🔗 Share this article

Having spent time with the popular action RPG, or most other 3D action game, chances are you're familiar with the fantastic technique called the “dodge roll.” This evasion technique enables your hero to perform a forward, sideways, or backward tumble to avoid any enemy attacks and gain space from opponents. Seems useful, doesn't it?

The dodge roll, however, has received plenty of criticism, and not just as a result of the somersault; some have dubbed it foolish, a easy way out, and an unbelievable technique — and occasionally, I see the point. Just imagine me somersaulting past hostile mobs in another popular RPG — they can't hit me! But the title's rolling dodge stands as the roll to outdo all previous evasion moves, and let me explain.

In Elden Ring's case, the designers identified a clever approach to respond to all views that the move is overly simple: just grant every enemy excessive power, multiply it, and every Tarnished who ventures close them will be eternally grateful for their dodge-roll ability, me included. When the stakes are this high, successfully rolling to victory comes across as a triumph, rather than a cheap trick.

No other evasion method in Elden Ring matches this feeling of accomplishment and consistency, since rapid sprints offer limited distance and guard stances get quickly shattered by tough opponents. A person once suggested hopping as the main game evasion method, but besides failing to offer perfect repositioning, I couldn't understand how getting my skull smashed in would improve my chances of overcoming challenges (lack of skill, maybe).

Perfecting the Skill

But even though this evasion move grants reprieve in a famously difficult title, it demands ability. To begin with, Elden Ring's dodge roll just activates a frame of protection once you release the roll control, which stops a quick, panicky escape from perilous circumstances. Additionally, while it might transport you away from opponents, it's significantly more useful to employ it as a chance to move nearer, preferably behind the opponent, and deliver attacks. Lastly, you still need understand and anticipate foe assaults, because rolling prematurely of an extended wind-up could conclude your immunity prior to the hit connecting… causing significant harm.

A Well-Designed Feature

While dodge-rolling in fast repetition could appear somewhat silly (give it up for Geralt again), this isn't practically possible in this title. Certainly, that fails to transform it into a believable battle technique — the very cause why it would be pure horror to witness it in a title like a historical simulation — yet we're discussing a dazzling imaginative experience under discussion, so who cares?

Like any proper dodge roll, the game's rolling animation is spruced up with a little somersault-y hop at the start, offering a lively impression as opposed to dropping the character on the floor. According to your loadout, the maneuver might appear incredibly quick or somewhat sluggish, but it remains quicker and smoother than the rolling dodges featured in Dark Souls. Certainly, you may embed your oversized sword in the dirt if you're carrying one, but that's your responsibility for avoiding alternative arms (In jest — avoid using the game with projectile weapons).

Optimal Harmony

Elden Ring's evasion system establishes an ideal equilibrium between obstacle and possibility, providing prospects of success while threatening to take that hope away at the slightest mistake. Perfect this move, and you'll be rewarded with not just victory, but fulfillment.