What you need to know
- Elden Ring's most popular mod is Seamless Co-op, a project that removes restrictions like barriers between zones and other obstacles that make co-op multiplayer tedious.
- Seamless Co-op was broken by the launch of Elden Ring's colossal Shadow of the Erdtree DLC on June 21. Now, though, creator LukeYui has updated the mod so it's compatible with the expansion.
- The mod has actually gone through a "complete rewrite from scratch," and now allows players to co-op through invasions and summonings that occur as part of NPC questlines.
- Saves from previous Seamless Co-op versions are compatible with the new one, so you and your friends can play through Shadow of the Erdtree with characters used during previous playthroughs. Players who don't own the DLC can't join people who do and are playing in one of its zones, though.
Just a little over a week after the launch of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, the action RPG's Seamless Co-op mod — a project that revamps cooperative multiplayer in the PC version by removing restrictions present in the vanilla game — has been updated and is fully compatible with the expansion.
Its creator, LukeYui, has been working to fix the mod since the DLC's release after it was broken by the update. Now, following the completion of a "complete rewrite from scratch," a new version of it that works with Shadow of the Erdtree is available to install and use now. Note that while you might encounter a few bugs or glitches while using the mod, LukeYui says it's functional enough for a public release.
"While not perfect, it has reached a state where it can be used to play Elden Ring and the DLC in co-op," they wrote in a message to users in the mod's forum posts. "I'm aware of some bugs still present in it, and will continue working on it past the initial release — the next few days will be crucial so that I can work on fixing any problematic issues quickly should they arise."
Since its initial release in 2022, the Seamless Co-op project has been the most popular Elden Ring mod available, and for good reason: regular Elden Ring co-op is often frustrating since it places barriers between its open world zones and its side dungeons, forcing hosts to send jolly cooperators away just so they can enter these areas before then summoning partners back so they can continue multiplayer. On top of that, it's also not possible to summon players in places where there aren't any bosses left to defeat, preventing cooperative exploration in many cases. You can't use your trusty steed Torrent in co-op, either, which makes fighting Furnace Golems an absolute chore.
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The mod solves these problems by allowing for seamless transitions between zones, open co-op regardless of remaining bosses, and the use of Torrent in multiplayer, while also making all game progress shared and featuring support for up to six players in a party (you can only summon two cooperators in vanilla). All of this results in a vastly improved co-op experience, and since it uses its own save files and peer-to-peer connection system that doesn't connect to FromSoftware's official servers, you don't even have to worry about getting banned for using it.
As a consequence, you also can't get invaded normally, though this new version of Seamless Co-op does support an optional invasion mechanic for those that want to spice their playthrough up with some PvP; Personally, I see this as a bonus, as I find the frequency of Elden Ring's invasions pretty ridiculous even as someone who enjoys PvP encounters.
One significant improvement made with the new version of Seamless Co-op is support for multiplayer in situations where players are given a choice to invade or be summoned by NPCs during their story arcs. This makes it possible to play through things like Volcano Manor invasions as well as Shadow of the Erdtree NPC questlines with friends, and resolves what I considered to be the mod's only major flaw.
Installation of the mod is easy, as it just requires dragging and dropping a few files into Elden Ring's game folder and editing a configuration file to set a session password. Still, make sure you give Seamless Co-op's description a thorough read, as it explains how it works and how to use it in detail. By the way, Seamless Co-op is — like all mods on Nexus Mods — completely free to use, though you can leave LukeYui a tip on their Ko-fi page if you'd like to.
Something important to be aware of is that folks who don't own the Elden Ring DLC won't be able to join anyone who does and is playing within it. They can, however, play with someone who has the expansion but is in a base game area. Oh, and in case you're wondering, save files from previous versions of Seamless Co-op work just fine in the latest one, allowing you and your friends to head to the Land of Shadow with characters used in previous playthroughs (also, the mod page explains how you can convert vanilla saves over to Seamless Co-op ones if desired).
As much as I love FromSoftware's RPGs — at this point, the studio is hands down my favorite developer — I've always found their multiplayer systems frustratingly archaic and tedious to engage with, limiting the potential of what would otherwise be some of the best co-op experiences in all of gaming. Elden Ring Seamless Co-op breaks those barriers down completely, though, and now that it's DLC-compatible? Precious item ahead, therefore time for summoning.
The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is finally here, and it makes one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of all time even better. It's out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and Windows PC for $39.99.
