Elden Ring is a FromSoft game, so many people compare it to its previous titles. If you have played any of the Souls games, you will know that multiplayer is one of the oddest implementations of any game. You have to write your summon sign on the ground while you activate specific items, and you will be pulled into a friend’s world as a spirit.
Elden Ring does not have a level cap when you play co-op. This is balanced by having the higher-leveled player scaled down to the lower level. This can get annoying, but overall, it is a good system. You had to be relatively close to the other player in previous games to join them.
The Multiplayer in Elden Ring works very similarly to the Dark Souls games, but it has been improved. Yes, it’s not the best, but it works much better than in Dark Souls 1. If you get the game to play with a friend and don’t know how it works, you are in for a long ride of learning.
How does co-op work?
Co-op works very differently from most other games. Like in the Dark Souls games, you must put down your summon sign on the ground, and other players will see it in the exact spot you placed it. If you want to play with a friend, you will need to use a Furlcalling Finger Remedy to be able to see a friendly summon sign.
You also need to have the summoning pool open in the specific area so that you can see it. There are a lot of multiplayer items you can see in the game, and it can be very confusing what each of them does. All you need to do is read the description of each one, and it will tell you everything it does. You can also implement passwords so you and your buddies can see your summon signs.
What is new are the group passwords. Many YouTubers and content creators will have a password for their community. You can put those passwords in and help out all players in that community. It is a very cool idea and works well in-game, especially for new players.
Does PVP scale other players to your level?
PVP works exactly how co-op works. All players are scaled to the least-leveled player in the area. This is good because people who have finished multiple NG cycles can join people on their first playthrough and won’t be overpowered. Of course, they will have better items, but the fight will at least be scaled to be fair.
If you invade someone, make sure you have another person with you, though, because most people will have 2-3 people inside their world, so make sure you are prepared to fight multiple people. The best thing you can do is bring a harder challenge by invading with multiple people to level the playing field.