Elden Ring's Joke Messages Ranked From Worst To Best (2024)

FromSoftware'sElden Ringmanaged to make a huge splash in the gaming community, winning the hearts of both long-time Soulsbornefans and newcomers alike, but there is one area that seems to be the epicenter of the game's meme culture and meta discussion: the game's online message system. Like in previous FromSoftware games (andnow Skyrim, thanks to Elden Ring-style mods),Elden Ringfeatures asynchronous online messaging, which players can use to leave cryptic notes for each other throughout the game world. It's through this highly specific form of messaging that players across the globe have been able to help one another with various puzzles, secrets, and boss battle strategies.

While these notes can be incredibly helpful, a significant portion of them are more focused on getting laughs than offering support. In typical FromSoftware fashion, the messaging system inElden Ring doesn't simply allow the user to type whatever they want, instead forcing them to choose between a curated selection of words and phrases. This might not be ideal for those interested in providing detailed notes and clues, but the restrictions have been a blessing for the comedically inclined, as they have led to numerous in-jokes.

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Some of these notes, like the recently discovered Obi-Wan Kenobi reference in Elden Ring, are isolated incidents. However, due to the limitations imposed by the feature and the nature of many ofElden Ring's challenges and environments, a great deal of these messages are repeated references and ironic inside jokes. The most popular repeated jokes will be recognized by any avidElden Ringplayer, but some of them are undeniably more successful when it comes to their comedic power.

#5 - Illusory Wall & Jump Suggestions Are Elden Ring Trolls' Best Friends

After a few hours inElden Ring, it will become clear that many things are not quite as they seem; there are invisible paths and platforms hiding past cliffsides, and a great number of the game's walls are mere illusions, crumbling after a single hit or roll. One of these hidden walls was infamous for taking 50 hits to break, though an Elden Ring update patched out this controversial inclusion.

These hidden paths add to the excitement of exploringElden Ring's world, but many have turned this feeling of endless potential against their fellow players. The Lands Between is littered with notes urging players to "try jumping" or directing them towards a "hidden path ahead," though ultimately not leading to anything at all. Granted, these messages can be quite hilarious at times, especially when someone isn't on their receiving end, but they can also be frustrating and are a bit overused.

#4 - Fort, Night Elden Ring Messages Are Almost As Popular As Fortnite Itself

Though not nearly as mischievous as the previous items on this list, "fort, night" is a message that may rival them in terms of their ubiquity. A clear reference to Epic Games' best-selling battle royaleFortnite, this message can be found lying in and aroundthe game's many fortresses and castles. These Fortnite messages keep appearing in Elden Ring despite their already-immense popularity, and while they may be good for a chuckle or two the first couple of times, it's likely that players will grow sick of them as they continue to pop up time and time again.

#3 - Elden Ring Players "Don't Have The Right" To Hate These Messages

The most attention-grabbing challenges inElden Ringcome from the game's many brutally difficult enemies and bosses. However, the open-world and open-ended nature of the game poses its own challenges, as players may find themselves unsure of where to go at times, especially given the lack of any waypoints or clear objective markers. There are, thankfully, countless different paths to go down, ensuring players are never stuck in one spot for too long, but other routes are simply blocked off until a certain task is completed or an item is obtained. For instance, players can't get into Elden Ring's Raya Lucaria without a Glintstone Key.

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This is whereElden Ring's "O, you don't have the right" messages come in. These notes will be placed near a path that, for whatever reason, is currently inaccessible to the player, usually repeating the phrase multiple times, really driving the point home. These joke messages may also come across as annoying to some players, who may already be frustrated about not knowing where to go. However, they are helpful in many situations, and the oddly joyful and celebratory tone of these messages is, generally speaking, quite funny.

#2 - Confusion About Animal Species Is One Of The Funniest Parts Of Elden Ring

There are numerous creatures inElden Ringboth hostile and docile, real and fantastical, but these roaming NPCs are not safe from the game's jocular messages. This is another instance where the limited word pool of the note feature helps players make jokes, as there are just a handful of different words for various animals. This has led to many Elden Ring creatures being labeled as "dog"regardless of species. This joke has become incredibly widespread, with the game's turtles, goats, and crabs all being called dogs. While not as common, some creatures have been mislabeled as "horse" as well, leading to even more absurdly funny in-game moments.

Elden RingandMetal Gear Solid, at the end of the day, have just about nothing in common. The former is an action-adventure open-world game with RPG progression elements while the latter is a long-running, tactical stealth franchise. Aside from the fact that both entries come from iconic video game auteur directors (Hidetaka Miyazaki and Hideo Kojima), they couldn't be more different.

Despite this, the two have been brought together throughElden Ring's messaging system in a way that is oddly fitting. There are Elden Ring messagesreferencingMetal Gear Solid's stealth mechanics, which may be the most obvious, but the references don't end there. There are also notes that poke fun at the iconic wayMGS allies like Colonel Roy Campbell will yell out Snake's name upon death. Perhaps the bestMetal Gear Solidinside joke, however, is a direct reference to the iconic ladder-climbing scene fromMetal Gear Solid 3, which serves as a tranquil moment of reflection near the end of the game. InElden Ring, this moment has been translated to the joke message "visions of Snake" that appears near several of the game's ladders. These manyMetal Gear Solidreferences are some of the most clever inElden Ring, and their endearing nature serves as an extra bonus forMetal Gear Solidfans.

Elden Ring's message system may work in Fallout and other games thanks to mods, but there is something special about their original FromSoftware implementation. The charm and hilarity of these messages form a sort of comradery within theElden Ringplayer base, as they connect players to one another. While each individualElden Ringplayer is sure to have their own preference when it comes to these joke messages, there are certainly some that are more original and clever than the others.

Next:Skyrim's Map Compared To Elden Ring's Lands Between