How Hard Is New Game Plus Elden Ring?

New Game Plus in Elden Ring presents a significant challenge increase, with enemies gaining more health and damage, making it noticeably harder than your initial playthrough.

So, you’ve conquered the Lands Between, becoming Elden Lord perhaps? Now the question lingers: how hard is new game plus elden ring? It’s a fair question considering the initial difficulties you faced.

The enemies you already struggled against? They hit harder and have considerably more health in this new cycle. Expect a significant jump in difficulty compared to the normal game.

How Hard is New Game Plus Elden Ring?

So, you’ve conquered the Lands Between, defeated the Elden Beast, and become Elden Lord (or perhaps the Frenzied Flame Lord, we don’t judge!). You’re feeling powerful, maybe even a little bored? Then New Game Plus (NG+) in Elden Ring is calling your name. But before you jump back in, sword swinging, let’s talk about just how much harder it’s going to be. It’s not just a walk in the park – it’s more like a marathon through a swamp filled with angry dragons and even angrier demi-gods. Let’s break down what awaits you.

What Changes in New Game Plus?

The biggest change, and the most important factor in the increased difficulty of NG+, is enemy health and damage. Every enemy in the game, from the smallest, weakest imp to the mightiest shardbearer, gets a significant boost to both how much damage they can take and how much damage they deal to you. This isn’t a tiny bump; it’s a major step up, especially in the early stages of the new playthrough. Think of it like this: those early game enemies that you used to swat away like flies? They’ll now be hitting you like small trucks. This means that your old strategies might not work as well. You’ll need to be much more careful and tactical, and your build has to be ready for this tougher challenge.

The Scaling System

The scaling in Elden Ring’s NG+ isn’t just a simple percentage increase. It’s actually a layered system. The first few NG+ cycles get progressively harder, with enemies becoming significantly more challenging each time. After a few cycles, the difficulty increases slow down, and the game generally reaches its maximum difficulty. This doesn’t mean that each NG+ is a joke after that point, but the jumps in difficulty are less severe than from your first playthrough to your first NG+ or second NG+. Understanding this pattern is vital because it will prepare you for the early challenges you’ll face.

Boss Changes in New Game Plus

Bosses in NG+ get the same health and damage buffs as normal enemies. This makes boss fights more intense, even if you had the perfect strategy in your original run. You can’t just rush in with the same attack patterns and expect to win. You will have to learn their moves and timing once again, while you also have to think about your survivability against their powerful attacks. Even bosses that once felt easy to you can become serious challenges. You should go back to the drawing board when you approach them again. The good thing about these bosses is that the knowledge you learned previously will still be a great help.

Why is New Game Plus Harder?

It’s more than just bigger numbers, though. The increased difficulty in NG+ encourages players to play more strategically. You can’t get away with as many mistakes, and you have to be more efficient in your battles. Let’s look at the key reasons why the difficulty ramp up is so significant:

Damage output from enemies: They deal far more damage, meaning you can’t be as reckless. Even a few hits from basic enemies can severely hurt or even kill you in the early stages of NG+.
Enemy health increase: Enemies have more health, meaning fights last longer. This gives them more chances to hit you and you need more time to deplete their health.
Aggression: It seems that many enemies are slightly more aggressive on NG+ cycles. This is especially true with bosses, they tend to use their most powerful attacks with more frequency.
Stat checks: Early game areas in NG+ might require you to have higher character stats than you did before. This is because the enemies’ new attack damage and health pools scales up to your level.

Your Build Matters More Than Ever

In NG+, your character build and how you play become super important. If you just relied on brute force or a specific strategy that worked on your first playthrough, you might find it harder to progress in NG+. Now’s the time to really dig into the finer points of your character’s stats, gear, and play style. Consider the following:

Optimized weapons and armor: Make sure you have top-notch upgraded weapons and armor. The upgrade system becomes extremely important.
Effective talismans: Choose talismans that will complement your build and give you the most benefits. Your talisman choices can be critical to your success.
Stat distribution: Spend some time thinking about how your stats are distributed. Are you getting the maximum potential out of your current level?

Don’t be afraid to experiment with respec options via larval tears. It’s very normal and acceptable to adjust your character build multiple times to find something that works for you on NG+ cycles.

What Stays the Same?

