Key Difference: Rebirth Respecs Stats, Cosmetics Changes Appearance

Rennala in Elden Ring gives players two pivotal post-character creation options: rebirth for respec‘ing your full build, and cosmetics for altering physical appearance. At a high-level, rebirth allows a complete reset of all attributes and stats to redistribute points from scratch. Cosmetics simply update the aesthetic look through body type, hair, facial features and more visual customization.

Rebirth: Respec Character Build from Scratch

Activating Rennala‘s rebirth functionality after defeating her boss battle offers Elden Ring players the incredibly useful ability to completely respec their character. This includes:

• Reallocate all attribute points in Vigor, Mind, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane
• Completely remake build from the ground up around new playstyle
• Optimize character for specific weapons, spells, Ashes of War discoveries
• Fix issues from initial unfamiliar stat distributions
• Experiment with radically different builds not available at start

The respec allows loadouts catered to your personal journey through the Lands Between rather than being permanently locked in from the beginning.

Full Interface Reset Through Rennala Dialogue

Upon selecting the "Rebirth" dialogue option with Rennala at Raya Lucaria Academy, players enter a specialized interface showing their familiar class chosen originally at creation (e.g. Prophet, Champion, Prisoner), with all attributes reset to their starting values.

For example, a Prophet‘s Mind jumps back from a raised level down to the initial 16 points allocated.

You are then able to slide all attributes up and down, distributing an equal number of points to create any hybrid build desired at that stage of the game. This represents your character undergoing a full rebirth from Rennala as you reshape their abilities to your current needs.

"Rebirth lets me completely reinvent my character when I pick up a cool new weapon type but don‘t yet have enough Strength or Dexterity to properly wield it," says Reddit user kingpangolin. "It‘s incredibly useful for adapting my playstyle rather than being stuck."

Once you finalize your new build, the rebirth is complete. You‘ll keep all gear, weapons, spells and progress, just with reallocated attributes catered to your desired playstyle.

Costs One Larval Tear Per Rebirth

There is a cost though to activating Rennala‘s rebirth capability. Each rebirth requires consuming one of the rare Larval Tear items found scattered across the Lands Between.

• Larval Tears allow up to 18 rebirths per playthrough
• Farm extras through multiplayer summon signs
• Can be extremely scarce, use judiciously

This limits endless respec‘ing exploits, pushing players to thoughtfully align their build as they progress.

Optimize Build to Playstyle Evolution

While rebirth costs a key item, using Rennala‘s rebirth dialogue at key moments provides huge upside:

• Transition from beginner quality build to late game powerhouse
• Patch early unfamiliar stat distributions for better viability
• Reallocate points to suddenly raise essential attributes for upcoming bosses and weapon wield requirements
• Hand-craft custom hybrid builds blending multiple damage types
• Account for undiscovered combat style favorites 50 hours in

Here is an example rebirth optimization evolution:

As this Knight realized they most enjoyed wielding heavy weapons after getting the Grafted Blade Greatsword, they used rebirth to push Vigor for survival and strength to 68 for cutting-edge wieldability mid-game. Then upon acquiring powerful bleed weapons, they rebirth once again to maximize bleed buildup through a Luck and Arcane focused spread.

This ongoing optimization through Renalla‘s rebirth keeps your Tarnished feeling fresh and viable across the entire journey by Elden Ring.

"I redesigned by mage build four times once I unlocked more advanced sorceries and incantations that demanded a respec to use properly," says Fextralife site manager Casper. "Being able to reshape your strengths completely via rebirth is invaluable."

Cosmetics: Complete Visual Customization

Alternatively toReset an Elden Ring character‘s entire viability, Rennala offers extensive cosmetic upgrading for those less focused on builds.

Cosmetics allow complete control over your Tarnished‘s physical form without impacting combat performance:

• Alter fundamental body structure
• Change height, physique, proportions
• Modify facial features like eyes, nose, mouth
• Customize hair style and facial hair
• Add markings and tattoos
• Overhaul look through diverse options

This gives players immense creative freedom to roleplay their ideal hero. Prefer a bulky, bearded chieftain over your original aristocratic appearing mage? Rennala‘s cosmetics lets this vision come alive.

Want to create the perfect waifu to share on social media? The anatomical customization is incredibly granular, right down to specific breast size tweaking.

"I was able to put together the perfect Valkyrie look in Elden Ring after five hours digging through Rennala‘s cosmetics," says redditor QueenOfThySword. "Now I feel like the battle maiden of my dreams when I get summoned in to fight."

Cosmetic Progression Carryover

The key cosmetics benefit is visual mutations do not interfere with established builds and progression. All equipment, spells, Great Runes, weapons and stats remain untouched no matter the outward changes.

This means players are free to rewrite their Tarnished‘s backstory at Rennala whenever desired without sacrificing hundreds of hours. Feel like trying out a new persona? Her unlimited free cosmetic access enables this creativity.

"I remade my boring ol‘ Warrior into a tribal champion after getting bored of his mundane vibe," redditor kingpangolin shared. "Now he looks like a true Elden Lord beast thanks to cosmetics."

Final Takeaways

At a quick glance, both Rennala‘s rebirth and cosmetics options offer alluring upgrades for Tarnished. But by focusing rebirth on combat viability through statistic and attribute reallocation versus cosmetics enabling pure visual customization, each caters to different priorities:

Rebirth best serves players wanting to:

• Optimize builds over time to account for new gear
• Redistribute points to patch early poor choices
• Improve damage output, vigor health, carry weight etc

Cosmetics most benefits gamers who wish to:

• Roleplay different personas without grinding new characters
• Personalize aesthetic appearance for enjoyment
• Focus purely on visual identity detached from performance

So there you have it – a comprehensive breakdown of the categorical differences between Rennala‘s rebirth and cosmetics. Hopefully this provided helpful clarity! Let me know which functionality you prefer leveraging as you mold your ultimate Elden Ring hero.