Elden Ring Patch 1.17 Patch Notes: Full Balance Changes, New Classes & Torrent Skins

Senior Games Writer

Published on August 28, 2026•Updated August 28, 2026

Elden Ring Patch 1.17 Patch Notes: Full Balance Changes, New Classes & Torrent Skins

Quick answer: ELDEN RING Patch 1.17 goes live Friday, August 28, 2026 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Steam. It does two things: it adds support for the paid Tarnished Pack DLC (two new starting classes, three Torrent skins, new weapons and two NPC invasion events), and it ships the base game's first balance pass in almost a year. The headline gameplay changes: Storm Wall no longer costs FP, parry timing is improved across daggers/curved swords/small shields, and roughly two dozen shields got more guard boost and less weight. After updating, your title screen will read App Ver. 1.17 / Regulation Ver. 1.17, and — per FromSoftware — "This update is required for online play." The Tarnished Pack costs €4.99 / ¥550 (no confirmed USD price yet); you do not need the Pack to install 1.17 or to get the balance changes — those are free for everyone.

Patch 1.17 is a big deal for one simple reason: the base game had been patch-quiet since 1.16.1 (August 21, 2025), so this is the first meta-relevant update in roughly twelve months. Below is the full, verified breakdown of everything in the update — pulled straight from the official Bandai Namco patch notes — plus what actually matters for your build and what's paid versus free.

When does Elden Ring Patch 1.17 release?

The update is tied to the Tarnished Pack launch on August 28, 2026, and rolls out by platform:

PlayStation / Xbox: Friday, August 28 at 00:00 local time.
Steam: Friday, August 28 at 07:00 JST / 00:00 CEST / 15:00 PDT.
Targeted platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam (PC).

Two hard facts to get right before you read another site's coverage. First, the version number is officially 1.17 — App Ver. 1.17 and Regulation Ver. 1.17 on the title screen. Second, the update is mandatory for online play: if you want co-op, invasions or matchmaking after the 28th, you have to install it. (Nintendo Switch 2 players get all of this baked into the standalone Tarnished Edition rather than as a separate patch.)

What's in Patch 1.17? Free vs paid, explained

This is the part every headline gets muddled, so here it is cleanly. Patch 1.17 bundles two categories of content:

Free for everyone (the balance pass): every weapon, skill, sorcery, incantation and shield change below applies to all players the moment they update. No purchase required.
Paid, gated behind the Tarnished Pack (€4.99 / ¥550): the two new selectable starting classes (Idus Knight and Heavy Knight), the three Torrent Spectral Steed Attires, and the new merchant/world weapons and armor sets.

There's an important nuance the official notes spell out: while only Tarnished Pack owners can select the new classes at character creation, "The equipment of each new starting class can also be obtained by purchasing it from merchants in the Lands Between or by finding it in the world." In other words, non-buyers can still chase down the new gear the long way — you just can't start a fresh character as an Idus Knight or Heavy Knight without the Pack. If you're weighing the €4.99, our full breakdown lives in Is the Elden Ring Tarnished Pack worth it?

Tarnished charging on Torrent against an enemy in ELDEN RING

Tarnished Pack content added in 1.17

Everything the Pack unlocks, straight from the official notes:

Two new starting classes — the Idus Knight and the Heavy Knight, selectable during character creation. The Heavy Knight is the tankiest opener in the game (17 Endurance, the highest of any class); the Idus Knight is a lighter Dexterity-Faith hybrid. See our dedicated new classes guide for the full stat blocks.
New weapons that can be bought from merchants or found in the Lands Between.
Three Torrent Spectral Steed Attires that change your horse's appearance:
Tree Sentinel Spectral Steed Attire — found in Stormveil Castle.
Silver of Caria Spectral Steed Attire — found in Liurnia of the Lakes.
Funereal Night Spectral Steed Attire — found in Altus Plateau.
Once you obtain any attire, an option to change Torrent's appearance appears in the Site of Grace menu.
Two new NPC invasion events — one in Caelid and one in Leyndell, Royal Capital. Note the Leyndell event will not occur once the area changes to Leyndell, Ashen Capital, so trigger it before that story beat.

Stormveil Castle in ELDEN RING, home of the Tree Sentinel Torrent skin

Elden Ring 1.17 balance changes: what actually shifts the meta

The balance pass is the reason PvE and PvP players both need this update. Here's where the weight lands — by category, most of the buffs went to shields and weapons:

Weapons

Smithscript Dagger / Rellana's Twin Blades — increased critical hit power.
Smithscript Axe / Smithscript Spear / Spear of the Impaler — reduced stamina cost of weapon-throwing attacks, and increased their power.
Carian Sorcery Sword — Intelligence scaling now increases the attack power of all damage types.
Smithscript Greathammer — increased weapon-throwing attack power.
Golem Fist — increased range of the fist-launching heavy attack.
Perfume Bottles (Firespark, Lightning, Chilling, Frenzyflame, Deadly Poison) — increased attack power across the board.
Rakshasa's Great Katana — increased the delay before you can attack with a right-hand weapon immediately after attacking with this weapon in the left hand (a targeted nerf to a popular dual-wield tech).

