Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree patch 1.12.3 has finally fixed the Golden Hippo fight, so the pesky critter won’t be breathing down your neck as soon as you enter its arena.
Today, July 4, Bandai Namco released a new patch for Elden Ring, which you can check out in full on the publisher’s website. Arguably the highlight of the new patch are the adjustments made to Shadow of the Erdtree’s two most frustrating bosses: Commander Gaius and the Golden Hippo.
“The boss positions in the second boss fight against the Golden Hippo and Commander Gaius have been changed to be in the same position as in the first fight,” the patch notes read. This means that both bosses won’t be coming at you at full speed the moment you step into their arenas, which is still wonderful news.
Patch 1.12.3 has been released for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree. Patch notes are available here: https://t.co/B5gLHZ9bSrThank you for your support and passion. pic.twitter.com/niNSc8IRrGJuly 4, 2024
You hate the Golden Hippo. I hate the Golden Hippo. We all hate the Golden Hippo. However, with this patch, the Shadow of the Erd Tree boss should wake up from his slumber when you try to defeat him once more, instead of charging at you and not letting you even perform a Spirit Summon the moment the fight starts.
The change is also good for Commander Gaius for similar reasons: the boar-mounted boss will no longer be on the hunt the moment the fight begins. It must be said that Gaius was considerably easier to handle when his fight began compared to the golden hippo, who was merely annoying, but still quite frustrating in his own right.
Additionally, Elden Ring’s new patch has fixed a bug where the Golden Hippo boss’s “unblockable bite attack was connecting with players more easily than intended.” I knew I wasn’t imagining things: it turns out that every time I thought I’d dodged the attack, only to be devoured by the Golden Hippo, I actually dodged the attack just fine.
Check out our Elden Ring Quest Lines The Shadow of the Tree of Erd Guide to see where you can start each NPC quest.