Elden Ring Runes cover art curiously doesn’t showcase your character and instead incorporates a different character who’s completely vital in the lore. Several individuals can be obtained on the cover art, some of which have a specific armor set that may only be acquired from certain characters. These characters are available in-game, but oddly, they're depicted on Elden Ring’s cover art, not the leading character. This is an unusual choice as compared to FromSoftware’s previous games.

FromSoftware’s previous titles, just like the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne, traditionally featured cover art that has a generic character. Using a character with standard garb allows you to see them as the participant character, just like a blank slate for the ball player to project onto. Elden Ring, however, interestingly breaks this tradition by referencing the lore and depicting a place in Elden Ring’s timeline that the gamer only rarely hears about through the game. The character kneeling and holding a sword is none other than Roundtable Knight Vyke.

Elden Ring's Cover Art Character Vyke Is One Of The Most Powerful Tarnished

Elden Ring’s cover art features Roundtable Knight Vyke, probably the most renowned Tarnished to steer The Lands Between. Before the gamer character arrived, Vyke was the associate of the Roundtable Hold who was simply closest to having the title of Elden Lord. He collected two Great Runes, enough to attain Leyndell Capital City and stand for the entrance for the Erdtree. Rather than sacrifice his Finger Maiden by burning the thorns, Vyke fell prey to the Three Fingers and made a decision to follow the path of the Lord of Frenzied Flame, Elden Ring’s worst ending. This allegiance is visible on his armor, the Fingerprint set, which bears the scorch marks on the Three Fingers’ embrace.

Vyke Used To Have A Different Role In buy elden ring runes

Vyke, the main topic of Elden Ring’s cover art, can be obtained and fought twice within the game. Likely originally Vyke could be encountered is for the Church of Inhibition in Liurnia on the Lakes. Here, he lingers being a vengeful spirit. However, the true Vyke is usually faced within the Mountaintops in the Giants when players enter the Contender’s Evergaol. This proximity to the Giant’s Forge proves how close Vyke ended up to become the Lord of Frenzied Flame. He’s a formidable boss, but it’s pretty tragic to view him such as this, especially since he would definitely play a pivotal role in the earlier stage of Elden Ring’s development.

Popular Soulsborne data miner and modder Sekiro Dubi discovered a cut questline with Vyke playing a central role. Parts from the questline are showcased within a YouTube video, but most of the old results are no longer in Elden Ring’s files. In a previous version of the game, Vyke can be present in elements of Stormveil Castle and maybe could even be summoned to be a companion to address against the dungeon’s boss. This would imply this older version of Vyke’s character was at a much earlier time in his journey to mend the Elden Ring and turn into Elden Lord.