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FromSoftware's highly-anticipated Elden Ring released this week to rave reviews, scoring among the highest games of all time on MetaCritic. However, the game has been criticized on PC due to some performance issues, causing frequent framerate drops. Bandai Namco is planning to release a patch soon, but a new mod may be able to help in the meantime. Called "Elden Ring FPS Unlocker and more," uberhalit's mod on GitHub lets users remove the frame limit, add widescreen support, change the Field of View, and other small alterations. It does all this by patching the game's memory while running, and does not modify any game files. Another mod on NexusMods lets you bypass another polarizing decision in FromSoft games, giving players the option to pause the game.

However, despite the NexusMods page for "Pause the game" saying it is completely safe, that may not be entirely true. Both mods require users to disable the game's anti-cheat, which takes it offline (preventing seeing messages, summoning players, and all other online functionality). However, PC Gamer reports they received an "inappropriate activity detected" notification on their main menu, even when removing all mods before going online, a method that reportedly helped dodge bans in previous Souls games. While no bans have been issued at this point, Bandai Namco seems to be able to track the activity, so use these mods at your own risk.

Pause the Game mod
FPS Unlocker and more

 

[AkiraKurusu]

Hard disagree. May as well add an easy mode while you're at it, and make co-op non-conditional. Oh let's also get rid of the dodge mechanic in favor of a perfect guard. Let's also make the weapons do sizeable damage to the bosses and give them only 1 static moveset.

None of that has anything to do with pausing, with being able to temporarily suspend the game whilst doing a quick errand or chore.

 

[samcambolt270]

Hard disagree. May as well add an easy mode while you're at it, and make co-op non-conditional. Oh let's also get rid of the dodge mechanic in favor of a perfect guard. Let's also make the weapons do sizeable damage to the bosses and give them only 1 static moveset.

Literally none of those things are relevent. Not being able to leave to take a fucking shit is not the same as homogenizing the game and taking away features. You're acting like me not being allowed to answer the fucking door in offline mode is somehow paramount to experience of the souls series. Fuck off.

 

[Xzi]

None of that has anything to do with pausing, with being able to temporarily suspend the game whilst doing a quick errand or chore.

The game has a million safe areas, including sites of grace which you can fast travel to. Worst case scenario, you murder a few trash mobs real quick and make your own safe area. Being able to pause in the middle of boss fights would be broken.

 

[AkiraKurusu]

The game has a million safe areas, including sites of grace which you can fast travel to. Worst case scenario, you murder a few trash mobs real quick and make your own safe area. Being able to pause in the middle of boss fights would be broken.

Tell that to anyone who lives with other people, who might call their name out of the blue with no warning to do something quickly.

For example, someone telling you to close a bedroom window because it's started to rain and it'd ruin the carpet, or to throw some clothes down for washing, or to go fetch something from the garage. Or if someone suddenly calls you; you can't put the phone call off until you reach the closest safe area, so being able to pause the game would be immensely useful.

Or as other people have said, needing to go to the toilet.

 

[samcambolt270]

Being able to pause in the middle of boss fights would be broken.

No, it wouldn't. Being able to pause doesn't magically make you better at dodging or reading your opponents moves. If you didn't see it coming before you paused, you wont see it coming while it is. If you think the game being frozen would magically make you able to see things coming you otherwise wouldn't, just blacken the screen while its paused, problem solved.

 

[the_randomizer]

Hard disagree. May as well add an easy mode while you're at it, and make co-op non-conditional. Oh let's also get rid of the dodge mechanic in favor of a perfect guard. Let's also make the weapons do sizeable damage to the bosses and give them only 1 static moveset.

Well, I'll one up that question with, what the hell kind of DRM bullshit doesn't allow for ultra widescreen support or 120 FPS in 2022? Like, you shouldn't HAVE to disable EAC and risk getting banned just to get better performance. Sounds like bad programming to me.

 

[Xzi]

Tell that to anyone who lives with other people, who might call their name out of the blue with no warning to do something quickly.

I will tell that to them, because like I said, safety is at most ten seconds away from anywhere assuming you aren't in the middle of fighting a boss.

No, it wouldn't. Being able to pause doesn't magically make you better at dodging or reading your opponents moves. If you didn't see it coming before you paused, you wont see it coming while it is. If you think the game being frozen would magically make you able to see things coming you otherwise wouldn't, just blacken the screen while its paused, problem solved.

It probably wouldn't make things any easier for noobs, no, but it would be an easily-exploitable mechanic for veterans of Soulsborne games.

 

[samcambolt270]

I will tell that to them, because like I said, safety is at most ten seconds away from anywhere assuming you aren't in the middle of fighting a boss.

Lol, so your argument is "you shouldn't be allowed to pause because you can just run off and stand in a fucking bush or wait for the combat cooldown to end and teleport. Tell your bladder or the guy ringing your doorbell to just wait while I run for upwards of a minute before the game lets me bring up the map cause of the combat cooldown. Hold on, finished dinner! Just sit there and burn for a few more minutes while I fight this boss" XD Fuck off. If it's ""overpowered"" to pause in a fucking offline game, that's your problem.

