Elden ring vs Sekiro_title image

Is Elden Ring Harder Than Sekiro? Here are 4 Reasons

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Elden Ring VS Sekiro: Which One Is Harder?

You may want to pick up the latest Soulsbourne game and want to know; “is Elden ring harder than Sekiro?“

If you have ever played any games from FromSoftware, you’ll know what you’re getting into when you purchase a game made by them. Just like CDProject Red is known for the Witcher series, FromSoftware is known for the Souls series, and RPG games known for their exceeding difficulty. They include the Dark Souls series, Bloodbourne, Demon Souls, Sekiro and Elden Ring amongst others.

If you have ever played any game from FromSoftware, you’ll know what you’re getting into when you purchase a game made by them. Just like CDproject red is known for the witcher series, FromSoftware is known for the souls series, rpg games known for their exceedingly difficult gameplay. They include the Dark Souls series, Bloodbourne, Demon Souls, Sekiro and Elden Ring amongst other.

If you’re a casual gamer and decide to pick up one of their games, then be warned that you’re likely to drop the game early on and forget it completely, or rage and probably destroy something. They are one of the main reasons people buy new controllers or keyboards since they can be very frustrating.

The two most recent games from the game developers are Elden ring and Sekiro. While Elden ring came out this year, Sekiro has been with us since 2019 and as a result, it is not uncommon for people in different camps to squabble about which game is more difficult.

Is Elden ring harder than Sekiro? I’m going to go on a whim and just say it, No, Sekiro is harder than Elden ring, and below I’ll give four main reasons for this. Now, this is based mainly on my own opinion and like all things you’re entitled to your opinion and free to disagree with me. However, these are my reasons for why Sekiro is harder than Elden ring.

Elden Ring Favours Different Playstyles

Elden ring vs Sekiro_elden ring classes

One of the reasons RPGs are beautiful games is the freedom to choose a playstyle that suits you. People are fundamentally different and approach problems in different ways and Elden ring provides you with this. There are 10 different starting classes in Elden ring;

  • Vagabond
  • Hero
  • Warrior
  • Bandit
  • Astrologer
  • Samurai
  • Prisoner
  • Prophet
  • Confessor
  • Wretch

Each of these classes has its own stats and favours a particular type of play. Do you want to be a mage and dish out spells? Then the astrologer class is good for that. How about an archer, you want to use the bow and arrow primarily? The warrior class or bandit will do just fine.

Some want to be able to wield melee tools and still be able to wield the bow at a distance, the samurai class will fit. Even the heavy hitters that want strength and prefer to hack with an axe have the hero class.

Each class favours a particular playstyle which can be OP on certain boss types depending on how well they are used (I’m looking at you mages) and as a result, you tend to fight better if it is something that suits you.

This is fundamentally different in Sekiro where everyone has to use one particular playstyle. You are armed with a katana and specific gameplay mechanics that must be mastered for you to progress. If you played soul games by fighting from a distance, then you wouldn’t be in luck here since you’re forced to battle it out head-on.

As a result, more people have difficulty adjusting to something that isn’t their way of playing (some still never do) which makes it harder than Elden rings.

Elden Ring Favours Exploration and XP Farming

is elden ring harder than sekiro_exploration

One of the main positives for Elden ring is the not too linear gameplay. It is an open-world game with lots of exploring. Not that you cannot explore in Sekiro, but this is minimal and it doesn’t really do much to help in boss fights.

If you meet a particular boss you cannot beat in Elden ring, you can skip the boss, go do some exploring and farm for XP. When you feel you’re strong enough, you can come back and try the boss again and beat it.

This is different for Sekiro. You cannot skip a boss and move into a new area. Yes, you can leave the boss for a while and come back later, but to progress, you need to beat the boss. You also cannot farm for XP to beat a boss like in Elden ring. To beat a boss, you have to get good at the game and study the bosses otherwise you cannot progress.

Sekiro Needs You to Actually Get Good at the Game

Elden ring vs Sekiro-mastery

The reason Sekiro is so loved is because of how good the game of combat is built. It is so difficult and yet so rewarding when you get to master it. You might be good at other souls games and use the same mechanics to deal with bosses in Elden ring, but in Sekiro you have to learn its own mechanics to be good at it.

Make no mistake, Elden ring is hard, frustrating in fact, however, it can be cheesed on. Certain weapons, spells, summoning and so on can make the game much easier without actually having to study the bosses and game mechanics.

This is not so in Sekiro. Of course, there are helpful artefacts, but they cannot help you go far if you do not understand the game and do not study the bosses. Parrying is a huge game mechanic and mastering it is vital to playing the game. You must learn it to be decent enough especially if like me you want to make the bosses your bitch in new game +.

The Ability to Summon Help in Elden Ring

Elden ring vs Sekiro_summons

Unlike Sekiro and other soulsborne games, the developers decided to add game mechanics to Elden rings to make life a bit easier for new players. This ease of life mechanic is Summoning. Summoning is a vitally important system of the game that can easily change the tide of the battle.

You can call upon the ghosts of powerful warriors and creatures which can inflict status damage, deal actual damage, help mow down enemies and distract your opponents while you deal your own damage.

You can also summon other players in co-op fashion and wreak havoc as a team on the bosses. In the later part of the game, using the Mimic tear, you can summon a copy of yourself. This added feature makes life a bit easier and the game much easier than Sekiro.

It is another reason why skill and mastery are not needed to progress in Elden ring unlike in Sekiro. There are players who know this and decide not to use these features so the game is a bit more difficult for them.

Conclusion – Is Sekiro Harder Than Elden Ring?

Despite these reasons, one should not think that Elden ring is an easy game. Like other FromSoftware games, it prides itself on being difficult. Even with all these positive game features, some souls veterans still have their hands full with the game. In fact, difficulty can come from other player aspects of the game such as the invasions in PvP which despite a game mechanic can be circumvented.

Despite this, when compared to other souls games, particularly Sekiro and when compared in terms of difficulty, it simply isn’t as challenging. It is less difficult and more welcoming. If