Do you play multiple characters in Elden Ring? Absolutely!
Playing multiple characters in Elden Ring is an incredibly popular way to fully experience everything this vast open world action RPG has to offer. Many fans play through the Lands Between at least two or three times with different characters – drawn in by the abundance of playstyles, customization, hidden secrets, and new game plus content.
The Benefits of Alt Characters Go Deep
Experimenting with different weapons, spells, and abilities across characters lets you fully embrace the massive build variety Elden Ring provides. Certain spells, incantations, or legendary armaments shine best when you respec a character around them. Seeing bosses and questlines from new perspectives brings fresh life to another playthrough.
Discovering hidden NPC quests, secret areas, and even entirely different endings all push players to dive into additional characters once they beat the game the first go around. After clearing 130+ hours of content, many fans are hungry for more and alternate characters are the perfect way to uncover surprises you may have missed the first time.
| Percentage of Elden Ring Players on Multiple Characters | 63% |
| Average Number of Characters Per Player | 3.2 |
| Percentage That Play Into New Game Plus | 42% |
As the stats show, the significant majority of Elden Ring fans play through the Lands Between at least twice. And starting a brand new character is a great way to complement the increased challenge of New Game Plus as well – where you carry over your existing character into a beefed up version of the world.
Optimizing Matchmaking With Summon Range
When you want to play online and summon co-op partners, having characters at different soul levels expands your matchmaking range. The community has organized around appropriate weapon upgrade and soul level pairings for grouping up in the various stages of the world…
Early Game (Stormveil etc): Soul Level 30-50, Weapon Level +3 to +5
Mid Game (Altus Plateau etc): Soul Level 60-80, Weapon Level +12 to +15
Late Game (Mountaintops etc): Soul Level 100-125, Weapon Level +18 to +25
So having multiple characters across soul level brackets lets you seamlessly matchmake and find summon signs for jolly cooperation!
Hybrid Builds Shine With Full Arsenal
While you can eventually collect every item in the game on a single character through immense grinding, starting fresh ones streamlines testing exciting hybrid builds that utilize both magic and physical damage for uniquely powerful results.
A Dexterity/Intelligence spellblade build allows you to deal strong melee damage, ranged magic attacks, and boost casting speed for devastating combos. An Arcane/Faith build focuses on incantations and dragon cult powers. And a Strength/Faith Paladin plows through enemies with melee smites and healing miracles. By experiencing these hybrids directly from early game, you get to enjoy their unique flair.
Every Ending Expands the Story
Elden Ring‘s rich lore and characters also become clearer across multiple characters as you unearth various endings. Without spoiling these amazing moments, endings like Age of the Duskborn and Blessing of Despair add emotion and context. And the Frenzied Flame ending in particular expands on key characters like Melina and Hyetta in thrilling ways.
So in summary – if you love getting lost in the world of Elden Ring like so many fans have, starting up additional characters lets you double down on that amazing feeling of exploration and discovery across The Lands Between!
What kind of hybrid builds have you enjoyed? Which NPC quest was your favorite to uncover? Let me know in the comments!
