Until the release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, vertical traversal was rare in FromSoftware’s souls-like titles. The developer embraced this change even further with Elden Ring when they added a jump mechanic into the game. Elden Ring players can now traverse up and down areas and levels not only by climbing ladders but by jumping onto and off platforms.
The game also features a mount that is also capable of jumping. What’s great is that the horse, named Torrent, can jump higher than the player and is capable of double-jumping. There are a lot of sections in the game where the player can get into an area or level by jumping around while mounting Torrent.
Master Elden Ring’s jumping and climbing mechanics and you’ll access previously unexplored areas. There are a lot of hidden areas in the game that may hide valuable items and loot. That being said, here’s how to climb in Elden Ring, whether by ladders or platforms.
How to Climb Ladders in Elden Ring
You can climb ladders by pressing the Event Action button while standing next to them. Here are the designated buttons for this action on each platform:
- PC (Keyboard) – E
- Xbox (Or PC with an Xbox controller) – Y
- PlayStation – Triangle
When the button is pressed, your character will hold on to the ladder. You can now push the stick up to climb up or push it down to climb down. This equates to W and S on the keyboard.
Elden Ring’s climbing speed is slower than most players might like. If it’s too slow for you as well, you can also climb up and down ladders faster by pressing the Sprint button while climbing.
- Sprint Button on Keyboard – Space
- Xbox – B
- PlayStation – Circle
When you climb up and you climb faster, you’ll immediately notice the difference in the climbing speed. However, the difference is much more visible when you climb down. Instead of simply climbing down faster, the character will instead slide down the ladder.
This is considerably helpful since there are a lot of tall ladders in Elden Ring. A few examples are the one under Stormveil Castle and the one that leads to the Prayer Room in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
How to Navigate Up Trees and Platform in Elden Ring
Climbing trees and jumping around between platforms in Elden Ring takes more effort and gameplay prowess. Unlike climbing ladders, you can climb trees and platforms by just pressing one or two buttons. You’ll have to do a bit of manual platforming.
You get introduced to the jump mechanic fairly early. On the keyboard, the default button for Jump is F. On controllers, it’s A on Xbox and X on the PlayStation. To navigate up trees and platforms, properly position your character so that they’re facing where you want to jump to. Then, walk or sprint forward before immediately pressing the Jump button.
If you want to reach higher platforms in the open world, summon Torrent and jump while mounting. Torrent’s double jump ability will allow you to reach places you won’t be able to jump onto while on foot.
There are also Spirit Springs in Elden Ring. Spirit Springs are air vortexes found in various areas you can use to take tall and massive leaps to get to higher ground. To use Spirit Springs, mount Torrent, run towards the Spirit Spring, and press jump when you’re on top of it.
