Elden Ring Co-Op Multiplayer: How to Summon Allies & Play With Friends

Co-op multiplayer with friends in Elden Ring isn’t terribly different than in From Software’s other Souls and Souls-adjacent titles. It does, however, have more than a tinge of Martin-ness to it, all with the number of fingers you’ll need to collect and use to party with allies against bosses or other dangers. So how does friendly multiplayer function in The Lands Between?

This Elden Ring guide tells you everything you need to know about co-op multiplayer with friends, summoning allies, taking on other players in PvP, and invasions. All told, there is a bit more at play here than in other From games. 

If you’re wondering how to initiate PvP multiplayer or invade as a red phantom, check out our companion guide here.

Elden Ring Co-Op Multiplayer Explained: How it Works

Elden Ring co-op multiplayer is available very quickly, assuming you have the right items and other players to summon or invade. Gold summon signs are for cooperative play, while red summon signs are, as usual, for PvP invasion. 

As with other From Souls games that feature PvP and co-op multiplayer, there is also a summoning range at play here. According to From, there are two mechanics at play here:

• A player’s current character level.
• A player’s max weapon upgrade level ever achieved.

Let’s go over the second part first. Max weapon upgrade level means the highest upgrade level you, a cooperator or invader, have ever achieved on a specific character — lifetime. If you’ve upgraded any weapon to +3, for example, and put it in storage or sold it to, say, Merchant Kale’, that is your maximum weapon upgrade level for co-op multiplayer. Forever on that character, or until you upgrade a weapon higher.

Now for character level. Though we haven’t really teamed up with other co-op players, this seems to work similarly to other Souls games, where players can team up within a certain, relatively close character level threshold. We’ll try to pin down the exact levels, but suffice to say, those using Elden Ring‘s password system can circumvent this and max weapon upgrade. Higher-level players, in comparison to the host, will be “deleveled” appropriately. 

Oh, and you can’t ride Torrent in multiplayer. You also cannot enter areas you have yet to discover with someone you have summoned. 

Below, we’ll go over other essential items and information you’ll need to get started with co-op multiplayer in Elden Ring. There’s a lot more than this, which we haven’t gotten to in our early access period (some of which we will talk about in this guide), but we will update this information as we play more.

How to Get the Finger Severer and the Tarnished’s Furled Finger

When you enter the Stranded Graveyard, the first real location of the game, you can go straight ahead, up the stairs, and through the door or down to the right into the Cave of Knowledge. 

Regardless of the direction you choose in the Stranded Graveyard, you’ll soon find your first Site of Grace. Just beyond that, in the right corner ahead of you, you’ll see a purple item marker. Go over and pick up the Finger Severer and the Tarnished’s Furled Finger. The Finger Severer allows you to banish other players, friend or foe, while the Tarnished’s Furled Finger lets you write a gold summon sign on the ground, as long as you have not also summoned an NPC phantom ally.

Exit via the elevator that’s just ahead to enter Limgrave and the open world of The Lands Between. 

How to Get the Small Golden Effigy

When you exit, you’ll see a man and a Site of Grace ahead of you. Instead of going to them, go right down the hill about halfway. On the left, you’ll see a silver, glowing statue. This is a Summoning Pool. Examine it to activate it and get the Small Golden Effigy, another tool for co-op multiplayer.

If you fail to pick it up here, you’ll run into other Summoning Pools just in Limgrave, which will gift you the Effigy. 

So what does it do? In a neat twist on the expected formula, the Small Golden Effigy sends a summon sign to a nearby Summoning Pool, letting other players see your sign there without having to use the Tarnished’s Furled Finger to do so. What’s more, you can also leave a gold summon sign with the Tarnished’s Furled Finger after you’ve used the Small Golden Effigy and vice versa. 

However, you must interact with a Summoning Pool to activate it in order for the Small Golden Effigy to work, and like the Furled Finger, you cannot use it if you have summoned an NPC phantom ally. Finally, once you interact with a summoning pool, it is always active. 

How to Get the Furlcalling Finger Remedy

From that multiplayer Summoning Pool just outside of the Stranded Graveyard, rest at the Site of Grace above, and head north to the Church of Elleh. Speak with Merchant Kale, and if you have enough Runes (perhaps you chose the Lands Between Rune Keepsake), buy the Crafting Kit for 300 Runes. 

