New Game Plus in Elden Ring, officially termed Journey 2, is a transformative mechanic that allows players to restart the narrative while retaining the vast majority of their character’s power. Unlike a fresh save file, Journey 2 balances the scales by significantly increasing enemy health and damage output, while simultaneously multiplying the rewards for every foe slain. Understanding the intricate details of what carries over and what is lost is essential for any Tarnished looking to conquer the Lands Between a second time, especially with the added complexities introduced in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.

Initiating the Transition to Journey 2

The option to begin New Game Plus does not force itself upon the player immediately after the final boss is defeated. Once the Elden Beast falls and the credits roll, the game presents a choice: "Begin Journey 2 now?" If "No" is selected, the player remains in the post-game world of Journey 1. This state is ideal for completing unfinished business, such as hunting down optional legendary bosses or collecting rare upgrade materials.

To trigger the transition later, one must travel to the Roundtable Hold and rest at the Table of Lost Grace. A specific menu option, "Begin Journey 2," will appear. Selecting this is a point of no return. The world resets, the cutscenes replay, and the player finds themselves back in the Chapel of Anticipation, ready to face the Grafted Scion once more.

The Complete List of Carry-Over Items and Stats

One of the primary draws of Elden Ring’s NG+ is the ability to maintain the "build" that was meticulously crafted over dozens or hundreds of hours. Almost everything related to character power and utility persists across journeys.

Character Attributes and Level

The character’s soul level and every single point invested in Vigor, Mind, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane remain intact. If a player ended Journey 1 at level 150, they start Journey 2 at level 150. Furthermore, any unused Runes in the counter are preserved, though it is highly recommended to spend them on levels or consumable items before transitioning, as the risk of losing a large stack of Runes in the early game of NG+ is a common pitfall.

Armaments and Equipment

All weapons, shields, and catalyst tools are retained. This includes their upgrade levels, whether they are +25 standard weapons or +10 somber weapons. Armor sets, including headgear that boosts stats like the White Mask or the various Glintstone Crowns, stay in the inventory. Talismans—the core of any specialized build—also carry over, including the high-tier +2 versions found in the late game or the powerful variants from the DLC.

Inventory and Consumable Items

The inventory remains mostly full. All crafting materials (such as Rowa Fruit or Aeonian Butterflies), bolstering materials (Smithing Stones and Somber Smithing Stones), and arrows/bolts are kept. Crucially, the Flask of Crimson Tears and Flask of Cerulean Tears maintain their upgrade levels. If the flasks were maxed at +12 potency with 14 charges, they remain so in the new journey. The Flask of Wondrous Physick and all collected Crystal Tears also persist, allowing for immediate access to specialized buffs.

Magic and Spirit Ashes

Every sorcery and incantation learned throughout the game stays in the spell memory. However, it is important to note that Memory Stones carry over as well, meaning the increased number of spell slots remains available from the start. Spirit Ashes, such as the Mimic Tear or Black Knife Tiche, retain their upgrade levels (up to +10), providing significant fire support during early-game boss encounters that have been scaled up for NG+.

Shop Progress and Bell Bearings

In earlier versions of Elden Ring, players lost all shop progress upon entering NG+. However, as of patch 1.05 and subsequent updates, the Twin Maiden Husks now retain shop unlocks from specific Bell Bearings. These include:

  • Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearings
  • Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearings
  • Glovewort Picker's Bell Bearings
  • Ghost-Glovewort Picker's Bell Bearings
  • Various peddler bell bearings (Meat, Medicine, Gravity Stone, etc.)

This change is a massive quality-of-life improvement, as it allows players to buy high-level upgrade materials immediately upon reaching the Roundtable Hold in Journey 2 without having to re-clear end-game mines.

What Disappears When Starting a New Journey

To maintain the progression loop and narrative integrity, Elden Ring resets certain elements that define the player's advancement through the world.

Key Items and Narrative Gating

Items required to open specific doors or progress the main story are removed. This prevents players from skipping directly to the end of the game. Items that reset include:

  • Dectus Medallion halves (required for the Grand Lift of Dectus)
  • Rold Medallion (required for the Grand Lift of Rold)
  • Academy Glintstone Keys (required to enter Raya Lucaria)
  • Sewers Keys and various dungeon-specific keys
  • The Pureblood Knight's Medal (Varre's quest reward)

Quest Progression and NPC Relationships

The world essentially "forgets" the player's previous actions. Every NPC questline is reset to its starting state. Characters like Ranni, Fia, and Millicent will return to their original locations and will not recognize the player. This is both a hurdle and an opportunity; it allows players to pursue different quest outcomes or obtain mutually exclusive rewards that were missed or unavailable in the first playthrough.

