Everything you need to know about Elden Ring’s multiplayer

Elden Ring is set to overhaul the multiplayer system previously seen in the Dark Souls series, but the way it works will be familiar for longtime fans of FromSoftware and its games.

Multiplayer has always been a significant part of the Dark Souls experience. Though the game can be played and completed entirely alone, players have been encouraged in different ways to summon allies to help them on the journey. Of course, when a player is able to summon allies they also invite the risk of an invader joining and sabotaging them.

Most of these mechanics remain in place for Elden Ring’s multiplayer, but there are some differences. Here’s everything there is to know.

Does Elden Ring have multiplayer?

Yes, Elden Ring will have both co-op and PvP multiplayer.

Elden Ring’s multiplayer will be generally familiar for Dark Souls players. Players can summon allies by leaving marks on the ground for one another, which can be password-protected to allow friends to directly invite one another.

On top of this, players are able to enter other players’ worlds as a red phantom. Red phantoms are capable of attacking human players and are allied with most AI-controlled enemies.

Players can also allow themselves to be summoned into others’ worlds as a blue phantom. Blue phantoms are allied with the player being invaded and specifically serve as help against invaders. During the network test, players were able to use the White Circlet item in order to summon help when invaded. Unlike Dark Souls, players need to deliberately summon blue phantoms and are capable of freely doing so once invaded.

This is not attached to Elden Ring’s covenant system, opening up the potential for more interactions and broader dynamics between groups of players.

Is Elden Ring true co-op?

No, Elden Ring is not a true co-op game. Elden Ring will have greater support for co-op play thanks to fewer restrictions than the Humanity restorations of Dark Souls or Ember from Dark Souls 3. However, it still stands apart from other games in how it handles co-op play.

Unlike some games that allow for fluid and continuous cooperative play, players won’t be able to seamlessly play the entire game together from beginning to end while sharing loot and managing resources together. It also won’t have local couch co-op.

Elden Ring’s co-op will be a bigger part of the game’s experience for those who desire it. It’s still primarily going to be segmented in a way that encourages a primarily single-player experience.

Does Elden Ring have PvP multiplayer?

Yes, Elden Ring is going to have PvP multiplayer similar to that of the Dark Souls games.

Elden Ring’s PvP multiplayer will be based on an invasion system that will allow players to battle against real-life opponents. It’s unknown whether the game will have any sort of arena system like those seen before in Dark Souls DLCs.

Is Elden Ring a Soulsborne game?

Elden Ring is not a Soulsborne game, though it does look to be relatively similar to the Soulsborne games.

Officially speaking, “Soulsborne” exclusively includes Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and the Dark Souls trilogy of games, along with relevant DLC. These games have relatively similar world design, leveling systems, and item mechanics. Elden Ring has many similarities to each of these games, but its open-world gameplay puts it in a realm of its own.