Elden Ring is not a Dark Souls game, but it still has a lot in common with FromSoftware's previous works. Like the Dark Souls games, Elden Ring has a unique take on PvP multiplayer, wherein players are able to invade the worlds of others. Sometimes Elden Ring invaders are able to take out their opponents with ease and ruin their runs, but other times the invader is bested and sent back to their own world in disgrace.
One Elden Ring player found out the hard way that invasions don't always go as planned. Reddit user NikWarlord uploaded a video of their first Elden Ring invasion, and it definitely did not go as they hoped. Upon arriving in their enemy's world, NikWarlord and their opponent face off. At first, it almost seems like they may try to form an alliance together, as they keep some distance and emote to each other.
But then NikWarlord's opponent flees around the other side of a shack, one of many that dot Elden Ring's massive open world. NikWarlord naturally follows their opponent, only to be ambushed by two other players who were lying in wait. Three against one is never great odds, but it's an even greater challenge to overcome in Elden Ring, and so NikWarlord is ultimately defeated.
Elden Ring invasions are arguably trickier to be successful at that in other FromSoftware games because players may simply have more back up. Elden Ring co-op allows up to three players to explore the Lands Between together, with one host player joined by two summons whose ultimate purpose is to help the host player defeat that specific area's boss. Defeating the boss sends the summons back to their own games, though they can easily be brought back.
It's very easy to start co-op in Elden Ring. All players need to do is advance a short ways into the main story, and they'll have the tools necessary to not only summon other players into their world, but join the world of others. It's not the most straight-forward co-op system in the world, but it works and is more accessible than the co-op in some of FromSoftware's previous works.
There are rumors that Elden Ring DLC could be on the way, and if so, it will be interesting to see if it expands on the game's co-op and multiplayer capabilities. In the meantime, Elden Ring players can continue invading each other's games and fighting back against hostile invaders.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
