Building up a character's stats is practically a necessity for success in Elden Ring, and engaging with the game's cooperative multiplayer is the best way to get the Runes required for leveling up. FromSoftware has been using its brand of multiplayer since Demon's Souls, and the summoning and invasion mechanics have been inherited by Elden Ring with some important additions. Elden Ring's co-op and spirit summoning systems work in a variety of ways, and facing the challenges of the Lands Between with a partner or two is almost universally beneficial, with the added bonus of the experience being uniquely entertaining.
To accommodate Elden Ring's large open world, the co-op systems have been revamped to give players more options when wanting to help others. Those looking to offer aid can still use the Tarnished's Furled Finger to place their Gold Summon Sign at their feet to help with a particular area or boss like in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, but there's also a new, hands-off option to cast a wider net. Using the Small Golden Effigy (instead of the Furled Finger) will send a Gold Summon Sign to the Summoning Pool, where it will appear in other players' worlds next to effigies of martyrs. Similar items operate the same way for Elden Ring's new PvP and invasion systems.
The Small Golden Effigy is extremely helpful for letting players hop into co-op whenever they want, since the summoning pools don't require players to stand in a certain spot like the Tarnished's Furled Finger does. Players can be exploring the wilds of the Lands Between and send their Summon Sign to the activated Summoning Pools at any time, which provides constant access to Runes with practically no consequences. Cooperative play in Elden Ring also happens to be very fun, and can help alleviate some of the game's oppressive atmosphere and difficulty.
Elden Ring's Co-Op Provides Practically Free Runes
Runes are the all-in-one currency of Elden Ring, being used for trading with merchants, upgrading gear (except for upgrading Elden Ring's flasks, which requires special items), and leveling up. Runes are awarded to the player for slaying enemies and bosses - or NPCs if players aren't scared of the consequences - but are also dropped upon death, which happens to be a frequent occurrence in the game. Recovering lost Runes isn't always possible, making farming large swathes of enemies alone a risky endeavor. All of this risk is negated when helping others through co-op.
Whether players use the Tarnished's Furled Finger or the Small Golden Effigy, they'll get runes for killing enemies as a phantom. Even if they're killed before the area boss can be defeated, they'll be sent back to their own world with more Runes than they had when they got summoned. There are fast ways of farming Runes in Elden Ring, but engaging in co-op makes it so there is very little risk on the phantom's part, and they get to help someone who has potentially been stuck for some time on a difficult area or boss.
Elden Ring's Co-Op Gives Opportunities To Practice
Elden Ring sees the return of the signature difficulty that gave Dark Souls its reputation, but helping others as a phantom can alleviate some of the stress involved in figuring out how to best a particularly tough gameplay section. For both general areas and boss fights, there can be a lot players have to learn before they succeed, and co-op lets players practice without the risk of losing Runes. Though certain traps are deliberately designed to catch players unaware, Elden Ring and its Soulslike predecessors are generally pretty fair in that overcoming a challenge typically involves learning attack patterns and recognizing the opportune moments to strike.
Some Ashes of War make Elden Ring bosses easy, but most players will be able to conquer tough foes with some practice. Co-op gives the perfect opportunity to learn areas or fight bosses without fear of losing Runes. With two or three people in the game, a boss' attention will be divided, opening up more opportunities to strike, but also giving players a chance to observe the attack animations when they're not in harm's way. Phantoms also have a limited number of Flasks of Crimson Tears, which can teach players how to manage their healing resources more effectively during long boss fights. Simply leveling up usually isn't the solution to overcoming a particularly challenging boss, but it also doesn't hurt, and helping other players take down a boss will award Runes in addition to the combat experience.
Elden Ring's Co-Op Is Comically Entertaining
Using Elden Ring's Spirit Ashes for summoning can be helpful, but they don't come with the personality of using the game's multiplayer functions, which is a less tangible benefit of cooperative play. FromSoftware's games have long encouraged players to enlist the help of strangers, and with no voice chat available, each game has had a large set of gestures the player character can use to communicate. Dark Souls' Praise the Sun gesture became notably popular, especially amongst those who like to engage in Solaire's signature Jolly Cooperation. So far, Elden Ring's The Ring gesture seems to be a favorite, with players prone to celebrating their companionship by slowly forming a ring around their head with their arms.
Elden Ring isn't exactly a Souls game, but it inherited a lot of the franchise's mannerisms, including the quirky communication methods that have sprung up in spite of the robust gesture system already in place. Instead of waving hello or pointing to signal the boss is about to be challenged (both common uses for gestures), players will frantically raise and lower their shield, or two-hand their weapon and wiggle it in the air by spamming the block button. Phantoms run around in tight circles and whole teams revel in being able to roll through destructible objects together. Elden Ring has contributed its own unique components to this perplexing game of charades by adding jumping and crouching. Playing co-op is incredibly useful for earning Runes and learning how to tackle tough encounters, but the unique circumstances of wordlessly playing with a stranger also lends itself to hilarious and unexpected occurrences, which can help brighten the dour atmosphere of Elden Ring.