Elden Ring - They've been through a lot

[@ZullietheWitch]

Their equipment states they were driven from the colosseum and became guardians of Erdtree Burial, which, in a manner of speaking, seems to be exactly what happened in terms of their development history too. For some other examples of how notable the "Large" suffix is in the "GladiatorLarge" AI name, there's also FeralRatLarge, ScarabLarge, and even ScarabExtraLarge and AlivePotExtraLarge. There are no enemies that have "Large" in their AI that don't have a smaller version except the Duelists, so it's almost certain there was an enemy that was just "Gladiator" at one point, based on this naming convention.

[@kephalai]

i dunno if its something on my end or yours, but your "in the meantime, here are some other videos" end card are always empty lately.. no videos for me to click to :D

[@nivircescrittore8304]

@@kephalai Works just fine for me.

[@tsm688]

@@kephalai works here too.... though youtube is legendary for continually breaking those, leaving a decade of videos link-berefeit

[@bunny_apocalypse]

Have you made a video about colloseums in particular? Cant find it, would be interesting. Thanks! btw love your content, its very calming.

[@jimmymememe5917]

I wsh we could get a unique moveset when dual welding their weapons but oh well

[@shagarumedic]

I love how these guys toss off their cloaks, looks badass and gives off “oh you’re approaching me?” Vibes

[@DerpyPannycake]

and then me walks in with a +25 brick hammer at level 185 "its bonking time"

[@emanueledimatteo2052]

yeah, i love their animations, i also tried to do something similar in pvp using 2 armor with and whitout the cloack when i got summoned

[@KaptainKommissar]

this comment gives off "I've never touched a woman in my life" vibe

[@shagarumedic]

@@KaptainKommissar true

[@thatbloomer5642]

*Receive You plays*

[@nematode8293]

I'm still amazed at how hard this King's Field track slaps. It's a cymbal massacre.

[@le-grey-far-away]

I was tapping to the beat the whole time lol

[@pizzlerot2730]

Oh that's what it's from? I thought it might be a Zelda track since Zullie uses those a lot but I couldn't place it. You're right about the peak slappage though 🤘😤🤘

[@ezratrujillo7289]

(‘ •_•)>⌐■-■ would you say it's... (⌐■_■) ...cymballic?

[@sgt.thundercok4704]

Muzak for re(g)ards.

[@ArDeeMee]

@@pizzlerot2730 Zullie always puts the tracks she uses in the description. ;)

[@IrishJesus00AD]

I wish we had a PvP arena that started with throwing off a cloak like the Duelists

[@SIGNOR-G]

Instead of the summon animation you spawn with the cloack on. Now thats a cool intro

[@popeneiad7968]

Nah that would require making new assets and we all know how Elden Ring feels about that…

[@ducky4605]

@@popeneiad7968 but they did make new assets.....

[@Ajehy]

@@popeneiad7968 there’s tons of new assets, they just had to get clever with them to keep development & loading times less than eternity. The main problem wouldn’t be assets, but rather clipping, depending on the PC’s armor. Rennala and Radahn’s helmets spring to mind…

[@Deadput]

@[卐]Lakehuntist ⸜⁄ Congrats on achieving such an important honor as prestigious as "best youtuber" truly an impressive achievement that people were curious about. Nobody asked and all you'll receive in response is irritation/annoyance as with any random person who shows up to squawk loudly on things that don't matter in the slightest.

[@PierceArner]

The fact that the Ulcerated Tree Spirits of the damaged Erdtrees also take the form of Serpentine Spirits makes it seem a little less odd that these Gladiators end up as Grave Wardens. The link between the Serpent God and the Erdtree is clearly one that goes a bit deeper into history that hasn't been covered directly yet.

[@Firestorm6651]

Do you think it might be another sign of the breaking down of the Golden Order? The snakes are slithering back into the graves, somewhat like how Godwyn is infecting everything with deathblight?

