In Elden Ring, being Tarnished in the Lands Between does not come easy. When just about every inhabitant of the eerily lifeless, undeath-plagued world seems to be conspiring against the player, finding solace and strength in one's own company is often the key to overcoming treacherous hurdles. Since the steep difficulty curve hardly leaves any room for mistakes, survival of the fittest is the one rule the Tarnished should abide by at every turn. For those who want even more of a challenge, the latest mod by Grimrukh is there to spice things up with a brand-new mode that makes the Lands Between even more hostile.

After posting a teaser trailer to his Twitter account earlier this month, the renowned modder best known for his two immersive Dark Souls mods, Nightfall and Daughters of Ash, released a Survival Mode expansion for Elden Ring. Unlike other mods that bolster visuals, build on various cosmetic features or work outside constraints by modifying existing assets, Survival Mode coats the already taxing experience in additional layers of difficulty. While one portion of the mod adds a touch of realism to Elden Ring's design, the other plunges players into depths of nighttime darkness.

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Screenshot depicting a Tarnished afflicted by the Plague of Limgrave, as seen in the Survival Mode mod for Elden Ring.

The newly introduced mechanics in Elden Ring's Survival Mode will likely remind players of select gameplay aspects found in the Fallout, Monster Hunter and The Legend of Zelda series. By installing Grimrukh's game-changing mod, the Tarnished will find that traversing the Lands Between is no longer free of immediate repercussions. They will actively have to battle hunger, thirst, temperature side effects and region-specific diseases that will pose an even greater threat to their wellbeing. Fortunately, not all is as doom and gloom as it may initially seem.

Hunting overworld game will provide players with raw sustenance that should keep the future Elden Lord in good spirits and far from the verge of death. For instance, killing a herbivore will yield meat that can be combined with a Smoldering Butterfly, which will result in a freshly cooked Seared Steak, ready for consumption and HP restoration. While randomly contracted, regional diseases can be cured with the help of craftable recipes and will grant the afflicted Tarnished complete immunity after being purged twice. In a similar vein, exhaustion caused by heat is curable via the timely application of specialized concoctions.

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Overworld altercations also become more dangerous under the weight of Survival Mode. Instead of coming across weapons in the Lands Between or plundering them from soulless husks, players will have to produce their own. Starting from the most basic of armaments and with the right materials, the craftable Smith's Hammer will enhance on-hand weapons and have them reach the upper echelon of the new Weapon Tree in due time. Relying on Torrent to provide a quick means of escape during combat could potentially prove lethal, especially given that the spectral steed has undergone some changes that have decreased its overall performance.

Screenshot depicting dark surroundings during nighttime in Limgrave, as seen in the Survival Mode mod for Elden Ring.

In line with these changes, nights will turn darker and more ominous, despite the unabating glow of the luminous Erdtree. To navigate the dimly lit landscapes of the Lands Between, players will have to rely on a torch to guide them through the night. Otherwise, they can choose to spend the wee hours at any Site of Grace, which probably amounts to the safest and most reasonable option when playing in Survival Mode. However, the convenience of passing time at a campfire during the night might be altered in a future update.

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For those who are partially interested in what the mod has to offer, Grimrukh ensured that all of its components remain optional. Both UXM and Mod Engine 2 make Survival Mode easily executable, with the latter automatically disabling EasyAnticheat and making uninstallation more convenient.

As is the case with any fan-made content, several known issues are currently interfering with the near-perfect delivery of the intended experience. Though Grimrukh has already addressed some of the bugs that arose with the vanilla version of the mod, he hopes to improve on Survival Mode's content in iterations to come. In the meantime, players can spruce up their Elden Ring journey with a fresh take on the game's challenges, a steeper difficulty curve and a few hundred craftable recipes.