The Great Runes Reset

This is often the most jarring change for returning players. After defeating Godrick, Rennala, Radahn, Morgott, Rykard, and Malenia, the Great Runes they dropped are removed from the inventory. Players must defeat these Shardbearers again in Journey 2 to re-acquire their Great Runes. Furthermore, these runes must be reactivated at their respective Divine Towers before they can be equipped using a Rune Arc.

Sites of Grace and Map Visibility

The physical map of the Lands Between remains visible if the Map Fragments were collected in the previous run. The "fog of war" does not return. However, all Sites of Grace are deactivated. Players must physically travel to and touch each Grace to enable fast travel. This forces a degree of re-exploration, though having the full map visible makes the journey significantly faster.

Shadow of the Erdtree NG+ Mechanics

With the introduction of the Land of Shadow, the New Game Plus experience has gained a new layer of complexity. The DLC utilizes a unique scaling system that functions alongside the base game's level system.

Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes

The most critical takeaway for DLC players is that Scadutree Blessings and Revered Spirit Ash Blessings carry over. If a player reached Scadutree Level 20 in Journey 1, they will start Journey 2 (and the DLC portion of it) at Level 20. These fragments do not disappear from the inventory, and more importantly, the fragments themselves respawn in the world.

While the maximum level for these blessings does not increase in NG+, the ability to collect missed fragments remains. For example, if a player reached Level 18, they can find the remaining fragments in Journey 2 to hit the cap of 20. Once the cap is reached, collecting further fragments provides no additional benefit, but the massive damage negation and attack boost they provide are essential for surviving the DLC bosses in higher NG+ cycles.

Accessing the Land of Shadow in NG+

Even though the player retains their DLC power level, they cannot access the Land of Shadow immediately. The narrative gates remain. To enter the DLC in Journey 2, the player must once again:

  1. Defeat Starscourge Radahn in Caelid.
  2. Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood in Mohgwyn Palace.
  3. Touch the withered arm in the Cocoon of the Empyrean.

Difficulty Scaling and Rune Multipliers

The core of the NG+ experience is the "Risk vs. Reward" balance. FromSoftware employs a scaling system that peaks at Journey 8 (NG+7).

The NG+1 Power Trip vs. NG+7 Reality

In Journey 2 (NG+1), the scaling is somewhat lopsided. Early-game enemies in Limgrave receive a massive percentage boost to their health and damage, but because the player is likely Level 120+, they still feel incredibly weak. In my experience, bosses like Margit and Godrick can be defeated in seconds during NG+1 using end-game equipment like the Rivers of Blood or the Dark Moon Greatsword.

However, as the player moves into Journeys 3 through 7, the difficulty curve steepens. Enemies in late-game areas like Miquella’s Haligtree or Crumbling Farum Azula become "tanky" enough to survive multiple heavy hits, and their damage output can easily one-shot a player with 60 Vigor if they aren't wearing heavy armor or using defensive buffs. By NG+7, the game becomes a test of near-perfect play, as boss health pools are gargantuan.

Rune Multipliers

To compensate for the difficulty, the Rune yield increases dramatically. In Journey 2, basic enemies often drop 5x the amount of Runes compared to Journey 1. In late-game NG+ cycles, a single boss kill can net several million Runes. This makes NG+ the ideal environment for players looking to reach the "soft caps" for all stats (usually level 300-400+), enabling the use of any weapon or spell in the game without needing to respec.

The Essential Pre-NG+ Checklist

Before interacting with the Table of Lost Grace to start Journey 2, certain actions should be taken to ensure the character is fully optimized. Once the world resets, access to late-game vendors and areas is lost for many hours.

Hunting Finite Upgrade Materials

Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones are finite. There are only a set number available per playthrough (e.g., 13 standard and 8 somber in the base game). Players should ensure they have collected all of them and used them to max out their favorite weapons. It is also wise to "stock up" by buying hundreds of lower-tier Smithing Stones from the Twin Maiden Husks while the Bell Bearings are active.

Remembrance Duplication

Before starting Journey 2, visit the Wandering Mausoleums. Each Mausoleum allows the duplication of a Boss Remembrance, even if the player has already used the original to craft a weapon or spell. This is the only way to get both rewards from a single boss (such as Malenia’s Hand and Scarlet Aeonia) in a single journey, or to prepare for dual-wielding boss weapons in the next run.

