Wait, Who Is The Character On Elden Ring’s Cover?

screenrant.com:

’s cover art curiously doesn’t showcase the player character and instead features a different character who’s incredibly important in the lore. Several individuals can be found on the cover art, some with a specific armor set that can only be acquired from certain characters. These characters can be found in-game, but oddly, they are depicted on ’s cover art, not the main character. This is an unusual choice compared to FromSoftware’s previous games.

FromSoftware’s previous titles, like the series and, traditionally featured cover art with a generic character. Using a character with standard garb makes it easy to see them as the player character, like a blank slate for the player to project onto., however, interestingly breaks this tradition by referencing the lore and depicting a point in ’s timeline that the player only rarely hears about throughout the game. The character kneeling and holding a sword is none other than Roundtable Knight Vyke.

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’s cover art features Roundtable Knight Vyke, one of the most renowned Tarnished to walk The Lands Between. Before the player character arrived, Vyke was the member of the Roundtable Hold who was closest to achieving the title of Elden Lord. He collected two Great Runes, enough to reach Leyndell Capital City and stand at the entrance to the Erdtree. Rather than sacrifice his Finger Maiden to burn the thorns, Vyke fell prey to the Three Fingers and chose to follow the path of the Lord of Frenzied Flame, ’s worst ending. This allegiance can be seen on his armor, the Fingerprint set, which bears the scorch marks of the Three Fingers’ embrace.

Vyke, the subject of ’s cover art, can be found and fought twice