ELDEN RING: ALL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACTION RPG WITH CO-OP AND PVP - RELEASE, GAMEPLAY, SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

 

With Elden Ring , FromSoftware is bringing its next dark fantasy universe to Dark Souls and Bloodborne in early 2022. Everything we know so far can be found here on our overview.

What is Elden Ring? This is the next big project from FromSoftware, who created an entire genre with Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. The developers are known for rock-hard, dark and complex action role-playing games. This includes:

• Demon's Souls
• Dark Souls 1-3
• Bloodborne
• Sekiro

With Elden Ring, the developers, led by developer legend and game director Hidetaka Miyazaki, want to take the next step with Elden Ring. The game was already announced at E3 2019, but disappeared from the scene for a long time. When the first real gameplay trailer was unveiled at E3 2021, the fans literally freaked out .

In addition to Miyazaki, famed A Song of Ice and Fire author George RR Martin is also involved in the story and lore of Elden Ring. The popular series Game Of Thrones is also based on his books. You can find out what is known about Elden Ring so far here.

We will continue to update the article for you with the latest information about the Elden Ring.

Elden Ring - Release, Platforms, Beta, Playtime

When is Elden Ring coming out?

The game will be released on February 25, 2022.

What platforms will Elden Ring appear on?

The action RPG will be released on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC. The game will be released on PC via Steam.

Will there be an Elden Ring beta?

There was already a network test that showed tons of gameplay. But it only lasted for a short time and is already over. It is not known whether there will be a test before the release.

Is there multiplayer in Elden Ring?

Yes. Similar to previous FromSoftware games, there will be co-op and PvP.

Is there crossplay in Elden Ring?

This is currently not known.

How much game time does Elden Ring offer?

According to Hidetaka Miyazaki, you can get 30 to 40 hours in Elden Ring just with the main story. But the additional content should give you a lot more.

Pre-order the Elden Ring – bonuses and editions

What editions are there? Overall, Elden Ring comes in five different variants. Not all of these editions are available for every platform that Elden Ring appears on. Here is the overview:

standard edition

• Price: €59.99 – €69.99
• Platforms: Coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC (Download)

launch edition

• Price: €59.99 – €69.99
• Platforms: Released for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC (download).
• Game on physical disc (PC version comes with code)
• Art Maps:  3 exclusive art maps show the surroundings of the Between Lands, size: 135 × 170 mm
• Woven Patch :  An exclusive woven patch
• Stickers :  3 exclusive stickers with emblem patterns from the game
• Poster :  An exclusive poster featuring a hero from the past. Size: 393×334mm
• An alternative steelbook: an exclusive limited edition steelbook depicting a hero from the past

deluxe edition

• Price: €79.99
• Platforms: PC only
• Digital Artbook & Original Soundtrack

Collector's Edition

• Price: €189.99
• Platforms: Released for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC (download).
• Game on physical disc (PC version comes with code)
• Art Maps:  3 exclusive art maps show the surroundings of the Between Lands, size: 135 × 170 mm
• Woven Patch :  An exclusive woven patch
• Stickers :  3 exclusive stickers with emblem patterns from the game
• Poster :  An exclusive poster featuring a hero from the past. Size: 393×334mm
• Digital Soundtrack
• Exclusive steel book
• 40 Page Hardcover Artbook :  An exclusive 40 page artbook. Size: 24.1×21.5cm. Language: English
• Statue of Malenia, Miquella's blade (23 cm)

Premium Collector's Edition

• Price: €259.99
• Platforms: Coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC (Download)
• Game on physical disc (PC version comes with code)
• Art Maps:  3 exclusive art maps show the surroundings of the Between Lands, size: 135 × 170 mm
• Woven Patch :  An exclusive woven patch
• Stickers :  3 exclusive stickers with emblem patterns from the game.
• Poster :  An exclusive poster featuring a hero from the past. Size: 393×334mm
• Digital Soundtrack.
• Exclusive steel book
• 40 Page Hardcover Artbook :  An exclusive 40 page artbook. Size: 24.1×21.5cm. Language: English.
• Statue of Malenia, Miquella's blade (23 cm)
• An official replica of Malenia's Helm, Miquella's Blade. Comes with a bracket. A strictly limited and numbered 1:1 scale helmet.

