It’s advice as old as time itself: don’t pick up underwear after a stranger drops it on the street. Some players in Elden Ring never learned this lesson and they’re getting banned from the game’s online services because of it. It’s a story that involves hacked panties and an exploit that’s almost as old as Dark Souls itself.
Recent news of the problem comes from user Ok-Communication7125 over at the /r/EldenRing subreddit. “After 220 hours, I pick up some underwear and it’s all over,” they said in their post. Elden Ring allows players visiting another’s world to drop some items. Typically these are power ups like boiled prawns. When Ok-Communication7125 saw the player named “pantsu dealer” drop an item, they picked it up.
Videos by VICE
The item wasn’t a powerup, but a pair of underwear called Deathbed Smalls typically worn by the NPC Fia in the game. The Deathbed Smalls are cut content that you can only get in Elden Ring using a mod. The problem is that having the item will cause your account to be softbanned from Elden Ring’s multiplayer servers. That means you can only play with other players who have been softbanned.
News of the panty-based ban is spreading through the Elden Ring community. “Don’t pick up panties you don’t know about,” reads one post about the problem. Others, however, are looking for a pair of the Deathbed Smalls.
Hackers and modders dropping exploited items into another player’s game is an old problem with FromSoftware games. Reports of hacked items getting players banned go back to Dark Souls II. The problem persisted in Dark Souls III and, apparently, Elden Ring.
According to people afflicted with the ban, BandaiNamco has told them that all they can do is delete the save data of the afflicted character and start over completely. It’s a harsh punishment for people curiously picking up panties.
