Elden Ring Lore - The Rune Bears

Y'all ready to talk about some bears?
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[@AegisKHAOS]

Bad enough the rune bears are so aggressive and tough. And then Miyazaki had this brilliant idea of giving them a shotgun.

[@professorpengu502]

He genuinely gets joy from making life more difficult for players there was a time where a youtuber was playing bloodborne in front of him and got through the first area without dying and it genuinely seemed to disappoint him

[@fracturedskater]

Haha epicnamebro's BB playthrough is legendary

[@minerman60101]

"Gold-tinged Excrement" seems like a play on the phrase "Holy shit"

[@MrJordwalk]

It's also a nod to a line George RR Martin wrote: "Lord Tywin Lannister did not, in the end, shit gold.”

[@trufreedom]

Having a few of them disguised as wandering nobles was genius... really kept me on my toes!

[@nbmoleminer5051]

Those were Silver Tear Mimics

[@THE_MOONMAN]

Yeah mimics show up hidden as a bunch of stuff. Some of the big metal balls in the underworld, ones disguised as a troll. I think I remember seeing one as a basic dragon or something too but I might be mixing that one up as I can't recall specifically. It actually kinda trips me out just how many mimics there are and how widespread they are. They truly must be quite powerful or quite cunning as they're one of the most widespread enemies across the lands between and with barely any explanation how they've gotten there. Whereas like the NOx who created them are all still underground. So pretty interesting how these sneaky buggers are everywhere. I wonder what they're all trying to do or if they're just trying to hide or what's going on there. Like some of them are in the consecrated snowfield. That's no easy location to get to. Oh and I just googled about it and I totally forgot the stray mimic tear fight is in the secret catacombs under the hidden path to the haligtree! So just what are these mimics after? Perhaps seeking great dunes just as we are to become Elden lord as that's the only explanation were given. That the nox created them to try and craft a lord. So perhaps they are seeking to become lord.

[@trufreedom]

@nbmoleminer5051 I learn new stuff about this game all the time! I did not make the connection even after getting the larval tear (at least one) 🥴

[@miimiibeschde4818]

​@@THE_MOONMANand a lobster that was actually a grafted scion

[@kevinspilker6622]

oh my god, that one in Limgrave on the way to the Weeping Peninsula was so confusing for me. I got rocked by that absolute asshole of a dangerfloof 5 times before I realized it was one of the wandering nobles.

[@Echo_ohc3]

Is it possible that the rune bears have dragon eyes because they ate people who particiaped in dragon communion? After all, these people are partially dragons themselves.

[@blue_hoodie9987]

BEAR WITNESS!!!!!!!!!!

[@xkidgey]

All I'm gonna say is that for a rune bear they sure don't drop many runes

[@darklordauron]

I think another connection with the dragons is right there in the beginning: that the rune is similar to the Farum Azula (aka Drakonistan) Elden Ring rune. So while the dragon-related bear was removed, that aspect likely carried over. Though one of my favorite theories is that since the Beastmen of Farum Azula came in all types of animals, that the Runebears with their golden excrement and beast drops are actually bear-beastmen that reverted or devolved when they fell from Farum Azula. That they were the heavy clergy guardians of that place long ago. And that their movements being similar to Gurranq hints that they were far less anthropomorphized in that period. Their thumbs are also not in the right position, as if they were once opposable and then changed to a non-opposable thumb instead of being non-opposable the entire time like the normal bears around them.

[@DrDizzleFrizzle]

"Beastmen of Farum Azula came in all types of animals" pause

[@Tortuga2223a]

AYO?! 🫢​@@DrDizzleFrizzle

[@timothybeam9991]

Considering the DLC trailer and the one clip of a bear roar incantation and the horn on its head, it seems likely there may be a connection between the rune bears and dragons

[@rauhanaika]

Runebears get me all ursacidal..

