It has been a little over a month since Elden Ring was released to the public. Slowly but surely, many players are reaching the game's end, beating hard bosses and filling in the edges of the map for the Lands Between. While many players will call it quits as soon as they see the end credits roll, they will miss out on Elden Ring's New Game Plus mode.
Excluding certain key items and all Great Runes, "Journey 2" in Elden Ring carries over a player's character, runes, as well as all the items, weapons, and equipment they've gathered. Sites of Grace are still visible, but the player has to interact with each one to use them again. The whole world and its inhabitants are technically reset; as players start the game from the very beginning. Some might think going through Elden Ring's New Game Plus isn't worth it, as enemies and bosses drop more runes but also have more health and deal more damage. Unlike other FromSoftware games, Elden Ring's New Game Plus does not currently have new item drops, as most +1 and +2 versions of talismans can be found on the first playthrough. What New Game Plus boils down to is players having to sacrifice their progress for a chance at doing it all over again. However, it is for this very reason that New Game Plus is worth trying.
A Fresh Start to Elden Ring - Sort of
Whereas the first game was a completely fresh experience filled with bumps on the road, New Game Plus lets players pave that road and fine-tune their run. Now armed with knowledge of the game, they know now the best paths to take across Elden Ring's world, leading to fewer deaths. They also know enemy and boss locations, as well as their attack patterns.
Since experience, weapons, equipment, and most items carry over in New Game Plus, Elden Ring players can technically be overpowered if they prepare for the journey beforehand (that is to say, stocking up on useable items and leveling their character appropriately prior to starting New Game Plus). Having that power fantasy they couldn't have back when they were still figuring Elden Ring's mechanics out is a cathartic experience. All that effort they put into their builds should pay off when they see a Tree Sentinel that gave them such a hard time falling in seconds.
A Second Chance For Choices
Best of all, going through New Game Plus allows players to make different choices for character questlines (or unlock them in the first place). Elden Ring has events that dictate "points of no return," wherein advancing locks players out of character questlines. By going through New Game Plus, they can see what they missed the first time and go through the steps needed to complete a character's story (such as the elusive Ranni's questline, which unlocks one of the game's endings).
More character dialogue, different exploration paths, and multiple endings all feed into the lore of Elden Ring. Those in love with the world will gladly gobble all of this up, but for those who just want something new in their inventory, some quests have different rewards if new choices are made. All of these things cannot be found on a single playthrough, so going through New Game Plus is the only way to see everything.
Seeing as there hasn't been any official announcement for Elden Ring DLC yet, players who want more out of it could enjoy New Game Plus. If the idea of going through the game a second time with an overpowered character wasn't enough, the extra lore, quest rewards, and multiple endings will keep those Tarnished who can't get enough of the Lands Between satiated until the next adventure.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
