This brings me directly to the point of why the open world of Elden Ring can be so reckless with the progress system of quests.
The Level Design of the Lands Between
Elden Ring is a prominent example of how nothing is placed and triggered randomly in the Lands Between. We do not have to look for interesting points based on UI elements, like a waypoint or the familiar question mark on the map, but can see and sense the relevant points of the Lands Between based on worldbuilding.
One of the most well-known examples of Elden Ring’s level design is probably this screenshot:
This is the first entry into the open world of Elden Ring and shows us through level design what goals, steps, and options are available to us.
For example, by looking at the large Elden Tree, we can immediately sense what great goal we are trying to achieve. The fortress “Stormveil” is also a great point that immediately catches the player’s eye and could serve as a first clue.
What many other open-world games want to show with waypoints and markers is presented in a clear and intuitive way by Elden Ring through its world.
An example of how certain locations in Elden Ring can tell a story is the area around the Tree Sentinel. Upon further inspection (and exploration), the area around the Tree Sentinel is quite deserted. Could this already tell a first story about the function of the roaming sentinel?
This is how an open world is fun
Honestly – I am not a fan of open-world games. Aside from a few exceptions, I avoid playing games with large and freely accessible worlds. Elden Ring is a big exception for me. I can decide for myself how deeply I want to dive into the stories of the Lands Between, and most importantly, I have the feeling for the first time that I am truly rewarded for exploring.
Quests in such a vast world are for the first time genuinely enjoyable for me, as I am not just a silent participant walking from point A to B, but must consciously let everything sink in – if I want to.
Anyone who now has the understandable worry of missing out on quests and rewards in Elden Ring is in luck! Collectors and completionists can find on MeinMMO the complete overview of all NPC quests and other side activities.
What many other open-world games want to show with waypoints and markers is presented in a clear and intuitive way by Elden Ring through its world.
An example of how certain locations in Elden Ring can tell a story is the area around the Tree Sentinel. Upon further inspection (and exploration), the area around the Tree Sentinel is quite deserted. Could this already tell a first story about the function of the roaming sentinel?
This is how an open world is fun
Honestly – I am not a fan of open-world games. Aside from a few exceptions, I avoid playing games with large and freely accessible worlds. Elden Ring is a big exception for me. I can decide for myself how deeply I want to dive into the stories of the Lands Between, and most importantly, I have the feeling for the first time that I am truly rewarded for exploring.
Quests in such a vast world are for the first time genuinely enjoyable for me, as I am not just a silent participant walking from point A to B, but must consciously let everything sink in – if I want to.
Anyone who now has the understandable worry of missing out on quests and rewards in Elden Ring is in luck! Collectors and completionists can find on MeinMMO the complete overview of all NPC quests and other side activities.
This brings me directly to the point of why the open world of Elden Ring can be so reckless with the progress system of quests.
The Level Design of the Lands Between
Elden Ring is a prominent example of how nothing is placed and triggered randomly in the Lands Between. We do not have to look for interesting points based on UI elements, like a waypoint or the familiar question mark on the map, but can see and sense the relevant points of the Lands Between based on worldbuilding.
One of the most well-known examples of Elden Ring’s level design is probably this screenshot:
This is the first entry into the open world of Elden Ring and shows us through level design what goals, steps, and options are available to us.
For example, by looking at the large Elden Tree, we can immediately sense what great goal we are trying to achieve. The fortress “Stormveil” is also a great point that immediately catches the player’s eye and could serve as a first clue.
What many other open-world games want to show with waypoints and markers is presented in a clear and intuitive way by Elden Ring through its world.
An example of how certain locations in Elden Ring can tell a story is the area around the Tree Sentinel. Upon further inspection (and exploration), the area around the Tree Sentinel is quite deserted. Could this already tell a first story about the function of the roaming sentinel?
This is how an open world is fun
Honestly – I am not a fan of open-world games. Aside from a few exceptions, I avoid playing games with large and freely accessible worlds. Elden Ring is a big exception for me. I can decide for myself how deeply I want to dive into the stories of the Lands Between, and most importantly, I have the feeling for the first time that I am truly rewarded for exploring.
Quests in such a vast world are for the first time genuinely enjoyable for me, as I am not just a silent participant walking from point A to B, but must consciously let everything sink in – if I want to.
Anyone who now has the understandable worry of missing out on quests and rewards in Elden Ring is in luck! Collectors and completionists can find on MeinMMO the complete overview of all NPC quests and other side activities.
Elden Ring is something truly special even among open-world games. One of our readers describes what makes the game so much more fascinating than the entire competition.
This article was written by our reader Wieland Wüller and published as a guest contribution on MeinMMO.
By now, I’ve traversed the world of the Lands Between in Elden Ring for the fourth time. Tre von Siegburg, as I named my character from noble descent, looks somewhat clumsy but has so far managed to hold his own against his adversaries.
Tre from Siegburg is driven by a single goal: glory and honor for his noble house. And really, nothing should be able to deter him from that.
A brief stop in the misty lake region of Liurnia – new resources and levels are needed. Amazingly, we encounter no major issues here either.
We continue our journey until Tre from Siegburg suddenly spots Rya, who introduces herself as a servant of House Vulkan. She asks me to retrieve her stolen necklace from the Blackguard, which just so happens to be nearby. Tre from Siegburg didn’t actually want to get involved with other people’s problems – but how much delay could a necklace possibly cause?
Well, strangely enough, this very necklace led to a delay of several hours in the conclusion of his journey.
Elden Ring’s Quests – ruthless, but also rewarding
This stone, set in motion by Rya’s quest, can only lead to From Software’s open-world game “Elden Ring”. Because Elden Ring has a very unique way of bringing us players the quests and diverse stories surrounding the characters and the world.
