Insane zip glitch pushes Elden Ring speedrun below nine minutes

Elden Ring speedruns are now clocking in at under 10 minutes thanks to the insane zip glitch.

Renowned speedrunner Distortion2 has once again set a new world record speedrun for Elden Ring with the mastery of the zip glitch. The current world record is now set at just eight minutes and 56 seconds. The insanely fast time is due to the use of the zip, which propels players a massive distance by lining up animations at a very specific time. 

Distortion2 is primarily known for speedrunning FromSoftware games. He has consistently been the premier Elden Ring speedrunning content creator, uploading several runs a week while consistently pushing the world record lower and lower. The record Elden Ring speedrun stumbled somewhat on the final sections, with several tries needed to initiate the final few zip glitches. It still ended on a high note with the world’s first sub-nine-minute run.

Elden Ring Any% Unrestricted Speedrun in 8:56 (WORLDS FIRST SUB 9 MINUTES)

Distortion2 uses a variety of insane glitches in order to bypass almost the entirety of the game’s content. The new record run does not include a single boss fight aside from intentionally dying the mysterious Hoarah Loux to trigger the ending cutscene. What’s truly incredible about this run is that it included multiple hiccups with initiating glitches. Distortion2 or another runner could cut the time down to the eight-minute range soon.

Elden Ring speedrun zip glitch explained

The zip glitch, as the community has named it, is Elden Ring’s craziest speedrunning tech. By lining up the block and walk animation at a very specific time, players can launch themselves across the map extremely quickly.

The glitch is very inconsistent, but when it works, it can send players all the way across the Lands Between. Speedrunners use a variety of tricks to make it work including lowering their graphics settings and using a metronome to time their movements. 

In addition to passing most of Elden Ring’s open world, the zip glitch also allows players to instantly progress or defeat boss fights. In his world record run, Distortion2 used an out-of-bounds glitch along with the zip to progress Beast Clergyman into Malekith, the Black Blade without a fight. A similar technique is used to avoid the Godfrey, First Elden Lord fight and defeat the final boss duo in one fell swoop.