[@falionna3587]

Might be a refrence to the jormungandr the midgard serpent, being the serpent that lies in the root of yggdrasil the world tree.

[@GethRenmawe]

@@falionna3587 Jormungandr is the serpent that encircles the world: you're thinking of Nidhoggr, who chews at the roots of Yggdrasil. But I definitely agree it could be a reference or inspired by that mythology. I also wonder about the Christian symbolism of a snake challenging the established order, especially with the serpent-people being part of volcano manor (fire, prison, hell etc).

[@kommentier9884]

Or they simply ran out of enemies and time and had to place SOMETHING there. Does it make sense lorewise? Who cares, someone is going to pull some explanation out of their ass so they don't have to.

[@tbhUSuckOo]

@@kommentier9884 stfu already. Miyazaki enjoys his way of storytelling and so do the fans.

[@diamonds9120]

I don't think the snake is INSIDE of him though.. I always thought the grab attack was them animating the snake on their wrist, similar to the Coil Shield. The skill for the Coil Shield reads "Give the shield a quick shake to temporarily bring the bronze viper to life, inciting it to lash out and bite foes." and the description says it was designed for gladiatorial combat so I think it can safely be linked to these guys.

[@tastethefloor]

That's what I figured -- it seems to rise from his arm, too.

[@shnorkeythefourth4572]

I love the thumbnail, like it’s down playing the craziness. Someone yells “He’s got a snake inside him!!” And someone just looks a bit sad replying “yea he’s been through a lot”

[@tsm688]

now I'm imagining someone yelling "he's got a snake!" the same way you might yell "he's got a gun!"

[@aswifte5743]

I spent way too long trying to figure out how to get into the Colosseums during my first playthrough

[@nathanhall9345]

Same. I even ran around them again in my second playthrough, like they'd changed their minds and would let me in now.

[@fightedmealready2692]

I love Elden ring so much but those Colosseums were definitely disappointing when you found out you cant go in them

[@julianadams3710]

Really one of the only places you see but can’t explore

[@VolvoxSocks]

I remember being so disappointed after beating the Great Jar Warrior Summons thinking it would unlock the arena.

[@vazazell5967]

People be like "Elden Ring open world is so amazing!" Meanwhile it's full of things you see but can't go to, super obvious layout copypaste and complete lack of real housing for a single living being

[@fightedmealready2692]

@@julianadams3710 I honestly wouldn’t care as much of I didn’t know about all the cut content toward them ya know.

[@fightedmealready2692]

@@vazazell5967 I wouldn’t go that far. And there are literally cities filled to the brim with livable environments. Idk whod wanna live in a shack in the middle of a dragon and monster infested land lmao

[@steadyrow]

You can tell they had to make a lot of cuts and schedule management decisions for the game and the more I learn about it the more impressed I am by how smart these tough decisions were.

[@DaShikuXI]

At the same time, it also shows that the scope of the game was simply too big for their capabilities. They bit off more than they could chew, and it does show in the end result. When you look at this game critically it is obvious it could have been better had they lessened the scope a bit.

[@ghoulbuster1]

From always wanted to do more with their games, but time couldn't let them.

[@tsm688]

@@ghoulbuster1 someday they're gonna reveal it's all the same game and they finally reached 1.0

[@joshwhite557]

You are right but the things you mentioned are few and far in between and you have to be someone like zullie and really deep dive into the game to find this out of place stuff. Also to add to it yes I think this game would have benefited from a slightly smaller scope. Like for instance the optional dungeons are basically all copy and paste asset swaps that don't feel like they belong. I would habe preferred way less of them but each one feel completely unique.