[@moosehunter2477]

The Rune-Bears sort of remind me of several prehistoric bears such as the short-faced bears Arctodus simus and Arctotherium angustidens, which could easily stand 10 feet or more on their back legs and would have served as the apex predators within their respective ecosystems by either preying on large animals like camels, ground sloth and young mastodon or bullying predators like sabre-tooth cats off their hard-earned kills (of course being bears they could also spend their days foraging for berries, roots and other easy to obtain foods)

[@Trimondius]

The rune bears are something of an oddity,theres few animals in eldenring which actively grow stronger compared to their normal counterparts.The most interesting part of them is that theres one runebear in the consecrated snowfields which apparently has mastered a step above the other runebears,it has telepathy,its stronger and is capable of feats such as jumping in the air. I think the runebears are a product of experimentation most likely either made possible by the the liurnian magicians or rykards house (it would also explain their eyes being reptile like).

[@oliver_twisted6838]

I've heard that it's possible they're so strong because of dragon communion of a sort. If they ate a dead dragon or were fed hearts it would make them stronger and just like the player character they both gain reptilian eyes

[@efaristi9737]

He is telepathe ?

[@Trimondius]

@@efaristi9737 That one runebear is capable of floating a few meters off the ground.

[@childofcascadia]

Thats not telepathy. Telepathy is being able to send or receive messages in your mind without speaking out loud. Being able to float a short ways off the ground is levitation.

[@efaristi9737]

@@Trimondius that's not telepathy.

[@whatsnewbois9814]

All rune bears have five claws on both front and hind legs, five fingers are a symbol of gaining intelligence. But if you grow up in the wild you will learn only how to hunt and kill like a beast

[@childofcascadia]

Real world bears have 5 claws/toes on all feet. They arent like canids or felines where they only have 5 toes on the front feet I dont think that having 5 claws is a symbol of anything beyond the fact that they are bears.

[@craignaylor2648]

The one in the concentrated snowfield is legit main boss bye itself

[@the_enforcer_2396]

I low-key expected more bear puns in this lol

[@RetroVideoGamer23]

I never thought a rune bear could start off small and grow to that size, good content as always

[@Hoarahchadtheallgrabbing]

THE BEARS OF ALL TIME ! Why the bears of Cailed and the mimic tear bear in Consencrated Snowfield have a special moves ? 🤔

[@bishopjordan9482]

We believe they're the oldest and most long lived runebears. More than the average one. Possibly hundreds of years old. If you notice those particular bears look completely different from the average runebear. They're grey in color and their fur is long and unkempt. As though it's fur hasn't been trimmed by anything for ages.

[@Eldenmofo1]

Kratos should tame a Rune Bear

[@wolffang471]

That joke in the intro was paw-ful.

[@square-table-gaming]

It BEARLY made it into the script

[@Okkusen]

Bearwitness....Bodybuilding MF Rune bears!

[@St._Matthew]

I most certainly run away .. I’m level 400 and they do so much damage, it’s a fun encounter but losing to one of those always hurts

[@ArnoldJudasRimmer..]

I am the same man hahaha.... 'RUNEBEARRRRRR!!!' 'RUN AS FAST AS THE WIND TORRENT YOU LITTLE SH**!' (Proceeds to get caught in bush)

[@St._Matthew]

@@ArnoldJudasRimmer.. 😂😂😂😂 @ getting caught by a bush 😂😂😂😂😂😂👏🏾👏🏾

[@St._Matthew]

@@ArnoldJudasRimmer.. And even though “ they bleed “ , so i use bleed weapons BUT … they don’t bleed fast enough lol

[@ArnoldJudasRimmer..]

@@St._Matthew hahaha Torrent has saved my ass many a time man....but lets be honest here. How many times has he also got caught on the most inanimate objects possible? 🤣🤣🤣🤷

[@ArnoldJudasRimmer..]

@@St._Matthew the first one I encountered was the one in the cave. Ya know, that HORRID treasure trap one... That thing....at level 2. No chance 🤣🤣 Avoided them ever since. 3 runs later 🤦

[@guygordon2780]

Horrible thought: Rune Bears inflicted with Madness!

