Even in the first moments of a player’s Elden Ring experience, the strongest foes might be hiding in plain sight. Numerous bears can be found near the first major area of the game, and one of them even serves as an optional boss. These Runebears are strong and dangerous, sometimes able to inflict more damage and intimidation than certain major bosses. Players can still figure out new tactics to beat Runebears effectively, and they might need to in order to stand a chance against them early on.
How to Beat Runebears Effectively in Elden Ring
Runebears aren’t as fast as other enemies, but they have excellent mobility. Trying to attack them from afar will not be effective. Instead, players should focus on fast melee strikes and dodge through the bear’s slower yet stronger blows. A shield should also be kept to easily guard against faster attacks, such as the bite, but it should not be relied upon; Runebears can inflict hemorrhaging even through a player’s guard. Using equal or greater speed compared to the bear will be more useful than trying to block its attacks.
Runebears have slightly lowered resistance to fire, but players will get more use out of the many status effects available for them to use. The most effective status to use against Runebears is sleep. Sleep-inducing items aren’t easily found – even the books used to craft some of them aren’t easily found – but they’ll completely stop a Runebear in its tracks. This will give the player plenty of time to heal up or deal some massive damage. Runebears are generally out-of-the-way regardless, and they’re easily outran by Torrent. Players can easily avoid Runebears and save exploring their territory for later. After gaining the right equipment and facing off against stronger common enemies, defeating a Runebear will seem like a much simpler task.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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