[@Sinhsseax]

@@joshwhite557 For one, I do have to say, that the larger scope benefits the game, in that Fromsoft could finally make a world, where every place is accessible and the world is complete. No unaccesible towns like below Boletaria castle and Undead Burg, the highest towers and peaks of the world reachable, unlike the Yharnam clocktower and the Top of Anor Londo. We can climb both the tower Of Raya Lucaria and the top of Mt. Gelmir. And any major landmark for that matter. Look at the Four Belfries: The most pertinent example of this design philosophy is, that even small pieces of debris and geometry are reachable. Secondly, I would contest that the dungeons are copypasted or not all that unique. They took time to give each dungeon a unique spin on any given idea, with teleport dungeons, repeating dungeons, illusory wall based mineshafts, mineshafts with explosion barrels, dungeons with hidden boss rooms etc. You can of course, argue with me on this, as I did not go into detail here. My own critique regarding the dungeons is actually more about the fact, that the catacombs have very little distinct and recognizable "Elden Ring" features, making them visually less interesting. (Compared to say, the Chalice Dungeons)

[@MarlonDali21]

I thought that the serpent that comes out of their arm was actually the armor coming to life, like the green serpent from the small shield wich ability is to awake her even though it's made out of bronze (if I remember correctly). But now looking closer, I think the color of the serpent of the arm indicates otherwise since she appears to be "organic" unlike the armor or the shield's serpent.

[@LtHobo-uy9kn]

Hoping we see a dlc utilize the coliseums some more, seeing them fully decorated inside but then cut is really sad

[@Dostibox]

I CAN NOT argue enough how the soundtrack of your videos make all the charm. I'm glued to these videos

[@Wintercat1]

Zullie I love your cinematic shots of game models frozen in the middle of animations. You've gotten better and better at picking really good key frames and giving them splendid setting, framing, panning and zooming. All while still having perfect visual clarity where it counts, so you can showcase these beautiful models and animations to us alongside your research! For some reason they remind me of watching and making stop motion Lego videos in the 2000s, especially your action shots of Zullie vs the AI. Good nostalgia :D

[@divicity4581]

for sure related to messmer. confirms he was created with the base game

[@jonlava173]

Awesome soundtrack with the clashing percussion and cymbals!

[@user-iq5xw2xh4z]

I haven't played Elden Ring for many months but I still get giddy when I see a new video of yours on my feed.

[@BurnTheThreshold]

I would most likely never even have known that the gladiators' grab attack even existed without this video! Thanks for doing what you do and bringing the interesting things about these games to the rest of us, Zullie.

[@eldenring_area]

Applause for this guy for a great video!))

[@danilthorstensson8902]

“Zullie the Witch”

[@enderkatze6129]

I believe in Lore, they might've Chosen to guard the erdtree burial Sites in an attempt to atone For their sins, so to say. Though, Why were they driven away from the colloseums in the First place? Also minor correction, while some Gladiators IRL were criminals, the Most prolific ones were paid well and highly regarded, in Part due to requiring alot of expensive Training. Criminals were, infact, few and far between Among the Gladiators, and while they still appeared plenty in the Arena, they rarely took the role of gladiator, more commonly being forced to Fight starving lions or other enraged and Dangerous, and usually exotic, Wildlife, and were During such Fights, typically totally underequipped, If at all.

[@Sinhsseax]

Regarding them being driven from the collosseums: There seems to be a large change in policy and/or religion from Elden Lord Godfrey to Elden Lord Radagon. That would be a fitting point in time to place this event. Godfreys age often gets referenced as a golden age and it would be very fitting for the "Lord of the battlefield" to enjoy battles in the arena. We can also notice similarities in the moveset of the Axe wielding gladiators and the way Godfrey fights.

[@FireTalon24]

@Celeste Trinity I quite like that point. Godfrey favouring physical might makes sense.

[@knightofastora1324]

The fact that serpents are referred to as "traitors" implies that they were once loyal. I wonder what that means for volcano manor. It could also mean that the gladiators who guard the erdtree aren't being controlled, but rather have simply gone back to serving the erdtree as they once did. After all it's not as if they're all of one mind, it's likely the relationships involved here are a little complicated.

