Elden Ring’s map is silently being revised during updates

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-05-13 19:17 JST)

It appears that Elden Ring’s in-game map has been getting slight tweaks as the game has been updated. YouTuber illusory wall has compiled these changes and explained them in a YouTube video. These are mostly small changes that would go unnoticed, so it’s very interesting to check out. The following article contains spoilers for Elden Ring.

Elden Ring is the latest action RPG from FromSoftware and takes place in a massive open field called the Lands Between. There’s also a detailed in-game map for players to look over to get a lay of the land. Players unlock the map for new regions by collecting map fragments scattered across the world. In addition to showing the geography and building locations, icons also get added above the locations you discover as you play. The map itself is almost like a piece of art and is fun to look over.

According to illusory wall, a content creator known for analyzing and taking deep dives into FromSoftware games, Elden Ring’s map has small changes across multiple versions. Some examples include locations that are in the game getting added to the map, and some examples where roads and objects that don’t actually exist are removed from the map.

An example of something being added to the map is the Boilprawn Shack in Liurnia. The video shows a comparison between the maps in version 1.02 and 1.04. We can see the shack doesn’t appear on the map in version 1.02 but does from version 1.04 onward. In the game, a hint to reach this location is given by an NPC named Rya. However, the information provided is vague and I (the original author of this article) remember wandering around looking for the shack in question. Adding it to the map may have been a change to make the game a bit more user friendly. Furthermore, it looks like there were a number of other buildings added to the map as well.

Liurnia also contains an example of something being removed from the map. In version 1.02 of the map, there was a fishtail shaped protrusion on the southwest portion of the region. But this was removed entirely in version 1.03 and turned into ocean. According to the video, this landmass didn’t even exist in the game before the patches. In other words, during the stage of development where they made the map, something may have existed there that was removed before release but not from the map.

There’s also something of a trap that existed on the map in the form of a nonexistent road to the south of Caria Manor. In the released version of the game, there’s just one path that connects Caria Manor with the ruins to the south of it. But on the map as of version 1.02, that road has a branching path that doesn’t actually exist and is instead the edge of a cliff. I’m scared of this unrevised version of the map because if you rely on it and follow that branching path, you’ll certainly fall to your death. This is likely another change that was made before release that ended up turning into a potential trap for players.

Another point of interest that illusory wall brings up is the road to Jarburg. While a road to the north of Jarburg is clearly written on the map, there’s nothing but a giant cliff there in the game. Its absence is likely something many players have noticed. illusory wall thinks that rather than a simple mistake, the map still shows this path to Jarburg on purpose to entice players to the area and get them to explore further to find the real entrance. But only the development team knows the true intent, and it will be interesting to see if this spot changes in a future update.

illusory wall’s video points out other changes as well based on information they and the community have dug up. While we don’t know the reasoning behind all the changes, there have been many modifications to the map that improve accuracy, reduce misdirection, and increase visibility. It might be interesting to check the map for further changes when Elden Ring receives updates in the future.