This will give you access to the crafting recipe for the Furlcalling Finger Remedy (x2 Erdleaf Flower for x1 Remedy). Use this item to reveal summon signs, both PvP and co-op multiplayer.

It’s not 100% clear how large of an area this covers, but it will show you signs close to boss fog gates and other high-traffic areas fairly quickly. We did try using two within about three minutes of each other and were met with a nullification warning for the first Finger Remedy. Again, we’ll update when we know a little more.

How Many Players Can be in Multiplayer Sessions?

There can be four total players in a multiplayer session in Elden Ring. The host player (called the Host of Fingers), two allies (either Furled Fingers or Hunters), and an invader (a Bloody Finger, Recusant, or Duelist).

The above names attached to allies and invaders refer to their roles in a multiplayer session. For co-op multiplayer purposes, we’ll stick with Furled Fingers and Hunters. We’ll go over PvP in another guide and link here. 

• Furled Fingers: These are normal cooperators. They join the Host of Fingers and help them beat the area boss. Of course, they can also protect the Host from invaders. These allies use the Furcalling Finger or an Effigy to join games and automatically leave the game when the boss is killed.
• Hunters: Hunters actively seek out invaders in a Host’s world, and do not help in beating the boss. They only succeed when the invader is killed. These allies use the Blue Cipher Ring to find those in need of help and automatically leave the game when the invader is killed. 

How to Set a Multiplayer Password in Elden Ring

If you’d rather set a password for your friends to join you, that’s a pretty simple feat. Though, Elden Ring does warn that you won’t always be matched up with just your friends; you will “for most multiplayer features.”

Either way, here’s how to set a multiplayer password:

• Open the main menu.
• Go down to “Multiplayer.”
• Press the designated input on the right side of the screen, under the password box.
• Hover over the “Multiplayer Password” box. 
• Hit “OK” (shown by the button prompts at the bottom of the screen).
• Enter your password.
• Hit “OK” again.

Share your password with those you want to party-up with, and you’re good to go. Neatly, you can view your password history if you forget what it is.

There is also something called a “Group Password,” which Elden Ring describes as such: “If you set a multiplayer password, you’ll be more likely to see messages, summon signs, bloodstains, phantoms, and so on from others using the same password. Elements given this special priority will appear differently from others.”

We don’t exactly know what that means yet or how it differentiates from a normal password in terms of gameplay and visibility in multiplayer, but again, we’ll update when we know more. It does seem like it’s a better method if you want just your friends in a group.

How to Counter PvP Invasion and Call for Co-Op Help

To counter PvP invasions, you must have the Blue Cipher Ring, which searches for players using the White Cipher Ring, calling for help when being invaded. These items work automatically when equipped. 

You can buy both of these from the Twin Maiden Husks in The Roundtable Hold (which you’ll automatically find during the early story). Each costs 1,000 Runes. 

Elden Ring Co-Op Multiplayer Items List

Here’s a full list of co-op multiplayer items and where to find them in Elden Ring.

• Tarnished’s Wizened Finger: Leave messages as white signs
  • Location: Needed to leave the very first area of the game.
• Finger Severer: Return ally or self their/your own world.
  • Location: Near the Site of Grace in the Stranded Graveyard.
• Tarnished’s Furled Finger: Leave a gold summon sign.
  • Locations: With the Finger Severer in the Stranded Graveyard.
• Small Golden Effigy: Send gold summon sign to summoning pools.
  • Location: Along the cliff to the right of the First Step Site of Grace (interact with the summoning pool).
• Furcalling Finger Remedy: Search for gold summon signs.
  • Locations: Purchase Crafting Kit from Merchant Kale at the Church of Elleh. Requires x2 Erdleaf Flower to craft.
• White Cipher Ring: Summons co-op aid when invaded.
  • Location: Roundtable Hold (Twin Maiden Husks).
  • Cost: 1,000 Runes.
• Blue Cipher Ring: Sends to world of White Cipher wearer being invaded.
  • Location: Roundtable Hold (Twin Maiden Husks).
  • Cost: 1,000 Runes.

And that’s basically everything you need to know about co-op multiplayer in Elden Ring. Now you can summon allies and play with friends to take down some of this game’s toughest bosses. As mentioned, we’ll update the places of this guide we aren’t 100% sure on as soon as we know more. For other tips, head over to our guides hub right here.