"Elden Ring" runes are how players level up in FromSoftware's new open-world "Soulsborne" game. Normally, you get runes by doing the open world stuff-mostly killing enemies and exploring. But some players are turning to this in order to farm runes faster.
PCGamer reports that millions upon millions of "Elden Ring" runes are being sold on eBay as of the moment for real world money. The main reason is simple: people want to level up as fast as they possibly can without doing too much work.
Prices can range from as little as $10 for a few thousand runes, but could easily go up to hundreds of bucks if you want to buy hundreds of millions of runes at one time. If you look at eBay right now, you can see that much of the listings cater to consoles (PS4, PS5, and Xbox One), but can also cover PC players.
You'll also notice how the listings always say "in-game drop," and that describes how they give the runes to buyers in-game. Here's how it works: you buy a rune package for a specific amount, and the seller sets a time and place in the game to meet up. The seller then summons the buyer as a co-op partner in the world, drops the runes on the ground for the buyer to pick up, and the two part ways.
If you notice, this works very much like a classic item swap in an MMO. But while these so-called "gray market deals" sound like a completely fine thing to do, it might not be a good idea if you want to keep playing "Elden Ring."
Buying Runes Is Against The Rules
According to a report by IGN, buying or selling "Elden Ring" items for real world money is actually against the game's Terms of Service set forth by FromSoftware. Here is the ruling, non-verbatim:
"No player shall be entitled to sell to or buy from another any of his/her rights held as a Player, and items, characters, and saved data within the game related to the Software which are obtained in the Services (including so-called "real money trading."
If you engage in such a trade and are caught by FromSoftware, you could get suspended or even banned from the game entirely. But there is no indication of how the developer is monitoring these sales or whether they've already punished players so far-at least for now.
Why Would 'Elden Ring' Runes Be Sold For Real Money In The First Place?
Eurogamer tried out the in-game swap and was quick to say how the deals can be a very tense affair. This is due to how dealers can simply vanish with your money after "selling" you the runes (aka not appearing at the agreed-upon place and time in-game).
Eurogamer writer Ed Nightingale described the experience as like "meeting a drug dealer," further commenting that such a deal is not really worth it. However, these gray market sales might really be the only way for some people to truly enjoy the game, as many of them have voiced concerns about just how difficult the game is to play through-especially if you're just starting out.
In response, "Elden Ring" director Hidetaka Miyazaki has said he feels "apologetic" to those who find the game too hard (via GameRant). But according to him, he just wants as many gamers as possible to "experience the joy from overcoming hardship," and confirms that FromSoftware doesn't intend to stop making these difficult games as they are the studio's identity at this point.
Related Article : Oh Such Beautiful Death - 'Elden Ring' Review
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Written by RJ Pierce
