Elden Ring multiplayer: How to summon friends, play co-op, and invade other players

The expansive and challenging open-world RPG Elden Ring has arrived, and like other Souls games before it, the multiplayer aspect can both solve and add new challenges. Players can call on friends and random nearby players to assist them and can also opt to invade nearby games to inflict more suffering.

The multiplayer portion of Elden Ring isn’t as simple as other titles that just have the basic “drop in, drop out” capacity. Here’s everything you need to know about playing Elden Ring cooperatively and competitively.

How to play Elden Ring multiplayer co-op

Players can call upon friends or random players to join their world cooperatively. Players can invite friends playing on the same platform or call upon a random player who has their co-op mode turned on.

To have a player join, you’ll need to activate a Furled Finger Remedy at the same time the player joining you uses a Tarnished Furled Finger to place a golden sign on the ground. That sign will show up in your game and you can walk up to it and interact with it to bring them into your game.

During a co-op game, you won’t be able to use your mount or the fast travel system. If you or your partner are killed, or if you kill a boss, you will have to invite them back.

When you join a player in their game as a co-op partner, you’ll have access to your full inventory but only half your total number of flasks. You can also set a “friend’s password” to turn off invites and signs from other players.

How to play Elden Ring multiplayer competitively: invading and rescuing

Players can invade your game when co-op has been activated to prevent dedicated invaders from picking on solo players over and over. They’ll appear as a red spirit so they can be easily identified. You can also use the Taunter’s Tongue to open your game to invaders without summoning a co-op partner first.

To invade, use a Bloody Finger or a Small Red Effigy to summon yourself into an eligible game. As an invader, you’re immune to getting aggro’d by all monsters and bosses, so you can focus your fire on the host and their guests.

Players wearing the Blue Cipher Ring can be summoned into games hosted by other players being invaded. You’ll join the game as a hunter and are tasked with hunting down the invaders. Successfully killing hosts as an invader or killing invaders as a hunter will earn you rewards.

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