[@Suno-ta-sei]

rune bears put me in my place even when i can beat the tree sentinal at the capital under level! they are beasts that that are more scary than a dragon.

[@spookieboogi6161]

Nah you don’t outrun a rune bear it’s merely blinded by the excrement shooting out our rears to find us

[@blakerogers9600]

Looks like from the dlc trailer that them maybe taking part in some form of dragon communion is accurate.

[@AeroZephron]

The only floof that I avoid. Which is sad. Sad floof.

[@Writh811]

I think it was Bonfire who had a video showing off the Runebear model and it was noted that they have very small horns over where their hearts would be, like tiny horns to the point one would wonder why Form even bothered. But those tiny horns gave the impression that a dragon heart is in those beasts' chest.

[@felbalze6307]

Ah! That was Zullie the Witch!

[@bishopjordan9482]

You forgot to mention an even further evolution of the Runebear that has longer fur that's unkempt and grey instead of brown and has access to a few new moves. A roaring knockback and a high leaping smash that crushes the Tarnished.

[@albertorodriguez2750]

Those rune bears get really crazy in the Snowfield area. Mini bosses in my opinion lol.

[@chandusaha4864]

your videos are so soothing, and the content is so gooood. thank you for your videos

[@38Jim]

They must be ungry

[@williambrothers7253]

Its interesting to note that there are at least 2 very rare varients of the rune bears, the one in the caelid canyon and the one in the consecrated snowfield that i know of, they're essentially just a juiced up version of the rune bear but i find it weird there's only two of them just wandering around the wilderness, youd think they would be minibosses with the amount crap they pull!

[@squeezeisforever]

Lol Danger Floofs

[@TechNinjaSigma]

Your Puns are unBearable

[@Fingledoodler]

There were very few enemies that I hated or still hate in elden ring. Some I knew I was too weak for and can come back. Rune bears is an immediate nope for me. I make a B line for the hills if one gets aggro. Hate them haha. But i love the theory of them getting bigger on runes over time. Dragon hearts are also cool as something that could have been but i don't see small bears killing dragons that easy so I'd say they would have had to be big first before attacking dragons.

[@MinimusMaximus]

a.k.a Godrick's bear witness.

[@ArnoldJudasRimmer..]

Its a rune bear... *level 400 multiple time over Elden Lord* Proceeds to sneak past as quietly as possible...

[@DefonotMax]

I gotta say. These are MADE for sleep

[@MrKarnator]

These guys can give one HECK of a Bear-hug, that's for sure!

[@Throne6810]

Lmao so what if golden excrement is bodiless tarnished 😂

[@Lance06Evo]

I don't think fighting them is worth the risk they represent, I try to avoid them as much as possible, but I also believe they are a magnificent and underappreciated mob

[@ArnoldJudasRimmer..]

I totally agree! And I am saying that after 4 playthroughs 😂

[@QuandaleDingle-mm2rc]

Hardest enemy in elden ring

[@keonakel9678]

The thumbnail art is really sick , nice job!

[@Bustersudds]

Hey I had an idea about the shadow of the erdtree what if the shadow is a reference to the eclipse or what I really think is since the erdtree gives off most of the light maybe the eclipse needs to block out the light of the erdtree and that’s why they couldn’t get it to work at castle sol. there might be holes in this but just a thought

[@NickCombs]

We're gonna need a bigger bear (in the DLC)

[@miimiibeschde4818]

*fromsoft puts one as big as a mausoleum into the dlc*

[@milknegan7659]

The one in consecrated snowfield is a mf problem

[@Seefido]

The first runebear I fought wasn’t actually an issue for me at all, it was that one chilling as the boss for a cave early on, the rest after that however tear me a new one every time

[@minespatch]

I can't tell what is harsher: The caelid or deeproot depths one. I also had a hard time with the consecrated snowfield one but that particular one in caelid with the bullgoat talisman was hell.

