I was deep into my playthrough of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, specifically during the mission to recruit the enigmatic Emmrich, when I stumbled upon a discovery that instantly transported me back a couple of years. There, perched unassumingly on a ledge, was a tattered, weathered piece of parchment. My heart skipped a beat as I read its text: "Treasure... try down". The formatting, the ellipsis, the very essence of the phrase—it was a perfect, loving homage to the iconic player messages from Elden Ring. It felt less like a simple easter egg and more like a secret handshake between developers and players who lived through that gaming era.

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As a veteran of the Lands Between, I couldn't resist the urge to put this reference to the test. I had to know: just how accurate was this nod? Firing up Elden Ring again in 2026, I attempted to recreate the message verbatim. To my slight amusement, I found it was impossible to get it exactly 1:1. The closest combination of prompts I could muster was "treasure chest, Try down"—close, but the syntax and the missing ellipsis gave it a slightly different feel. The quest for authenticity, however, led me further back in FromSoftware's lineage. Booted up Dark Souls, and there it was: the ability to craft the message almost word-for-word as "treasure, try down". This layered reference shows the Veilguard developers weren't just tipping their hat to the most recent phenomenon but acknowledging the entire legacy of these communal, in-game notes.

The Cultural Phenomenon of In-Game Messages 🗒️

For those who never ventured into FromSoftware's worlds, let me paint a picture. These messages are a unique form of asynchronous multiplayer communication. Using a predetermined list of words and phrases—a kind of grim, poetic Madlibs—players can leave notes on the ground for others to find. These communiques can be:

  • Helpful Guides: Pointing out illusory walls, ambush spots, or the location of precious items.

  • Communal Jokes: The endless debate of \u201cdog\u201d vs. \u201cpraise the dog\u201d for every creature, or finding \u201cfort, night\u201d scrawled in the most incongruous places.

  • Tactical Warnings: Simple \u201cbe wary of left\u201d or \u201ctrap\u201d could save your life.

  • Notorious Trolls: The classic \u201ctreasure below\u201d message placed right before a deadly cliff, luring the unwary to their doom.

The system is bolstered by a karma mechanic: other players can rate your message. A \u2018Appraisal\u2019 (an upvote) not only validates your contribution but literally heals your character in their world. This created a beautiful, wordless economy of aid and camaraderie amidst a brutally hostile world.

Elden Ring catapulted this mechanic into the mainstream. Its unprecedented success meant that for millions of players, this message system was their first introduction to this unique form of player interaction. While it originated in the Souls series, for many, it will forever be associated with the haunting landscapes of the Lands Between. Finding its echo in The Veilguard in 2026 is a powerful reminder of that shared cultural touchstone.

Beyond the Note: The Legacy of a Shared Language

This easter egg in The Veilguard is more than a cute reference; it's a testament to how gaming language evolves. The phrase "try down" or "try jumping" has transcended its source material. It's now shorthand in the gaming lexicon for a suspiciously placed piece of loot or a potential leap of faith (or foolishness). When I saw that note, I didn't just read text; I felt a flood of associated memories—the tension of approaching a ledge, the debate of trust versus skepticism, and the shared laughter or frustration with unseen fellow players.

The note also plays with our expectations in a wonderfully meta way. In The Veilguard, we're conditioned to search every nook for codex entries and crafting materials. This note, styled like an Elden Ring message, hijacks that instinct. It made me pause and smile, breaking the fourth wall in a way that only fellow travelers would understand. Of course, part of me was genuinely wary. In Elden Ring, following such advice could lead to a glorious secret... or a swift death at the hands of gravity. In The Veilguard, the stakes are different, but the instinctual hesitation remains. Let's just hope there isn't a trail of glowing rainbow stones leading to a sheer drop, with a certain bald elven god waiting to metaphorically (or literally) kick us into the abyss. Then again, dealing with Solas always did feel like navigating a FromSoftware boss fight—all grand speeches, tragic lore, and devastating area-of-effect attacks.

In 2026, as gaming continues to advance, finding these deliberate, crafted connections to past milestones is incredibly rewarding. It's a nod that says, "We played those games too. We shared in those moments." The "Treasure... try down" note in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a perfect, poignant artifact of that shared history, a little piece of one legend carefully placed in the world of another.