AFK Farming is ruining Elden Ring, or so says a vocal part of the community. But one player has found the perfect way to deal with rune farmers – and I heartily approve.
Elden Ring‘s PvP is all about the v between the Ps. If one of the Ps is absent, the door is open for an existential crisis. But that hasn’t stopped some players from bowing out of the conflict and quietly retiring to a life of farming in The Lands Between.
Greedy players discovered they could earn themselves a lot of runes simply by finding an out-of-the-way spot to hide and then inviting other players to invade their game. If the invader dies before they can find the host then the host earns runes, and waits for another invader to enter their game and suffer the same fate as the first. These AFK farmers can spend hours sat out of sight, quietly collecting runes. But players looking for a regular PvP duel will be sorely disappointed by the farmers’ antics.
But AFK Farming in Elden Ring has gotten a bit more perilous in recent times. Hosts are getting more than they bargained for as Invaders looking for a fair fight are going to extremes to reach them. Like redditor SwaxOnSwaxOff executing a flawless sword attack to get to a sliver of a ledge and mete out punishment accordingly. But fellow redditor Teasnarker has a much sneakier plan that turns the tables on the hosts.
Farming the AFK farmer
What you’re looking at is an Elden Ring player who has ascended to a new level. After invading an AFK farmer in Liurnia four times in a row, the fifth time was the charm.
“After 4 pointless invasions I’d had enough,” Teasnarker recounts. “I decided that this host wouldn’t get a single rune more from me. So when hunters showed up, I ran away and put on the mimic’s veil in a bush. And I hid there. The bush enfolded and protected me.
“Eventually the hunters gave up and disconnected, but I couldn’t disconnect or the host would get runes. So I opted to remain in the bush.”
Been there, done that, Teasnarker. Although I’m usually hiding from Invaders who just won’t take the hint and leave. But things took an interesting turn for the redditor, and they started farming the AFK farmer.
“That was three hours ago,” they continue. “Since then, I’ve seen entire generations of hunters and invaders come and go, and throughout it all, I’ve remained in the bush. The bush is my home now. I’m not coming out. You can’t make me come out.
“I’ve been AFK farming the AFK farmer. Every time a hunter gets killed or disconnects, I get runes and a furled finger. And the host is going to come back to fewer runes than he was expecting, because one of his invader slots is being permanently taken up by me, crouching in my bush.
“I like it in here. There are rocks and leaves and sometimes a bug flies by to keep me company. If you invade an AFK farmer and have some time on your hands, I fully recommend doing this, but you have to pick a different bush. This one is mine.”
So if you’ve been farming runes and don’t seem to be getting as many as you’d expected, have a poke around. If you see a particularly good shrubbery, with lovely laurels, you might want to take a closer look.