In the ever-evolving, brutally demanding world of Elden Ring, the Tarnished are a uniquely masochistic breed. As of 2026, long after the initial frenzy, the community's appetite for punishment has not waned; it has, in fact, sharpened to a razor's edge. On the game's subreddit, a chorus of voices now rises, not to beg for mercy, but to plead for even greater trials. They dream of a world where every treasure chest could be a grinning maw and where endless, procedurally generated labyrinths await the truly fearless. This isn't a cry for help; it's a manifesto for magnificently orchestrated suffering.

The Sinister Symphony of Suggestions

The catalyst was a simple, devilish question posed by user EliteJoker07: "If you could add something in the Next ER patch, what would you put?" The answers were a glorious parade of potential pain. While the top vote pragmatically sought to banish the incessant Torrent-summoning pop-up—a QoL change met with universal, screaming agreement—the subsequent ideas took a hard left into the abyss.

The crown jewel of proposed torment? Mimic chests.

Imagine it: you've braved a legacy dungeon, bested its guardians, and there, glowing in the gloom, is a chest promising glorious loot. Your heart leaps! Then, the wood groans, the metal creaks, and a mouth lined with rows of jagged teeth erupts from the lid. This classic fantasy trap, born in Dungeons & Dragons and a staple across gaming genres, is conspicuously absent from Elden Ring. The community finds this... unacceptable. We have Mimic Tears (friendly-ish copies) and we have trap chests (teleporting you to hell). Combining them into Mimic chests would be, as one fan poetically stated, "the worst of both worlds." It’s the pure, unadulterated essence of Soulsborne surprise!

But why stop at one new horror?

The Endless Echo: Chalice Dungeons Reborn

The next grand vision is for "Random dungeons to farm materials once you beat the game." This isn't just about grinding; it's about creating a perpetual, dynamic endgame. The blueprint, as noted by seasoned hunters, already exists in the hallowed archives of Bloodborne: the Chalice Dungeons.

These were not mere corridors. They were vast, vertically sprawling nightmares, offering two flavors:

• Fixed Chalice Dungeons: Curated challenges with set layouts.

• Root Chalice Dungeons: Procedurally generated abysses, different every time.

The genius was in sharing. A particularly devilish Root Chalice with fantastic bosses and loot could have its code shared online, becoming a communal rite of passage. For Elden Ring in 2026, the applications are mouthwatering:

Proposed Elden Ring Chalice Feature	Brutal Benefit
Crafting Material Galore	Farm infinite Ateria Leaves, rare mushrooms, and exalted flesh.
Weapon Duplication Haven	Find alternate versions of beloved armaments, perfect for builds requiring Somber Smithing Stones.
Rune River	A late-game, high-risk, high-reward zone for leveling beyond the soft caps.
Boss Rush Bonanza	Face randomized combinations of the game's most fearsome foes in claustrophobic new arenas.

As one Redditor bluntly put it, the game's existing catacombs are already "just slightly worse chalice dungeons anyway." Why not go all the way? It would transform the post-Erdtree landscape into an endlessly replayable sandbox of suffering.

Polishing the Blade of Conflict: PvP Refinements

The community's ambition extends beyond PvE. For those who crave the thrill of player-versus-player conflict but don't want to live in a perpetual state of invasion, a brilliantly simple idea was floated: the "Red Cipher Ring."

This hypothetical item would function as a timed opt-in. Activate it, and for 30 minutes, your world is open to invaders. Once the timer ends, peace returns. It’s a compromise, a "midpoint for those who like PvP but don't want to ONLY PvP." It captures the spontaneous, heart-pounding danger of older Souls titles while giving players back a measure of control. In 2026's meta, where buildcrafting is more intricate than ever, such a tool would be invaluable for testing new setups without permanent commitment.

The 2026 Horizon: Dreams of DLC and Beyond

While these features remain in the realm of fervent fan desire, they speak to the enduring legacy and potential of Elden Ring. The upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC could be the perfect vessel for such innovations. Could we see a new area guarded by Mimic chests? Or perhaps a questline that unlocks a Chalice-like mechanic, plunging us into the deepest roots of the Erdtree itself?

The suggestions even took a whimsical turn, with calls for an NPC version of the legendary player "Let Me Solo Her," a phantom who could appear to aid struggling Tarnished against the game's toughest bosses. It’s a testament to how the community itself has become part of the game's living lore.

In the end, these requests are not complaints. They are love letters written in blood and sealed with a curse. They are the ultimate compliment from a player base that has mastered the Lands Between and now hungers for new, uncharted realms of glorious, beautiful difficulty. The Tarnished don't want it easier. They want it legendary. They want every chest to bite back, every dungeon to twist eternally, and every invasion to be a choice that leads to magnificent, weapon-clashing chaos. The dream for 2026 is clear: more world, more danger, more Elden Ring.

Data referenced from Sensor Tower helps contextualize why persistent, repeatable endgame loops—like the community’s proposed Chalice-style procedural dungeons—remain attractive in 2026: live-service and long-tail engagement trends consistently reward systems that keep players returning for upgrades, experimentation, and mastery. In the spirit of Elden Ring’s “more danger, more replayability” wishlist, such evergreen content would support ongoing buildcrafting and resource farming without relying solely on static catacombs, while optional PvP toggles could further extend session-based retention for competitive-minded Tarnished.