Flying Wings

Flying Wings Mod is a mod for Elden Ring that essentially consists of an invisible flying mount (Torrent) and the addition of wings SFX to the player's replaced riding animations, giving the impression of flying with wings.

Prerequisites

• Be familiar with and ready to use ModEngine2 tool.
• Have the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
  

Installation

• Download the latest release of the mod.
• Extract the mod folder from the downloaded file.
• Place the folders (action and chr) in the extracted folder into your mod folder in ModEngine2, which by default is located at ModEngine2\mod.
  

Usage

I have tried to make controlling flight as intuitive and simple as possible. To achieve this, the mod introduces 5 flight states: 

• Ascending
• Descending
• Fast Straight (level flight)
• Slow Straight (level flight)
• Idle
  

Gravity is disabled for all 5 states. To unleash the wings, simply summon Torrent, and to retract them, dismount from Torrent. When Torrent is summoned, Idle state is default. Using the button-to-action mapping below for the Xbox controller, you can find the corresponding buttons for other controllers (including keyboard and mouse) based on those actions.

• A refers to the jump button.
• B refers to the dash button.
• Left analog stick is used for movement and direction control.
  

The following instructions are based on an Xbox controller:

• Ascending: Press A once while in Fast/Slow Straight or Idle state to begin ascending. Pressing A or B again will return you to Idle.
• Descending: Press B once while in Fast/Slow Straight or Idle state to start descending. Pressing A or B again or landing will return you to Idle.
• Fast Straight: Fully push left analog stick when in Idle state and keep pushing to maintain this state. Releasing the stick will return you to Idle.
• Slow Straight: Slightly push left analog stick when in Idle state and keep pushing to maintain this state. Releasing the stick will return you to Idle.
• Idle: Don’t press or push anything unless you are ascending or descending. If you are, press the respective buttons (as described above) to return to Idle.
  

As you can see, state transitions mostly occur through Idle state. However, as shown in the first showcase video (3:56–4:10), these transitions are so smooth that Idle state is never noticeable during them. Lastly, left analog stick is used to control direction not only while in Fast/Slow Straight states but also while in both Ascending and Descending states.

NOTE: This explanation might seem a bit confusing at first (especially with the use of the term "state"), but once you try it, you’ll see how simple it really is.

Known Issues

• After starting to ascend, the A button works to stop ascending within around the first 2 seconds, but it does not work afterward. However, the B button always works to stop ascending. Conversely, after starting to descend, the B button does not work within around the first 2 seconds, but it works afterward. However, the A button always works to stop descending. In light of this, you can use the buttons crosswise:
  • Press A to ascend and B to stop ascending.
  • Press B to descend and A to stop descending.
    
• While in Idle state, the wings SFX does not follow the player model, as it was not created for Idle state animations I used. Fixing this issue requires editing the animation of the SFX itself. However, the first step in the animation editing workflow that I have used involves exporting the necessary files (animation and skeleton) in a proper format using the DSAnimStudio tool. Unfortunately, this tool was originally designed for character animations, not SFX animations, so no matter what I tried, I was unable to obtain the required files from it.. Until there is an update on this matter or I find an alternative animation editing workflow, fixing the wings SFX in Idle state is not possible, unfortunately. Well, for now, you can try not to stay in Idle state too much.. :D
• While in Ascending state, the player's riding animation stops looping after the first loop, and the player ascends in a static pose. This also causes the same issue mentioned earlier for the wings SFX in Idle state, where the wings SFX does not follow the player model. I consider this issue relatively more significant than the previous two issues, and I probably know the reason behind it. I'm working on it. Since this is a visual issue, not a functional one, you can temporarily work around it by switching back-and-forth between Ascending and Fast Straight states.
• The wings SFX have not been added to weapon switching while riding because non-riding animations are triggered instead somehow.. If I were to add them, they would also appear when switching weapons while not riding, which isn’t ideal. For now, they’ve been left out until I can identify the issue.
  

Notes

• Tested on v1.16.
• As long as you use ModEngine2, which launches the game only offline, the mod will not cause you to get banned.
• The angles of ascending and descending relative to the ground are equal and exactly 18 degrees.
• The speeds of Ascending, Descending, and Fast Straight states are equal and approximately 2.3 times the dash speed. Here, "speed" refers to the vector magnitude, combining both vertical and horizontal components. This high speed can be a bit challenging for precise movement in tight spaces. In such cases, you can use Slow Straight state.
• While flying, fall damage does not apply, but if you dismount from a very high altitude, you can still die.
• Player's riding attack animations haven’t been replaced yet as I haven’t focused on them, and attacking while flying isn’t very easy or practical. That said, over 100 riding animations, including item use, have been replaced. However, a few item use animations are still missing, as I couldn’t locate the files containing these animations yet.
• For a better experience, I strongly recommend using a field of view (FoV) mod alongside this mod, such as this one.
  

Additional Information

• The mod should work fine with other mods unless there are conflicting files. In case of conflicts, you will need to manually merge them. The action folder is rarely used by other mods, but conflicts might occur with files in the chr folder. If you are experienced in handling such issues, I have included the HKX and XML files from the related anibnd.dcx files in the Optional Files section. You can use tools like WitchyBND to compress or decompress the anibnd.dcx and TAE files as needed.
• If you only want the invisible flying Torrent without the wings SFX or the player's replaced riding animations, simply keep the c8000.anibnd.dcx file in the chr folder and delete the other anibnd.dcx files.
• If you only want the mod without the wings SFX, simply delete the c0000.anibnd.dcx file in the chr folder and keep the other anibnd.dcx files.
• If you’re interested, I’ve uploaded Excel files with some explanations containing the Torrent and player's riding animation IDs (excluding attacks) in the Optional Files section.
• If you’re interested, I’ve tagged the related lines in the c0000.hks file as "NRL" and added some comments for clarification. The file can be opened with any text editor, such as Notepad or Notepad++.
• To uninstall, simply delete the mod's files.
  

