Elden Ring NPC Fia Secretly Applies Health Debuff For A Hug
Ancient ring like many Souls games before that can be a bit frugal when it comes to giving you important information. For example, you probably noticed a peculiar icon under the health, Magicka, and stamina bars, depicting a red square with a down arrow. “Where the hell did that come from?” You can ask yourself, to which I will answer: “Have you hugged strangers lately?”
Reaching a certain point in ancient ring Early Game – This 100% happens after defeating the first major boss, Margit the Fallen Omen, but some people have reported that it happens earlier – you will be invited to the hold of the Round Table. This central area includes a ton of amenities such as merchants and a blacksmith that upgrades your equipment more than you can do on your own, but the most interesting NPC is a woman named Fia, introduced in the intense intro to the game as “Deathbed Companion”.
At first, Fia doesn’t seem to be doing much. She offers to take you, a rare moment of warmth in Souls Genre and grants you Blessing of the Baldacchino, a unique item that increases balance with a portion of your magical energy before sending you back on your journey. The whole scene, touching each other, comes and goes without a second thought. But, as it turned out, you have to pay for the proof. Varre once and for all that you are not as innocent as he thinks.
Remember the first time Fia asked you to hold. Remember the part about sharing your “life force” and “unshakable toughness” in exchange for her hugs? It wasn’t just florid dialogue on her part: her embrace literally reduces your maximum health by 5%, a debuff represented by the mysterious red square icon I mentioned earlier. It may not sound like much, but trust me, you will regret not getting that 5% back at the end of a tough boss fight, no matter how useful the blessing she gives you in return is.
Fortunately, restoring lost health is as easy as using Blessing of the Baldachin in your inventory.
Is a debilitating sexually transmitted pseudo-disease the key to the Deathbed Companion hiding something more sinister? ancient ring campaign? Can’t say yet, but in a decade Souls, experience has taught me that you can’t trust everyone you meet in these games. I certainly wouldn’t turn down FromSoftware to use something as nice as someone offering free hugs at the end of the world to ease some nasty plot twist.
