Elden Ring does not in any capacity have a covenant system, but judging from some datamined content, it looks like the game might’ve at one point had that sort of feature in the works. Players have discovered references within the game’s files to text messages alluding to various ranks being advanced. All of these messages pertain to systems connected to the game’s multiplayer environment which further suggests that these were indeed tied to some version of the covenant system present in the Dark Souls games.
Twitter user StrayKurtis who frequently shares Elden Ring and Souls tidbits like this one tweeted this week to show off a “datamine fun fact.” That fun fact included the image below which showed a couple of different references those familiar with Elden Ring’s multiplayer systems should recognize.
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Both the Bloody Finger and the Recusant references relate to the people who invade other players’ worlds. By contrast, the Hunter reference alludes to the people who wear Blue Cipher Rings which allow them to be summoned to the worlds of those wearing the White Cipher rings to fend off invaders. The Duelists are those who want 1v1 fights while the Furled Finger reference relates to those who put down their summon signs to assist others against bosses.
Even though these multiplayer roles function quite similarly to their equivalents in the Dark Souls games, there’s no progression route in Elden Ring except for amassing Runes and whatever recurring rewards you get from each successful encounter. Dark Souls games, by contrast, gave players better rank-based rewards after successfully completing those covenant’s duties.
In the replies to the tweet from StrayKurtis, many Elden Ring players familiar with the Souls games immediately connected this datamine discovery to a scrapped covenant system. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of Elden Ring and the Dark Souls games, said in a past interview that covenants would not be present in the former because the devs wanted to focus more on making multiplayer elements easier to access.
Other players pointed to the fact that there’s still a coliseum in Elden Ring which may be used in the future while hoping that we’ll perhaps see these used in a more multiplayer-focused expansion. FromSoftware has not announced any plans for such a DLC or another kind of release, however, so this is all just speculation until something is confirmed.
