Can you play the game in full coop?

[Evilnapkin]

The store page makes it seem like you can, but everything I read about it online as Souls-like coop:

"In addition to multiplayer, where you can directly connect with other players and travel together"

[FTZ35]

No.
It is not co-op game. You can summon assistance if you are struggling at a certain section of the game but that's it. It is not a game to be played with friends.

[Litton]

Errr.... wrong, actually. You can set up passworded games so that only you and your friends can connect to each other to coop. Coop opens you up to invasions by other players, but saying it's not a coop game is wrong lol.

[Dragonirian]

It's not a coop in traditional sense.
Host can summon friendly phantoms, only host gets the progress, you cannot summon people in the same section after the boss is beaten.

[Darhaksterion]

Originally posted by Litton:

Errr.... wrong, actually. You can set up passworded games so that only you and your friends can connect to each other to coop. Coop opens you up to invasions by other players, but saying it's not a coop game is wrong lol.

I guess FTZ meant that you can't just wander the map with a party of friends, as phantoms are banished after a boss is defeated. You can indeed summon help, but only for a limited time.

[Gyson]

Originally posted by Darhaksterion:

I guess FTZ meant that you can't just wander the map with a party of friends..

Except they chose to advertise it as if you can. This game was intentionally marketed in a way that made the multiplayer setup seem more robust than it actually is, and the true limitations of it were kept hidden. I say "intentionally" because it was done on multiple occasions, which makes it difficult to write it off as an error.

I mean, if a developer markets their game with the following language..

"Elden Ring features vast fantastical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly. Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, foreboding castles and other sites of grandeur on a scale never seen before in a FromSoftware title."

..then it suggest they understand what an enjoyable co-op experience looks like: crossing the world with friends on horseback, moving seamlessly with friends from the open-world to dungeons and back again, all done in a way that keeps all parties immersed in the game by minimizing the amount of time they're fighting with networking menus to achieve those goals.

And yet..

..the game won't allow non-hosts to obtain any rewards the host obtains.
..the game prevents groups from moving from the open-world to a dungeon together.
..the game disbands the entire group whenever a dungeon boss is defeated.
..the game won't allow anyone to use mounts in co-op.
..the game disbands the entire group whenever the host dies.
..the game removes a group member from the host's game whenever the group member dies.

Those limitations have been oddly left out of any description/demo of multiplayer in Elden Ring.

[ExplosiveBolts]

Originally posted by Darhaksterion:

Originally posted by Litton:

Errr.... wrong, actually. You can set up passworded games so that only you and your friends can connect to each other to coop. Coop opens you up to invasions by other players, but saying it's not a coop game is wrong lol.

I guess FTZ meant that you can't just wander the map with a party of friends, as phantoms are banished after a boss is defeated. You can indeed summon help, but only for a limited time.

Source?

[Gyson]

Originally posted by ExplosiveBolts:

Originally posted by Darhaksterion:

I guess FTZ meant that you can't just wander the map with a party of friends, as phantoms are banished after a boss is defeated. You can indeed summon help, but only for a limited time.

Source?

You can find examples discussed and also videos showing the limits of co-op in this thread:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1245620/discussions/0/3203748171376150610/

[Kleerex]

That's a bad idea. You will be battling invaders more than bosses.

[Gamer Alejandro]

Originally posted by Gyson:

Originally posted by Darhaksterion:

I guess FTZ meant that you can't just wander the map with a party of friends..

Except they chose to advertise it as if you can. This game was intentionally marketed in a way that made the multiplayer setup seem more robust than it actually is, and the true limitations of it were kept hidden. I say "intentionally" because it was done on multiple occasions, which makes it difficult to write it off as an error.

I mean, if a developer markets their game with the following language..

"Elden Ring features vast fantastical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly. Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, foreboding castles and other sites of grandeur on a scale never seen before in a FromSoftware title."

..then it suggest they understand what an enjoyable co-op experience looks like: crossing the world with friends on horseback, moving seamlessly with friends from the open-world to dungeons and back again, all done in a way that keeps all parties immersed in the game by minimizing the amount of time they're fighting with networking menus to achieve those goals.

And yet..

..the game won't allow non-hosts to obtain any rewards the host obtains.
..the game prevents groups from moving from the open-world to a dungeon together.
..the game disbands the entire group whenever a dungeon boss is defeated.
..the game won't allow anyone to use mounts in co-op.
..the game disbands the entire group whenever the host dies.
..the game removes a group member from the host's game whenever the group member dies.

Those limitations have been oddly left out of any description/demo of multiplayer in Elden Ring.

if they left all of that out then maybe it wont be like every other dark souls game which is what you described

[Kleerex]

Originally posted by Jaquisius Aquafina:

if they left all of that out then maybe it wont be like every other dark souls game which is what you described

Except this is not Dark Souls. This is Elden Ring, a completely different game.

[Dragonirian]

Originally posted by Kleerex:

Originally posted by Jaquisius Aquafina:

if they left all of that out then maybe it wont be like every other dark souls game which is what you described

Except this is not Dark Souls. This is Elden Ring, a completely different game.

It's basically the same game with a new coat of paint, different lore, and new locations. Everything else is exactly the same, just like with bloodborne.

[Gyson]

Originally posted by Dragonirian:

Originally posted by Kleerex:

Except this is not Dark Souls. This is Elden Ring, a completely different game.

It's basically the same game with a new coat of paint, different lore, and new locations. Everything else is exactly the same, just like with bloodborne.

Yes, basically the same.. if you disregard the shift to an open-world setting, mounted combat, jumping, world map functionality, weather systems, day/night cycles, increased focus on RPG elements, more focus on crafting, Ashes of War.. basically identical, really.

[Dataroach]

every time you win a major boss fight your co op partner will probably be disconnected, but you'll probably be able to play the vast majority of the game co op. usually there are some smaller or more focused areas that don't allow it.

[nullpo]

Technically yes but you can't mount up during coop so i think the dev meant the game to be played mostly solo and you can summon help if needed

[Najbjerg]

pls remove invasions.. Wanna chill with buds without party crashers att !