lonely. As with anything where you can write your own messages, it didn't take long for players to abuse it. Ranging from the downright weird to the wildly offensive, someone at FromSoftware is presumably shaking their head.
What Is The Elden Ring Message System?
There's a set list of words you can use, meaning it's not a foolproof idea. Still, the Elden Ring message system has proved just expansive enough to let fans run wild with their filthy messages. Our personal favourite is "try finger but hole" - which we guess you can figure out for yourselves. There are a lot that use the sequence of "but hole," and now we've written this, we hope it gets used more.
Others include "love, o lover, time for a pickle" and "time for head"... insert side-eye emoji. Someone has simply gone around labelling everything as "dog", making for a funny but infuriating way to populate the Lands Between. There are still those that use the system to warn you of a dangerous enemy ahead or where the required lever you need to pull is. Then again, we're here for the ones that are telling you to pull a very different kind of lever for a different reason.
Since the release of Demon's Souls in 2009, FromSoft games have become synonymous with their messaging systems, but in the past, they've been called out for allowing a small minority to leave sexist remarks. Although a more limited vocabulary has seemingly erased this problem, we're thankful that everyone else is still making good use of the messaging system for exactly the reasons it wasn't intended.
Does Elden Ring's Messaging System Have Any Bonuses?
As pointed out by PC Gamer's Imogen Mellor, the Elden Ring messaging system has an added perk. Apparently, when someone appraises your message, you'll get a small boost of health. She left a simple message warning others about the first boss inside the Chapel of Anticipation, and although it was basic, it paid off in the long run. With other Tarnished loving her handy hints, she got a much-needed heal while taking on the Night's Cavalry.
So there you have it, the Elden Ring messaging system isn't for coming up with new ways to refer to a Tarnished's manhood or performing lewd acts behind the bushes. We'd be wary though, there are the typical players who are leaving messages only to lure you off a cliff like Patches the recurring FromSoft NPC. Next time you read "if only I had a giant but hole" in Elden Ring, we hope you think of us.
