There is a good reason thatElden Ringwon thegame of the year2022. It is by far the most accessible FromSoftware game, which makes it easy enough for beginners to pick even if they aren’t the biggest soulsborne enjoyers. Yet there is a healthy amount of difficulty which keeps even the veterans entertained and coming back for more.
A player can choose to use the Blasphemous blade with the Mimic Tear to have a fun and relaxing session. Meanwhile, someone else can do a club-only run without using any summons or Spirit Ashes.
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With more than 100 bosses and 30 weapon types, you already have a lot to play with just in the base game. When you add Shadow of the Erdtree DLC to the mix, you won’t get bored with the game anytime soon.
However, once you get used to a certain playstyle, there is a good chance you will stick to it and the next set of playthroughs will start feeling the same.
For example, in your first playthrough, if you used Giant-Crusher as your primary weapon but in your second run you use two of them to go full unga-bunga mode, the game will feel practically the same.
So, to keep things fresh for you, here arethe 10 best ways to make your second Elden Ring playthrough different.
10Try A Weapon From A Different Weapon Class
New Weapon, New Me
Let us start this list with a very simple yet effective way to change the way you play Elden Ring:Try out a new weapon from another weapon class.
For example, Greatsword also referred to as Guts Greatsword by many, is one of the most popular weapons in the game.
While it does excellent physical damage, most people often use it for its heavy poise damage. As such, you would be inclined to change its Ash of War to Lion’s Claw and the affinity to Heavy. This way, you will break enemy poise in a few hits.
Simply switching from Greatsword to Star Fist will make a fun yet noticeable change to the way you play. Star Fist is aFist-typeweapon. As such, you’ll end up sacrificing the range of a Greatsword to do more damage, but with consecutive hits.
The weapons in the above example both scale with Strength and Dexterity. You can experiment further with other stuff by including Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane to try weapons that can even inflict different types of damage.
9Try A New Build
I Unga, Therefore I Bunga
While this method may seem similar to the above example,the need to level up different stats distinguishes a new build from simply switching to another weapon.
So, if your previous build was a Strength only where you put in a few levels in Dexterity, you may change to somethinglike pure Intelligence or Str/Int, which will force you torespec.Depending on the spells you employ, you can level up Intelligence and Mind.
So, if you like to use the Giant-Crusher, you could still achieve a similar effect with the Gavel of Haima to bonk your enemies with magic damage instead of physical damage.
Of course, there are plenty of other sorceries, like Swift Glintstone Shard, Cannon Of Haima, Comet, Spiral Shard, and the most popular, Comet Azur.
You can use Terra Magica and Contagious Fury (Ash of War of the Jellyfish Shield), to greatly boost the damage of your sorceries.
8Change Your Playstyle
Slow Down A Bit, Or Get Super Aggressive
Changing your playstyle may not seem like much initially, but once you start playing, you will see how difficult or easier things can get depending on the boss or enemy you are fighting.
What I mean by changing your playstyle is, for example, switchingto a more active approach if you tend to play passively or vice versa.
If this method ties in a bit too much with the above methods of trying a new weapon or build, you may make things different by throwing in a shield. Or by removing it.
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Suppose you are a very aggressive player who likes to dual-wield or dual-handle your weapons. Equipping a shield changes your play, as you will use your one-handed parry weapon. This lets you block or parry more enemy moves with your shield, changing your playstyle.
Now, if you are a passive player who takes their time and only attacks when there is an opening, you can try experimenting with the Buckler paired with its Ash of War Buckler Parry. Guarding with a buckler is pretty useless, so you will mostly be looking for parries, opening more possibilities for ripostes.
Similarly, players who rely on shields can unequip them and switch to a dual-handed weapon like the Godskin Peeler or Elenora’s Poleblade to keep things fresh.
7Try A Cosplay Run
No, I Am Malenia Blade Of Miquella
As the name suggests,a Cosplay run is where you cosplay as the character you want to play.