[@SterbsMcGurbs]

The rune bear isn't the only thing that grew to an enormous size if you get what I'm saying

[@michaeljohnston8891]

I think the connection with dragons isn’t as direct. I always found it interesting from a gameplay perspective that the dragon communion seal, while not directly buffing them, synergism’s well with Bloodflame incantations, which draw their power from cursed Omen blood. Also, something really weird I noticed about Morgott is that his tail looks strikingly similar to the design of the Dragon Communion seal. I think that the dragons are going through a similar kind of mutation, as we have both the ancient dragons as well as modern ones, which seem to be a kind of devolution, similar to how the Omen can be seen as a human devolution. Perhaps something similar is happening with the Runebears to a lesser degree

[@kyte5648]

Kaiden sellswords are probably too strong for normal bears to consume. They probably get their runes from wandering nobles, foot soldiers and single soldiers that have no shields. Soldiers with shields can kill normal bears I think.

[@edgebringr3494]

Did a shield ever protect you from those beasts???

[@nbmoleminer5051]

​@@edgebringr3494Kaiden Sellswords don't use shields.

[@edgebringr3494]

@@nbmoleminer5051 “soldiers with shields can kill normal bears”

[@kyte5648]

@@edgebringr3494 Are regular bears that strong? I have never seen them as that powerful... How would you compare them to knights with the same scaling? For example Godrick knights.

[@Hoarahchadtheallgrabbing]

Maybe from the commoners, rats, and dogs also

[@mrjooxmanallah]

This enemy is an indicator to me that these games are just going to get harder and worse. The rune bear in consecrated snowfields was harder to beat than most of the bosses without a cheese. I’m playing this game again (pure melee, no summons, just enough magic for healing incantations) and holy shit! Playing with those things is the easy mode game journalists have been whining about. This is how these games are going to be from now on: incredibly difficult unless you use some in game cheese. I don’t wanna hear that git gud crap. I’ve beaten this game before. I’ve also beaten DS1, DS3, Bloodborne and Sekiro. The only regular enemy in any of those games that even comes close to a rune bear are the Giant Shark monsters and Nightmare executioners in the Bloodborne DLC. It’s just a sign of things to come: painstaking difficulty just for the f#ck of it.

[@Eric188092]

Unlike Gurranq, the gimmick to fighting Runebears is basically stay close to them or basically under them. They whiff a surprising number of their regular attacks if you just stay at their stomach or sides, and only their forward charge can really dislodge you from those spots reliably. Learn the timing to their grab attack as well and they become pretty mangeable. Runebears are clearly not intended to be fought at arm's length, since their bestial roar hits hard and they have the ability to close distance very easily.

[@trufreedom]

Talk to me after u beat DS2 and DeS too! Jk I totally agree.... although I'm still optimistic that FS can find a way to make the upcoming games challenging in different ways... they're pretty good at that without betraying the core gameplay so we'll see 😎

[@trufreedom]

@Eric188092 plus, the rune bears, crucible knights, and bell-bearing hunters all seem to be able to smell the flask of healing being used the way they pounce every time I go to heal 🫣

[@Eric188092]

@@trufreedom It's not your imagination, there is a literal input reading being used for the Godskins. Wouldn't be shocked if the rest are doing the same.

[@mrjooxmanallah]

@@trufreedom 😂 I bought the Demon Souls remake a few months back. I’m yet to play it because I think I’m all _souled_ out for now.

[@necrogenesis1981]

Yeah, these scare the shit out of me, I almost always run. Royal revenants are scary and can easily shred you, but at least they’re not tanks.

[@nbmoleminer5051]

I subscribe to Zullie's theory given the Gravel Stone jutting from the Rune Bear's chest.

[@YATZIwastaken]

could you guys do a lore dive for remnant and remnant 2, it seems interesting but goddamn confusing

[@corwin32]

8:30 No. Not this Tarnished

[@square-table-gaming]

My man, SO many rune bears were harmed in the making of this video haha

[@user-ss4qr3qg9e]

Zullie also mentioned the bat maidens.... (coughs) 💀

[@square-table-gaming]

Cool!

