In Elden Ring, completing the final encounter and mending the Elden Ring is only the beginning. For many Tarnished, the true test lies in New Game Plus (NG+), referred to in-game as a "New Journey." While the prospect of retaining your late-game gear and high-level attributes sounds empowering, the game compensates by scaling enemy health, damage, and resistances.

The scaling in Elden Ring is not a flat increase across the board. It is a sophisticated system designed to maintain challenge regardless of which area you visit, and it evolves through each subsequent playthrough until it reaches a definitive plateau.

The Foundation of New Journey Progression

Once the credits roll, players can initiate Journey 2 at the Table of Lost Grace. This marks the start of the scaling cycle. Elden Ring allows for infinite subsequent playthroughs, but the difficulty scaling does not increase forever.

The Difficulty Cap at Journey 8

The primary technical limit for enemy power is Journey 8, commonly referred to by the community as NG+7.

  • Journey 1: The standard initial experience.
  • Journey 2 (NG+1): The most significant overall jump in early-game stats.
  • Journeys 3 through 8: Incremental increases in health and damage.
  • Post-Journey 8: Any playthrough from Journey 9 onwards will have the exact same enemy stats as Journey 8.

The difficulty ceiling at NG+7 is notorious for transforming even minor enemies into lethal threats. At this stage, bosses like Malenia or Maliketh possess health pools that require sustained perfection to deplete, and many of their standard attacks can "one-shot" players who haven't optimized their defensive layers.

Understanding the Multiplier Logic

Difficulty scaling in Elden Ring functions via multipliers applied to the base stats of enemies found in Journey 1. However, FromSoftware employs a non-linear approach to these multipliers.

The "Catch-Up" Scaling for Early Areas

One of the most surprising experiences for a player entering NG+ is seeing a simple Godrick Soldier in Limgrave survive more hits than expected. This is because the scaling is "front-loaded."

In the initial playthrough, Limgrave enemies are designed for a Level 1 to 15 character. By the time you start Journey 2, you are likely Level 120 or higher. To prevent the early game from becoming a mindless walk-through, the game applies a massive multiplier—sometimes exceeding 5x health and damage—to the weakest enemies in the game.

Conversely, enemies in late-game areas like Miquella’s Haligtree or Crumbling Farum Azula receive a much smaller multiplier (often as low as 1.1x or 1.2x) in Journey 2. Since these enemies were already tuned for high-level characters, a 5x increase would make them mathematically impossible to defeat.

Incremental Growth from NG+2 Onwards

After the massive adjustment in Journey 2, the progression becomes more uniform. From Journey 3 to Journey 8, every enemy in the world typically receives a static percentage increase to their current NG+ stats. While the jumps feel smaller per cycle, the cumulative effect by NG+7 results in bosses having roughly 40% to 100% more health than their Journey 1 counterparts, depending on their original tier.

Hidden Mechanics: Poise, Stance, and Resistances

Scaling involves more than just HP bars and damage output. To challenge endgame builds, Elden Ring adjusts the mechanical interaction between the player and the enemy.

Stance Damage and Staggering

In Journey 1, a heavy weapon build (like a Colossal Sword) can reliably break a boss's stance for a critical hit in two or three charged heavy attacks. Starting in NG+2 and peaking in NG+7, enemies receive a "Stance Damage Reduction" modifier.

This means your attacks deal less "invisible" damage to an enemy's posture. A boss that you could previously "stance-lock" will now fight through your trades, forcing you to engage with their full move set rather than relying on stagger loops.

Status Effect Resistance

Bleed (Hemorrhage), Frostbite, Scarlet Rot, and Poison are exceptionally powerful in Elden Ring. To prevent these from trivializing high-cycle playthroughs, enemies gain increased resistances to status buildup in each NG+ cycle.

In Journey 7, you will notice that it takes significantly more hits to proc a Bleed effect on a boss than it did in your first playthrough. This shift encourages players to diversify their builds beyond pure status application, as the "effective health" of a boss increases not just through HP, but through their resilience to percentage-based damage.

Rune Rewards and the Level 713 Grind

The primary incentive for engaging with the scaling system, aside from the challenge, is the massive increase in Rune acquisition.

  • Multiplier Jump: In Journey 2, most enemies drop significantly more Runes—often 2x to 5x their base value.
  • Late-game Farming: The famous Mohgwyn Palace farming spot becomes exponentially more lucrative in higher NG+ cycles.
  • Scaling Limit: Just like difficulty, Rune drops stop increasing after Journey 8.

For players aiming for the level cap of 713, progressing to higher NG+ cycles is mandatory. The cost of a single level-up at high tiers exceeds several million Runes, making Journey 1 farming inefficient.

What Carries Over to Journey 2 and Beyond?

When transitioning to a new cycle, your character retains almost everything that defines their power, allowing you to hit the ground running.

