No one has figured out what these random controller ‘pulse’ vibrations mean in Shadow of The Erdtree

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is finally here after having been revealed last year. Building upon the original game, which received 331 Game of the Year Awards back in 2022, Shadow of the Erdtree has also seen widespread critical acclaim and has seen the player count reach close to the original peak concurrent players, with it sitting at 781,000 on Steam as I write this.

The game has often been praised for being incredibly immersive and the world around the player feeling alive. This trend has continued with Shadow of the Erdtree and some players are discovering new immersion techniques, with a strange heartbeat vibration being reported.

@manfightdragon took to X to share that they’ve been experiencing pulse vibrations from their PS5 controller while playing the new Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC saying “While exploring Shadow of the Erdtree, me and many others have noticed the controller will sometimes randomly(?) vibrate in a kind of “heartbeat” pulse. No one seems to have figured out what it means yet.”

Many other players have experienced similar incidents, with @Ms5000Watts saying “The amount of times I’ve stopped and SCREAMED from fear of wtf is about to happen lmao.”

Eventually, @Peeverson shared their findings and reasoning, saying “The Bloodfiends do this charge where they drag their weapon across the ground. It seems if the ones fighting in the first area (South of Castle Ensis) are spawned in and fighting you’ll feel it if you’re in range.”

Other players have reported it happening in different locations, but it looks like it could be tied to similar instances of enemy actions causing the vibration. This just highlights one of many ways that the developer keeps the player immersed and invested in the world around them.