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What does New Game Plus reset?

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Delving into the Reset: Understanding What New Game Plus Changes in Elden Ring

So, you’ve conquered the Lands Between, claimed your Elden Throne (or embraced a different, equally dramatic ending), and the credits have rolled. Now, the tantalizing prospect of New Game Plus (NG+) beckons. But what exactly does stepping back into the fray entail? What treasures do you keep, and what sacrifices must you make? Let’s unravel the mysteries of the NG+ reset in Elden Ring.

In essence, New Game Plus resets the game world, story progression, and collectible items specific to a single playthrough. You’ll find yourself back at the beginning, but armed with a significant portion of your power from your initial run. Think of it as a chance to relive the adventure with a distinct advantage, tackle missed opportunities, and explore different builds. However, certain key elements are sacrificed to ensure a fresh experience. Primarily this includes your story and any area progression.

Core Elements Reset in New Game Plus

Let’s break down exactly what gets wiped clean as you embark on your NG+ journey:

  • World State: The entire map is shrouded in darkness once again. All Sites of Grace must be rediscovered. This means no fast travel shortcuts to previously explored areas. You’ll have to retrace your steps, facing familiar (and slightly more challenging) foes along the way.

  • Story Progression: The main storyline, including all boss encounters and NPC questlines, is reset. You’ll have to re-earn Great Runes, re-forge relationships, and make different choices, perhaps leading to a different ending this time around.

  • Key Items & Progression Items: Crucial items that govern world progression are removed. This includes:

    • Great Runes: The powerful runes obtained from defeating main bosses. You must re-acquire these to activate their effects.
    • Dectus Medallion Halves: These are used to activate the Grand Lift of Dectus, providing access to the Altus Plateau.
    • Academy Glintstone Key: Necessary to enter Raya Lucarian Academy.
    • Consumables used in endings (Mending Runes): These affect the ending you get and are reset to allow for a different experience.
    • Bell Bearings: These items are given to the Twin Maiden Husks to purchase goods.

  • Acquired Maps: This one can come as a surprise. Maps that you’ve found will also be reset.

What You Keep in New Game Plus

Fortunately, not everything is lost. Your character retains a significant amount of power and progress:

  • Character Level and Stats: All the levels you’ve painstakingly earned and the stat points you’ve allocated remain intact. You start NG+ as the same powerful Tarnished you were at the end of your previous playthrough.

  • Equipment: All your weapons, armor, talismans, and ammunition carry over. This gives you a distinct advantage in the early game. Remember smithing stones, they carry over as well!

  • Inventory: Most of your consumable items, crafting materials, and other non-key items are retained. This includes runes, smithing stones, cookbooks, and other valuable resources.

  • Spells and Incantations: All the sorceries and incantations you’ve learned are available from the start. This allows you to immediately utilize your favorite spells and experiment with different builds.

  • Flask Upgrades: The number of flasks you carry and their potency (increased by Sacred Tears) remains the same.

  • Spirit Ashes: All your summoned spirits, including their upgrade levels, carry over. Having powerful summons early on can significantly ease the initial challenges.

Why Embrace New Game Plus?

New Game Plus offers a multitude of compelling reasons to dive back into Elden Ring:

  • Experiment with Different Builds: With your character already at a high level, you can easily respec your stats and try out different weapon combinations, spells, and incantations.

  • Pursue Different Endings: Elden Ring features multiple endings, each requiring specific actions and choices. NG+ allows you to experience these different conclusions without creating a new character from scratch.

  • Complete Missed Content: Perhaps you skipped certain areas or failed to complete specific NPC questlines in your first playthrough. NG+ provides the perfect opportunity to rectify these omissions.

  • Increased Challenge: While you start with a significant advantage, enemies in NG+ are noticeably stronger. This provides a fresh challenge for experienced players and tests the limits of their builds. As you progress through multiple NG+ cycles (NG+2, NG+3, etc.), the difficulty continues to increase, up to NG+7, where the enemies reach their peak stats.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Elden Ring’s New Game Plus

1. Are enemies stronger in New Game Plus?

Yes, enemies in New Game Plus have increased health and damage output compared to the base game. The difficulty increases with each subsequent NG+ cycle until NG+7.

2. Do I keep my map in New Game Plus?

No, your map progress is reset in New Game Plus. You’ll need to rediscover Sites of Grace and explore the world again to fill out the map.

3. Can I respec my character in New Game Plus?

Yes, you can respec your character in New Game Plus using Larval Tears. Remember that these are finite and are used by Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. However, Larval Tears do respawn.

4. Do I lose my Great Runes in New Game Plus?

Yes, Great Runes are reset in New Game Plus. You must defeat the respective bosses again to reacquire them.

5. What happens to questlines in New Game Plus?

All NPC questlines are reset in New Game Plus. This allows you to make different choices and pursue alternative outcomes.

6. Do I keep my Spirit Ashes in New Game Plus?

Yes, you retain all your Spirit Ashes and their upgrade levels in New Game Plus.

7. What is the maximum level in Elden Ring?

The maximum level in Elden Ring is 713.

8. Does New Game Plus delete my original save file?

No, starting a New Game Plus does not delete your original save file. It creates a separate save for your NG+ playthrough.

9. Can I switch back to my original save after starting New Game Plus?

Yes, you can switch between your original save and your New Game Plus save from the main menu.

10. How many times can I play New Game Plus?

You can play New Game Plus multiple times, up to NG+7, where the difficulty caps.

11. Do Smithing Stones carry over to New Game Plus?

Yes, Smithing Stones carry over to New Game Plus, allowing you to continue upgrading your weapons.

12. What is a soft cap in Elden Ring?

A soft cap refers to a point where the stat bonus gained from leveling a particular attribute diminishes significantly. Soft caps in Elden Ring encourage players to diversify their stat allocation.

13. Does romance carry over in New Game Plus?

The game, Elden Ring, does not contain romance options, although you may feel a great fondness for certain NPCs! GamesLearningSociety.org might have some discussion on the impact of this.

14. Does Game data delete progress?

If you delete game data from your system storage, all game progress associated with that data will be lost. Any progress or achievements earned will be gone as well.

15. Does New Game Plus make the game easier?

Initially, New Game Plus is easier due to your high level and powerful equipment. However, the increased enemy difficulty provides a greater challenge as you progress.

By understanding what resets and what carries over in New Game Plus, you can strategically plan your subsequent playthrough and make the most of your continued journey in the Lands Between. Now, go forth, Tarnished, and embrace the challenge anew!

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