Elden Ring has been out for two weeks, but FromSoftware’s work is so boundless and full of mysteries that it will probably be talked about for a long time to come. Speaking of “mysteries” there is one that apparently does not go down to many players, that is the one related to the effects represented by the status icons under the VP and PA bar of the Senzaluce.
For the uninitiated, in Elden Ring the equipment, the buffs of spells or consumable items, as well as some attacks of the enemies can activate permanent or temporary positive or negative statuses, represented in the game interface by various different icons located under the bar status of the Senzaluce. The bone of contention in this sense is that the game does not explain in any way the effects related to the aforementioned icons, not even by delving into the game menus.
Let’s take as an example the image of the Reddit thread below: can you say precisely which effects are related to the status icons (obviously without consulting external sources)?
In the same discussion, numerous users have complained about this lack on the part of FromSoftware, which of its own has opted for a minimalist game interface that is opposed to that of other open-world today, but which perhaps in this is too stingy in details.
Only by consulting external sources, such as this page of Fextralife, we learn, for example, that the red icon represents an increase in life points and that it is a permanent buff as in the background there is a square and not a rhombus (which instead indicates temporary upgrades/debuffs).
Of course, in some cases, these effects are determined by the equipment, so just read the description to get an idea of which buffs/debuffs or altered states are activated, but this only partially solves the problem. We would therefore need an internal page in the menus that explains exactly what each icon represents (among other things present in the “tutorial” sections of many games).