How to remove Elden Ring health debuff after hugging lady Fia

Elden Ring players have unfortunately discovered that hugging a lady in-game gives you a health debuff. On the plus side, though, Fia does give you a very easy way to get rid of that HP punishment.

Once you’ve played Elden Ring for long enough, you’ll probably have run into Fia, the Deathbed Companion. And, if you’ve run into her and enjoy the warmth of companionship, you’ll probably have taken her up on her offer for a hug.

Hugging, cuddling, and embracing are not typically activities one would expect from a Hidetaka Miyazaki game. So, it should not have been too surprising to find out that the sweet interaction comes at a cost.

More specifically, hugging Fia gives players a semi-permanent 5% health debuff – which has explained a lot of players’ confusion. Fortunately, getting rid of it is incredibly easy – you just need to use the Baldachin’s Blessing consumable item that she gives you.

Elden Ring players surprised with health debuff after hugging lady

A lot of Elden Ring players were delighted to find out they could have a hug in the game, with a number of tweets excited about the option. Screen-shotting the embrace, ‘DansGaming’ called it “the best part about Elden Ring,” while others said the cute experience was “10/10.”

• Read more: All Game of Thrones and Berserk Easter eggs in Elden Ring

Little did they know, the hug isn’t as innocent as it may seem (and not in the… Witcher 3-esque romantic way that some might hope).

How to get rid of Elden Ring’s hug health debuff

As many are now realizing, hugging the lady in Elden Ring actually punishes you with a 5% semi-permanent health debuff. Here’s how to get rid of it:

1. Hug the lady
2. Enjoy the embrace
3. Use the “Baldachin’s Blessing” consumable item
4. Once the item runs out, your health debuff will be removed

Basically, the hug removes 5% of your total HP and cannot be removed by death, rest, or restorative items. To get rid of it, you have to use Baldachin’s Blessing, which temporarily raises your Poise.

FromSoftware

Hugs are nice, but they come at a cost in Elden Ring.

Once the blessing runs out, both your Poise and HP will return to normal. As soon as that’s done, you can go back for another hug – as Fia will continue punishing your health and granting you Baldachin’s Blessing to remove that punishment as many times as you’d like.

• Read more: Elden Ring players find way to get Star Wars Darth Maul lightsaber

And now you know exactly what strings are attached when you get intimate with Elden Ring’s Deathbed Companion. Hopefully, this means you won’t end up feeling as betrayed as Twitter’s ‘SophNar,’ who “just wanted to be loved” and reacted to the debuff by saying “this is why I’m a misogynist. Them b***hes can’t be trusted.”