While in a game like “The Witcher 3” or “Far Cry” we are guided from one quest to another, and the game progress largely consists of following predefined points and paths, From Software with Elden Ring does not hesitate to hide enormous quest lines behind NPCs, which initially must first be found in the vast world of the Lands Between.
From Software even goes a step further and separates game progress from the numerous quests in Elden Ring. If I don’t feel like helping certain NPCs with their quests, I may very well find that I cannot explore certain areas.
Although these areas are purely optional, players could potentially miss several hours of new content and additional characters that have very interesting stories to offer. And I won’t even get started on the rewards we miss that could make the game more enjoyable.
Anyone thinking, “Well, I’ll just do that later,” is unfortunately looking too optimistically into the future. From Software even goes so far as to cut entire quest lines if you are too far advanced in your game save, and thus in the story.
Leniency and inattentiveness while exploring are ruthlessly punished. In most cases, the only remedy is a new character or New Game+.
A fitting and current example would be the encounter with Mogh, Lord of Blood. His domain and exciting boss fight are only available to us if we have pursued Varre’s quest to a certain point.
More relevant than ever: To gain access to the upcoming Elden Ring DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree”, Mogh, Lord of Blood must be defeated. You should definitely tackle this quest!
Elden Ring’s Open World makes the quests truly enjoyable
Admittedly, at first glance, this doesn’t sound very good. The possibility of missing something during the first playthrough is quite substantial in gigantic worlds like that of Elden Ring. Considering the aspect that entire quest lines can be cut short by progressing too quickly in the main story, it is quite simple to overlook something.
However, what may initially sound bad is, in my opinion, one of the greatest strengths of Elden Ring. And this strength works so well only because the open world of Elden Ring is incredibly well thought-out.
NPCs and their associated quests are usually not placed arbitrarily in various locations, but are intentionally scattered across different areas. This even often has story-relevant reasons for the NPC. Sometimes the NPCs themselves tell us the reason for this, but often it can also be that the area around us reveals part of that story.
What many other open-world games want to show with waypoints and markers is presented in a clear and intuitive way by Elden Ring through its world.
An example of how certain locations in Elden Ring can tell a story is the area around the Tree Sentinel. Upon further inspection (and exploration), the area around the Tree Sentinel is quite deserted. Could this already tell a first story about the function of the roaming sentinel?
This is how an open world is fun
Honestly – I am not a fan of open-world games. Aside from a few exceptions, I avoid playing games with large and freely accessible worlds. Elden Ring is a big exception for me. I can decide for myself how deeply I want to dive into the stories of the Lands Between, and most importantly, I have the feeling for the first time that I am truly rewarded for exploring.
Quests in such a vast world are for the first time genuinely enjoyable for me, as I am not just a silent participant walking from point A to B, but must consciously let everything sink in – if I want to.
Anyone who now has the understandable worry of missing out on quests and rewards in Elden Ring is in luck! Collectors and completionists can find on MeinMMO the complete overview of all NPC quests and other side activities.
What many other open-world games want to show with waypoints and markers is presented in a clear and intuitive way by Elden Ring through its world.
An example of how certain locations in Elden Ring can tell a story is the area around the Tree Sentinel. Upon further inspection (and exploration), the area around the Tree Sentinel is quite deserted. Could this already tell a first story about the function of the roaming sentinel?
This is how an open world is fun
Honestly – I am not a fan of open-world games. Aside from a few exceptions, I avoid playing games with large and freely accessible worlds. Elden Ring is a big exception for me. I can decide for myself how deeply I want to dive into the stories of the Lands Between, and most importantly, I have the feeling for the first time that I am truly rewarded for exploring.
Quests in such a vast world are for the first time genuinely enjoyable for me, as I am not just a silent participant walking from point A to B, but must consciously let everything sink in – if I want to.
Anyone who now has the understandable worry of missing out on quests and rewards in Elden Ring is in luck! Collectors and completionists can find on MeinMMO the complete overview of all NPC quests and other side activities.
This brings me directly to the point of why the open world of Elden Ring can be so reckless with the progress system of quests.
The Level Design of the Lands Between
Elden Ring is a prominent example of how nothing is placed and triggered randomly in the Lands Between. We do not have to look for interesting points based on UI elements, like a waypoint or the familiar question mark on the map, but can see and sense the relevant points of the Lands Between based on worldbuilding.
One of the most well-known examples of Elden Ring’s level design is probably this screenshot:
This is the first entry into the open world of Elden Ring and shows us through level design what goals, steps, and options are available to us.
For example, by looking at the large Elden Tree, we can immediately sense what great goal we are trying to achieve. The fortress “Stormveil” is also a great point that immediately catches the player’s eye and could serve as a first clue.
What many other open-world games want to show with waypoints and markers is presented in a clear and intuitive way by Elden Ring through its world.
An example of how certain locations in Elden Ring can tell a story is the area around the Tree Sentinel. Upon further inspection (and exploration), the area around the Tree Sentinel is quite deserted. Could this already tell a first story about the function of the roaming sentinel?
This is how an open world is fun
Honestly – I am not a fan of open-world games. Aside from a few exceptions, I avoid playing games with large and freely accessible worlds. Elden Ring is a big exception for me. I can decide for myself how deeply I want to dive into the stories of the Lands Between, and most importantly, I have the feeling for the first time that I am truly rewarded for exploring.
Quests in such a vast world are for the first time genuinely enjoyable for me, as I am not just a silent participant walking from point A to B, but must consciously let everything sink in – if I want to.
Anyone who now has the understandable worry of missing out on quests and rewards in Elden Ring is in luck! Collectors and completionists can find on MeinMMO the complete overview of all NPC quests and other side activities.
