Elon Musk may be the CEO of Tesla, the future owner of Twitter, and a billionaire, but according to just about everyone, his Elden Ring build could use some work. Like, a lot of work.
Musk, who is currently facing sexual misconduct allegations, is a big fan of the game, having tweeted about it numerous times since its release. Most recently, Musk tweeted that “Elden Ring, experienced in its entirety, is the most beautiful art I’ve ever seen.” When asked what kind of character he was playing in From Software’s hit RPG, Musk responded by saying he was “a power mage, but decent with a sword/katana.” He then followed that up with a screenshot of his build, noting that his “equipped load will be lower if fast roll is needed.”
Fans of Elden Ring are, to put it mildly, very confused by Musk’s Elden Ring character. He claims to be a mage character (and does indeed have a lot of points in Intelligence and Mind) but wears heavy armor and has not one, but two swords equipped. The swords are equipped in the same hand as his staff, meaning he can’t cast spells and attack with his weapon easily but must instead swap between them, with the left-hand slot dedicated solely to holding one of his two shields.
He notes that he will lower his equipment load if needed, but for some reason has two heavy shields equipped, which is completely unnecessary and just adds unneeded weight to his equipment load. Spellcasting characters typically want to wear lighter armor that allows them to quickly get out of harm’s way, but Musk’s character instead has a heavy equipment load that will cause him to do the dreaded “fat roll” should he try to dodge any enemy attacks. The fact that he has so many weapons and shields means it’s likely that most of them aren’t upgraded as much as they could be, since upgrade materials like higher-level Smithing Stones can be in limited supply for much of the game. As a result of not sticking with with one shield and one sword, he’s missing out on higher defense and damage that fully upgraded gear would provide.
His Talismans are equally puzzling. He’s using Radagon’s Soreseal, which increases the Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity stats, but at the cost of taking 15% more damage. That’s a terrible Talisman for a casting-focused character to use, as it primarily benefits physical weapon-based characters. It seems like Musk is using another Talisman, the Crimson Amber Medallion, to boost his HP in order to offset Radagon’s Soreseal’s negative effects. He also is sporting the Green Turtle Talisman, which boosts stamina recovery. It’s a great Talisman, but is more suited for physical characters who frequently roll and use their weapons to deal damage. Musk’s character, according to his tweets, doesn’t do either one of those things well. However, he is using the Graven School Talisman, which boosts the power of sorceries. That much, at least, makes sense.
It seems the main issue with Musk’s build is that he’s a jack-of-all-trades and a master-of-none. He wants to wear heavy armor and a shield, but also be a spellcaster. He wants to use spells, but also be good with swords. As a result, his stats, equipment, and Talismans are all over the place. Ultimately, if Musk’s build works for him and can get him through some of the toughest bosses in the game, then it can be considered a success. But fans would just like him to know that there is so, so much he could be doing better.
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