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If you've played Elden Ring, or nearly any action-adventure title, chances are you're familiar with the fantastic technique called the “dodge roll.” This avoidance maneuver allows your character to carry out a front, lateral, or rearward tumble to dodge any enemy attacks and gain space from the bad guy. Sounds handy, right?

This rolling move, however, has attracted a lot of flak, not simply as a result of the somersault; it's been called dumb, a cop-out, and an unbelievable technique — and in some cases, I see the point. You should see me somersaulting past hostile mobs in The Witcher 3 — untouchable! But this game's rolling dodge represents the evasion to top all dodge rolls dodge rolls, and let me explain.

For this particular game, the designers identified a clever approach to address all opinions suggesting the technique is too easy: simply give all foes overwhelming force, increase it further, and all heroes who ventures close them will appreciate deeply because of their evasion move, myself included. When the stakes are this high, successfully rolling to victory comes across as a triumph, instead of an unfair advantage.

No different defensive move in the game approaches this feeling of accomplishment and reliability, because swift moves provide minimal movement and blocking attempts are easily broken by tough opponents. Someone once recommended jumping as a go-to Elden Ring dodging technique, but aside from not providing optimal placement, It wasn't clear to me receiving a fatal blow might boost my prospects of defeating bosses (inexperience, possibly).

Learning the Move

While the dodge roll offers respite in an incredibly challenging experience, it requires practice. Firstly, Elden Ring's rolling dodge merely initiates a frame of protection once you stop pressing the roll control, which hinders a hasty, frantic retreat from perilous circumstances. Furthermore, while it might carry you off from foes, it's significantly more useful to use it as an opportunity to advance, ideally to their rear, and deliver attacks. Lastly, it remains necessary to understand and anticipate opponent moves, since evading too early of a long charging animation might terminate your protection before the blow lands… causing significant harm.

A Well-Designed Feature

Although evasion-rolling in fast repetition could appear somewhat silly (credit to Geralt once more), this isn't truly feasible in Elden Ring. Of course, that fails to transform it into a plausible battle technique — which is precisely why it would be dreadful to experience it in a product like a realism-focused RPG — yet we're discussing a dazzling imaginative experience we're talking about, so who cares?

Like any proper evasion move, this title's evasion sequence is enhanced with a little somersault-y hop at the beginning, giving it an energetic feel as opposed to plopping the player on the floor. According to your loadout, the maneuver might appear incredibly quick or moderately cumbersome, yet it's always faster and more fluid than the evasion moves used in the previous titles. True, you will stick your oversized sword in the dirt while equipped with it, but that's your responsibility for not just playing ranged weapons (I'm joking — avoid using Elden Ring using ranged options).

The Perfect Balance

This title's dodging mechanic forms an optimal harmony between obstacle and possibility, offering hope of victory while endangering that very prospect at the slightest mistake. Learn this skill, and you'll gain not only success, but fulfillment.