Elden Ring is generally considered a very challenging action RPG, but it also gives you many ways to make that challenge more manageable if you use all the tools the game offers. Many players describe it as both the “hardest” and the “easiest” FromSoftware game, depending entirely on how you choose to play.

Overall difficulty

  • Enemies and bosses hit hard, have complex movesets, and punish mistakes, especially if you are new to Souls‑like games.
  • At the same time, the open world lets you leave tough areas, level up elsewhere, and come back stronger, which softens the difficulty curve compared to older, more linear titles.

Compared to other FromSoftware games

  • Many veterans say Elden Ring’s bosses are among the hardest in the series if you fight them at “intended” level without extra help, putting it near the top in raw mechanical difficulty.
  • However, because you can overlevel, optimize powerful builds, and use summons, lots of experienced players rank it as one of the more accessible entries overall.

“Hidden” difficulty settings (how you play)

Players often talk about Elden Ring having “unofficial difficulty sliders” based on your build and tools used:

  • Easier experience:
    • Using strong magic or status‑effect builds (especially bleed)
    • Using spirit ashes (like Mimic Tear) and co‑op summons
    • Exploring a lot, overleveling, and picking up optimized weapons/ashes of war
  • Harder experience:
    • Ignoring spirit ashes and co‑op, playing “solo only”
    • Avoiding “OP” builds and sticking to basic melee
    • Self‑imposed challenges like low‑level runs (SL1), no shields, or no healing

For complete beginners

  • For someone who has never played a Souls‑like, Elden Ring will likely feel very hard at first because it is mechanically dense and does little hand‑holding.
  • The flip side is that beginners can smooth the experience by:
    • Choosing forgiving starting classes and simple weapons
    • Summoning spirits and other players for bosses
    • Leaving a boss that walls them and exploring somewhere else until they gain levels and gear

Quick Scoop – short take

  • If you’re experienced with Souls games: expect Elden Ring to be tough but fair, with some of the hardest bosses yet, and plenty of options to break the difficulty if you want.
  • If you’re new: expect a steep learning curve, lots of early deaths, but also tons of tools to steadily turn a brutal game into something very manageable if you’re patient and willing to experiment.

In community discussions, the most common answer is: “It’s as hard as you make it.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.