[@sharkosupreme]

I beat the game twice and never actually saw that grab animation. There really is just so much to this game that you have to look for and pay attention to

[@Nick-mp1zh]

The Snake vs Erdtree thing is another example of Norse mythology, with the eternal serpent Nidhogg gnowing at the roots of the World Tree

[@Integritys_Sum]

*Dragon but sure

[@lucidiously]

@@Integritys_Sum Dragons are often called serpents in mythology and literature, and the word 'dragon' is derived from the ancient Greek/Latin word for serpent.

[@Feuermiss1405]

Also reminiscent of the Bible story of Adam, Eve and the traitorous serpent that convinces Eve to steal an apple from the forbidden tree

[@zomenis]

@@lucidiously dragon and serpent have zero etymological relation in Greek

[@lucidiously]

@@zomenis Perhaps I worded it wrong, but the word δράκων (drakōn) meant large snake. They did have a separate word that literally translates to serpent.

[@Kekistani_Insurgent]

The fact that they made spawn points for a leo misbegotten and a gladiator inside a colosseum… god _damn_ that would’ve been amazing to stumble into

[@Argusofwater]

woah this video really did jsut predict the biggest update in elden ring pvp lol

[@SilverSeraphym]

The colosseums are one of the few times you can tell immediately that content was cut as a player. You don't need tools to see inside or look at spawnpoints to know that these buildings were clearly meant to be more important at some point. I'm glad for those tools, I just mean it's one of the few places in a From game where you can FEEL that something was cut as soon as you get there. Hopefully they get used in the future, it's be a shame for all that unique architecture to go unused.

[@Αστερίων13]

Considering that they are heavily associated with serpents I like to think that Rykard, when he was an inquistor of the Golden Order, send heretics in the colosseums to be massacred by ferocius beast and enjoyed watching gladiators fight eachother

[@heavenlyvirtue8367]

When I saw them for the first time I immediately thought of For Honors Gladiator. Both designs look sick af

[@Freezerburn137]

I don't care if I have to wait a year in between each video, but please don't ever stop. I love your videos. Cheers

[@P4TH_NF]

Just want to say, I’ve been watching this channel for a while, and I’ve been loving it. Keep up the good work 😀

[@balrog0444]

I choose to believe the potential other duelists that may have been cut used a Spear, Flail, Crossbow and Staff... purely because my friend and I are old Runescape players and the duelists gave us major Barrows flashbacks when we first encountered them. We labeled the existing ones Torag and Dharok on sight, and never stopped.

[@Kodama666]

i just wanna say, ur awesome zullie, anytime i see one of ur videos im compelled to either start playing any of these games again, or just sit there theorycrafting because of all these interesting subtle discoveries, i see so many channels discussing lore and stuff on such a grandiose scale, and sometimes i just want to see something interesting and subtle like this, that leads me on an hours long deep dive into my own speculation, and come to my own conclusions and values

[@Kodama666]

also u get extra love from me too for not being a dark souls 2 hater, it gets tiring seeing all the hate for it, its a good game, its worth playing, i wish ppl would just chill out and enjoy it for what it is and was

[@b4zuzu902]

man, i'm glad I finished elden ring cause now I can calmly watch as much elden ring content as I want. great job with the video as always!

[@Tacticalknife00]

If the coliseums do ever open, fighting the rot variant of the gladiators while avoiding pools of rot would be a lot of fun

[@portalmanHUN]

Go to bed, Miyazaki.

[@Rumiles_]

We have different definitions of fun

[@pineapplepbnj]

Still waiting for the potential of a lake of death-blight to make use of that order-healing incantation

[@TheEepyMagi]

Your idea of fun is crazy. Luckily, so is mine. That sounds hard as balls. I love it.

[@Justaguywithglassesok]

@[卐]Lakehuntist ⸜⁄ i dont even know who you are.

