Even though Elden Ring was first released all the way back in 2022, a brand-new update has now been released for the open world epic in August 2026. Elden Ring made a massive impact in 2022, becoming one of the highest-rated games of all time and taking home that year’s Game of the Year trophy at The Game Awards. FromSoftware could have left Elden Ring alone after launch, but it instead continued to work on completely free updates for the game to improve it even further.
Post-launch Elden Ring updates addressed balance issues, fixed bugs, introduced new quality-of-life improvements, and even added some substantial brand-new content to check out, including new quests. A couple of years after Elden Ring‘s launch, FromSoftware released a premium expansion for the game, Shadow of the Erdtree, that was so beloved that it also found itself nominated for Game of the Year, despite the fact that it was a DLC and not a full new game release.
Now yet another Elden Ring update is out, and it’s a mix of free content and premium DLC. As of right now, Elden Ring players across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox can download the new update that prepares the game for the Tarnished Pack DLC, set to be available on August 28. The paid DLC adds the Idus Knight and Heavy Knight classes, new weapons, new Spectral Steed attires, new invasion events, and more. The update also made a wide range of changes to Elden Ring for free.
What’s That Weapon?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
FromSoftware took the opportunity to make balance changes to Elden Ring with the new update, tweaking weapons like the Carian Sorcery Sword, Golem Fist, and Rakshasa’s Great Katana, among others. Parry performance has been buffed, Storm Wall no longer uses FP, various spells have been buffed, and some lingering bugs have finally been fixed.
Specifically, bugs tied to the Great Katana weapons have been squashed in the new Elden Ring update. After downloading the update, Great Katana users no longer have to worry about their jumping attacks being parried, and they can also look forward to their critical hits doing more damage against large enemies. Some PC-specific bugs have also been fixed, with a bug preventing camera control during Elden Ring NPC conversations now fixed. Plus, a bug where the Keyboard/Mouse Settings section didn’t allow players to restore settings to their defaults should no longer be an issue.
It’s possible that more Elden Ring updates will be released in the weeks and months ahead, especially since the Tarnished Edition of the game is coming to Switch 2 on August 28. The Tarnished Edition notably has all the content from the Tarnished Pack baked in, but those on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox that want access to the content will have to shell out $4.99.
Elden Ring Version 1.17 Update Patch Notes
MAIN UPDATE ADDITIONS
Tarnished Pack Additional Content
The following elements will be added upon purchase of the “Tarnished Pack” DLC.
Note: This content is included by default in ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition for Nintendo Switch 2.
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Added Idus Knight and Heavy Knight as new starting classes, selectable during character creation.
- Note: The equipment of each new starting class can also be obtained by purchasing it from merchants in the Lands Between or by finding it in the world.
- Added weapons that can be purchased from merchants or found in the Lands Between.
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Added three types of Spectral Steed Attire that change the appearance of Torrent:
- Tree Sentinel Spectral Steed Attire: Found in Stormveil Castle.
- Silver of Caria Spectral Steed Attire: Found in Liurnia of the Lakes.
- Funereal Night Spectral Steed Attire: Found in Altus Plateau.
- Note: After obtaining any Spectral Steed Attire, the option to change the spectral steed’s appearance will be added to the Site of Grace menu.
- Added an NPC invasion event in Caelid.
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Added an NPC invasion event in Leyndell, Royal Capital.
- Note: This event will not occur after the area has changed to Leyndell, Ashen Capital.
The “Tarnished Pack” release times are as follows:
- PlayStation / Xbox: Friday, August 28 at 0:00 a.m local time.
- Steam: Friday, August 28 at 7:00 JST | 00:00 CEST | 15:00 PDT.
Balance Adjustments
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Changed certain items found in the field or obtained by defeating certain powerful enemies in the Realm of Shadow to higher-tier items or other treasures.
- Note: Items already that were already found will not be changed.
Weapons
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Smithscript Dagger / Rellana’s Twin Blades
- Increased critical hit power.
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Smithscript Axe / Smithscript Spear / Spear of the Impaler
- Reduced the stamina consumption of weapon-throwing attacks.
- Increased the power of weapon-throwing attacks.
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Carian Sorcery Sword
- Changed Intelligence scaling so that it now increases the attack power of all damage types.
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Smithscript Greathammer
- Increased the power of weapon-throwing attacks.
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Golem Fist
- Increased the range of the fist-launching heavy attack.
- Firespark Perfume Bottle / Lightning Perfume Bottle / Chilling Perfume Bottle / Frenzyflame Perfume Bottle / Deadly Poison Perfume Bottle
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Lordsworn’s Shield / Briar Greatshield / Spiked Palisade Shield / Icon Shield / Golden Beast Crest Shield / Manor Towershield / Crossed-Tree Towershield / Inverted Hawk Towershield / Dragon Towershield / Distinguished Greatshield / Gilded Greatshield / Black Steel Greatshield / Ant’s Skull Plate / Erdtree Greatshield
- Increased guard boost.
- Reduced weight.
- Wooden Greatshield / Cuckoo Greatshield / Redmane Greatshield / Golden Greatshield / Crucible Hornshield / Dragonclaw Shield / Eclipse Crest Greatshield / Jellyfish Shield / One-Eyed Shield
- Haligtree Crest Greatshield
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Rakshasa’s Great Katana
- Increased the time before an attack can be performed with a right-hand weapon immediately after attacking with this weapon equipped in the left hand.
Skills
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Parry
- Improved parry performance.
- Reduced the time before various actions can be performed after activation when used with Daggers, Curved Swords, or Small Shields.
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Storm Wall
- Changed the skill so that it no longer consumes FP when used.
- Improved parry performance.
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Thops’s Barrier
- Improved parry performance.
Sorceries
- Founding Rain of Stars
- Carian Retaliation
- Meteorite
- Meteorite of Astel
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Gravitational Missile
- Changed the spell so that the gravity projectile does not explode immediately upon striking terrain such as the ground or a wall.
Incantations
- Feather of the Divine Bird
- O, Flame!
- Rain of Fire
PvP-Exclusive Balance Adjustments
Weapons
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Rakshasa’s Great Katana
- Increased damage taken from attacks by other players while attacking.
Incantations
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Rugalea’s Roar
- Reduced power against other players.
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Rotten Breath / Ekzykes’s Decay
- Reduced the amount of time other player characters are unable to move from hit reactions when struck by these incantations.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where critical hits dealt with Great Katana weapon types had lower-than-expected power against large enemies.
- Fixed a bug where jumping attacks with Great Katana weapon types could be parried.
PC-Only Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug that prevented camera control with the mouse during NPC dialogue when using keyboard and mouse controls
- Fixed a bug in the “Keyboard/Mouse Settings” section of the system menu in which selecting the reset option did not restore various settings to their defaults
The version number shown in the lower-right corner of the title screen after applying this update will be as follows:
App Ver. 1.17
Regulation Ver. 1.17
This update is required for online play.
- Released
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February 25, 2022
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
