Elden Ring just overhauled PVP with the massive Colosseum update

The day has come. Elden Ring has finally received its first major DLC update, which includes PvP Colosseum arenas. But that isn’t all. As part of its 1.08 patch, the game has its fair share of updates that impact PvP and PvP across the board. Many of the changes might seem insignificant, but add up to a slew of new additions that truly change the way certain builds work, especially during PvP battles. But which updates are the most significant and how does the new Colosseum system work? Here, we’ll dive into the most noteworthy additions, along with a full list of Elden Ring 1.08 patch notes.

Three Colosseums

The 1.08 update adds three Colosseums located in Limgrave, Caelid, and Leyndell — each with its own rulesets.

Limgrave gives you access to two match types. It features United Combat, which is sort of like a deathmatch, wherein the team with the most eliminations within the time limit wins. There’s also Combat Ordeal, which is basically a free-for-all.

Leyndell features a Duel mode, which has respawns disabled — the first to secure an elimination wins.

Caelid includes all aforementioned modes but also allows players to use Spirit Ashes. This is the first time Spirit Ashes are available in PvP modes.

Hammer buff

A number of weapons have received a buff, but arguably the most notable is the hammer type. These weapons typically fell by the wayside due to their sluggishness, so now, they should be a tad more viable in PvP and PvE.

Specifically, the speed, distance, and recovery time of hammers have been improved, while the poise for two-handed hammers has been increased.

Carian Slicer nerf

While Elden Ring’s weapons were mostly in a balanced state, the Carian Slicer Spell was still a bit overpowered. Players would typically spam this spell, making it easy to dish out a devasting amount of damage in quick succession. Now, as of 1.08, the spell does noticeably less damage, making it more balanced.

Elden Ring patch notes 1.08

Below are the official patch notes from Bandai Namco Entertainment:

Major new features

• The Colosseums of Limgrave, Caelid, and Leyndell are now open.

In these arenas, players can engage in a variety of combat trials: one-on-one duels, free-for-alls, and team battles with up to six players, and special fights with spirit summoning enabled.

• New hairstyles for character creation have been added. These are also available by using the Round Table Hold Clouded Mirror Stand.

PvP-exclusive balance adjustments

The adjustments in this section do not affect single-player or cooperative play.

• Reduced thrusting weapons counterattack damage.
• Reduced guard efficiency when attacking with your shield up for some weapon types.
• The poise damage of the following weapons has been reduced (Weapon Arts poise damage remains unchanged): Straight Swords / Thrusting Swords / Heavy Thrusting Swords / Curved Swords / Axes / Spears / Twinblade Swords / Katanas
• Reduced the poise damage of the Incantation Bestial Sling
• Reduced the power of the Spell Carian Slicer

General balance adjustments

• Increased the speed and distance of some attacks and reduced the recovery time for the following weapons:
• Daggers / Axes / Hammers / Flails (dual-wielded)
• Increased the speed of some attacks and reduced the recovery time for the following weapons:
• Twinblade (two-handed) / Reaper / Fist / Claw
• Slightly increased the speed of crouching and rolling attacks of Colossal Swords.
• Increased the stagger damage of Axes’ guard counters.
• Increased poise when attacking with two-handed Hammers.
• Increased poise damage of Claws. Weapon Arts remain unchanged.
• Increased poise value during the active part of the Stamp (Upward Cut / Sweep) Weapon Art.
• Increased poise damage of the weapon slash part of the Transient Moonlight Weapon Art, and reduced the poise damage of the magic wave.
• Reduced the speed Thrusting Swords and Heavy Thrusting Swords crouching attacks.
• Reduced the stagger caused by double-handed Heavy Thrusting Swords jumping attacks.
• Reduced poise damage of Hammers, Great Hammers, and some Colossal Weapons. Weapon Arts remain unchanged.
• Reduced the poise damage of the Cragblade Weapon Art.
• Reduced hitbox duration of the flame portion of the Flaming Strike Weapon Art.
• Reduced poise damage of the Flame of the Redmanes Weapon Art.
• Reduced the time it takes to activate the guard part of the Shield Bash Weapon Art.
• Reduced the poise damage of the Gravity Bolt Weapon Art.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented consumable items from being replenished when teleporting to a point of grace from the map.
• Fixed a bug where stamina would replenish when switching to a crouching position while running.
• Fixed a bug where Spell, Incantation, and item input actions were ignored while guarding against attacks.
• Fixed incorrect physical attack values of some attacks of the Serpent-Hunter weapon.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the follow-up attack from occurring when the Black Sword Incantation was activated with a Sacred Seal in the left hand.
• Fixed a bug where the attack power of the right-hand weapon was sometimes applied when casting the Inescapable Frenzy Incantation with a two-handed Sacred Seal in the left hand.
• Fixed a bug that could cause multiple damage instances when certain Spells and Incantations were cast while jumping.
• Fixed a bug that caused Weapon Arts to be incorrectly used with specific combinations of weapon and Weapon Arts.

Elden Ring update 1.08 is available across all platforms now.