Git Gud: Elden Ring’s Magrit the Fell Omen
Background
If you’re not aware, publisher Bandai Namco recently released From Software’s recent title, Elden Ring. I do my best to remain aware of game releases, even though it has been quite a while since I’ve personally played a newly released game, or even a new to me game.
I was a game developer several years ago (approaching a decade). It seemed a dream come true to get a job in the game industry when I was in my late twenties, and I was very proud of what I was able to do. I was never the best programmer at any shop I was part of, but I did fill a “support programmer” role fairly well; I would take on the responsibilities that nobody else really wanted to do. For example, handle all required builds for release, work on neglected platforms, and the like.
Moreover, before starting work in the game biz, I was good at playing games. Not great, but I could absolutely hold my own. I could play FPS games online and not lose every time, I could stay abreast of the latest mods for the games I played, and so on.
The longer I stayed in the business, though, the less I enjoyed playing. This was something I looked at with a bit of sadness, because it had once been a part of my life. Now it was in my past. To be sure, I occasionally found games that I enjoyed; I particularly enjoyed Skyrim and Fallout 4, for example. But that was as far as things went. I played little else but those two games.
So it was with a bit of surprise that I realized I was interested in playing Elden Ring. It was the big new game, so I wasn’t going to be late to the hype party. It looks fabulous, which I rarely pay enough attention to (despite having many artists as friends). I decided I could give it a try. And so try I did.
I found that I was a bit rusty in my use of a game controller. My reaction times have slowed, which is natural after the years pass by. But I realized I was really enjoying playing the game. I avoided spoilers for quite some time, making sure that I was experiencing the game authentically. I used the various mechanics of the game to put a reset on my game playing skills, and generally just had a great time.
But Magrit, that was a bit much for me.
Boss Fights in Elden Ring
Boss fights are a whole thing in the game Elden Ring. They’re difficult, they’re meant to be difficult, and there’s no easy way around them. It definitely _is_ possible to skip around content to make boss fights easier, but that’s not how I wanted to play this game. I wanted (and still _do want_) to enjoy the game more organically. I wanted to encounter various game elements as they were presented, not super-jump my way through various shortcuts.
This isn’t to say I didn’t watch some YouTube guides to the game. I certainly did; what I realized was that far too many of them were focused on skipping past some elements of the game to “get to the good stuff faster”. This is exactly what I did _not_ want to do. I wanted to play this game as honestly and completely as possible.
When I encountered a boss that was difficult, say Agheel the Flying Dragon, I’d give it a fair couple of tries and then realize I really wasn’t ready yet. Not that I needed better equipment, necessarily, but that I just wasn’t settled into the game yet and couldn’t pull off that kind of fight.
I also began to realize once I defeated both the Tree Sentinel and Agheel the Flying Dragon that I was starting to get good at the game. Not great, mind you, but good. I’ll never be a PVP nightmare for someone, but I also am not in an awful state. I learned the basic arts of crafting, of improving my weapons, of using different attack types. I didn’t really understand the ability to do high damage to a stance-broken enemy until I decided, on a lark, to kill the land octopus(es) near the starting zone. While they were definitely unpleasant the first few times I had tried, upon later return I found them almost easy to fight. All I needed to do was get close, stay out of the way of (and remove) the tentacles, and get in close with a critical attack at the right moment.
But one enemy continued to intimidate me. Magrit the Fell Omen.
Researching Magrit the Fell Omen
Not that I had any personal experience with Magrit the Fell Omen. I merely read about this boss, heard the boss mentioned in some videos, some online chatter, and was duly intimidated. I certainly couldn’t handle this boss fight.
Or could I?
A recurring theme among players of From Software games is that in order to succeed, one must “Git Gud”. While this can be seen as dismissive or insulting, I found a youtubuer (INSERT LINK HERE) who described the role that Magrit the Fell Omen plays in this game. Magrit the Fell Omen is the sign in front of the ride that says “you must be this tall to pass”.
In so many games, content is blocked off until you’ve completed some task, achieved a particular level, or otherwise crossed a threshold. In the early parts of Elden Ring, you’re encouraged to simply play the game and go where you like. But if you want to know if it’s time to move on, you can make that determination from various boss fights.