Now, what makes this type of run fun is thatyou not only look like your favorite character but also equip their weapons and armor and learn the relevant sorceries or incantations to get as many of their moves as possible.
To this day, Malenia is notorious for her difficulty. In fact, she is the only demigod in the game that you can’t get to until you defeat Morgott. While defeating her is an achievement on its own, you can use her remembrance to get one of the best Dexterity weapons in the game: the Katana Hand of Malenia.
What makes this weapon special is its Ash of War, which lets you do the waterfowl dance. If you duplicate her remembrance, you can even get Scarlet Aoenia, which isn’t the best incantation but gives you access to another of her main moves.
Now, pair this up with her armor, and you are pretty vulnerable to a lot of enemy attacks. This forces you to learn her moves and adapt your playstyle to match more with hers.
Malenia is just one such example. You could also become Morgott and use his Cursed Sword or play as Godrick by using his Axe and Grafted Dragon.
6Do Consumables Only Run
No Weapons? No problem!
Consumables are super useful in Elden Ring and something that you definitely shouldn’t sleep on.
While the name may suggest things like Golden Runes to quickly get some runes or edibles such as Pickled Turtle Neck or Exalted Flesh to temporarily boost yourstamina recoveryand physical attack, it isn’t restricted to those.
If you have ever used a Freezing Pot to cancel Malenia’s Waterfowl, Kukri to build up bleed, or Poison Bone Dart to inflict poison while dealing some damage, you have used consumables in this game.
In a Consumables-only run,the goal is to complete the game without using weapons, incantations, or sorceries.As you may’ve guessed, you only use Consumables.
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Now, you might think that the game restricts you to only 30 Kukris per fight or before you rest at a site of grace. The trick is to use multiple consumables.
So, you can go into a fight with things like Bone Dart, Poison Bone Dart, Crystal Dart, Throwing Daggers, Fan Daggers, Kukri, and all the different Aromatics and Spraymists.
It can be a surprising experience as these can do some serious damage. A Perfumer’s Talisman boosts the potency of perfume items by 20%, in case you need help.
5Do A Randomizer Run
Wait, Godfrey Shouldn’t Be In Limgrave
There is a mod known as “Elden Ring Item and Enemy Randomizer” inNexus Modsbythefifthmattto set up a randomizer run. You should know how it works if you have ever done aPokémon Nuzlockechallenge.
In a Randomizer run, you can change what items and enemies spawn in a region. So, while you may be familiar with an enemy’s attacks, their location, and how to fight them, the situation drastically changes in a Randomizer run. You could find Starscourge Radhan in Elden Throne or Godskin Duo in the Academy of Raya Lucaria.
Moreover, a random chest can give you something as powerful as Remembrance of the Black Blade, while defeating Maliketh can get you Golden Rune 1 or probably a Melted Mushroom.
You also don’t find weapons and upgrade materials in their usual spots, so leveling them up gets tricky. You end up forced to make use of what you have.
Just make sure you set up a way to acquire at least 2 Great Runes and the Rold Medallion so you don’t lock yourself out of progressing. Because if that happens, you will have to restart a new run.
4Do An RL1 Run
No Leveling Up Yourself
While the above methods on the list have been more fun and experimentation, doing an RL1 run is where you start entering the more “Git Gud” zone.
RL1 stands for Rune Level 1, meaning you cannot level up your character.This isn’t new and has been around since the Dark Souls days with the SL1 or Souls Level 1 challenges.
You start the game as a Wretch class, giving you a build preference. But what seems like a weakness is, ironically, the most interesting thing about an RL1 run.
With the right Talismans, you may play with many different builds. This type of run forces you to think twice before equipping any random Talismans you come across first. Instead, you’ll be keen to learn more about them and the various buffs they provide and adapt to your playstyle.
For example, if you want to use the Greatsword on an RL1, you might feel it isn’t doable as Wretch only gets 10 Strength, and the Greatsword requires 31 Strength to properly wield it. But you may very easily use it.