Journey of the Mod

Mods usually don’t have a story, but for me, this one was truly a journey from start to finish. Ever since the early days of the game’s release, I had dreamed of flying using the wings of the Crucible Knights. Even though there were a few "flying" mods available, they either weren’t exactly what I wanted or were behind a paywall. For the same reason, it became the primary goal of the 3 that led me to start modding in February 2024 — but funny enough, I didn’t even know where to begin. After months of research and trial-and-error, I was finally able to map out a 9-step plan to achieve this goal.

But I must admit, this game constantly reminded me at every step that it wasn’t designed for flying. Well, perhaps one of the main reasons for this is that, as you can see in this older video, you can directly fly across the whole map from Limgrave (a very early game location) to Forge of the Giants (a very late game location), which allows you to skip a significant portion of the game in just around 3 minutes.. :D Anyway, here’s the plan I followed:

• Disable gravity while riding, and make Torrent invisible and silent
• Disable fall damage and Hamari fall death (around 12-second fall timer) while riding
• Design intuitive and simple controller button mapping for flight
• Create looping animations for Torrent with both inclined and declined angles
• Replace the player's riding animations with proper ones
• Add wings SFX to the player's replaced riding animations
• Make Torrent summonable in all maps
• Remove killboxes and death cams from all maps
• (Optional) Find a solution to trigger the loading of maps that fail to load
  

It should be noted that these steps weren’t followed in a strict order, as the process involved a lot of back-and-forth adjustments. That said, this was the overall path I took. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each step:

• Disable gravity while riding, and make Torrent invisible and silent
  This step was relatively easy, thanks to the DSAnimStudio and WitchyBND tools. Using DSAnimStudio, I identified the necessary changes, and with WitchyBND, I converted the animation TAE files into XML format and performed a bulk process.
• Disable fall damage and Hamari fall death while riding
  This step was the first major challenge I faced; solving it took me months, as I had no idea where or even what I needed to change. Finally, I realized that HKS files needed to be modified, and thanks to the EldenRingHKS, I was able to get started. After countless attempts and trial-and-error, eventually, I fairly completed this step — navigating through a script of around 20,000 lines with almost no comments..
• Design intuitive and simple controller button mapping for flight
  This step was also relatively easy, since it was more about making a design decision rather than solving a problem. In the end, I decided that a toggle-style on/off design would be more intuitive and preferable, rather than requiring the player to hold down buttons or press them repeatedly to fly.
• Create looping animations for Torrent with both inclined and declined angles
  This step was the second major challenge I faced; again, solving it took me months. But this time, rather than not knowing where to start or what to do, I simply didn’t have the necessary tools. Eventually, I came across a video showcasing a workflow for animation editing, and thanks to this workflow, I was finally able to get started. Again, after countless attempts and trial-and-error, I eventually managed to create the inclined and declined looping Torrent animations, completing this step successfully.
• Replace the player's riding animations with proper ones
  This step was also relatively easy, thanks to the DSAnimStudio and WitchyBND tools, but it also involved some design decisions. Using DSAnimStudio, I identified the necessary animations (HKX files), and with WitchyBND, I obtained the animation files and replaced them with proper ones by performing a bulk process.
• Add wings SFX to the player's replaced riding animations
  Same as Step 1.
• Make Torrent summonable in all maps
  This step isn’t completed or part of the mod yet, but I’ve managed to identify a way to achieve it. Maps opened with the Blacksmith tool are saved as msb.dcx files, and by converting these files into XML format with WitchyBND, the necessary changes can be made. However, I haven’t found a way to export these files in bulk from the Blacksmith yet. This means manually opening dozens of maps in the tool, which is a painstakingly slow task.. For now, this step remains on hold until I can find a proper solution.
• Remove killboxes and death cams from all maps
  Same as Step 7. Funny enough, in some maps, their numbers are so excessive that it makes you feel like you’re in a flying minefield..
• Find a solution to trigger the loading of maps that fail to load
  This step is optional in my opinion and isn’t completed or part of the mod yet. Some maps, such as Stormveil Castle or Leyndell Capital, are designed to load only when triggered from very specific locations, likely because these maps are massive, single-piece files. When attempting to reach them by flying, they just — don’t load.. I’ve done some testing with the Blacksmith tool, but I haven’t yet figured out the mechanism that triggers a map to load. For now, this step remains on hold until I can find a proper solution.

Sorry if the description ended up being a bit too long — I tried to keep it as concise as possible without sacrificing too many details. Bringing a flight mechanic to a game that wasn’t designed for it wasn’t an easy process, and naturally, explaining it takes a bit of writing too. If anyone wants further details, feel free to reach out to me. Together, we can now soar the skies of the game!

TODOs

• Resolve the issues listed under the Known Issues section.
• Complete the missing parts under the Journey of the Mod section.
  

Contributing

Feedback and contributions are highly valued. Issues or suggestions for improvements can be reported by creating a post or posting a bug on NexusMods page.

License

© 2025 ineedthetail.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Flying Wings Mod uses the following open-source work:

• EldenRingHKS by ividyon
  

Important Warning

If you manage to summon Torrent somehow in Farum Azula and attempt to fly to other maps, and also if you have megalophobia, that’s fine—but just DON’T EVER, NEVER LOOK BACK! Well, I warned you. (Also, in this scenario, none of the other maps load properly, so you won’t be able to land.)