There are many reasons why you might be dying in FromSoft titles. Whether you are new to the soul-like genre or a veteran, you will die no matter how much experience you have. There are soo many enemies in these games that you are bound to be bad at fighting at least a couple. If you die, that isn’t a bad thing.
There are 5 reasons you might be dying very quickly in Elden Ring. You might be under-leveled for the area, your weapon isn’t upgraded enough, you don’t have good enough armor equipped, you aren’t using a shield, or you just aren’t familiar with the game’s mechanics.
Just because you are dying a lot doesn’t necessarily mean you are bad at the game. It means you aren’t doing something correctly, or it is an extremely hard area. All players will struggle with every reason on this list, and it takes a bit to get used to them.
1. You are under-leveled for the area
Being under-leveled is a big part of why you might die a lot. There are many areas in the game, and if you stumble into an area early on, you might have a hard tie with the enemies there. If you first start and head straight over to Caelid, you will die a lot because the enemies there hit like a truck. You need to have a decently high level to combat everything there.
The same thing goes for pretty much any area past Limgrave. If you are first starting, take your time and explore. This will allow you to level up and understand how the game works. You can try to fight the game’s first boss, but it is not a wise decision because of the difficulty.
The game purposefully puts all types of enemies right in your path to show you what is coming later on in the game. Determining when you want to fight each one is up to you. Just take your time and upgrade yourself so you don’t make the game harder than it should be.
2. Your weapon isn’t upgraded enough
A not upgraded weapon can be your downfall if you haven’t considered it. Before you get to the Roundtable Hold, you can only upgrade your weapon to +3. You won’t think about it now, but once you get to the Roundtable Hold, you can upgrade it a lot higher than that. If you are new, you probably still have your weapon pretty low.
This can kill you easily because you must spend more time defeating each enemy. The extra time you spend could mean more uses of your Flask. If your Flasks run out, you are dead if you are low on health. Make sure you find all the needed Smithing Stones, so you are ready for the upgrades.
Keep in mind that there are 2 types of weapons. Special weapons require Somber Smithing Stones, and Regular weapons require regular Smithing Stones. This can be confusing initially, but you will eventually understand how it works.
3. You don’t have good enough armor equipped
The armor you choose is very important to determine how much defense and poise you get. Poise is the amount of damage it will take to stun you. If you break your poise, some enemies can do a riposte on you, killing you immediately. Defense is the amount of health that is taken when an enemy deals damage to you.
When you first start, your starting armor depends on your chosen class. Most starting armors are ones you probably want to swap out for another later in your playthrough. You probably want to get something better if you are in the endgame and still wearing starter armor.
Different armors require different stats, so watch your equipment load percentage. If you don’t, you might use more stamina than you should. Not having enough stamina can kill you quickly, so look at your armor weight.
4. You aren’t using a shield
If you are new to the series, you probably use a shield. Players who know how these games usually work like not use shields because they make the game easier. This is not bad because you can two-hand your weapon, and it will deal extra damage. Not a lot, but enough to make the switch.
You might want to use one if you aren’t using a shield and dying a lot. You can also upgrade them to give more defense and poise. This will help tank many of those attacks you might be getting hit with. If you are struggling, use a shield; it will help you a ton.
5. You aren’t familiar with the game’s mechanics yet
Knowing how these games work is the best way to learn not to die. It is pretty obvious to say the more you play, the better at the game you will become, but that is entirely true. You won’t have fun with the game if you aren’t learning from your mistakes and trying to get through them as fast as possible.
As we said before, take your time with each area. You shouldn’t be in a rush to finish anything because this game is all about learning the moves and mechanics of the game. If you don’t have the patience to learn how the game works and get mad at every death, this might not be the type of game for you.