Shields — the biggest single category

Roughly two dozen shields were adjusted. One group got both more guard boost and reduced weight: Lordsworn's Shield, Briar Greatshield, Spiked Palisade Shield, Icon Shield, Golden Beast Crest Shield, Manor Towershield, Crossed-Tree Towershield, Inverted Hawk Towershield, Dragon Towershield, Distinguished Greatshield, Gilded Greatshield, Black Steel Greatshield, Ant's Skull Plate, and the Erdtree Greatshield. A second group got more guard boost only: Wooden Greatshield, Cuckoo Greatshield, Redmane Greatshield, Golden Greatshield, Crucible Hornshield, Dragonclaw Shield, Eclipse Crest Greatshield, Jellyfish Shield, and One-Eyed Shield. The Haligtree Crest Greatshield got a weight reduction. If you run a tank or turtle build, 1.17 is a straight upgrade — and it pairs neatly with the new Heavy Knight starting class.

Skills

Parry — improved parry performance, plus reduced recovery time after use with Daggers, Curved Swords, or Small Shields.
Storm Wall — "Changed the skill so that it no longer consumes FP when used" — and improved parry performance. This is the single biggest quality-of-life change in the patch.
Thops's Barrier — improved parry performance.

Sorceries

Founding Rain of Stars — increased power.
Carian Retaliation — increased power.
Meteorite and Meteorite of Astel — reduced casting time.
Gravitational Missile — the gravity projectile no longer explodes immediately when it strikes terrain like the ground or a wall.

Incantations

Feather of the Divine Bird — increased power.
O, Flame! — expanded attack range.
Rain of Fire — increased power.

Realm of Shadow loot

Certain items found in the field or dropped by powerful enemies in the Realm of Shadow (the Shadow of the Erdtree map) were upgraded to higher-tier items or other treasures. Important caveat from the notes: "Items already that were already found will not be changed" — so this only affects loot you haven't picked up yet. If you're mid-DLC, that's a reason to hold off grabbing some drops until after you patch.

PvP-exclusive changes and bug fixes

FromSoftware separated a few tweaks that apply only in PvP:

Rakshasa's Great Katana — increased damage taken from other players while attacking.
Rugalea's Roar — reduced power against other players.
Rotten Breath / Ekzykes's Decay — reduced the time other players are unable to move from hit reactions.

Bug fixes (all players): critical hits with Great Katana weapon types no longer deal lower-than-expected power against large enemies, and Great Katana jumping attacks can no longer be parried. PC-only fixes: mouse camera control now works during NPC dialogue on keyboard-and-mouse, and the "Keyboard/Mouse Settings" reset option now actually restores defaults.

Do you need Patch 1.17? The short version

Playing online at all after Aug 28? Yes — it's required for matchmaking, co-op and invasions.
Want the free balance changes? They install automatically with the patch; no purchase needed.
Want the new classes/skins/gear? You need the Tarnished Pack (€4.99/¥550), except for the class equipment, which non-owners can still find in the world.
On Switch 2? It's all included in the Tarnished Edition — no separate Pack purchase.

For the full paid-vs-free comparison and platform breakdown, see our Tarnished Edition vs Tarnished Pack explainer.

FAQ

What is the latest Elden Ring patch? As of August 28, 2026, the latest ELDEN RING base-game version is 1.17 (App Ver. 1.17 / Regulation Ver. 1.17). It's the first meaningful balance update since 1.16.1, which released on August 21, 2025 — so the base game had been patch-quiet for nearly a year before this.

Do I need to buy the Tarnished Pack to get Patch 1.17? No. Patch 1.17 and all of its balance changes are free for every owner of the base game. The Tarnished Pack (€4.99 / ¥550) only unlocks the two new selectable starting classes, the three Torrent skins, and the new merchant weapons and armor sets. The class equipment can even be found in the world without the Pack — only the selectable starting classes are Pack-gated.

Is Patch 1.17 required for online play? Yes. FromSoftware's notes state directly that "This update is required for online play." You must install 1.17 to use co-op, invasions or matchmaking after August 28, 2026.

What got buffed in Elden Ring 1.17? The biggest winners are shields (about two dozen received more guard boost and/or reduced weight), Storm Wall (no longer consumes FP), and parry timing with daggers, curved swords and small shields. Several sorceries (Meteorite, Meteorite of Astel, Founding Rain of Stars, Carian Retaliation) and incantations (Rain of Fire, O Flame!, Feather of the Divine Bird) were also strengthened.

Did Elden Ring 1.17 nerf anything? Yes, mainly in PvP. Rakshasa's Great Katana got a delay added after left-hand attacks and takes more damage while attacking against other players, Rugalea's Roar deals less to players, and Rotten Breath / Ekzykes's Decay cause shorter hit-stun on players.

How much is the Tarnished Pack in USD? There is no confirmed US dollar price. The Pack is officially €4.99 in Europe and ¥550 in Japan; any dollar figure you see is a currency conversion, not an official price. Check your regional storefront on August 28 for the exact number.

Want more? Browse our growing library of Elden Ring guides — from boss walkthroughs to build breakdowns and the full Tarnished Pack coverage.

Version note: All balance details above are for base-game Version 1.17, live August 28, 2026, verified against the official Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe patch notes. Nightreign is a separate game with its own patch line (latest 1.03.5) and is unaffected by this update.