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To do that, equip Radagon’s Soreseal to get +5 Strength, Starscourge Heirloom to get another 5 Strength, and Haima Glintstone Crown to get +2 Strength. Finally, dual-hand the weapon to use it as usual.
You can even use buffs like Godrick’s Great Rune, Strength-knot Crystal Tear, and Oath of Vengence to increase it by 20 for a specific time. Similarly, you can use many other Dex weapons, Incantations, or Sorceries with the right Talismans and buffs.
An RL1 run tests your skills and shows how difficult this game can get. Even a simple choice of what weapon and armor you equip matters.
It comes down to whether you want to use a heavier weapon to deal more poise damage with practically no armor. Or get a lighter weapon so that you can wear more armor and not do a fat roll while still being able to tank one extra hit.
I highly recommend that experienced players do an RL1 run at least once because it’s extremely fun, albeit challenging.
3Do An RL1+0 Run
No Leveling Up Your Weapons Either
If you thought an RL1 run was challenging, I present you the RL1+0 run. What makes it more complicated is thatyou cannot level your character and weapons. This dramatically affects the damage you deal to your enemies.
While this change might not seem much, it gets noticeably harder the more you progress, especially in boss fights. You’ll have to deal with their insane combos and special attacks the longer you fight them.
This challenge is a great way to test your patience, as getting greedy is not an option. Going for a single extra hit and dying sets you back 3–5 minutes of your progress, depending on the boss, forcing you to redo the entire fight.
Now, combine this difficulty with obnoxious bosses like the Fire Giant, who not only has 42,363 HP but whose fight is in a terrible arena. You get to experience one of the most frustrating fights in gaming. But it is all worth it if you manage to defeat the boss under these handicaps.
2Do A Deathless Run
As the name suggests,your goal is not to die in a deathless run. If you do end up dying, you have to restart the challenge.
While a deathless run isn’t impossible, it requires a lot of patience, practice, and, most importantly, planning a route to avoid surprises.
The safest way to do a deathless run is by leveling up your Vigor a lot and then leveling your Endurance. More Vigor means you have higher HP, which will let you tank more hits, and with higher Endurance, you get more equip load, which enables you to wear better armor.
Another thing you need to do is play safely. This means that you must avoid any unnecessary detours to dungeons where you can get jumped on by hoards of enemies or end up dying in some trap. You also need to be careful with the game’s platforming sections as you are against the most brutal enemy in all the FromSoft titles: Gravity.
These are some things to consider just for the overworld. You also need a great understanding of boss moves and how to finish them as quickly as possible.
Quickly quit the game when you know you are about to die. As long as you didn’t get the “You Died” screen, you technically didn’t die. While this can be considered cheating, it is still handy, and you can just call it a practice run.
1Do A Hitless Run
No Need For Vigor If You Won’t Get Hit
Finally, we have the hitless or no-hit run for the hardest challenge you can self-impose in Elden Ring.In this challenge, you must start the run again if you get hit.
Ideally, you should do a hitless run after you have completed an RL1+0 and a deathless run. RL1+0 should make you comfortable with most boss moves, significantly reducing your chances of getting hit.
As for the deathless run, it will help you get used to playing patiently. It should also help you maintain a weapon and plot out a path that gets you all the smithing or somber smithing stones needed to upgrade it.
Unlike an RL1+0, you can level up here, and since you don’t plan on getting hit, you don’t have to put many points into Vigor, and you can level up your Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, or other stats based on the build you are going for.
However, you should probably still put some points to Vigor, as there is an Ash of War called Assassin’s Gambit that grants you near invisibility while also silencing your footsteps at the cost of some HP.
Of course, these are just some ways to make your playthroughs different. Once you complete all these challenges, you can spice things up further by doing multiple of them simultaneously, like doing a randomizer deathless run or an RL1 no-hit run.
