Elden Ring › News

Elden Ring Update Patch 1.03 available now: Buffs, Nerfs, Additions, Changes

by Alex Donaldson on 17 March, 2022

Elden Ring Patch 1.03 is now available, the first major update to the game since it released to enormous acclaim and over 12 million sales.

The update perhaps demonstrates that FromSoftware was working on Elden Ring’s development right down to the wire, given that as well as the expected balance buffs and nerfs, patch 1.03 also includes additional phases for several NPC side quests, an all new NPC with their own subplot, and several quality of life changes that are going to make life much easier for players. 

On the flip side, some of the balance changes bring the hammer down on some of the most obviously exploited strategies and gear people have been using to ‘cheese’ certain battles since the game's launch. We've got all of the details below.

All new in Elden Ring Patch 1.03 is a new jar NPC, complete with his own side quest.

Elden Ring Patch 1.03 Highlights: Top Changes and Additions

Before we get into the full patch notes, for those of you who don’t want to get into that huge list, we thought we’d quickly run down the most important changes and additions in update version 1.03. We've got the full patch notes further down the page, if you want to see everything changed. Otherwise, here’s the key additions in Patch 1.03:

  • Added a new NPC, Jar-bairn. They’re found in Jarburg, a village in Liurnia of the Lakes. Their associated quest rewards a newly-added Talisman that boosts the potency of pot grenade items.
  • New phases of the quests & storylines of various NPCs have been added, expanding their story. This includes Diallos, Kenneth Haight, Nepheli Loux, and Gatekeeper Gostoc.
  • NPC locations can now be recorded on the map once encountered, making tracking side quests easier.
  • There are more NPC summon signs around the world to assist with certain key battles.
  • There’s new ambient background music in certain areas of The Lands Between at night

And here’s some key balance changes:

  • Made Smithing Stones easier to get early on by adding them to some early-game stores and increasing the drop rate from certain enemies.
  • Nerfed the effectiveness of the Mimic Tear Spirit Ashes, which was arguably the best spirit summon in the game.
  • Nerfed several popular cheese tactics including Hoarfrost Stomp, the Sword of Night and Flame, etc
  • Boosted damage for all cracked pot grenade items
  • Many spells have had their FP consumption lowered and damage raised.
One major addition in Patch 1.03 is NPC locations being marked on Elden Ring's map.

Elden Ring Update 1.03: Patch Notes in Full

If the above isn't good enough for you, here's the full-fat Patch Notes, straight from Bandai Namco and FromSoftware:

Notice of Update Distribution

We are distributing an update to improve the stability of gameplay and to adjust balance.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but please apply the latest update before you enjoy the game.

Targeted platforms:

  • PlayStation 4
  • PlayStation 5
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Steam

Major Changes Included in the Latest Update

Additional Elements Added

  • Added a function to record an icon and the name of an NPC on the map when you encounter that NPC.
  • Added NPC Jar-Bairn.
  • Added new quest phases for the following NPCs: Diallos/ Nepheli Loux/ Kenneth Haight/ Gatekeeper Gostoc.
  • Added some summonable NPCs in multiple situations.
  • Increased the number of patterns of objects player can imitate when using Mimic’s Veil.
  • Added night background music for some open field area.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a bug that prevented summoned NPCs from taking damage in some boss battles.
  • Fixed a bug that sometime prevented the player from obtaining item after boss battle.
  • Fixed a bug that causes dialogue to be skipped when talking to NPCs and using custom key configurations.
  • Fixed a bug that causes the player to freeze when riding.
  • Fixed a bug that causes arcane to scale incorrectly for some weapons.
  • In situation where the player cannot obtain more than 2 talisman pouches, added talisman pouch to Twin Maiden Husks shop line up.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the user from warping to sites of grace from the map at the end of the game.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the player from moving to the next area after the battle with the Fire Giant.
  • Fixed a bug which causes some weapons to have incorrect scaling after strengthening.
  • Fixed a bug which causes some weapons to not use stat scaling.
  • Fixed hang-ups in certain occasions.
  • Fixed a bug which incorrectly displays multiplayer area boundary when playing online.
  • Fixed a bug that allows player to activate Erdtree Greatshield’s weapon skill without absorbing an attack using a special combination of item and incantation.
  • Fixed a bug which causes Fire’s Deadly Sin incantation to have different effect.
  • Fixed a bug with the Ash of War, Determination and Royal Knight's Resolve, where the damage buff will also apply to other weapons without that skill.
  • Adjusted the visual effect of Unseen Form spell.
  • Deleted the Ragged armor set from the game which was mistakenly obtainable in previous patch.
  • Fixed a bug that causes some hostile NPCs to drop Furlcalling Finger Remedy.
  • Fixed a bug that causes incorrect sound effect to play in some situations.
  • Fixed a bug which causes visual animation and hitboxes to not be displayed correctly on some maps.
  • Fixed bugs which causes incorrect visual and behavior for some enemies.
  • Fixed a bug that causes incorrect stat parameter for some armor.
  • Text fixes.
  • Other performance improvement and bug fixes.

Balance Changes

  • Increased the drop rate of Smithing Stone for some enemies.
  • Added Smithing Stone to some early game shop line up.
  • Increased shield’s effectiveness.
  • Increased the damage for all offensive cracked pot items.
  • Increased the damage for the following items: Spark Aromatic/Poison Spraymist.
  • Increased the effect duration for the following items: Uplifting Aromatic/ Ironjar Aromatic.
  • Increased HP healing for Torrent when using the following items: Rowa Raisin/ Sweet Raisin/ Frozen Raisin
  • Reduced FP consumption and increased the damage of the following sorceries: Glintstone Cometshard/ Comet/ Night Comet
  • Increased the damage of the following sorceries: Gravity Well/ Collapsing Stars/ Crystal Barrage
  • Decreased FP consumption of the following sorceries: Star Shower/ Rock Blaster/ Gavel of Haima/ Founding Rain of Stars/ Stars of Ruin/Greatblade Phalanx/Magic Downpour/ Loretta’s Greatbow/ Loretta’s Mastery/ Carian Greatsword/ Carian Piercer/ Shard Spiral
  • Raised projectile speed and range of Great Glintstone Shard
  • Decreased Ash of War, Hoarfrost Stomp's damage and increase cast time.
  • Increased Ash of War, Bloody Slash's self-inflict damage while slightly lowering the damage and increasing the cast time.
  • Decreased weapon skill, Sword of Night and Flame’s damage.
  • Increased FP consumption and lower duration of Ash of War, Barricade Shield.
  • Changed FP consumption timing of Ash of War, Prelate’s Charge.
  • Decreased the damage of spirit summoned when using the item Mimic Tear Ash and changed the spirit’s behavior pattern.
  • Other enemy and weapon balance changes

The version number of this update shown at the lower right corner of the Title Screen will be as follows:

  • App Ver. 1.03
  • Regulation Ver. 1.03.1

Online play requires the player to apply this update.