So imagine our surprise when we saw a video claiming that you can beat the game without doing a single point of damage yourself. We didn’t believe it. We thought it was a joke. How would that be possibe? Well, Youtuber Iron Pineapple has gone above and beyond to show us how. Thanks to some impeccable game design and a commitment to letting players, really, do what they want when it comes to builds and system-juggling, Elden Ring lets you beat even some of the most hardcore bosses in the game without laying a hand (directly) on them. In order to achieve this ludirous fate, Iron Pineapple – of course – had to rely heavily on summoned spirits (mostly imps) to deal with the bosses whilst the content creator held back and focused on healing and buffing. The result is nothing short of astonishing. Starting as a Prophet with a high Faith stat is the key to making a run like this work: you will need to learn enemy attack patterns in order to make sure there’s distance between you and the killer moves, whilst being close enough to allies and summons that you’ll be able to keep them alive in the middle of the more intense melee moments. Don’t be fooled: this may be a no direct damage run, but as the video embedded above shows, it’s anything but easy to pull off. If you’re even more of a masochist than your average Elden Ring player and you’re thinking about trying this pacifist run yourself, just remember to use the Imps – not that useless nobleman/failed magician. You can check out our other Elden Ring guides – including a full rundown of all the essential bosses – at the links.
