It took two days for "Let me solo her" to become a legend.
On Monday, April 11, a poster on the Elden Ring subreddit wrote a short post titled "thx to 'let me solo her,'" praising a player who helped them defeat Malenia, widely considered the toughest boss in Elden Ring. "He dodged nearly all her attacks and got hit only one time," poster great_artorias wrote. The story didn't catch on, grabbing only 74 upvotes and a few comments. But "Let me solo her" was keeping busy, summoning in to help other players. The next post, just 24 hours later—"Here's to an absolute legend, let me solo her"—has 40,000 upvotes and counting. FromSoftware fans have a new idol.
"Let me solo her" is the latest in a prestigious lineage of Souls players who flex their skills by fighting naked, or in the goofiest armor they can find. In "Let me solo her's" case, that means wearing nothing but a pot for a helmet. Foregoing armor is partially practical—keeping your equip weight as low as possible in Souls games allows you to dodge roll slightly faster and farther, with a better invulnerability window. Some players dedicate the weight capacity they'd normally spend on armor to dual wielding greatswords or comically oversized hammers, though "Let me solo her" favors katanas.
The character name itself is a powerful statement: it's all "Let me solo her" needs to say to their future summoner, an efficient mission statement in a game that mostly only allows communication through gestures. It also implies the player behind the naked, pot-headed warrior created a brand new single-purpose character after beating the game, purely to fight Malenia again and again.
Going in naked is also a statement of absolute confidence. It says that while you were partying at the Radahn festival, they studied the blade. It says that while you were hugging Fia, Deathbed Companion, they studied the blade. It says that while you wasted your time vainly choosing your Elden Bling armor set, they studied the blade. And now that your progress has been stopped dead by a battle that exceeds your mortal limits, they alone offer you salvation.
Elden Ring guide: Conquer the Lands Between
Elden Ring bosses: How to beat them
Elden Ring map fragments: Reveal the world
Elden Ring weapons: Arm yourself
Elden Ring armor: The best sets
Elden Ring Smithing Stone: Upgrade your gear
Elden Ring Ashes of War: Where to find them
Elden Ring classes: Which to choose
"If I see a naked man I already know I have to do nothing. In the world of FromSoftware, those are the scariest people," one poster wrote in the thread that launched "Let me solo her" to viral fame.
"Clothes exist as a barrier to the wilderness. A barrier between man and the elements. A barrier between man and death. They are a sign of weakness. Shed your "armor" and fight like a true animal," wrote another.
Threads about "Let me solo her" are now the second-, third-, and fourth-most upvoted of all time on the Elden Ring subreddit (which was established in May 2019), including one from u/KleinTsuboiOW, who fessed up to being "Let me solo her" and posted a video of a fight against Malenia. It's racked up more than 300,000 views in two days. It's an especially impressive feat when you learn that KleinTsuboiOW plays Elden Ring with mouse and keyboard.
The Reddit threads in "Let me solo her's" honor have quickly moved beyond sharing stories to immortalizing the player in fan art and 3D models.
In a response to one of the fanart threads, KleinTsuboiOW wrote that they're planning to keep on summoning for the foreseeable future. "I will probably be helping other tarnished for a long time as I like fighting Malenia," they wrote. "I recommend listening for sound cues in her attacks."
Lead image via Redditor u/Asphodelophiliac.
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