What happens when you die in Elden Ring?

You’re going to die in Elden Ring during your first playthrough. Even if you’re a grizzled FromSoftware veteran, Elden Ring has many different mechanics that will result in players’ deaths. How many times players die is up to them and their ability to learn on the fly. However, even if players have played every FromSoft game before this, the question of what happens when you die in Elden Ring must be asked.

The process of dying in FromSoft’s newest title is relatively similar to the SoulsBorne franchise of games. Of course, if this is your first foray into the developer’s franchise, you will need to know what to do after you’ve perished. Below, you can find the answer to this pertinent question.

Dying in Elden Ring

Once you die in Elden Ring, you will either respawn at your last visited Site of Grace or a nearby Statue or Marika. The Site of Grace is the bonfire mechanic that allows you to level up, allocate your flasks and much more. These are essentially your checkpoints throughout the world. The Statues of Marika are less common. They are small gray statues on the ground that are usually by world bosses or difficult enemies.

When you die, you will respawn at either one of these locations. Sometimes you have a choice between the two if you’ve visited both recently. As for after you respawn, you will have lost all of your held Runes. This is your main currency in Elden Ring, so this is a big deal if you die unexpectedly and are holding a large amount of Runes.

Luckily, your Runes will be waiting for you to retrieve at the spot you perished. If you fall off the map, then the Runes will be at the spot you fell off. This is the only major loss that will happen when you die. If you die before you can retrieve your lost Runes, they will be gone forever.

It’s wise to not have very many Runes on you when you know you’re heading into a boss battle. Retrieving them can be difficult while also dodging Margit or Godrick’s attacks, so you want to try and spend all your Runes before going into any major boss battle.