[@flatlo]

I farmed the two blokes outside Leyndell Colosseum for hours, and I’ve done several playthroughs, these guys are some of my favourite enemies in the game, even did a gladiator character on my third game… And I had no idea they had a literal snake arm attack. Huh.

[@pillarsofnosgoth]

That snake grab attack isn’t something I remember either.

[@bellknight3310]

Not sure, but I’ve seen the grab of the regular dualists, and never seen the rotten duelist grab, so I believe it’s something just with the rotted duelists, and Zullie forgot to mention that detail

[@NATIVE1179]

I think its only for the rotten duelists, I've farmed those 2 outside of leyndell and never got hit by the snake grab, but the rotten red ones have grabbed me with their snake

[@benjaminbrand9550]

@@NATIVE1179 that's personal info we didn't need to know 🤣🤣🤣

[@frogonhead]

I have come to a truce with the snake in my boot, he now helps me grab-attack Tarnished

[@eliteclasswarrior94]

I love how your videos are always around dinner time hehe dinner with the witch

[@Urkstore]

That grab attack reminds me a lot of Messemer"s in the DLC trailer

[@brunocampos7199]

Now with the DLC announcement, we also have Messmer with the snake motif.

[@orang1921]

0:14 the gladiators "taking up positions" as grave wardens is pretty funny to me, like imagine a job interview in limgrave

[@Vash141]

Legend says there is also a snake in his boot

[@corryfromknecht5027]

I seriously love your videos Zullie. Short, simple, yet entertaining and informative 🥰

[@Teragenus]

I'd really love to see the Colosseums have some function similar to tombs in bloodborne (I just want to explore randomized places and get decent rewards)

[@dodgeroll7475]

These guys are some of my favorite recurring enemies, love their armor and always rock it on a strength character. I think gladiators in general are a super badass subject and these guys are no different, hope we get more content surrounding them

[@mindlessfool42]

As far as I’m concerned, you are THE Elden Ring scholar, and in my humble opinion, canon in-universe. That’s how I will remember Zullie the Witch

[@Ma-Giik]

i love that you use the kings field tracks in your videos, its such distinct and amazing music that not enough people have heard

[@MrSamthefan]

Considering the Erdtree as Ygdrasil and the Serpent as Nidhogrr who eats at it's roots, it makes sense that a serpent would be a symbol of treachery. What I feel is less obvious though is how Melina might play into this as a rather obscure reference: Ratatosk. The squirrel who communicates between the snake below and the eagle above. What in my eyes further strengthens this reference is how Melina is seemingly capable of transporting the player from the mountaintops of the giants (Jotunheim, the lowest realm aside from Hel itself), to Farum Azula (which, as a city in the sky, could be a reference to Asgard itself). This would be a symbolic journey from the lowest point of the tree you'd visit to the highest one. Speaking of Hel, it is actually the lowest realm at the root of the Erdtree in which resides the goddess of the same name who watches over the dead. This links directly to Fia and her champions, which locate themselves at a basin at the roots of the erdtree, watching over the corpse of Godwyn. When you connect the dots as such, Ratatosk was directly subservient to Odin. Which could mean Melina could've been the servant of the direct Odin parallel, which would be Marika. Godwyn then is the eagle, upon which the hawk Vedrfolnir is nested. Ratatosk's purpose was to spread slanderous gospel amongst the eagle and Nidhogg. Now, what else does Melina do if not spreading gossip? Guiding the tarnished, teaching him of the flame of the Fell God and the road to becoming Elden Lord. If Melina is a direct parallel to Ratatosk, a lot of things begin to make a lot of sense.

[@86fifty]

I really like this idea, but I got mixed up at first and thought you were talking about "I am the blade of Miquella", not "I offer you an accord" :P Gawdam, those names are too similar! Miss Fake Maiden makes a lot more sense for that squirrel avatar, compared to Miss Rot Wings, who always made me think of Frigga and her cloak of crow feathers. Not an intended or direct parallel, but certainly good food for thought!

