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Elden Ring has its share of unpredictability being thrown at players, from weak and basic enemies to twisted and horrifying creatures, to actual giants and dragons. Even the environment itself can be as deadly as the ones trying to kill you, with gravity being the most common culprit. But for some players, this is not just quite enough. They seek out more trouble and, in a game completed mostly by a single player, look for confused players asking for assistance, instead of helping them. Invaders do quite the opposite.
Invaders, Red Phantoms, or in Elden Ring’s specific terms, Bloody Fingers and Recusants' goal is plain and simple. They want the hosts dead. This now sparks a debate that has been ongoing since the dawn of the Souls games. With the availability of this feature, one does question, why do players invade? Is this a habit out of cruelty for new players? Or rather, do they seek a challenge to win despite overwhelming odds?
Antagonizing Invasion
Even outside the game’s terminology, invasion means to intrude unwelcome in a place. It is truly stressful once you receive a notification in your game that someone has invaded your world, someone is intruding on your game. Much more in a game where sometimes survival and progression are being blocked by NPCs, now an actual player comes in to make it worse. If the term itself is not worth antagonizing, picture this: you, as the host, want to play with a cooperator to survive and progress the game by beating the boss together. This unwelcome, random, red player wants you and your cooperator not to survive and progress, and has a goal of killing you before you even get to the boss. It is understandable why new players would see them as evil players. The invaders’ goal is for hosts and cooperators to achieve theirs.
It's rarely fair, given that they prey on actual players more than the harsh AI enemies of the game. These players are most likely experienced in handling multiple players at once, hence they excel at being ganked. They can read and predict player movements and act accordingly. They have equipment highly optimized for player versus player encounters over the mobs of the game. Sometimes, they know what players will use as weapons or spells, and have their own to counter those themselves. Meanwhile, those being invaded are most likely unprepared, with little to no knowledge of player movement, testing weapons they have not mastered yet, wearing random armors that do not help their build at all, or just plain new to the game.
It's hard not to see them as the never-do-wells of the game. They show up with strong builds, blending into the environment, using mobs or sometimes field bosses as their allies by buffing them while trying to end hosts. Being in the perspective of a host, reality is harsh; ending up scraped or injured most of the time, and pulling everything they can to survive the next boss. Not knowing that they are about to be a part of another fight, aside from what they are already a part of. Invaders will attack out of nowhere. It makes you wonder if getting killed by a player is a worse outcome than computer enemy. For some, invasion is spoiling fun - gaining satisfaction by wrecking someone else’s.
Invasion as a Self-Inflicted Challenge
Invasion itself is tricky. Preparation and set-ups are key to successful invasions. These players are prepared for every attack or tactic thrown at them. In fact, invasion is a feature with an unlikely chance of winning. Invaders often face multiple players, with a maximum of 3 players. It is not easy to be ganked by three people, no matter their skill level. They can be predictable, seeing that they have an advantage over numbers, but it can also be overwhelming for invaders, keeping every single thing they do in mind all at once. Not to mention, hosts can carry twice the number of flask invaders can. The known fact that the invaders' goal is to kill the host gives them the advantage of just being passive, since they technically can last longer with the number of their flask usage, and also, Rune Arcs.
To excel, invaders need to up their survivability. Whether it's careful dodging and running, flask management, being mindful of openings to use for attacks and retaliation, being opportunistic, and having the knowledge of the landscape, are key factors for victory. You are most often outnumbered, but it doesn’t mean you cannot outpower and outsmart them. It involves ingenuity and composure for whatever they throw at you. Gankers can be confident or desperate; after all, they need to kick you out of their world. But invaders have to handle both situations and understand how they can make the most out of it. Sometimes, persistence can turn into consistency, and that will give you the occasional wins. Everyone blames them for spoiling the fun. However, few realize the tough path they have chosen.
The Real Motivation: Unpredictability
The invasion feature is not just about the invader and the invaded. It’s not as simple as an oppressor bullying the oppressed. When invasions happen, they shake things up. Single-player experience does not change the game, no matter how many times you play it. Recruiting another player lightens the monotony of a single-player game. Being invaded adds chaos, which can be unenjoyable for most, but can add another layer of fun for some. It's an element that you won't be able to control, even if you ask for cooperation. Elden Ring bosses, given time and practice, can be predictable and straightforward. Invaders are the wildcards that add spice to your playthrough, wherein you can also test your skills against another player. And maybe, that is also the case for invaders, as they seek to challenge themselves to go beyond their limits of fighting up to 3 players for improvement as a player.
Invaders don’t boot up the game with the sole intention of bullying beginners. They seek thrill within unpredictability. It's the rush of facing the unknown rather than inflicting pain on others. Human players are smart, unlike the scripted bosses of the game. They can improvise, get rattled, come up with new strategies, and then throw players off balance.
Stories bloom from chaos. Like that time you tumbled down a cliff during an invader attack, and the host saw everything. Or when, outnumbered three to one, you won by a hair’s breadth. A spell went wrong because the invader wasn’t stationary; then the host died. Such stories blossom from real people playing together, not from any set of instructions. Invaders risk everything for brief flashes of victory, but the chaos they bring stirs things up and crafts the most memorable experiences in the game.
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