Since its debut in early 2022, Elden Ring has been heralded by the gaming community for its captivating experience. Yet, even great games have room for refinement. With its expansive world and diverse play-styles, optimization, and balancing are perpetual discussions among players. To maintain and enhance the quality of life in the game, FromSoftware regularly releases updates.

Following the grand narrative expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, in June, Elden Ring has only grown in scope, adding layers to its already rich content. This expanded landscape is ripe for enhancement, and the October 1.15 update aims to improve performance and balance for some of the game’s most challenging weapons and bosses.

What the 1.15 October Update Brings to Elden Ring

Released on October 2, the 1.15 update is available across all gaming platforms, with a download size of approximately 250MB. While the update addresses diverse aspects, much of the focus is on the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, with certain areas receiving significant attention.

One prominent focus is Elden Ring’s Golem Fist weapon, initially introduced in the expansion. Despite its appeal, the weapon was fraught with bugs and performance issues, making it notorious among players. The 1.15 update seeks to rectify this by fixing a bug that prevented the Golem Fist from dealing damage under specific conditions. Moreover, another bug affecting the one-handed heavy attack’s power has been addressed, aiming to enhance the weapon’s usability.

Additional bug fixes span across the Thorns incantation and the Smithing Talisman, whose effects were unintentionally blocked before the update. Improvements also extend to bosses and locations, ensuring smoother gameplay. For example, the Rellana, Twin Moon Knight’s behavior is now more consistent, and ash items are usable across the entire Scadutree Avatar battle arena. Furthermore, player interactions in the Shadow Keep Church District have been clarified, with the initial cutscene no longer replaying mistakenly upon revisits.

Optimization Key to Elden Ring’s 1.15 Update Beyond Bug Fixes

Besides squashing bugs, the 1.15 update focuses on the overall polish and optimization of the gaming experience. Enhancing enemy rendering and revamping certain sound effects, particularly on the PC version, demonstrates the attention to detail in this update. To further streamline performance, players are encouraged to verify the integrity of their game files.

Additionally, widespread improvements to enemy behavior have been made, even including fixes to the end-game credits. FromSoftware’s dedication to refining Elden Ring is evident in this update—a testament to their commitment to delivering a polished and balanced gaming experience.

Patch 1.15 Notes

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where the cutscene that plays when entering the Shadow Keep Church District would play again when re-entering the area.
• Fixed a bug where some of the Golem Fist weapon attacks would not deal damage when the player was affected by certain special effects.
• Fixed a bug where the Golem Fist weapon one-handed heavy attack power was lower than expected.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the Aspects of the Crucible: Thorns incantation from being cast when used in quick succession.
• Fixed a bug where the Smithing Talisman effect did not apply to some weapons’ throwing attacks.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the use of ashes in some areas of the Scadutree Avatar battle arena.
• Fixed a bug where Rellana, Twin Moon Knight would sometimes perform unexpected actions when interacting with objects in the battle area.
• Fixed a bug that allowed Skills to be used in incorrect combinations with Weapons under certain circumstances.
• Fixed a bug that caused unexpected rendering and behavior of some enemies under certain circumstances.
• Fixed a bug where some sound effects did not play correctly.
• Several performance improvements and other bug fixes.
• Further fixes were added to the game’s end credits.

Possible unstable performance fixes

• For the PS5 version of the game, unstable framerate may be improved by using the “Rebuild Database” option from the device’s safe mode.
• In some PC versions, Ray Tracing may be unintentionally enabled and cause unstable performance. Please check the Ray Tracing setting in the “System” > “Graphics ” > “Ray Tracing Quality” from the title screen or in-game menu.
• In the PC version, the message “Inappropriate activity detected” may appear without cheating.
  • To fix this issue, please verify the integrity of the game’s files before restarting the game.
• In the PC version, unstable framerate may be caused by third party applications that control mouse behavior.  Deactivating these third party applications may improve performance.

• In PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions, Regulation files can be downloaded by logging in to the server.

• If the Regulation Ver. listed in the lower right corner of the title screen is not1.15, please select LOGIN and apply the latest regulation before enjoying the game.

You must download patch 1.15 to enjoy online multiplayer modes in Elden Ring or its expansion Shadow of the Erdtree.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has been available since June 21, 2024, on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.