Skip to main content

Elden Ring has already been beaten in under 20 minutes

While the rest of us are 60 or 70 hours into Elden Ring (I personally hate and can’t get past the Godskin Duo), speedrunners have slowly whittled down the game’s playtime. However, one runner has claimed the new world record for beating Elden Ring the fastest, completing FromSoftware’s latest game in under 20 minutes.

WORLDS FIRST Any% Elden Ring in under 20 minutes!! Changed a flight and did a 15h stream for this, almost gave up hope, but in the end I prevailed. Thank you everyone who was there and supported me during this insane stream <3 pic.twitter.com/I32a4BzA9q

— Distortion2 (@Distortion_2) March 28, 2022

In a post on Twitter, Distortion2, a speedrunner who’s completed numerous FromSoftware games faster than it takes for most people to quit them, announced that he had beaten Elden Ring in just 18:58, cementing him at the top of the game’s any-percent run leaderboard. At the time of writing, it seems that Distortion2’s run either hasn’t been submitted to Speedrun.com or is still being verified. The site, which catalogs runs for hundreds of games, lists a 26:26 time from spiceeTV as the fastest.

Recommended Videos

While Distortion2’s time is impressive, it may not be the fastest any-percent speedrun of Elden Ring for long. The game’s speedrunning community is booming at the moment, with more runs being posted every day. Just yesterday, Distortion2 uploaded another speedrun of the game, in which he beat it in 22:21. Without a doubt, other runners will see Distortion2’s time and try to finish the game even quicker.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

As a matter of fact, one speedrunner is already claiming to have beaten Elden Ring faster than Distortion2. Mitchriz, who many may remember from his blindfolded speedrun at AGDQ 2022, said in a post on Twitter that he managed to beat the game in 18:25, over 30 seconds faster than Distortion2. However, because he missed recording a minute of gameplay, that run can’t be verified.

Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
New Elden Ring patch will make those early DLC hours a lot easier
One of Shadow of the Erdtree's bosses, Divine Beast Dancing Lion.

A lot of people have been having trouble with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, due to both general FromSoftware game difficulty and changes made to the leveling system once you get to the DLC area. A tiny patch issued Wednesday aims to help with that.

Calibration Update 1.12.2 tweaks two things regarding the Scadutree Blessing, a DLC-exclusive blessing that allows you to deal and take more damage as you upgrade it. The patch increases attack and damage negation for the first half of the upgrade tree, with the second half being "more gradual." It also increased the blessing's final level, so players who max it out will benefit more.

Read more
All Map Fragment locations in Shadow of the Erdtree
The golden Erdtree in Shadow of the Erdtree.

What made the experience of Elden Ring so special was how it handled its open-world design. There was a bit of concern about FromSoftware combining the Souls-style combat and map design into an open world, but the result has become one of the most celebrated examples of how open-world design should be done. So, needless to say, everyone was itching for that map to get expanded with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. The Land of Shadows is a separate new zone added to the game, but it is far larger and more dense than anyone anticipated. As it was in the base game, just exploring the map won't uncover the map for you. To do that, you need to find Map Fragments hidden around the world. There are five to collect to fully reveal the Land of Shadows, so go get them first to get a good lay of the land early.
All Map Fragment locations
As mentioned, there are five Map Fragments in total that correspond to five areas in Shadow of the Erdtree. We'll go through them in the general order you should come across them.
Gravesite Plain

The first area you start in when beginning Shadow of the Erdtree is the Gravesite Plain. Simply ride forward across the field toward the pillar beside the road to collect it.
Scadu Altus

Read more
How to beat Furnace Golems in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
A furnace golem looms in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

If you recall the Tree Sentinel ruining your day when first starting Elden Ring, then the Furnace Golem is here to remind you that even your over-leveled character isn't going to breeze through Shadow of the Erdtree. These towering infernos are as dangerous as they are intimidating, but they're not invincible. Technically, they don't count as a new boss, though you could be forgiven for mistaking them for one after they trounce you in just an attack or two.

There are several of these hulks wandering around the Land of Shadow, so you might as well get comfortable with how to take them down. These are our best tactics for beating the Furnace Golems and what sweet loot awaits you once you finally take one down.
How to beat Furnace Golems

Read more