[@deantebritton]

I would love a gauntlet colosseum area, where you fight groups of enemies round after round with bosses every few rounds. You get a cerulean and crimson scarab after each boss but that's it. After each boss you can take your winnings and go or choose to continue. They could even do co-op!

[@TopherPhoton]

Currently, the only way to get the armor of the duelists is to farm it from the two by the coliseum in Leyndel. This is noteworthy because once the player has progressed beyond Maliketh, these enemies despawn. The rotten armor variant can be found in another area, but if you want the helmet, armor, altered armor, and weapons, you'd best grab them when you first get to Leyndel.

[@mikejames6987]

this aged well

[@Darkside-origin]

these videos, the music ambient eldritch sounds, is spot on

[@cthulwho9125]

The first time I played Elden Ring, the gladiator down in the burial site was actually the first proper boss I ever thought. I still think it was the best opening I could have gotten as someone who was basically a complete newbie to Soulslike, having tried DS3 shortly before and ended up shying away from it after repeated failed attempts in the same area. The Gladiator is difficult, but fair. He's got moves that hit hard, but they are all coreographed in a way that they can be learned quite well, without any sort of unfair move inbetween. Learning his moveset felt rewarding instead of frustratingly hitting my head into a wall over and over again, and I felt great when I ended up beating him. And then I decided to completely overlevel for Margit.

[@baustin8931]

I was really let down when I finally got their full set and weapons only to discover that the cool chain moves are nonexistent to the players. I hope they go ham with the DLC cause there seems to be either some slight cutbacks/reworks like with this colosseum or maybe they've just decided to do some footwork for possible DLC areas? Idk but it really feels like this could have been a dope arena

[@fatty1040]

same i wanted the full whip sword\stance that the nox swordmaidens have. Yes the real sword is in the game but it only has one move ONE MOVE for the Aow. I at least wanted it to change my characters animations but it was so disappointing

[@goldenhardt750]

among my first decrees as Elden lord I would have these Colosseums be open again. watching hot people in armor duke it out will be the main way of spending time in my kingdom

[@stairmasternem]

The Manor is also tied to PvP in a way now so maybe they are the finalized product of some of these ideas.

[@jadenkarpoff9158]

I assume the rotten variants were originally intended to be in the Caelid colosseum? Only reason I can think why they of all enemies would get a rotten variant. But the only Duelist in Caelid is a normal variant, and for some reason they got plopped in the Snowfield despite there not being a colosseum there. On another note, I wish their connection to Rykard, if any besides S N E K, would've been elaborated on a bit. I mean, you find their gauntlets in Abandoned Cave, almost certainly owned by Rykard at one point judging by all the Iron Virgins and the Serpent Bow also within, and the coil shield similar to their snake grab in Volcano Cave, in Mount Gelmir of course.

[@mikewilliams8698]

I bet we will get a DLC announcement at the Game Awards this year.

[@nerfer200]

My favorite enemies in the entire game!

[@mightyarbokking7197]

A close second for me!

[@nerfer200]

@@mightyarbokking7197 They're so cool! The weapons, the lore (obscure as it is), the armor! I'm only disappointed that we cant get the snakeless version of the helm

[@mightyarbokking7197]

@@nerfer200 You’d think they’d let you alter the helmet that way, but alas alteration only removes capes

[@Dragonborn0000]

My man wears The Abyssus, a true hero

[@Guacquin]

I work in Revit to model and design buildings for work, and you have me rethinking how I name / organize every 3D element - your attention to detail and file structure is impeccable.

[@GoldenFlameVids]

Messmer connection?

[@Dyrock666]

First thing I thought of when I saw the snakes too

[@ChrisDaPancreas]

It's crazy having only started Elden Ring in July to see all these comments about the game before pvp arenas were even around. I'd love for the physical space to have more in it for PvE purposes, but still, it's an impressive and seemless free update.

