Playing with your friends and setting up a co-op game in Elden Ring isn’t as straightforward as other games. Players unfamiliar with the mechanics of the Dark Souls games will find it troublesome to invite their friends as Elden Ring requires you to use in-game items for this purpose.
Some of these items can help you invite and join friends during invasions while others will simply allow you to summon them to your co-op session. We will look at them and their workings in detail in the guide below to help you summon friends in Elden Ring.
How summoning and co-op work in Elden Ring
Even though Elden Ring has put considerably more effort into developing its co-op system when compared with Soulsborne games, for new players setting up the whole thing can be jarring.
There are several items in Elden Ring that are designed for summoning players. You need to know how each of these items works.
To use any multiplayer item, you need to pause your game and head into the multiplayer section of your game menu.
| Summoning Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Furlcalling Finger Remedy | You can use this item to find all the summon signs in the world. Approach these summon signs and interact with them to access the player invitation menu. |
| Finger Severer | This item can be used to kick a player summoned to your Elden Ring world. |
| Tarnished’s Furled Finger | This item will allow other players to invite you to their co-op session. Using this item will allow a gold summon sign to spawn for you, which players can interact with to invite you. |
| Duelist’s Furled Finger | This item is used for competitive co-op sessions and works exactly the same way as the Tarnished’s Furled Finger, this time with a red summon sign. |
| Bloody Finger | You can use this item to raid the Elden Ring worlds of other players. |
| Blue Cipher Ring | This item can keep you on standby and ready for action, so if another player wants your help he can summon you immediately. You will join their invasion session as Hunter. |
| White Cipher Ring | This item works in the opposite way since it will let you send a request for help in an invasion. Other players can join this and help you. |
While all the different items may seem a lot to take in at first glance but realistically you’ll only use about half of these items if you want to skip the competitive side of things and simply want to enjoy regular co-op with your friends.
How to invite your friends in Elden Ring
If you want to enjoy Elden Ring with friends, this section will help you invite them to your game session.
First, open your game menu and head over to the Options section. Now navigate toward the System Network to see to options. Scroll over to the Display Player Names option and toggle it toward Online ID.
This option will allow you to see anyone that joins the session. This will allow you to make sure that only your friends join your Elden Ring co-op session.
Once this is done, navigate to the Multiplayer menu where you will find two options for setting your session password. Scroll over to Multiplayer Password and set a password.
You can now share this password with your friends whom you wish to invite to the game session. This will ensure that your friends join the correct co-op session.
After this, you must head to a desired area to set up a summoning sign. Preferably an area closest to both you and your friend as it will make things go much quicker. Fast travel points i.e. Sites of Grace are perfect for this so you can instantly use the map to fast travel there.
Once you are at your desired location all you have to do is to use Tarnished’s Furled Finger to create a summoning sign. Your friend can then interact with this sign in their own world.
As they interact with the summoning sign, they will be presented with a password entry, following which they will be granted entry inside your Elden Ring co-op game session.
How to summon friends for dungeons and bosses
You can summon your friends to help take on a dungeon or complete a boss fight. To summon your friend in Elden Ring and have them help you take on a boss fight, you can follow the steps discussed above.
Do note that your game session will end once the boss fight is complete. If you want to continue playing with the same friend, you will need to invite them again. This is also the case if either of you dies whilst playing the game.
Before summoning a friend to help in a boss fight in Elden Ring, it is important that you understand that bosses increase in difficulty when you increase your party size. So, if you are two players playing co-op, the boss you encounter will have a larger health pool.
So, in the case that your friend dies in battle during the boss fight, you’ll be left to take on the boss yourself, this time with double the health. Before summoning your friend again, you must either complete the boss fight or die yourself. So, in some cases, it can make the fight even more difficult.
How to summon other players for help
Once your Elden Ring world is invaded, you can seek the help of other players to aid you in your battle. For this purpose, you can use a White Cipher, which allows you to send a request for help in an invasion.
Other players can respond to your request and join your game session. The summoned player in this case will be called a “Hunter” who will fight alongside you during the invasion.
Remember you can send the summoning request using the White Cipher when the invasion actually happens or you can make a pre-emptive measure and send the request beforehand.
You will not always be able to summon a player to help you, if all the conditions for the summon are not met, another player can’t you during the invasion.
You can buy the White Cipher Ring at the Roundtable Hold, where the Twin Maiden Husks will sell it to you for 1000 Runes.
How many players can you summon at once?
You can add up to three players in a single co-op session in Elden Ring. This can allow you to set up and host a somewhat decent co-op lobby. Just remember to properly follow the steps discussed above so that the summoning process goes smoothly.
How to be summoned by other players in Elden Ring
To be summoned by another player in Elden Ring, you must coordinate with your friend or other players to set a designated area.
Next, you must make sure to use the Tarnished’s Furled Finger item which will allow other players to invite you to their co-op session. Using this item will allow a gold summon sign to spawn for you, which players can interact with to invite you.
Once you accept the invite you will join their co-op game session.
Similarly, you can also help your friends and other players during invasions in Elden Ring. You must use the Blue Cipher Ring to do so.
This item can keep you on standby and ready for action, so if another player wants your help, he can summon you immediately. You will join their invasion session as Hunter.
You can also buy the Blue Cipher Ring at the Roundtable Hold, where the Twin Maiden Husks will sell it to you for 1000 Runes.
