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Elden Ring PvP Multiplayer Gameplay Explained


PvP Multiplayer in Elden Ring 4
Credit: FromSoftware

Elden Ring is FromSoftware's latest masterpiece, and fans and critics alike are raving about the latest game from the famed Dark Souls developer. Elden Ring is doing great, but many think of the game as a single-player experience when it is most definitely not. There's a ton of multiplayer in Elden Ring, and PvP is a big part of that. How does PvP stack up against PvP in other FromSoftware games? What's it like, and how does it work? In this article, we'll explain Elden Ring PvP multiplayer gameplay so you know know what to expect.

PvP Multiplayer in Elden Ring

PvP Multiplayer in Elden Ring
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Credit: FromSoftware

PvP in Elden Ring works, on its face, similar to how it has worked in other FromSoftware games: You can invade other people's worlds to fight them and whoever may be summoned there to help the host. This is also how it works in Elden Ring, but it doesn't play the same in Elden Ring.

Depending on the FromSoftware game, this form of PvP has worked better or worse. In Bloodborne, it didn't work very well, so Bloodborne PvP never became that popular. Combat in Bloodborne was too fast, and you could move around too quickly, so it was too easy to lose your opponent, regain some health, then charge back in, and it was too easy to just run away and not actually engage with your opponent.

Related: How to Pause Elden Ring Explained

When you combine that with the relative lack of build diversity in Bloodborne, i.e. you have to play as a melee character with a gun secondary, ultimately PvP in Bloodborne just didn't appeal to many people. However, PvP in Dark Souls worked really well and became quite popular.

Elden Ring has pros and cons. There are tons and tons of options when it comes to build diversity. You can make all kinds of characters for PvP, from sorcerers to melee fighters to tanks to anything else you can imagine. And since you can use your own Weapon Arts, you have a lot of control over your weapon, too.

Plus, softcaps in Elden Ring are higher than they are in other FromSoftware games. This means that you have to put more levels into a stat before it starts giving you diminishing returns in terms of benefits to your character. This means that the 'meta' level (the ideal character level to be at for PvP where you've leveled your relevant skills to their softcaps) in Elden Ring will be higher than in other FromSoftware games.

Related: Elden Ring PC Framerate/FPS Unlock Mod Explained

All of this is to say that there will be PvP opportunities throughout your leveling journey in the game, and you'll have lots of flexibility in picking a build for PvP. With so much freedom given to the player, this will definitely attract a ton of people's attention.

PvP in Elden Ring's Open-World

PvP Multiplayer in Elden Ring 2
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Credit: FromSoftware

Elden Ring is an open-world game. It's fully open-world, too. You can explore a massive map peppered with huge, full-length levels alongside places of interest and many different enemies to fight. This is a huge departure from the more linear structure of the FromSoftware games of the past.

In past FromSoftware games, during PvP you could occasionally get lost in a level searching for an invader, which would be frustrating, but ultimately, the game wasn't too bad about getting you and your foe into the action. Sometimes people ran away from fights, but most of the time that isn't a viable option.

Related: Don't Fear: Elden Ring Has An Easy Mode, If You Want It

Elden Ring is a bit different when it comes to open-world PvP. There's a lot more freedom. You can more easily escape from fights, and with how fast-paced the movement and gameplay in Elden Ring is, it can be frustrating at times to chase an invader who realizes they're done for if they keep fighting so they decide to just run away from you.

But it also means there are fun, organic chases through the open world that lead to unexpected moments when playing, which keeps the gameplay fresh and interesting. But the nature of the game's open-world alongside the freedom the game gives to the play in terms of their build also have its own consequences.

PvP Multiplayer in Elden Ring 3
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Credit: FromSoftware

There's a lot of room to cheese people in a certain area with a certain build. This is absolutely present in other FromSoftware games, and to a certain extent it's an expected feature, but in Elden Ring its potential can be a little unsettling.

Related: Elden Ring Performance Problems/Issues Explained

Right now, the game's PvP meta is very much so still developing, but as more people play further and further into the game and different builds get shuffled around throughout the community, it's likely there will be a good number of cheesy, slightly toxic builds where you can give players a lot of trouble without risking much in return.

FromSoftware isn't really known for extensive rebalancing of multiplayer post-launch either, so while some things will undoubtedly get changed, everything won't be fixed. Altogether, though, Elden Ring offers a pretty compelling multiplayer package. With the freedom given to the player to PvP how they want to PvP, you can very much so create your own fun, or you can simply just see what crazy builds people come up with.

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