Elden Ring: What You Need To Know About New Game Plus (2024)

One of the few downsides to Elden Ring is that, at some point, the game has to end. It's somewhat sad to say goodbye to your first playthrough - the sense of adventure and exploration in Elden Ring is just unmatched the first time - but becoming Elden Lord doesn't necessarily mean the game is over.

After beating the final boss of Elden Ring players are offered a choice: start Journey 2, also called New Game Plus, or continue in the current iteration of the world. Remaining in the world lets players choose to start their second playthrough at the Roundtable Hold instead, but there are a lot of good reasons to continue into this enhanced version of the base game.

Updated June 7, 2024 by Erik Petrovich: The Elden Ring New Game Plus system works a little bit differently than it does in other FromSoftware games, and because of its quirks, some might consider avoiding going into NG+ altogether. It's worth trying out NG+ in Elden Ring because it offers a heightened challenge for players who want to take on the whole game again with end-of-the-game builds. But not everything will carry over into New Game Plus in Elden Ring, and to enjoy this enhanced playthrough to its fullest, it's important to know what you will and won't bring into NG+. Elden Ring players will find new information about the New Game Plus system in Elden Ring in this guide, including new details about what carries over in the new playthrough, as well as tips to consider when thinking about going into New Game Plus for the first time – especially if you plan to play the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.

How Does New Game Plus Work in Elden Ring?

The main difference between a regular playthrough and New Game Plus is in enemy strength. All enemies and bosses in Elden Ring get a buff to their overall Health pool and the amount of damage they can dish out. In New Game +7 even the Soldier of Godrick in the tutorial area can take out the player.

In regular New Game Plus enemies are noticeably beefier than before, and each level of New Game Plus after the initial NG+1 increases Health and damage by a little bit more. Early-game zones will likely feel too easy for players with endgame builds, even in Elden Ring New Game Plus, but that's kind of the point - by the time you've reached Level 150 at the end of the game, you can restart and choose a completely different path to the Erdtree.

You only need two Great Runes to get to Leyndell, Royal Capital, they don't necessarily have to belong to Godrick the Grafted or Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon – try taking on Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy or Starscourge Radahn first, and skipping Stormveil Castle altogether, for a bit of an early-game challenge and a different way to approach Leyndell.

What Do You Keep In NG+ in Elden Ring?

Though it's technically a restart mechanic, starting Journey 2 in Elden Ring doesn't mean letting go of things you've collected. In fact, the majority of items collected during the first playthrough will stay with you to the second. It's part of the appeal of New Game Plus - it's a chance to experience the game from the start with more options. For example, you can fight Godrick with the Sacred Relic Sword or kill Patches in a single shot with the Jar Cannon.

In addition to all Armaments and Armor collected, New Game Plus lets players keep their collected Ashes of War, Spirit Ashes, Gestures, Upgrade Materials, Memory Stones and spells, Stonesword Keys, Talismans, the Flask of Wondrous Physick, Crystal Tears, and Golden Seeds and Sacred Tears carry over. Interestingly, the full unlocked map carries over to New Game Plus, too.

Of course, players also get to keep their Level and stat allocations when moving onto New Game Plus, though you won't be able to respec until Rennala is defeated again.

What Does Not Carry Over Into Elden Ring New Game Plus?

Not everything carries over to New Game Plus, mostly items that count as Key Items or are important for story progression. This means that medallion halves need to be re-collected, the Dung Eater's Seedbed Curses need to be found again, and all Great Runes need to be earned again too. If it's an important item that can be earned in a quest or is tied to unlocking new areas, chances are you can't bring it with you.

This also includes all Keys found in a playthrough, but there's more than just items that don't carry over. Bosses respawn, of course, but additionally, all opened doors are closed, all Sites of Lost Grace must be found again, and all quests are reset to their beginning step. Be sure to complete all the NPC quests that are important to you in a single playthrough.

Runes Are Multiplied Differently According To Location

The amount of Runes you earn for defeating enemies is increased across the board in New Game Plus, but there are some things to keep in mind. Depending on the zone, and how far into the game players need to be to access it, Runes earned are multiplied differently.

Because players are so overleveled for Limgrave by the end of a normal playthrough, enemies and bosses in the zone reward about five times the number of Runes. However, in places like the Altus Plateau and Liurnia of the Lakes, this increase is reduced to three times.

Late-game zones like the Consecrated Snowfield and Leyndell, Ashen Capital only see a 2x increase in Runes, but this still adds up to a lot when one considers how many Runes these enemies drop normally. Malenia, Blade of Miquella drops about 500,000 Runes normally, and will drop nearly a million Runes instead in New Game Plus, which is still enough for a level or two even that late into NG+.

There Are No New Weapons, Enemies, Items, or Bosses In NG+

Unfortunately there are really no other major differences between New Game Plus and a regular playthrough of Elden Ring. Dark Souls required players to go to at least New Game +2 to get all achievements for the game, Dark Souls 2 changed enemy and item placements and added stronger items for players to discover, and Dark Souls 3 made all upgraded versions of rings only accessible in subsequent playthroughs.

All FromSoftware games have had some kind of New Game Plus mechanic, but it would be remiss to say that Elden Ring's feels a bit lacking compared to other offerings in the past. It's still a worthy experience for all players to take on when looking for more challenge after beating the Elden Beast - but try going for a different ending or using a completely different build to make it more worthwhile.

Elden Ring

RPG

Action

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox One , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC

Released

February 25, 2022

Developer(s)

From Software

Publisher(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment , From Software

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence