Look, just hug the Elden Ring lady

polygon.com:

Yes, hugging Elden Ring’s Fia will give you a health debuff — minus 5% of your total health, to be exact. But, it’s still a hug: Do you understand how harsh the world of Elden Ring is? You’re going to need the comfort. Plus, there’s a way to remove the curse, should you not want what she’s offered — just consume her blessing!

Fia the Deathbed Companion is located in Elden Ring’s Roundtable Hold, and she’s gained quite the reputation in the time since the game was released. If you choose to embrace her, you get an item called Baldachin’s Blessing. Using it increases your poise and physical damage, but decreases your max health.

The fervor around it has been a lot — like, for people to avoid Fia at all costs. And I’m here to convince you otherwise. Just hug her. You can use the Baldachin’s Blessing item she gives you after the embrace to remove the debuff. It’s that simple! Plus, there are instances where maybe you do have that poise and damage buff — specific builds might benefit from some of that stability.

The problem, of course, is if you don’t realize that you’ve been cursed with this new affliction. Fia doesn’t exactly tell you about the debuff, but you’ll see an indicator under your health bar: a small red square.

It’s not so bad! I, after all, appreciate her encouragement. This is not just a pat on the back, but a full-on embrace. She compliments your warmth, and as hugs go, it’s, overall, top-notch in quality.