Are you killing the animals in Elden Ring?

Yup, need bones to craft arrows. It's very satisfying to take out the weird ass sheep as I ride by with my scythe. I generally don't go out of my way to attack anything besides sheep and eagles though.

A ram headbutted me once and I flinched and was roasted by a dragon so it’s on sight.

Fuck the eagles too just cause they remind me of the ones inside the castle.

I have no beef with the owls though.

Death is fake, and I need more bones.

yea i kill the goats because they are weird and roll around like in that game "Everything". The only animals I don't kill are the turtles because turtles are cool and dont do nothin to nobody

The rolling goats are great though. It’s just a shame one of them chose violence and ruined it for all of them.

Gotta get those bones. All the bones.

I will randomly kill them here and there for the materials but I don't really go out of my way to do it. As to any moral problems I might have with killing virtual rabbits? Nah.

This reminds me of the shock i got when i learned most people do not go renegade in mass effect and most dont go dark side in KOTOR. It's just so fun to be bad...in games. Most don't shoot in that COD level and i didnt either but only cause i wasnt even sure what was going on. Just surprised how much the push in the 90s - 00s was go dark...sonic adventure 2 etc. But most enjoy light side stuff. I attack any animal that i see near me while passing...some get away...like shoeing a fly. In real life i dont like attacking even bugs if I can.

There was this giant slug-thing on the beach in the opening area of the game surrounded by a bunch of little slug things. They weren't hostile, but I killed them anyway because souls runes, then started feeling bad about it while I was whacking away at the big mother slug thing. Then I remembered that this is the series that made you kill Sif and Quelaag for no good reason and all guilt slipped right out of my conscience because you're kind of always a dickbag in these games.

So, yeah, murdering animals left and right because bones, meat, and sometimes because they were there and I wanted to hit something.

I had just played Horizon before this so, yea, I'm collecting and killing everything. I don't even craft really so I have 367 rowa fruits, 180 smoldering butterflies and 135 mushrooms. Only 11 beast livers somehow. Need more.

Yep. Crafting is kind of a huge part of the game, even though this is the first Soulsborning where I haven't really used a bow. Gotta get those throwing knives!

I have crafted maybe a half dozen times in all the time I’ve played this now. I can always just buy better arrows and way faster.

I saw a dude with a turtle shell shield. Farming turtles probably isn't the right option...?

@topcyclist: It is funny, I will absolutely agonize before making an "evil" decision in any game that has such a system. Decades of reinforced morality has turned me into a total boyscout in-game. KOTOR was my big exception on the second playthrough mostly because it was so black and white. Replaying The Witcher, I just ended up making all the same decisions because goddammit, I gotta be cool dad to Ciri and help mages out. That most people have similar behavior is sorta encouraging regarding humanity? At least in it's "virtual virtues"? Thank you, just coined that phrase, everyone loves it.

But in cases like animals that give useful items, yeah, as much as I like squirrels in real life, ain't no squirrel surviving the night in Elden Ring. Need my cheap knives and arrows to pull aggro.

Man... you're all going to miss the secret animal dance party ending.

I guess it's probably beneficial that bows and items have never been a part of my Souls playstyle. I don't know if I'd be more inclined to kill them if I received a more personal gameplay bonus for doing so. I think I'd still feel bad about killing a rolling sheep.

I kill the boars because they attack you and can alert even more powerful enemies while doing so. But I'm slowly coming around to the others, because they give you stuff.

Absolutely not. I don't even kill the wolves...most of the time. I just like to think that I'm giving them pats on the head as I ride by. They're good boys who are just trying there best to be wolves. Plus I don't have to worry about arrows since my bow is magic ;).

If they don't attack me first, in general I'll leave them alone.

(also I haven't crafted a single thing in this game so far. I'm about 25 hours in, about to try Godrick again).

I'm on a strict 'fuck around and find out' rule when it comes to the wildlife.

Everyone else is a lil buddy.

I attack everything in this awful world that hates my guts but I can’t bring myself to hurt the owls. No idea why

I've started killing some of the passive ones because I need a specific item from the herbivores. Don't feel great about it.

I just can’t bring myself to kill the tortoises. I love tortoises and have a small figure of one on my des that looks exactly like the ones in Elden Ring.

Every animal in game drops something that can be used in crafting. So yes, I kill all the animals on sight.

I don't bother. Crafting is annoying busywork that replaced just going to a store and stocking up. Thankfully the coop things and antidotes don't require much to craft so once I got enough to craft those things I haven't bothered picking anything up.

This should about answer it

Eagles, crabs, rams, etc all day. Runes is runes... (crafting too, I guess).

I did leave a tortoise alone the first time I saw it. Not the second time, but I think I will show them mercy over other creatures in the future.

pickled turtle necks give you super stamina recovery, which has been key to me beating some bosses, therefore I am the turtle killer

I don't waste my time tracking down single animals but what else am I supposed to do when I come across a grouped together pack of animals? NOT use my glintstone arc spell to take them all out once??

the Claws are great for dispatching turtles too

If they're in my way as I'm roaming about then yes. Get those beast bones.

On the subject of animals though I think those goddamn eagles take top spot over dogs as my new most hated animal enemy. I'm almost happy to see dogs now.

No, 60 hours in and haven't engaged with crafting. Turtles killed: 0.

I don'tkill the turtles though, because... I Like Turtles... sorry...

They have bones and I need them so occasionally they must die.