Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Player Achieves Remarkable 1 HP Challenge

A committed player of Elden Ring has accomplished an extraordinary feat by completing the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion with only 1 HP, 1 FP, and 1 Stamina. This grueling challenge required streamer Ainrun to invest countless hours, as the expansion features some of the most challenging boss encounters ever created by FromSoftware. Ultimately, Ainrun emerged victorious, taking great pride in this remarkable achievement.

Despite its release in early summer 2024, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree continues to generate buzz within the gaming community. While FromSoftware has previously released additional content for titles like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, Shadow of the Erdtree stands out by significantly expanding the already vast world of Elden Ring.

The expansion introduces new narratives, weapons, and formidable bosses, some of which are regarded as the toughest adversaries FromSoftware has designed. Even months after its release, players are still discovering creative strategies to tackle the DLC, with Ainrun recently completing an exceptionally challenging run.

In a recent stream, Ainrun revealed the conclusion of the "World's first 1HP/1FP/1Stamina run," announcing the successful completion of this arduous task. The challenge focused solely on the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, but this only amplifies the accomplishment's significance. The battle against Radahn alone took Ainrun over 20 hours and more than 900 attempts, a struggle that had previously frustrated many players when the expansion first launched. Many deemed this fight to be even more demanding than encounters with other notorious FromSoftware bosses, such as Malenia from the base game, Orphan of Kos from Bloodborne, and Isshin from Sekiro.

Streamer Triumphs Over Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree with 1 HP, 1 FP, and 1 Stamina

Overall, Ainrun dedicated nearly 55 hours to complete the Shadow of the Erdtree challenge, with Radahn posing the most significant hurdle. Upon release, Shadow of the Erdtree garnered mixed reactions from fans due to its intense battles and heightened difficulty, yet it also received acclaim for the substantial content it added to the base game.

"The 1 HP aspect didn't faze me much because I'm accustomed to no-hit runs," Ainrun explained. "However, having just 1 Stamina was the most challenging part. It restricts you from chaining actions like spam rolling or executing combos since every action depletes stamina, pushing it into the negative. You have to wait a full second for your stamina to recover before you can perform another action. With only 1 FP, I couldn’t rely on cheesy tactics like using Ashes of War or any special skills; it was purely about movement, parries, and a fair amount of frustration."

Upon its release, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree achieved remarkable commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling DLCs ever on platforms like Steam. However, despite its critical and financial acclaim, FromSoftware has confirmed that no further content for Elden Ring is in the pipeline. Nonetheless, Shadow of the Erdtree has opened up a vast new landscape for players to explore, with challenging runs like Ainrun's adding a fresh dynamic for those who may have already completed the expansion in more conventional ways.