Twitch streamer Ainrun accomplished what shouldn’t even be possible: defeating Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s giga-Radahn with only a few dust motes of health. And it only cost him 20 hours of his life.
“20+ hours, 900+ deaths on Radahn,” Ainrun wrote on Twitter. “World’s first 1HP/1FP/1Stam run is finally over.”
It’s a monumental feat. Many Elden Ring players struggle to beat Shadow of the Erdtree’s final boss, period, even with their health and stamina bars as long as their arms. The DLC’s version of Radahn — the feral, elephantine warrior you first battled in Caelid — makes the already powerful boss more punishing by imbuing him with demigod Miquella’s caustic holy incantations. Together, Radahn and Miquella are an irresistible combination of brute strength and honing projectiles, a final test to see if you really love Elden Ring, or if you’ll punch your PC.
But, in the end, Radahn and Miquella were no match for Ainrun’s puny character.
“The one HP didn’t matter much ’cause I’m used to no-hit runs,” he explains on Twitter. “The [one stamina] was the worst part. […] The one FP meant I couldn’t cheese bosses or use Ash of Wars or anything. Just pure movement and parries and self-hate.”
Pure movement, parries, and some other things, too. Before his winning fight, Ainrun uses Godrick’s Great Rune, which boosts all attributes, and he casts Golden Vow and Howl of Shabriri. The former incantation buffs your attack and defense, and the latter causes enemies to incur madness.
And, just because Ainrun limited himself to essentially no vigor or stamina, doesn’t mean his character can’t be strong — Ainrun leveled his strength and dexterity to 55, and his faith was at 28. The Flask of Wondrous Physick he consumes improves his stamina recovery. The main-gauche dagger he carried in his left hand wasn’t ideal for parrying, he says on Twitter, but it is useful for slashing. Finally, his right-hand weapon is imbued with the Cragblade Ash of War, which enhances poise-breaking and attack power. It takes a village!
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