[@MrTeucro99]

man i love chain weapons, im super bumd that the gladiator weapons dont have unique weapon arts with chain atacks.

[@ironcorey3242]

In terms of opening up the Colosseum, I would love something similar to how Ashes from DS3 brought the Hollow Arena: Even though we didn't have PvE elements there, getting the chance for these spectacular battlegrounds, even for different events to happen to make PvP more interesting if people want it. You can still have fight clubs in the spaces outside Academy of Raya Lucaria, but the opportunity for enemies to spawn and complicate the dueling, or for environmental traps, or even if the most popular builds might occasionally have firebombs rained on them if they get too close to the edge of the spectators, who want to see something 'new' show up, would all be interesting ideas to make PvP fresh again.

[@johnhogan8327]

I love this series of the closer looks at different characters and enemies in elden ring. What a great way to make a steady stream of content without putting out sensationalist click bait speculating on upcoming DLC or something.

[@ronsronshirt4177]

i interpreted the snake grab as their arm guards/piercings pulling a moses and turning into real snakes temporarily. like the coil shield.

[@childa.i.5198]

I love seeing how calm the npcs are around zullie, like their actual people waiting for their cue, it's neat!

[@commaJim]

My favorite armor set in the game! The different variation with the rotten version looks soooo dope. Love that shit!

[@Kirishin]

I have to admit that I gasped, and loudly might I add, when I first saw one as a boss. The cape throw undid me 🥵💖 Such sense of drama and definitely the last thing I was expecting to witness.

[@DerpyPannycake]

They are true believer in the Elden Bling

[@TheAphexTim]

It's not every day a boss beats you simply by being ravishingly good-looking

[@xera192]

I just love this. Knowing about game design by just looking at the game IDs is really cool. There is a lot of especulation of course, but that makes it cool too. I can't wait to see a DLC announced. Pls Mr. Doritos, show us more Elden Ring.

[@a_level_70_elite_raccoon]

The more I learn about the coliseums and the Erdtree Burial sites, the more I wish development could've been pushed back for a bit longer. I know that it's impossible to keep working on a video game forever, but there's always a decent chunk of Souls games that ends up being scrapped, repurposed, or left empty/unfinished and it makes me sad.

[@keltzar1]

The thing is I think the same could be said about almost any game. The Souls games just have an especially crazy fanbase that digs up all this cut content.

[@ziggykatz12]

*“There is a snake inside of him”* or maybe he’s just happy to see us

[@Imnotadentist556]

An ARENA MODE where you could fight against hard enemies or challenges would be pretty awesome ngl…like a round based “how long can you survive” challenge I would play it just for practice! 😁

[@Meuduso1]

Totally going wild but imagine a new ending where you become the Lord of War where you beat everyone and everything, old tarnished that fought with Godfrey as well etc. and become a different kind of lord, one that looks for conquest beyond the Lands Between

[@UshioKiss]

This makes me really excited for potential DLC. I shouldn't get my hopes up in case they don't do anything with the coliseums but man it would be so cool.

[@orgixvi3]

I really do hope the DLC opens these coliseums up and that may serve as an entry point to wherever the DLC takes place.

[@silverkingdomdude]

Yo this might be related to mogh being able to ride those chariots and there are collesum warriors too, and abandoned colloseums all over the map. I think these were all once connnected

[@dirt_dert_durt]

Zullie, could you take a look at the "touched by grace" mechanic? The one that makes an enemy's eyes glow, and grants 5× runes upon killing it? I have a few questions. - Can any enemy be touched by grace, or are some exempt? - How does the game know where to put the glowing effect, as well as the glowing redness of feral demi-humans at night, or soldiers stricken with madness? Are they all related? Are the eyes of every character model marked? - I know this effect can occur for things like Miranda flowers and basilisks, showing where their true eyes are. What other enemies have odd eye placements? - Do bosses have "eyes"? In other words, is it possible to grant a boss the same effect? If so, would that mean that, at some point during development, bosses were also effected by this mechanic.

