Great games leave marks where they stumble, and sometimes those marks are exactly what show how close they came to perfection. Elden Ring did more than just succeed as an open-world Souls game. It did everything it could to redefine expectations for what that genre could be. Its sheer scale and sense of mystery reshaped how players think about challenge-driven exploration, and the resulting accolades speak for themselves.
That is precisely why the bar for a sequel is so high. Elden Ring 2 does not need to reinvent the formula to surpass the original. Not at all. It just needs to be refined by addressing some pain points that the game came with. The foundation is already legendary, but there are clear problem areas that held the first game back from being truly a 10/10. Fixing these issues would not just improve the experience, it would cement From Software’s open world experiment as the genre gold standard (not that it isn’t already).
Side dungeons were one of Elden Ring’s most used concepts that made the Lands Between feel dense and rewarding to explore. Finding a hidden cave or catacomb off the beaten path almost always felt worth the effort, whether it led to a new spirit ash, a new weapon, or an important upgrade material. These spaces reinforced the idea that curiosity was always worth indulging, even when danger was guaranteed.
The problem was presentation fatigue. Far too many of these spaces shared the same visual identity, especially the catacombs. Stone hallways, imp statues, lever doors, and identical traps became familiar very quickly. Over time, players could predict the rhythm of these areas before even stepping inside, and that’s never a good thing for a game focused on exploration. That sense of surprise, which is so core to Elden Ring’s magic, slowly faded the deeper into the game you went.
Elden Ring 2 needs to keep the concept but expand the visual and thematic variety. A side dungeon should tell a story the moment the player steps inside. Different cultures, regions, and enemy types deserve spaces that feel handcrafted around them. When every dungeon looks and feels distinct, exploration regains that early game thrill where the unknown feels genuinely, well, unknown.
Elden Ring made huge strides for magic users by clearly defining schools of magic. Sorceries and incantations finally felt tied to lore and philosophies rather than being a loose collection of spells like in previous FromSoftware games. This alone gave magic itself more identity and builds more cohesion than they had in previous Souls games. It also helped ground the world by showing how different groups understood and weaponized power.
Still, the system feels like the beginning of something bigger rather than its final form. Many schools have limited depth, with only a handful of standout spells doing most of the work. Others feel underdeveloped, offering interesting concepts but little reason to fully commit to them mechanically. That leaves some magic builds feeling more cosmetic than competitive, which is a shame.
The sequel needs to push magic further into the spotlight. More spells, stronger internal synergies, and clearer progression within each school would give players reasons to specialize further. Expanding the lore alongside the mechanics would only strengthen the connection between gameplay and worldbuilding. Elden Ring’s Night Sorcery, for example, had a very specific niche (invisibility-based spells) and had actual purpose beyond just being a laser fired from a magic staff. Elden Ring 2 needs more like this. When magic feels deep and flexible, it becomes one of the most exciting ways to experience the Lands Between.
At launch, Elden Ring’s balance was genuinely a mess, and even the most devoted fans admit to it. Some weapons, skills, and spells felt incredible, while others were functionally useless when compared. High FP costs, poor scaling, and underwhelming damage numbers discouraged experimentation on a large scale, and this ensured that players were basically forced into using specific types. This pushed many players toward a narrow set of optimal choices.
Glintstone Pebble, for example, became the most obvious example. It is a low-tier spell that consistently outperformed higher-tier options simply because its damage-to-FP ratio was unmatched, especially in the early game for users of Sorcery. That kind of imbalance breaks the sense of progression, since unlocking new abilities did not always feel rewarding. Quite the contrary, actually. Players should feel excited to upgrade, not hesitant to abandon old tools.
Elden Ring 2 needs a stronger baseline balance from day one. That does not mean eliminating powerful builds or dominant strategies. It means ensuring that most options feel viable and worth using. When players feel free to experiment without being punished, the game becomes more expressive and more reflective of From Software’s design philosophy.
In pretty much every form of media, Dragons are iconic beasts, and Elden Ring understood their visual power immediately. Seeing one soar across the sky or descend into a battlefield created typically unforgettable moments, especially towards the end. These encounters sold the fantasy of a vast, living world filled with ancient threats. Few games capture that sense of scale so effectively.
The issue was how similarly most dragon fights played out in the end, though. Predictable patterns and exploitable behaviors made many dragon encounters feel routine after the first few. Once players understand the layering behind the curtain, the surprise of seeing a dragon appear vanished, replaced with a more “this again” mentality instead. Dragons stopped being terrifying and became routine kills long before the credits rolled.
In Elden Ring 2, dragons need to feel less scripted and more reactive. Unique behaviors and meaningful phase changes would go a long way. Each dragon should feel like a distinct creature with its own personality and hunting style. When players cannot rely on the same tactics every time, dragon fights regain their sense of danger and spectacle. They should be dangerous. They are dragons. There should never be a time when a dragon fight is considered boring by the players.
Boss encounters are one of From Software’s greatest strengths, which makes repetition stand out sharply. Elden Ring reused several bosses throughout its massive runtime. The common trope of early game bosses later becoming standard enemies appeared frequently, more common the deeper into the game you went. While this made sense from a pacing standpoint, it diluted the impact of those encounters.
In an open world this large, repetition becomes more noticeable. Running into the same enemy with minor tweaks does not create the same excitement as discovering something entirely new. Players crave novelty, especially when bosses are meant to be narrative and mechanical milestones. Elden Ring 2 does not need an overwhelming number of bosses, but it does need smarter variety. Familiar enemies can still feel fresh through new patterns or contextual storytelling. When boss fights remain memorable from start to finish, the world feels richer, and the journey feels more carefully crafted.
Elden Ring is already one of the most celebrated games ever made, and that is exactly why these problems matter. They are not signs of failure, but signs of ambition pushing against its limits. With sharper focus and greater scope for variety, Elden Ring 2 has a uniquely rare opportunity: it can take an all-time great and genuinely stand above it.
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