As I described one particular minor boss fight I won on the first attempt, my son encouraged me by saying “What about Magrit?”. At first I thought I wasn’t ready.
What I realized upon reflection is that I had all the tools I needed in order to confront Magrit the Fell Omen. I may not have the tools to defeat Magrit wearing nothing but a loincloth and carrying a moderate-sized club, but I do have the skills and tools to win the fight.
I had done the work to find the NPC that sells an item to disable Magrit for a few seconds early in the fight. I had found several types of spectral summons. I had several weapons that could work, but importantly found one that fit my particular way of playing the game. I understood the weapon upgrade system and could afford upgrades, I understood the leveling system and had leveled myself — perhaps too far, even.
And I had built up a respect for the game. If I took advantage of _all_ these things, I could handle this boss, I was sure. I learned how to duck in and out of the game for maximum effect. One could call these techniques cheesy, but they’re built into the game for a reason. They’re there to provide ways of solving problems.
If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s solve a problem. I know how to break down a problem I see into its component parts, make a plan to address each of the component parts, and then execute on that plan.
Creating a plan
So it was with determination that I set to watching several YouTube videos just around playing against this boss. And as I watched more and more videos, I saw so many people refusing to use all the tools that were available. Perhaps they wanted to make the game more challenging for themselves, and everyone is entitled to do that. While From Software games don’t have difficulty levels available, what Elden Ring has is the ability to set a difficulty level for yourself by the way you play the game. And I intended to play on easy mode.
So I acquired the special item, leveled up, got my weapon ready, and made my way to the encounter. I made sure my pockets were almost completely empty of runes, so that I would be freed of any cares about losing assets during the fight. I scheduled time to travel to the boss area, and a separate time to actually fight the boss. I grimly resolved that this would be my way through the game, and that I would make as much as I could of this time.
And I relaxed about it. I made sure I didn’t feel any pressure to “perform”, that I wasn’t going to make myself unhappy with some failure. Failure is always an option, but what isn’t an option is wallowing in failure.
Indeed, I fully expected to fail. Planned on it. I would say achieved a zen state over the likelihood of failure, but it really wasn’t anything quite so specific. I would prepare to fail, but do so knowing that I had brought everything I needed with me in order to have a chance of victory.
After ensuring I had all of the things I needed to handle the fight with Margit the Fell Omen, I started my voyage to Stormveil Castle. I had already made my way (handily) through the gate on earlier days, and had prepared various sites of grace. All that remained was the short ride to the encounter point, which was fairly uneventful.
Fighting the fight
Ultimately, the fight was fairly simple. I wish I could tell a tale of a fight well-fought, but with all my preparations in hand, it took only two attempts to defeat Margit the Fell Omen. I _might_ have been able to clear the fight in a single pass, had I remained just a little more calm and been a little less overconfident. The second attempt was quite straightforward. Summon Sorcerer Rogier, use the Lone Wolf spirit ashes (note: if there are three wolves, they are absolutely not lone wolves. Wolves are pack animals, and the three wolves are very handy. But they aren’t _lone_ wolves.), and then use the Flask of Wondrous Physic, as well as a flame treatment for my sword.
I was so overpowering with this setup it wasn’t even funny.
Having studied some Margit the Fell Omen videos, I found that not only was the fight straightforward, but as I was unsurprised by his moves, I could take advantage and get into position to attack rather well.
If you want to watch the last 30 seconds of the fight I had, you’re welcome to do so.
Lessons learned
One of my favorite aphorisms is that the way one does anything tends to be the way one does everything; my approach to Magrit the Fell Omen falls right into that category.
I do tend to become overly concerned about the consequences or impacts of decisions I make; it would be fair to say I worry overmuch, and perhaps I’m even a bit anxious about a lot of things. And I needn’t be so.
By preparing well, researching, and having a support system by my side, even the more challenging things can be accomplished.
Most importantly, I learned to play my own game. By not concerning myself with how other people play Elden Ring, but rather by focusing on playing in a way that makes me happy, my enjoyment of the game increased and I found satisfaction even in a situation where most other people might say I was overpowered.