Elden Ring System Requirements and Download Size

This is what we know about the specs so far: FromSoftware has not yet officially revealed any system requirements. It is known that Elden Ring will get an FPS lock, as is usual with the developer's other games.

The game should run at up to 60 FPS, offer a native 4K resolution and even ray tracing should be added after the release. (via vg247.com )

What hardware does your PC need? A report by Gameinformer has also published specs for Elden Ring, which have not yet been officially confirmed. (via Gameinformer ). So enjoy this with caution.

Minimum system requirements

• processor: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-6300
• working memory: 8GB
• operating system: windows 7
• graphic card:Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 (2GB) or AMD Radeon R9 280
• Pixel shaders: 5.0
• vertex shaders: 5.0
• Free disk space: 150GB

Recommended system requirements

• Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
• working memory: 12GB
• operating system: windows 10
• graphic card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 480 (4GB)
• Pixel shaders: 5.1
• vertex shaders: 5.1
• Free disk space: 150GB.

Will the game really be that big? Officially there is no information about the download size. However, it's unlikely that the game will actually need that much storage space when it's released. It might just be a placeholder.

But there is already a leak for the PS5 and Xbox Series version, which is said to have a significantly smaller download size.

• The PS5 version will be 44.4 GB. The number comes from the Twitter account "PlayStation Game Size", which repeatedly reveals download sizes correctly in advance. (via Twitter)
• The Xbox Series version will probably need around 50 GB of storage space. The info comes from the Xbox store, so it should be correct (via reddit ).

Nothing is known about the PC version at this time. If you go by earlier FromSoftware games, it should be close to the other versions.

Incidentally, the information relates to the standard version, without a potential Day 1 patch.

Is there a preload? So far, this has not been officially confirmed, according to "PlayStation Game Size" it should at least start a preload on PS5 and PS4 on February 23rd.

Performance and modes on Xbox and PlayStation

Of course, there are also differences between the individual consoles. Here are the official specs:

• PS4 and PS5
• PS4: 30 FPS and up to 1920x1080p (Full HD)
• PS4 Pro: 30 FPS and up to 3200x1800p (Dynamic Resolution)
• PS5: Up to 60 FPS (performance mode) and 3840x2160p, ray tracing will be delivered later
• HDR support
• No savegame transfer between PS4 and PS5

The PlayStation 5 offers two different modes. Firstly, the performance mode, which offers 60 FPS but reduces the details of the graphics settings. There is also the quality mode, which delivers 30 FPS and better graphics. By the way, both modes run in 4K.

Xbox One and Xbox Series

• Xbox One: 30 FPS and up to 1600x900p, no HDR support
• Xbox One X: 30 FPS and up to 3840x2160p
• Xbox Series S: Up to 60 FPS (Performance mode) and up to 2560x1440p
• Xbox Series X: Up to 60 FPS ((performance mode) and up to 3840x2160p, ray tracing will be delivered later

Here, too, there will probably be a quality mode and a performance mode.

Explore the Elden Ring inland

What is Elden Ring about? As usual in previous games from Dark Souls developers, Elden Ring is a game with a mysterious and dark story.

So far, the makers have kept a low profile, but we now know some hard facts:

• The world of Elden Ring is called “The Land Between” or in German: Das Zwischenland.
• In the in-between stands the mighty Earth Tree, at the roots of which was the Elden Ring
• However, the Elden Ring, a mysterious and powerful item, has been broken into six pieces by a cataclysmic event
• You slip into the role of the "Tainted" (English: Tarnished), have to put the Elden ring back together and ascend to the Elden Lord
• For this you have to expel the current ruler, Marika the Eternal. Her many children are demigods who have claimed pieces of the destroyed Elden ring
• They were driven insane by the power of the parts, causing a war in the Between Lands.