[@Hoarahchadtheallgrabbing]

What is the lore of the singing bats ? And why some of them uses death sorceries ?

[@user-ss4qr3qg9e]

@Hoarahchadtheallgrabbing I've been wondering and asking for a solid year.

[@Hoarahchadtheallgrabbing]

@@user-ss4qr3qg9e I think they have a relationship with Black Stone Civilization

[@llab3903]

@@Hoarahchadtheallgrabbingthey’re singing of the woe of being abandoned by marika and questioning who she was so mad at

[@Ming1975]

Fromsoft seems to like this design of big enemy that can lean over behind you when you get near to hit them to blind side you... LAME. If the runebear is the size Radhan you'd be blind sided 90% of the time fighting them. They should really fix the camera to be like Sekiro. At least the runebear doesn't have insta-kill moves when dying like most the major bosses. I think Melenia is pretty fair compared to the insta-kill bosses.

[@square-table-gaming]

Ngl rarely had that issue. If you're locked onto a rune bear their tells are super easy to recognize

[@Ming1975]

@@square-table-gaming Runebear isn't so bad, it's the huge ones that messes up the lock that made me play 90% manual. (also they don't input read well if you manual)

[@Corazon-6]

Imagine if they exist in real life

[@zerefdragneel5194]

I right NG+ 9 and never meet them

[@THE_Number_ONE_1_HATER]

8:30 you didn’t really know what to say here, huh? Still 9/10 video

[@square-table-gaming]

what do you mean? I just read the script as I wrote it haha

[@Carrot-Man1876]

Greetings from the Carrot-Man 👋🥕

[@square-table-gaming]

my liege

[@spookieboogi6161]

Do we want to kill them? Yes can we kill them if your lucky is it worth killing them… no I would say not most enemies in this game yield such a tiny amount of runes you feel insulted for the effort you had to put in like I just killed one and I got a grand in runes but I killed an albernauric outside the palace and got about 2000 I feel insulted for the rune bears

[@SumaTJessT]

Make a video about the royal revenants! I dare say they're even worse than runebears.

[@square-table-gaming]

We have! Check out our playlist of over 100 videos

[@miimiibeschde4818]

They're the worst enemy to fight but you can just murder them with healing incantations

[@destinylsp4537]

While i was interested in the topic, im afraid i cannot continue the video after the events of 0:56

[@square-table-gaming]

Sorry for my unbearable puns.

[@pchykins6680]

RUNE BEARS in the Snowfields are the REAL bosses of the game....lols Malenia is so effing easy compared to these creatures!

[@Winterfang]

Looks like well has drawn out lol

[@square-table-gaming]

Nah I've got many other topics we still need to explore

[@dannyleo5787]

Um…. Ik that on my game when I began, I confess to hunting these bears at the beginning due to my friends making it a fascinating challenge of how our characters would fit the lore and I was making a woodsman build. Safe to say, I had to save my friends from several encounters across the lands between with only a hand axe, bow and arrows and naturally tossing massive rocks at them. By the time I got to the consecrated… I realized that my strength build was all thanks to hunting so many of these bears as well as the most dangerous rune bears… the cost was hearing honey pot jokes😂

[@spookieboogi6161]

I absolutely hate them they are way to aggressive their attacks are way to fast I’ve hunted bears they do not swing like their a freaking boxer they don’t go that fast or that hard but by god when they start moving do they move but I should be able to take a rune bear and get runes worth the required effort why would I wanna fight something that yields peanuts by comparison to the foot they shove up my buns lol

[@tylervonaegir]

great video! i could bearly stand it! it was unbearable !! jk

[@TiberiusRex182]

I cant stand these giant dragonhearted canines. They are unbearable.

[@zinzolin14]

All these puns are getting unbearable

[@deadpool3302]

they are my favorite mob from the game