[@maybemablemaples2144]

Miranda flowers have eyes??? Bro wtf 😰

[@dirt_dert_durt]

@@maybemablemaples2144 Yes; two if their larger stamen are marked as "eyes" (or, so I think), and when they've been affected, they glow.

[@JikuAraiguma]

This brings to mind the possibility of unique gladiator bosses with new weapons for possible future DLC.

[@PABGVRG]

Love the King's Field OST, must be one of the best From ever made

[@kimballbelliston5925]

Weird that the player version of the standard helmet has the extra snakes seen on the rotten helmet

[@McNugget1331]

My theory is that other planned gladiator enemies would’ve used the serpent claws (forget the name) and coiled shield, due to them both having lore connecting them to the gladiators and the colosseum.

[@GARGANTUANMASKEDFISH]

Not being able to get their helmet in-game makes me sad :(

[@Ewa-hsdgfgh]

You can

[@GARGANTUANMASKEDFISH]

@@Ewa-hsdgfgh Not quite. You get a version with snakes all over it.

[@Ewa-hsdgfgh]

@@GARGANTUANMASKEDFISH majority of them use the helmet similar to the player one with lots of snakes, if you don’t like the snakes just wear the hood. The snakes just make it look more ornamental and it can fit with sets like the veterans and scales

[@bigfest6498]

There are so many visible areas that are non-playable, showing what I think may be DLC right in front of us. Here's to The Coliseum and The Ship From Beyond DLC.

[@benglaser1345]

I love how they start with a cape and throw it off

[@justsumrandom3882]

I've been noticing a connection between darksouls games, Being the use of ritualistic bronze, greedy consuming serpents, and the flames ability to actualize parts of the inner self. Just wondering if anyone has insight to this as its very strange and congruent within the games.

[@Psycedilla]

i have only watched 10sec yet, but i must say, you always nail the music choice!

[@shnorkeythefourth4572]

The thing about snakes is… it’s here’s a lot of weapons surrounding snakes and there’s the god devouring serpent. There must’ve been a faction long since destroyed by the golden order because Rykard found the serpent and his followers left after that, meaning obviously it predated rykards reign. We also know that rykard makes the man serpents. So the duelists may be the only surviving members of this snake faction taken as POWs by the golden order while rykard rediscovers sites of their culture/whatever and rekindles it for his own purposes

[@aidenmclaughlin1076]

Always wondered what their deal was!

[@tuckerrouse4850]

Snakes, Trees, what we have here is some very truncated biblical imagery

[@Trap-chan750]

"While the colosseums are currently inaccessible" Well.

[@siegiusjr319]

There's a snake in my boss.

[@mlkin3169]

isnt there a snake in all of us?

[@greenghostmusic3240]

I see this as a breakaway variation of Norse mythology. Nidhogg was a serpent that chews at the roots of the tree of life (represented by the Erdtree) so ulcerating tree spirits are like the children of that chaos energy.

[@KingTigerGuy]

i didnt actually know about the snake attack, but it might be only the scarlet rot versions that have it. I dont recall the snake appearing from the normal gladiators grab. I am not sure if it was just a bug that was later fixed or if it is unique to the rot gladiators, which can have some neat lore implications potentially?

[@MithrylMyrmidon]

Seeing the model up close, the elements of the armor biting into the Gladiators' skin immediately made me think of how Serosh constantly gnaws at Godfrey.

[@Gaebora88]

I just want to be able to wield their hammerchucks

[@dirt_dert_durt]

So that's what that video I keep seeing on the internet is, that guy was a gladiator

[@sulfureatspaper7115]

the colosseums actually have a use now :D

[@adomali87yearsago.71]

This coliseum speculation came around didnt it