 

[Xzi]

Well, I'll one up that question with, what the hell kind of DRM bullshit doesn't allow for ultra widescreen support or 120 FPS in 2022? Like, you shouldn't HAVE to disable EAC and risk getting banned just to get better performance. Sounds like bad programming to me.

You don't have to risk that, you can just wait for patches. And 120 FPS in Elden Ring is a pipe dream anyway, unless maybe you're playing with an RTX 3090 at 720p. The only real benefit of unlocking frame rate right now is getting improved frame times when locking it via Nvidia control panel or AMD equivalent instead.

 

[Godofcheese]

I hate EAC but it's not worth a potential VAC ban risk in my opinion. Maybe they should fix their shit before releasing? Crazy concept, I know.

Can't get VAC banned if the game uses something else than VAC

 

[the_randomizer]

Can't get VAC banned if the game uses something else than VAC

They can still ban you, the risk is still there. Is it really worth disabling EAC to fix the game? You shouldn't have to disable it to get 120 FPS, it's BS. Namco Bandai can still ban you.


How do we know this mod is safe? I doubt there is enough empirical evidence to prove it is:

https://github.com/uberhalit/EldenRingFpsUnlockAndMore

 

[Xzi]

Lol, so your argument is "you shouldn't be allowed to pause because you can just run off and stand in a fucking bush or wait for the combat cooldown to end and teleport. Tell your bladder or the guy ringing your doorbell to just wait while I run for upwards of a minute before the game lets me bring up the map cause of the combat cooldown" XD Fuck off. If it's ""overpowered"" to pause in a fucking offline game, that's your problem.

My argument is that not having a pause button is an intentional part of the design. Your hand is already being held more than in any other Soulsborne game previous. If you're so bad at the game that you're incapable of quickly reaching/creating a safe zone (should only take ten seconds), then just take the L and die. There's probably a site of grace or stake of Marika within twenty feet anyway.

 

[Kioku]

No, it wouldn't. Being able to pause doesn't magically make you better at dodging or reading your opponents moves. If you didn't see it coming before you paused, you wont see it coming while it is. If you think the game being frozen would magically make you able to see things coming you otherwise wouldn't, just blacken the screen while its paused, problem solved.

Pause buffering is 100% a thing. In a game where dodging gives you invincibility frames, it would help, a lot. Just a nitpick, but yeah, it's a thing.

 

[Kioku]

Well, I'll one up that question with, what the hell kind of DRM bullshit doesn't allow for ultra widescreen support or 120 FPS in 2022? Like, you shouldn't HAVE to disable EAC and risk getting banned just to get better performance. Sounds like bad programming to me.

DRM isn't responsible for engine limitations. The 60hz lock is bullshit, but I'd bet this mod isn't without issues. I do agree that you shouldn't have to disable EAC and limit yourself to purely offline only to enjoy a better experience. I hope Fromsoftware brings these enhancements in an official capacity, or allows for user mods with EAC.

 

[samcambolt270]

Pause buffering is 100% a thing. In a game where dodging gives you invincibility frames, it would help, a lot. Just a nitpick, but yeah, it's a thing.

Than don't let people pause buffer. XD You know how easy it is to make a timer? It takes one singular line of code to prevent people from doing that.

 

[the_randomizer]

DRM isn't responsible for engine limitations. The 60hz lock is bullshit, but I'd bet this mod isn't without issues. I do agree that you shouldn't have to disable EAC and limit yourself to purely offline only to enjoy a better experience. I hope Fromsoftware brings these enhancements in an official capacity, or allows for user mods with EAC.

And that's why I'm hesitant, FromSoftware should've got their shit together on launch. The fact "performance" mode on Series X dips into the upper 30s is just asinine. What are they hopped up on?

 

[Xzi]

And that's why I'm hesitant, FromSoftware should've got their shit together on launch. The fact "performance" mode on Series X dips into the upper 30s is just asinine. What are they hopped up on?

This engine was probably never meant to have open world games built on it, so it's kind of a miracle they got it to work at all. But yeah, they didn't want to delay a second time solely because of some performance hiccups, and frankly I'm glad they didn't, since the game would be a revelation even if it was locked to 30 FPS.

 

[the_randomizer]

This engine was probably never meant to have open world games built on it, so it's kind of a miracle they got it to work at all. But yeah, they didn't want to delay a second time solely because of some performance hiccups, and frankly I'm glad they didn't, since the game would be a revelation even if it was locked to 30 FPS.

I just hope they patch it soon, that's all. I don't think that's too unreasonable to ask for, esp if paying 60 bucks.

 

[Xzi]

I just hope they patch it soon, that's all. I don't think that's too unreasonable to ask for, esp if paying 60 bucks.

It's not, and FromSoft is always pretty quick about post-launch patches. There were already two "day one patches," as well as a hotfix that helped PC performance a little by reducing the number of files loaded when entering a new area.

 

[the_randomizer]

It's not, and FromSoft is always pretty quick about post-launch patches. There were already two "day one patches," as well as a hotfix that helped PC performance a little by reducing the number of files loaded when entering a new area.

I'll give it another shot, as I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I just hope my rig isn't "too weak" or whatever

CPU - Core i7 9700K
GPU - MSI RTX 3060 TI
RAM - 32 GB DDR4 SDRAM 3200