Collecting Larval Tears and Celestial Dew

Larval Tears are required for Rebirthing (respec-ing) at Rennala. These are finite per journey. A player should collect every available Larval Tear in the current world to ensure they have the freedom to change their build multiple times in NG+. Similarly, Celestial Dew allows for "Absolution" at the Church of Vows if an NPC is accidentally turned hostile. Having a few in the inventory before the reset is a safe tactical choice.

Ritual Pots, Cracked Pots, and Perfume Bottles

The containers used for crafting bombs and perfumes are unique. They carry over, but their total number is capped. If a player missed a Ritual Pot in a hidden corner of Leyndell, they should find it now. Having the maximum number of containers (20 Cracked Pots, 10 Ritual Pots, etc.) provides a significant tactical advantage in the increased difficulty of NG+.

Why You Should Play New Game Plus

For many, the credits are not the end of the Elden Ring experience. NG+ offers specific gameplay opportunities that a fresh save file cannot match.

Collecting Mutually Exclusive Rewards

Certain quests in Elden Ring force a choice. The most famous example is Millicent’s questline. At the end, the player can choose to assist her or challenge her. Assisting her grants the "Rotten Winged Sword Insignia" (increases attack power with successive hits), while challenging her grants "Millicent’s Prosthesis" (increases Dexterity and attack power with successive hits). These two talismans actually stack their effects. The only way to obtain both on a single character is to complete the quest one way in Journey 1 and the other way in Journey 2.

Dual-Wielding Unique Weapons

Power-stancing (dual-wielding) two of the same weapon can be incredibly powerful. However, many of the best weapons, like the Rivers of Blood, the Blasphemous Blade, or the Moonveil, only appear once per playthrough. Entering NG+ allows the player to pick up a second copy of these legendary armaments, enabling a dual-wielding moveset that doubles the status effect buildup (like Hemorrhage or Frostbite).

True Build Freedom

In a first playthrough, players are often starved for stats, forced to choose between being a mage or a warrior. By the middle of Journey 2, most players have enough levels to become a "hybrid." This means you can cast high-level Sorceries while wielding a Colossal Sword. The variety of combat options increases exponentially as the character level surpasses 200, making the gameplay feel fresh even as the environments are revisited.

Frequently Asked Questions About Elden Ring NG+

How many times does the difficulty increase in Elden Ring? The difficulty increases with every new journey until Journey 8 (NG+7). After that, the health and damage of enemies remain at the NG+7 cap for all subsequent playthroughs (Journey 9, 10, etc.).

Can I still play co-op or PvP in New Game Plus? Yes. Online matchmaking is based on your Character Level and Weapon Upgrade Level, not which "Journey" you are currently in. A player in Journey 1 can summon a player in Journey 3 as long as their levels are within range (or they use a multiplayer password).

Do I lose my Scadutree Blessings if I start NG+? No. Scadutree Blessings and Revered Spirit Ash levels are permanent character upgrades that carry over into every subsequent journey, just like your standard level and flask upgrades.

Do I need to find all the Map Fragments again? No. If you collected the Map Fragments in Journey 1, the map will stay fully revealed in Journey 2. If you missed any, you can still find them at the stone pillars in the world.

Will the DLC be harder in NG+? Yes. The enemies in the Land of Shadow scale with the NG+ cycle just like the enemies in the base game. If you enter the DLC for the first time on a Journey 3 save file, the bosses like Messmer and Bayle will have significantly more health than they would in Journey 1.

Summary of the Elden Ring New Game Plus Experience

Journey 2 is the ultimate victory lap for a Tarnished who has mastered the game's mechanics. While the loss of Great Runes and quest progress can feel like a setback, the retention of levels, weapons, and the newfound 1.05 Bell Bearing persistence makes the early hours of NG+ a fast-paced and rewarding experience.

For completionists, it is the only path to obtaining every talisman, weapon, and ending the game has to offer. For those seeking a challenge, the scaling difficulty that peaks at NG+7 provides a relentless test of skill. Whether the goal is to dual-wield the most powerful blades in the game or to finally see the Age of Stars after becoming the Elden Lord, New Game Plus is where the true depth of an Elden Ring build is realized. Prepare your character, stock up on Ancient Stones, and step back into the Lands Between with the power of a god.