Do You want to try Elden Ring Co-op?
From Software’s latest edition to their long list of souls-like games, Elden Ring has stormed the gaming community. Elden Ring provides a vast map to explore, many roaming enemies, loot potential, and quests for interested players, unlike the previous iteration of souls games.
Although many professional Soul games veterans frown upon the word “Co-op” if it involves anything that isn’t a duel to the death, Elden Ring provides an opportunity to explore the Co-op concept to the maximum.
During the introductory phase of the game, you are greeted with a couple of items that allow the player to interact with the massive Elden Ring Co-op player base. The most popular thing amongst Elden Ring players is the Tarnished Wizened Finger.
Leaving messages with the Wizened Finger
This illustrious and magical item allows players of all skill levels to leave messages to each other. Although it was intended for players to give pointers to other players who haven’t traversed the area they already had, most players have turned to use it for other purposes.
Be it humorous, troll, or weird, it is undeniable that messages like these are reminiscent of how players would use the orange guidance soapstone from dark souls. Like in the old game, they are hilarious, making the game livelier and the player more engaged as a feeling of fellowship is present even if you did get trolled.
It was due to messages like these that I could deduce (definitely not from the open ground) that I was about to witness something incredible. The incredible something was a shameful defeat by a power boss, realizing it was a scripted endeavor.
The best part about these messages is when you find them near cliffs with blood stains, and it reads something akin to jumping for treasure. It is hilarious to witness, especially if you are a new player or a veteran player seeing the same old tricks put to work in a better game. From Software seems to be doing its best to fill its games with funny but cunning messages.
Joining another players world with the Tarnished Furled Finger
However, if you want to join another player’s world yourself, you can use the tarnished furled finger to create a summon sign and wait for players to call you into their world. Your sign will appear to players in their world, and upon summoning you to their world, you will be tasked to defeat the area boss.
Unfortunately, a big point of contention for players is also because the multiplayer session comes to an end upon the defeat of the area boss. Additionally, all players are also booted out of the session after the host’s death, whether they are alive.
Even if you can reconnect and join the lobby again or create a new session for a new boss, it is still a frustrating experience when all you want to do is hang out with some friends. While this was understandable for Dark Souls and its iterations, as the game had a linear map with clear objectives for slashing your way through to the final boss, Elden Ring has a large map that players can utilize for a lot more.
Wandering such a beautiful, vast land alone can be a lonely experience, especially if you want to go through the game with a friend and enjoy the experience together.
Although most veteran players would argue that Elden Ring is a single-player game with Co-op added to help with tricky or very hard bosses, the full Co-op will ruin the game’s balance. Games aren’t made to be played the same way by everyone, and two people can have different ways of enjoying the same game.
If Co-op isn’t your thing, don’t do it, and don’t force others to want it. As stated before, Elden Ring is a beautiful game with a genuinely immersive and massive map, best suited for Co-op gameplay.
The Confusing Mechanism of the Golden Effigy
Another item used to initiate Co-op play is the small golden effigy which allows you to send a Co-op sign to a summoning pool. To use this item, you need to activate the Martyr Effigy in the area, after which you would be able to send a sign to a summoning pool.
However, unlike with Dark Souls, where you could activate humanity and be able to see “summon signs,” you would need to use Furlcalling Finger Remedy to see other tarnished signs in your world. While the process may seem complicated and annoying to most people, especially newcomers unaware of the process from Dark Souls, it is pretty easy to get into a Co-op game upon knowing this information.
And even if most people don’t respond to your pleas for help against a boss that you are helpless against (which is highly unlikely), summons near the boss area or sometimes inside allow for Co-op gameplay with your trusty CPU-Friends! Although these “friends” are at your beck and call, their first instinct is to plunge into the boss and most likely die doing so. Thus, help your Co-op buddy by hitting the boss when he’s distracted by your teammates. Although veteran players scoff at the idea of summon signs, when the thirst for revenge takes over, you attain it by any means necessary!
Is Elden Ring a fully Co-op game?
If you are expecting to go through the whole game with a friend, family, or acquaintance, you may be in for a bit of disappointment and frustration regarding the frequent loading times for each Co-op session.
Combined with how frequently you are liable to die in the game, I can genuinely say that Elden Ring tests your patience, even if it’s about something simple such as connecting to a friend’s session to help them. However, you can find a mod for Elden Ring on Nexus Mods, which improves the game’s multiplayer functionality.
“Seamless Co-op” allows you to experience the optimal multiplayer experience, and although it is in an experimental stage, it still leagues better than the base Co-op. Additionally, as you would need to turn off EAC for it to work, you can also use other mods to enhance your multiplayer experience with your friends!
Apart from the Elden Ring Co-op concept of playing, you may also be interested in which bosses are the most difficult and what tactics you can use to master them.