What just happened? FromSoftware's latest update for Elden Ring added a feature to help players keep track of tasks. It also made some significant changes to the game's balance. The patch comes amid worries it may suffer from the same massive security exploit that afflicted the Dark Souls games on PC.
When Elden Ring first launched, many players were puzzled by its lack of a traditional quest log. With no way to keep track of NPCs or what they asked players to do, some resorted to a physical notebook while playing the game. In addressing this, Elden Ring's 1.03 patch added a feature that enters NPCs' names on the map after players meet them. It's not a typical quest log, but it should help players track NPCs.
Aside from this, the most significant changes are to the Hoarfrost Stomp skill and the Mimic Tear Ash item. Supposed rebalancing nerfed these to players' dismay making the challenging game even harder. Other nerfed skills include Bloody Slash, Sword of Night and Flame, and Barricade Shield. One popular weapon, the Moonveil, is unchanged as of now.
Not everything was balanced against the player. FromSoftware improved many of Elden Ring's spells, such as Glintstone Cometshard, Comet, Night Comet, Gravity Well, Collapsing Stars, Crystal Barrage, and more. The shields, in general, got buffed, as did offensive cracked pot items. Other enhanced items include the Uplifting Aromatic and Ironjar Aromatic.
The patch notes don't say anything about Elden Ring's notorious stuttering on PC. Also more concerning for PC users is an unverified report of an exploit that lets PvP players perform remote code execution on victims' computers. Last month FromSoftware shut down the PvP servers of the Dark Souls games on PC due to the same exploit. As of now, those servers remain offline pending the developer's investigation.