FromSoftware and Bandai Namco have released Elden Ring patch 1.17.1 to shut down a multiplayer loophole that let players obtain items from the game's Tarnished Pack DLC without owning it, Rock Paper Shotgun reported on September 9.
The Tarnished Pack launched on August 27, alongside the expanded Tarnished Edition of Elden Ring for Nintendo Switch 2. According to Rock Paper Shotgun, the pack adds new starting classes, new player equipment and cosmetic armor for Torrent, the horned steed players ride in the game.
After the pack went live, players on Reddit and elsewhere found that they could spawn copies of certain DLC items during multiplayer sessions. That let players who had not bought the pack pick up its items for free.
Rock Paper Shotgun treated the pack as a departure for FromSoftware, which it said had previously sold only large, story-led expansions such as Shadow of the Erdtree rather than small paid item packs. The outlet also pointed out that the pack includes horse armor, drawing a comparison with the paid horse armor Bethesda sold for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which caused an uproar among players at the time.
Patch 1.17.1 targets the exploit and nothing else. The official update notice describes it briefly:
This update fixes an issue in multiplayer where, under specific conditions, DLC-specific items could be obtained when not normally eligible. No additional content is included.
Rock Paper Shotgun characterized the release as a hasty fix. It was out by the time of the outlet's September 9 report, less than two weeks after the Tarnished Pack's August 27 launch.