Elden Ring patch 1.03 adds a new NPC, quests, and balance changes

Bandai Namco and FromSoftware released patch 1.03 for the ancient rings and that’s important

Headline changes include map tracking for characters you’ve met, new questlines, a new NPC, and a host of balance adjustments – including what appears to be a nerf to the almighty Mimic Tear ash – and bug fixes. You should now be able to record the icon and name of any NPC you encounter on the map as soon as you discover them, which should help keep track of your adventure. The new NPC’s name is Jar-Bairn. Harry Potter Wiki There are already some notes about this character if you don’t mind spoilers.

There are also new quest chains for the characters Diallos, Nefeli Lux, Kenneth Haight, and Gatekeeper Gostok. As vague as ever, FromSoftware also notes that “several NPCs have been added that can be summoned in various situations.”

Most notable among the bug fixes are those that address ancient ringwidely reported issues with stat scaling on some weapons. Performance improvements are claimed but not detailed; hopefully, they improve the situation for PC players.

On the balance side, Smithing Stones are now easier to acquire with increased drop rates and early game availability. Shields, several spells, and offensive cracked pots have been buffed, while the spirit summoned with Mimic Tear Ash and speedrunners’ favorite skill, Ash of War, Hoarfrost’s Stomp, have been nerfed.

The update is for all platforms, and you will naturally need to apply it before playing online.

You can find the full patch notes below.

Added additional items

• Added the ability to write the NPC’s icon and name on the map when encountering that NPC.
• Added NPC Jar-Bairn.
• Added new quest phases for the following NPCs: Diallos/ Nefeli Lux/ Kenneth Haight/ Gatekeeper Gostok.
• Added several NPCs to be summoned in various situations.
• Increased the number of object templates that the player can mimic when using the Veil of Mimic.
• She added nighttime background music for some outdoor areas.

Bug fixed

•  summoned NPCs would not take damage in some boss fights.
• where the player would sometimes be unable to obtain an item after a boss fight.
• dialogs to skip when talking to NPCs and using custom key configurations.
• the player to freeze while riding.
• Fixed an issue that caused Arcane to scale incorrectly for some weapons.
• If a player cannot get more than 2 Talisman Pouches, a Talisman Pouch has been added to the Twin Maiden Husks shop line.
• It has fixed a bug that prevented the user from going to places of grace from the map at the end of the game.
•  an issue that prevented the player from moving to the next area after the Molten Giant battle.
•  bug because some types of weapons after being strengthened were displayed incorrectly.
• that caused some weapons not to use stat scaling.
•  freezes in some cases.
•  the issue that caused the border of the multiplayer area to display when playing online.
• the player could activate the weapon skill “Erdtree’s Great Shield” without absorbing the attack using a unique item and spell combination.
• They were fixed an issue where the Fire Deadly Sin spell had a different effect.
• It fixed an issue with Ashes of War, Resolve, and Royal Knight’s Resolve that caused the damage boost to be applied to other weapons without this skill.
• Adjust the visual effect of the Invisible Form spell.
• Removed the Ragged Armor set from the game that could have been obtained by mistake in the previous patch.
• Fixed an issue that caused some hostile NPCs to drop Furlcalling Finger Remedy.
• It fixed an issue that caused the wrong sound effect to play in some situations.
• Text fixes.
• Other performance improvements and bug fixes.

Balance Changes

• Increased blacksmithing stone drop rate for some enemies.
• Smithing Stone some early game shops.
• Increased shield effectiveness.
• Increased the damage of all offensive Cracked Pots.
• I increased the damage of the following items: Spark Aromatic/Poison Spraymist.
• Increased the effect duration for the following items: Invigorating Aromatic/Aromatic Iron Pitcher.
• Torrent’s healing increases when using the following items: Rowa Raisin/ Sweet Raisin/ Frozen Raisin.
• Reduced FP consumption and increased damage for the following spells: Glintstone Cometshard/ Comet/ Night Comet.
• We increased the damage of the following spells: Gravity Well/ Collapsing Stars/ Crystal Barrage.
• Reduced the FP consumption of the following spells: Star Rain/Rock Blast/Haima’s Hammer/Fundamental Star Rain/Stars of Destruction/Phalanx Greatblade/Magic Rainfall/Loretta’s Longbow/Loretta’s Mastery/Carian Greatsword/Carian Impaler/Splinter Spiral
• Increased the projectile speed and range of the Great Brilliant Shard.
• Reduced the damage of Ash of War Hoarfrost Stomp and increased the cast time.
• Increased Ash of War, Bloody Slash’s self-inflicted damage, slightly reducing the wear and increasing the cast time.
• Reduced weapon skill, damage of Night Sword and Flame.
• Increased FP consumption and reduced the duration of Ash of War, Barricade Shield.
• They changed FP consumption time for Ash of War, Prelate’s Charge.
• We have reduced the damage of the spirit caused by using the Mimic Tear Ash item and changed the behavior of the heart.
• Other Enemy and Weapon Balance Changes.