It is not all doom and gloom, thankfully. While the enemies get tougher, some things stay consistent:

Your level, stats, and equipment: You keep all of your current levels, stats, weapons, armor, and items. This is a crucial starting advantage.
Site of Grace locations: You’ll have all the graces you discovered and unlocked from the beginning. This is very important because you don’t have to re-explore areas to travel around.
Key items: You keep critical items needed for progression. This is a big plus because you don’t have to obtain them again.

New Game Plus Progression

While all the world is available from the beginning (after the tutorial area), the initial levels of NG+ can be rough if you don’t have a solid plan. The areas you could quickly travel through before might now be very dangerous. A slow, calculated approach will be more effective, so it is better to avoid rushing at the beginning. Here are some tips to keep in mind during your NG+ run:

Early Game Strategies

The start of NG+ is likely to be your biggest challenge. The basic enemies are significantly stronger now, and you have not gained any new levels yet. Consider the following:

Focus on upgrading: Collect all the necessary upgrade materials. You need to make your weapons and armor as strong as possible in the early game.
Go back to familiar places: Begin with locations you are already comfortable with. You can get some levels, upgrades, and resources in these familiar areas to make the difficulty ramp up easier to handle.
Use your knowledge: Leverage the knowledge from your previous playthrough to avoid mistakes and surprise attacks. Try to remember locations of resources, enemies, and bosses.
Don’t be afraid to run: Sometimes it’s better to avoid enemies that are difficult in the early stages. You can always come back to them after you have gotten some levels and resources.

Mid-Game Strategies

Once you clear the early-game hurdle, the rest of the NG+ playthrough becomes easier. But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Experiment with new builds: If you are not satisfied with your current build, it is the perfect time to experiment with something new. You can always change your mind and go back to your old build if needed.
Explore different areas: If you missed any locations, items, or bosses, use this opportunity to explore them. NG+ can be used to get 100% completion if you want to.
Optimize your resources: Keep your resource bag stocked up on consumable items. These can be game-changers in difficult situations, especially when fighting strong bosses.

Late-Game Strategies

By the time you’ve reached the late game in NG+, you should have a strong character with great equipment. However, the difficulty will still be there:

Use your best strategies: Fight the hardest bosses in the game with the knowledge and experience you have gained.
Prepare for the final boss: Make sure you are ready to take on the final boss or bosses. This can be a challenging fight, even if you are very strong by this stage.
Test different builds: After you beat the game once again, you can experiment with all the equipment, builds, and weapons that you didn’t have a chance to try out.

Is New Game Plus Worth It?

So, after all this talk about the increased difficulty, is it really worth going through NG+? The answer is a big YES! It provides a fresh perspective on the game, and there is also some additional benefits that can enhance the experience:

A new challenge: If you found the original playthrough too easy, NG+ will provide a great challenge for you. This experience can make the game much more interesting.
Experimentation: It is a great way to test new builds and weapons, without having to create new characters. You also keep all the items, and weapons that you earned on your previous playthrough.
Completionist goals: It’s a great way to complete any parts of the game you missed previously. You can hunt for all the achievements that you didn’t previously get, or you can even obtain all the legendary weapons and armor.
More experience: It’s a chance to further hone your skills as a player. You have the opportunity to improve your strategies, combat abilities, and your reaction times.

The Long Run of Elden Ring’s NG+

Elden Ring’s New Game Plus is a great experience for anyone looking for a tough and rewarding challenge. It’s not just about playing the same game again. You have to adjust your play style, prepare for tougher enemies, and explore new strategies to succeed. The game provides a chance to revisit your build, explore other areas, and master the game. It will force you to be strategic and careful while making you think about every single move. So, if you’re feeling adventurous and want to truly test your skills, step back into the Lands Between and prepare for the challenge of New Game Plus. You might find it’s even more enjoyable than your first time through.

Elden Ring A Guide to New Game Plus!! Exp, Hp, Damage, what do you keep!!! NG+

Final Thoughts

New Game Plus in Elden Ring presents a significant challenge increase, enemies hit harder and possess more health. You will need to adapt your strategies and gear.

The difficulty jump feels substantial compared to the initial playthrough. This makes previous areas feel fresh and challenging again. How hard is New Game Plus Elden Ring? It’s certainly more difficult.

You will likely need to refine your builds and play with greater caution. A prepared character has advantage, but the game will always test your skills.