Nothing is as it seems in Elden Ring, is it? Just when you think you're in a safe place – a sanctuary, if you will – the game has one more little trick up its sleeve to do you dirty.

If you've put just a little bit of time into Elden Ring, at this point, you'll probably have come across Fia, the Deathbed Companion. This seemingly pleasant woman will take you into her bosom and give you a nice little hug if the bleak world of the Lands Between is getting a bit much for you. You're 100% certain to encounter Fia after your gruelling duel with Margit the Fell Omen, but you may just happen to cross paths with her before.

But beware. Beware! Once you've visited the Roundtable Hold – a safe zone hub area that houses merchants, a blacksmith, and Fia herself – you may leave with more than you bargained for.

If you hug the maiden, you'll receive Baldachin’s Blessing, a consumable item uses FP to temporarily increase Poise. She may tempt you in with her shtick – "Great champion, would you allow me to hold you, but briefly?" – but you actually get a little debuff after this rare moment of tenderness.

Receiving Fia's embrace will result in a 5% loss of your total vitality, represented by the red square icon with a downward arrow under your character meters.

That doesn't sound like a lot, but when you think about how many fights you've survived with just a sliver of health left, it can be transformative to your odds in battle.

Don't fret too much; this debuff can be removed by using Baldachin's Blessing. So you'll just have to figure out when it's best to take the hit to your FP to remove the buff. It's also worth noting you probably will need to hug her at some point as part of a quest – so it's good to know what you're letting yourself in for.

If you're reading this and thinking 'pfft, I knew that!' then good for you! But judging by the amount of people on Twitter and Reddit that didn't know you get a debuff from Fia, we thought we'd do a little bit of public service and let the world at large know.

This is why we can't have anything nice, ey?

If you found this helpful, you may also want to check out our Elden Ring guide. We recently updated the guide with new pages on how co-op multiplayer works, where to find the invaluable lantern, and how to easily beat Margit, the Fell Omen boss.