How To Beat Elden Ring In 2.5 Hours

The act of "speedrunning" through a game has become a growing trend for content creators and elite gamers flexing their ability and knowledge of a particular title. For anyone who's been living under a rock for the past several years, a speedrun is when a player advances through a particular game very quickly with no breaks in between. Sometimes, these are done to break records. Other times, they're done strictly for the fun of it. And sometimes, they're even faked for the attention that such a feat brings.

The critically acclaimed "Elden Ring" seemed to be speedrun proof. When it comes to the game's length, completing the main story in "Elden Ring" alone takes, on average, about 44 hours to beat, with even the quickest playthroughs taking about 27 hours (per HowLongToBeat). Though the main story in "Elden Ring," on paper, should only take about 30 hours or so to beat, the game's incredible difficulty and impossible boss battles have inflated that number to its current average of 40+ hours. One gamer seems to have figured it all out, beating "Elden Ring" in an unthinkable 2.5 hours without so much as dying in-game. By watching their gameplay, you can discover the secret as to how they beat the game in such a quick fashion.

On March 3, YouTuber niko bellic posted their playthrough of "Elden Ring" in which they miraculously beat the game in about 2.5 hours without dying even once, or utilizing cheesy glitches or skipping bosses to further their progression. To start, niko bellic chose Vagabond as their starting class. In order to skip any section that isn't critical to completing the main story, they immediately grabbed Torrent — a spectral horse used for travel — and then teleported directly to Caelid using a waygate. For much of the game, niko bellic used Torrent as an essential piece to the speedrunning strategy as the steed can get the player into key areas without taking damage and even be sacrificed in the name of gaining runes, "Elden Ring's" in-game currency. While niko bellic avoided any unnecessary fights in their playthrough, they are very adept at combat. As a matter of fact, niko bellic was able to defeat the final boss with only two healing flasks and a little over half HP at their disposal in a ridiculous flex of skill.

In addition to a level of skill that can only be achieved by a player through copious amounts of time spent within a "Souls" game, niko bellic seems to have benefitted from loading up on strength and dexterity, utilizing well-timed dodges and staggering enemies, all while retaining their starting armor and a longsword. Turns out, you don't need a great armor set with special in-game skills to blitz through "Elden Ring" — timing is everything.