Much of the backstory and lore of Elden Ring was penned by George RR Martin in collaboration with FromSoftware.

You travel through the Lands Between and unravel the mystery of the Elden Ring. You will encounter all kinds of different and strange characters, fight your way through numerous threats and master the challenging combat system, as known from FromSoftware games.

This time, however, the supporting characters should play a bigger role and also be important figures from the intermediate lands. The first gameplay reveal gives you a glimpse of the intermediate lands:

Elden Ring has a huge open world

Here's how it differs from previous games: The first difference that might catch your eye is the scale of the Elden Ring game world. It will be much more spacious and larger than you are familiar with from previous Souls games such as Bloodborne or Dark Souls.

They didn't have small game worlds either. But the construction and structure of worlds such as Lordran from Dark Souls 1 was much narrower, more nested and more crooked.

Elden Ring now wants to push into larger dimensions and offers a more open and larger game world.

This is what we know about the Zwischenland:

• There will be a total of 6 different areas.
• There is no fixed order of when you can visit which area.
• However, some areas cannot be fully explored immediately.
• There is a day and night change, dynamic weather and events.
• Enemy creatures roam and roam the different regions.
• Despite everything, there should be a common thread in the story so that you never lose sight of your goal.

As you explore the world, you will receive a useful means of transportation. With a kind of "ghost horse" you can quickly get from one place to another.

This horse can be summoned at any time, or disappear as soon as you jump off his back. You can also fight on horseback and traverse steep slopes in gigantic jumps.

If that's still too slow for you: There will be a kind of fast travel system.

Legacy Dungeons offer more classic level design

What are Legacy Dungeons? There are numerous dungeons in the game world of Elden Ring. These are all possible variations, so there are supposed to be castles, caves, catacombs and other types of dungeons that you will explore. You can enter these seamlessly through the open world.

These dungeons offer the classic level design known from games like Bloodborne or Dark Souls. Apart from a few more open areas, their game worlds were more like nested labyrinths and much more compact than the usual open worlds. There should even be sections with puzzles.

So if you prefer this level design, you won't miss out in Elden Ring either. How many dungeons there will be is currently unknown. However, since there will be six main areas in Elden Ring, at the end of which one of the main bosses awaits, one can assume at least six dungeons.

According to FromSoftware, however, there should be significantly more optional bosses than was the case in previous games. So there could well be more legacy dungeons in the game.

Elden Ring co-op mode

How co-op works: When you're out and about in the in-between world, you can call on your friends or random players to help you in battle.

• Originally,  a group of up to 4 players should  have been possible, but this has changed. In a interview with the developers says that you can now invite a maximum of 2 other players to your session.
• There should only be a few restrictions where co-op multiplayer is not possible. Basically, you can summon other players to you in most places within the Elden Ring, both in the dungeons and in the open world.
• According to Elena, fights against the world bosses outside of the dungeons and smoke screens are also possible together with other players.

However, in exchange for the help of co-op players, you can no longer summon your horse in the open world. That means you'll be slower exploring, at least on the surface.

The co-op mode also comes this time without the consumption of valuable resources such as humanity, which is known from other Soulsborne games. Although you can see in the first gameplay trailer that a certain item is still required, the barrier for summoning other players should be significantly lowered.

Also, since the world of Elden Ring is extremely large, there will be special locations where you can leave your marks or see if someone is currently available for co-op.

Elden Ring's PvP mode

This is how PvP works:  Again, it will work in a relatively classic way, as fans already know from previous FromSoftware games:

• There will be invasions again, where players can invade your world.
• You will be able to enter other players' sessions yourself and hunt them down there.
• You will be able to challenge other players to duels.

