You Can Get 100,000 Runes 15 Minutes Into Elden Ring, But Should You?

thegamer.com:

What if I told you that you could reach level 35 in Elden Ring, less than half an hour after first arriving in Limgrave, by killing a single enemy that doesn't even fight back? Sounds unlikely, but it's true. This is a notoriously easy way to amass almost 100,000 runes not long after creating your character, which way over-levels you for the starting zones. Watch or read any guide to creating an 'OP' Elden Ring character and this is always one of the first steps.

But like many things in Elden Ring, some players are divided about whether you actually should. The 'legitimate' way to kill the creature in question—a hulking great dragon enjoying a peaceful slumber in Caelid—is to weaken it by killing the younger dragons around it. But curious players inevitably found a way to kill the big dragon easily, effortlessly, and in a matter of minutes, despite its incredibly deep pool of health points. For the curious, here's how it's done.

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It's debatable whether FromSoft knew players would figure this out. The fact that there's a Site of Grace directly next to an unprotected, unguarded section of the dragon's body suggests that it might have. But gaining this many levels at this stage in the game makes early locations like Stormveil Castle relatively trivial, and I can't imagine the designers being happy with that. Either way, a lot of players are doing it—and probably feeling a bit guilty about it.

But I'm of the opinion that if something is in the game and it doesn't involve mods, hacks, or other exploits that meddle with the code, it's fine. If people want to get a head start with their character, that's their choice. For me personally, it's been a great way to start a