How to survive an Invasion in Elden Ring

Elden Ring has finally launched and given fans a chance to explore its breathtaking open world and defeat terrifying monsters. But some players have decided to hone their skills in multiplayer. These activities range from battling enemies with friends to invading other players, and have been a staple of Dark Souls games since the beginning.

Elden Ring features both co-op multiplayer and competitive multiplayer, but for this guide, we’ll be focusing on the competitive side of the online modes.

Competitive multiplayer in Elden Ring revolves around invasions, which can happen from NPCs or other players. The former is simple: every once in a while you may notice an enemy with a red highlight appear in your game. This is an NPC that has invaded you, and it won’t stop until you’ve defeated it. 

A player invasion, on the other hand, is when someone uses a Bloody Finger or Small Red Effigy to enter another random user’s game. Similar to an NPC invasion, the person that’s been invaded will see an enemy with a red highlight. But this time, it will be another player trying to kill them.

How to survive Elden Ring Invasions

First and foremost, you can only be invaded by another player if your game is set to online mode. If you don’t wish to be invaded and don’t plan to play co-op with your friends, be sure to set your game to offline. To do this, simply go to System>Network>Launch Settings, and select “Play Offline”. This setting can be changed at any time, so if you decide that you want some PvP action later in your Elden Ring adventure, you can easily enable the feature.

Now you’ve decided you’re alright being invaded by other players, there’s only one real way to stop them: kill the invader. You can face your foe head-on in a battle of skill or use the environment to your advantage. But keep in mind, invaders cannot be aggro’d by enemies in your game, so it’s up to you to defeat them.

There is, however, one way to improve your odds of surviving an invasion in Elden Ring. If you happen to have a White Cipher Ring, which can be purchased from Twin Maiden Husks in Roundtable Hold for 1,000 Runes, you can use the ring to summon another player to your aid during an invasion.

The summoned Elden Ring player must be wearing a Blue Cipher Ring to be called and can help you until the enemy invader in question has been dispatched.