In an interview with Russian site  igromania.ru  , Miyazaki also explained that in PvP, players can't hide forever in the vast open world of the Elden Ring. There will be certain interface elements that provide both players with enough information about their opponent. During development, a lot of value was placed on making PvP as less frustrating as possible.

The factions feature from previous games will also return. In Elden Ring, however, they are more used for role-playing and give PvP additional "flavor". They are not absolutely necessary to participate in PvP.

Also in PvP, the rule applies that the horse cannot be used if another player has just invaded your game or if you are in another player's world. Bad news for everyone who was looking forward to epic knight duels on horseback.

The Elden Ring Combat System - You can now summon the dead

How has it been so far? In earlier games like Bloodborne or Dark Souls, you could summon phantoms of NPC characters at certain points in the game, which could then help you in battle. Most of these were just before boss fights or in tricky places and could represent a kind of co-op replacement.

In Elden Ring, the principle is now extended with a kind of necromancy.

How is this supposed to work? In Elden Ring you can now also summon the spirits of killed enemies, which then support you against other opponents.

You should even be able to command these undead with commands. How exactly this will happen is not yet entirely clear. Apparently you can carry these undead with you as a kind of in-game item and summon them in emergencies.

How is the fight going? Anyone who has seen the gameplay and played previous FromSoftware games should have noticed the similarities. Overall, combat in Elden Ring will again work according to the familiar concept:

• Evade
• Block
• parry
• Light and heavy attacks

These weapons exist: The scenes shown so far showed the already familiar selection of weapons:

• one-handed swords
• two-handed swords
• Shields
• magic
• Sheets
• Dual Weapons
• spears

The previous Souls games offered a wide range of weapons. Expect it to be similar, if not more extensive, in Elden Ring.

In Elden Ring, you will not only fight on foot, but also on horseback, which will also provide new opportunities in combat.

Jumping and stealth system should give more freedom

This is new: In order to do justice to the open game world and to give the player more freedom, the developers have expanded the movement options.

Players can now jump and sneak if they wish. These are elements that were already used in Sekiro and are now combined with the more Dark Souls-like elements of Elden Ring.

This is how stealth works in Elden Ring: Miyazaki describes the innovation as a simple system that provides numerous new options. This allows players to crouch, crawl, and launch assassination attacks on enemies.

This gives you the option of secretly eliminating entire groups, or simply bypassing certain opponents. You can also hide in tall grass and observe the situation. It is also possible to plan his approach and to spy on the environment.

Jumping can also offer new attack options, especially in combat.

What does this change? Previously, active combat only featured dodge rolls. In Sekiro, for example, the jump element meant that you could use punches in a targeted manner while jumping, or even dodge enemy attacks by stepping on your opponent's carrot.

Overall, you have more freedom of movement in the Elden Ring than before.

Character progression, known classes, freely selectable skills, crafting

This is what we know about character progression: On the whole, character progression will be similar to what you know from games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne. You create your character again with an extensive character editor.

Also this time there should be a total of 10 different character classes, which, however, only represent the basis for your late progress.

These classes are known so far: We already know five of the 10 starting classes from previous leaks and scenes. (via fextralife.com )

• warrior
• prophet
• champion
• Enchanted Knight
• bloody wolf

You collect experience points in some form (in Dark Souls it was souls, in Bloodborne blood echoes), level up your attributes and adapt your play style with appropriate equipment, spells or skills.

This is new: In Elden Ring you can now also unlock certain skills that can be redefined at any time. This allows, for example, certain fighting styles to be used that were defined by special weapons in Dark Souls. According to Miyazaki, there are over 100 such skills in Elden Ring (via IGN.com )

Some of the skills can be bought from retailers, but they are mostly hidden in the Elden Ring game world and must be discovered.

There is also a sort of crafting system where players can craft items at any time if they have the right materials.

What do you think of Elden Ring? Excited for the latest title from FromSoftware? What innovations would you like to see? Discuss with us in the comments.