Elden Ring dataminer uncovers unused alternate underground zones tied to cut 'cataclysm' system that would have altered the world map as you progressed

Prolific Elden Ring dataminer Sekiro Dubi has released a long video outlining alternate versions of some of the game's extensive underground areas. These zones seem to tie into a previous iteration of Elden Ring that involved more world map altering «cataclysms» similar to the meteor that strikes Limgrave in the final game.

Elden Ring's vast underground areas like Siofra and Ainsel are some of the coolest parts of the game, presenting twisty side stories among a cross section of the previous civilizations of the Lands Between. Sekiro Dubi's video begins with an alternate version of the Deeproot Depths under Leyndell, where Fia's quest reaches its conclusion in the final game. The data Sekiro Dubi worked with included a rough draft of how the area would have looked on the world map, as well as a WIP mesh of the area that can still be activated in game and explored.

The alternate Deeproot looks like it roughly maps onto the final one, but then has this long chasm stretching to the northeast and culminating in an elevator up to the endgame Consecrated Snowfield area. As Sekiro Dubi points out in the video, this could have been how we originally accessed the Snowfield, or things could have moved in the opposite direction, with Deeproot Depths being discovered via an elevator from the surface⁠—cut dialogue does seem to suggest the former, though.

The other WIP underground zone seems to tie into the cut cataclysm system Sekiro Dubi made a video about last year. At one point in Elden Ring's development, FromSoftware had planned on more world map altering natural disasters like the meteor that strikes after defeating Radahn. Similar to how that meteor opens up a path to Nokron, Eternal City, these cataclysms would have opened up other areas.

The second WIP underground zone maps onto where Moghwyn Palace sits in the final game, directly underneath Starscourge Radahn and across the chasm from Siofra River. The area is a deep, bowl-shaped structure with a twisting path along