It didn’t take long for the Elden Ring community to start creating mods for this powerhouse souls-like title from FromSoftware.
Similar to the previous FromSoftware titles, the modding community came in full force to tackle Elden Ring. Not even two months after the release of the hit title, the player base now has access to a rather large range of modifications they can use to enrich their Elden Ring experience. From simply getting rid of the intro logos on startup to skipping to the title screen and completely overhauling animations for swords and stances, players can play how they want and add what they will.
While it is enticing to add mods to the game, players may have hesitations or trouble not knowing where to look or where to start. But modding Elden Ring is not as complicated as it sounds and we will go over how to begin modifying the game.
Modding Elden Ring
Those who wish to mod their local version of Elden Ring can start over at Nexus Mods. The first step is to create a free account. Nexus Mods is one of the biggest gaming mod websites that exist and has over 30 million registered users as of January 2022. First launched in September 2007, modders and gamers alike have come to the site for the distribution of digital content and downloading of game mods.
The next step to mod the game is to install the Elden Mod Loader. This mod loader will automatically load all .dll-based mods or files on game startup. This can be found on the website. On the site, click the manual download and it will land in the downloads folder.
From here, find where the Elden Ring local files are located. This can be done by going into Steam and right-clicking the gear icon to browse local files (shown below).
This will bring up where Elden Ring is located on the computer. Typically, games are found at Steam/steamapps/common/ELDEN RING on the disk drive.
Next, using a file explorer program like 7-zip or winrar, extract the contents of the mod loader download directly into the “Game” folder for Elden Ring.
When downloading other mods from Nexus Mods that ask users to place them next to the Elden Mod Loader, use this new “mods” folder created and now located in the “Game” folder for Elden Ring. This will automatically load all mods that require this loader.
For mods that do not require this loader to launch, like some shader mods, users can download these and place them in the “Game” folder that contains the eldenring.exe file. This will load the game with those specific mods as well.
Many mods will come with a “readme” text file that can help with further instructions if there are any specifics that users must do to install a particular mod. Some readme files for mods may also mention shortcuts used to activate or deactivate the mod within the game itself.
There are many great and different mods players can use to alter their Elden Ring experience. Following the steps above is a solid start to modding the game and a good foundation for understanding where to download mods for other games as well. Best of luck, fellow Tarnished.
