Elden Ring griefers have discovered an "unstoppable" PvP build

Elden Ring Deathblight build
(Image credit: Kalsypher / FromSoftware)

Elden Ring griefers have discovered a terribly broken PvP build that not only kills other players instantly, but can also lock them in an infinite death animation and force them to quit the game.

The "Deathblight" build is a cheap trick that exploits the seemingly unintended cumulative effect of combining the Eclipse Shotel curved blade with the Fire's Deadly Sin incantation. The Eclipse Shotel's Ash of War move is called Death Flare, and as its name suggests, it lets you build up instant death on any given target. It's borderline OP on its own, but if you use it in conjunction with the Fire's Deadly Sin spell the area of effect (AoE) is essentially a death sentence for anyone in your orbit. Here's YouTuber WesleyCody dutifully demonstrating its devastating potential: 

Of course, griefers are exploiting the Deathblight build to terrorize other players. This video from Reddit user TeenyTinyWyvern shows several Deathblight exploiters using a related bug to cruelly trap their victim in an endless backstab death animation.

the_horrendous_state_of_invasion_pvp_warning from r/Eldenring

The Elden Ring subreddit is rife with complaints from victims of the build; debate about whether Deathblight is a bug or a legit, albeit broken, PvP build; and various methods of dealing with invaders using the build. If you've been unfairly killed by a Deathblight build, this video might be cathartic. It shows Redditor SnooMarzipans6522 using Law of Regression to counter Deathblight.

giving_death_blight_exploiters_what_they_deserve from r/Eldenring

Here's hoping the good folks at FromSoftware send out a fix for this, as in its current state Deathblight presents a major problem for Elden Ring PvP. For now, if you're approached by an invader who lights themselves on fire, it's probably best to turn and run.

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Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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