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I hate dogs (in Elden Ring)
Polygon’s video examines why dog-type enemies in Elden Ring can feel disproportionately frustrating, even for experienced players. The presenter argues that small errors against them can quickly lead to defeat and the loss of accumulated runes, making these encounters especially punishing.
To investigate, the presenter fights the game’s dogs without weapons, relying on fists against standard dogs as well as Monstrous Dogs and the Red Wolf of Radagon. The experiment aims to identify the enemies’ attack patterns and the design choices that make them difficult to read and counter.
In short
- Elden Ring’s dogs are examined as unusually frustrating enemies.
- Small mistakes can quickly cost players their runes.
- The presenter fights them unarmed to understand why.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Dog enemies in Elden Ring are frustratingly difficult encounters where their rapid, unpredictable attack patterns are genuinely harder to read than other enemy types, making them punishing even for experienced players. The severe consequences for minor mistakes suggests design focused on artificial difficulty rather than fair challenge, resulting in encounters that feel gated by frustration rather than skill progression.
The case against
Dog enemies are thoughtfully designed to teach essential Elden Ring combat skills through appropriately difficult encounters. Their unpredictability demands improved observational awareness and spatial control from players, and the frustration they cause is precisely what creates satisfaction upon victory. This challenging design philosophy permeates Elden Ring and rewards patient, careful play—the dogs serve this vision exactly as intended.
Explained simply
Elden Ring is a fantasy role-playing game in which players explore a dangerous world and fight creatures using weapons, magic or close-range attacks. Defeating enemies earns runes, which can be used to improve a character; losing them before recovering them can set back progress.
Dogs are among the game’s smaller enemies, alongside larger creatures such as Monstrous Dogs and the Red Wolf of Radagon. Learning when enemies attack and how to respond is central to combat, but quick or hard-to-read attacks can make even brief encounters costly.