The lack of communication about the future of Elden Ring and FromSoftware’s DLC plans is bound to frustrate fans, but luckily the studio’s games have no shortage of determined dataminers ready to unearth any secrets buried in game files from Demon’s Souls.
DLC01
Already a few months ago, dataminers managed to enter the unused arenas of the Underworld, as well as confirm that they were intended to be used at some point, since they contained a well-modeled interior area, a resting place of grace, and other elements. The fact that Patch 1.07 focuses heavily on PvP balancing can also be seen as a factor in their favour.
We already mentioned yesterday that traces of ray tracing and two new maps were discovered in the game files, but it doesn’t stop there. Sekiro Dubi discovered 4 new parameters, for 4 new banners displayed in large on the screen in case of victory or defeat. And they would match unused text, found in version 1.0 of the game. This would include “Match Start”, “Victory”, “Loss” and “Draw”, as you can see in the video of his tweet below .
A new file, named “m61_arena_026”, would also have been discovered, as well as the loot of two enemies of the arena and new hairstyles potentially usable by the player. New files would also have been stamped “DLC01”, with arena-related content.
The Elden Ringed City?
Also particularly intriguing is the addition of alternate maps, textures, and elements for arenas, similar to the way there are for the different versions of the map, such as Necrolimbo before and after Radhan’s Meteor. , or the Underworld after the World Tree is set on fire.
According to dataminers, a number of items found are linked to past versions of the Underworld, they could date back to a time before the destruction of the Circle of Elden, or even before the arrival of the Beast of Elden. There is, for example, a version of the Necrolimbo God Bridge before it was broken, and another before the huge water-filled crater in the middle of the continent was formed. As the DLCs of Dark Souls liked to make us travel in time, it is clearly a possibility that we do the same in Elden Ring.
To go into more detail about the references found on the new maps, the classification number of the first would correspond to a new large dungeon (similar to Castle Veilorage, or the Academy of Raya Lucaria, for example), even if we ignore everything else, like its size. The other card does not correspond to any known callsign type, however.
The items found in the files don’t appear to be limited to the game’s first DLC though, and they may be the first items for content to come later. It is in any case very clear that FromSoftware is preparing content for Elden Ring. Perhaps an announcement will be made at The Game Awards in December, to celebrate the game’s potential selection as a GOTY.