One Elden Ring player has completed an astonishing run through both the base game and expansion Shadow of the Erdtree with one hit point, one focus point, and just one point of stamina.
Twitch streamer Ainrun completed their run after more than 20 hours and 900 deaths, sharing the moment they conquered Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss on X/Twitter, below. The feat is a world's first.
Having just one hit point is an obvious threat, as it means any hit taken, even from the most insignificant enemy or fall, results in death, But having just one focus point, or FP, meant Ainrun couldn't use any magic or Ash of War skills that allow the myriad speedrunning and cheesing strategies deployable in normal runs.
20+ hours, 900+ deaths on Radahn. World's first 1HP/1FP/1Stam run is finally over. pic.twitter.com/GFoCFnParw
— Ainrun (@Ainrun) October 21, 2024
But it was the one point of stamina that caused the most problems, they said. Elden Ring, like FromSoftware's previous games, uses stamina for everything. Every use of the shield to defend against attacks, every swing of the player's own weapon, and every dodge out of the way uses stamina. Having just one point of it meant none of those things could be used together.
"The one HP didn't matter much cause I'm used to no hit runs," Ainrun said in a follow-up post. "The one stamina was the worst part. You cant chain actions like spam rolls or do combos, cause every action takes stamina and goes to the negative.
"You need to wait a whole second for your stamina to go back to the positive before you can do another action. The one FP meant I couldn't cheese bosses or use Ash of Wars or anything. Just pure movement and parries and self-hate."
The feat is made all the more impressive given just how hard many players found Shadow of the Erdtree normally. It featured bosses with which FromSoftware "really pushed the envelope" on what the player can withstand, director Hidetaka Miyazaki said ahead of its release. In fact, getting into the expansion even poses a challenge as players must defeat an optional boss.
Those eager to explore every inch of the DLC once in can check out IGN's extensive guide, which covers Shadow of the Erdtree's new weapons, its various quest lines, and how to defeat those pesky new bosses.
In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "Like the base game did before it, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree raises the bar for single player expansions," we said. "It takes everything that made the base game such a landmark RPG, condenses it into a relatively compact 20-25 hour campaign, and provides fantastic new challenges for heavily invested fans to chew on."
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