Items and Progression That Persist

  • Character Level and Stats: You begin exactly where you left off.
  • Equipment: All weapons (including upgrade levels), armor, talismans, and spirit ashes.
  • Consumables: Crafting materials, cookbooks, and aromatic items.
  • Flasks: Both the number of charges and the potency (Golden Seeds and Sacred Tears).
  • Map Progress: Map fragments remain revealed, though fast-travel points (Sites of Grace) must be rediscovered.
  • Bell Bearings: Following Patch 1.05, most Bell Bearings (specifically those for upgrade materials like Smithing Stones) now persist through NG+ cycles. You no longer need to hunt them down in every single playthrough.

What is Reset?

  • Great Runes: You lose access to the power of the demigods and must defeat them again to reclaim their runes.
  • Key Quest Items: Any item required to bypass a story gate (e.g., the Medallions for the Grand Lifts, specific keys) is removed from your inventory.
  • Sites of Grace: You must physically travel to each location again to unlock the fast travel point.
  • NPC Quest Progress: All NPC storylines reset, allowing you to make different choices or pursue different endings.

Shadow of the Erdtree: DLC Scaling in NG+

With the introduction of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, scaling has become even more complex. The DLC areas follow the same NG+ multipliers as the base game.

However, the DLC introduces a unique power system: Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes.

  • Retention: Your Scadutree Blessing level carries over into NG+. If you ended Journey 1 with a +20 blessing, you start Journey 2 in the DLC with that same +20.
  • The Scaling Wall: Because the DLC enemies are already the most difficult in the game, the NG+ scaling in the Land of Shadow is particularly brutal. A NG+7 Promised Consort Radahn is widely considered the absolute peak of Elden Ring's difficulty, capable of defeating even the most optimized builds in seconds.
  • Necessity of Fragments: In higher NG+ cycles, the percentage-based damage reduction provided by Scadutree Fragments becomes non-negotiable. Without them, the scaling multipliers will surpass the player's natural damage negation.

Survival Strategies for High-Cycle Scaling

As you move toward NG+7, the game shifts from an Action-RPG into something resembling a "perfect play" challenge.

  1. Vigor is a Variable, Not a Constant: While 60 Vigor is the "soft cap," in NG+7, 60 Vigor often only prevents you from being one-shot by standard attacks. Boss ultimates will still kill you instantly. Investing in defensive talismans like the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman is essential.
  2. The Stance Damage Meta: Since enemies are harder to stagger, weapons with high stance damage (like the Starfist or heavy hammers) become even more valuable to maintain the ability to interrupt enemy AI.
  3. Buff Stacking: In Journey 1, "Golden Vow" and "Flame, Grant Me Strength" are helpful. In Journey 7, they are often required to keep boss fight durations within a reasonable timeframe.
  4. The Importance of Percentage Damage: Weapons or skills that deal percentage health damage (like Black Flame or Destined Death) become progressively better as boss HP pools bloat into the hundreds of thousands.

Summary of Elden Ring NG+ Progression

Elden Ring’s New Game Plus scaling is designed to keep the world of the Lands Between dangerous. While you start Journey 2 feeling like a god, the aggressive scaling of early-game zones and the steady climb toward the NG+7 cap ensures that mastery of the game’s mechanics is always rewarded—and lack of it is swiftly punished.

By the time you reach Journey 8, the game has stripped away the safety net of being "over-leveled," forcing a return to the core principles of learning move sets and timing dodges perfectly.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About NG+ Scaling

How much harder is NG+1 compared to the first playthrough?

In early areas like Limgrave, enemies can be 5 times stronger. However, in late-game areas like the Mountaintops of the Giants, the increase is usually only around 10% to 20%. Overall, NG+1 is often considered easier than the first playthrough because your character build is already complete.

Does the difficulty ever stop increasing?

Yes, the difficulty scaling caps at Journey 8 (NG+7). You can play through Journey 9, 10, and beyond, but the enemy health, damage, and resistances will remain identical to Journey 8.

What is the best level to start New Game Plus?

Most players recommend being between Level 120 and 150. This ensures you have 60 Vigor and have reached the primary soft caps for your main damage stats (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Faith).

Do I lose my DLC progress when starting NG+?

Yes. Starting a new Journey resets the entire world state. You will need to defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood again to access the Land of Shadow in your new cycle.

Do bosses get new moves in NG+?

No. Unlike some previous titles in the genre (like Dark Souls 2), Elden Ring does not add new enemy placements or new boss moves in higher difficulty cycles. The challenge comes purely from increased stats and resistances.

Can I still play multiplayer in NG+?

Yes, but matchmaking is based on your Character Level and Weapon Upgrade level, not your NG+ cycle. You can be in Journey 1 and summon a friend who is in Journey 8, though the bosses will scale according to the host's current Journey difficulty.