Fancy playing Elden Ring as a mini version of Shadow of the Erdtree's Messmer? This new mod can help

You know that bloke with the fire and the snake from Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC trailer? Yeah, Messmer. Someone’s just created a mod that can help your Tarnished to mimic him, and in a fashion that’s extra interesting for FromSoft loreheads.

Yes, stop wondering what life would have been like if you’d kicked off your playthrough of the base game by chilling on a beach, there’s a new thing you’ve got to figure out how to install in a manner that doesn’t somehow mess your game up - don’t worry though, walkthroughs exist for a reason. Seriously though, if you’re a fan of looking cool while you're bashing boss brains in, here’s a thing for you.

The thing in question is a mod by Rayan, who also goes by Da7mX. It’s called ‘Restored 1.0 and Closed Network Test VFX’ and it does exactly what it does on the tin. As the modder’s revealed in a tweet and their work’s description, they’ve been through and restored all of the attack particle effects from the network test and 1.0 disc builds of Elden Ring, adding these removed or changed flourishes - to the current version of the game.

If you’re curious what’s changed, Rayan’s even put together a cool Twitter thread full of screenshots showing off plenty of the effects that the mod affects and explaining how they’re different to their base versions. For a lot of them, it’s something as simple as a colour tweak, but there are some other cool bits that’ve made a comeback, such as Godfrey's axe ash of war flicking “spikes with every stomp”.

Another interesting change is that it seems like the Elden Beast’s special attacks that spawn effects with a bunch of golden rings could seemingly sometimes spawn in an extra one on top of their usual total.

What you’re probably here for though, is the fact that some of the mod’s fire-based effects look a little bit like the ones we saw from Messmer in that DLC trailer. Sure, you’re probably going to end up looking a bit more like a child cosplaying as the impaler, but hey, maybe you can find a way to stand on an invader’s shoulders to make yourself look a bit more impressive.

While you’re considering that, if you’re interested, you can take a look at a spreadsheet the modder’s put together that details “every single unique file in both the network test and 1.0 [versions] that no longer exists in [the] retail version of the game]”. Also it looks like they might do another mod like this, but aimed at restoring early game materials at some point down the line, so keep an eye out for that.

If you're after some top Elden Ring tips to help you prep for Shadow of the Erdtree's arrival in a manner that’s not just cosplay-based, make sure to check out array of guides to the base game, which can help you do things like grab the Sword of Night and Flame, if you're a bit rusty.