Listing everything to do in Elden Ring before NG+, or New Game Plus, is a little more complicated than you’d think. It’s not just about trying out late-game side quests or bosses you won’t see again, but finding all the once-per-campaign items, experiences and special gear that make up the bulk of late-game Elden Ring exploration.
Elden Ring New Game Plus is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one, and will even be easier for some people if they’ve taken the chance at the end of the game to level up, get the best loot, and equip themselves properly for a more robust version of the game. To do that, you’ll want to handle our checklist below, to take the time to do everything in the game properly.
Everything to do in Elden Ring before starting NG+
The main thing to do in Elden Ring before starting New Game Plus is to make sure you’ve found everything that’s unique, that can’t be farmed or obtained infinitely in a single playthrough. Otherwise you miss the chance to get them altogether until starting the new game and getting back to this point. With that in mind, here’s some essential things to do before rewinding back to the time of being a lowly Tarnished.
Unique items to get before starting Elden Ring NG+
We’ll start with a basic list of items. These can be found in all playthroughs, but they can’t be farmed infinitely in the base game or New Game Plus, so make sure you get as many as possible of these finite resources.
- Find all the Elden Ring map fragments (yes, these carry over into NG+)
- Find all the Elden Ring Golden Seeds to max out your Flasks’ uses.
- Find all 12 Sacred Tears to enhance your Flasks’ effectiveness.
- Locate as many Larval Tears as possible. These are used to respec your character, as outlined in our Elden Ring respec and Larval Tears page.
- Locate as many Elden Ring Stonesword Keys as possible.
- Find all the Crystal Tears to ensure your Flask of Wondrous Physick has as much versatility as possible.
- Find all the unique Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones (13 total) and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones (8 total) – these can’t be farmed but will carry over, so this is your best chance to maximize how many you have. Or just spend them on your weapons to boost them before you transfer – what works, works.
- Find all the Great Grave Glovewort and Great Ghost Glovewort for Spirit Summon upgrades.
All of these items are unique and can’t be farmed forever, so you need to make sure you obtain them now. You’ll be able to get them again in NG+, but you’re still working from a limited pool either way and aren’t being as efficient as possible if you don’t. Not to mention that it’s much easier to get them now, at the end of one campaign, than to replenish your stock going into another game.
Unique items to get before starting Elden Ring NG+
Beneath this we’ll lay out some helpful pointers on special experiences, locations, places and activities that are best done in the late-game of one campaign, rather than trying to work back up to it in the next one. We’ve also linked to more detailed explanations of these below, so just click on any of these ideas for more information on what we mean and what to do.
Walking Mausoleums and Remembrances
Walking Mausoleums are the giant, four-legged landmasses that amble about Elden Ring, each one with a stone building resting on top. These buildings can be used to duplicate the special Remembrances you get from killing bosses, even after you’ve used them! This way you can get both special items or spells from each Remembrance – though not infinitely.
Each Mausoleum can only be used once, and even then there’s limitations – some Mausoleums have ringing bells beneath them, and some don’t. Those that don’t can only duplicate certain Remembrances, not any of them.
With only 7 Walking Mausoleums in total across Elden Ring, and two of which that’re bell-less and can’t duplicate the Demigod Shardbearer Remembrances, you won’t come away with every prize for every Remembrance. Still, it’s worth doing, especially considering you can fill out your prizes a little more when they come back in NG+.
Legendary Spells, Weapons, Ashen Remains and Talismans
Most players won’t need every legendary item, as many won’t be compatible with the build players are going for, but it’s nice to have them regardless, and they’ll definitely be some you might be able to use. There’s also achievements and trophies for collecting all of the four types (one Achievement for each category), though it’s possible you’ll have missed your chance to get certain ones, depending on your progress.
Clear NPC quests and bosses
This is an obvious one, but make sure your business is all tied up before you say goodbye! Questlines include some of the best parts of the game, and there’s a lot of fun optional bosses like Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, or the legendary-tough Malenia. Or maybe you just want to go kill all the dragons and get their hearts for prizes from the Cathedral – it’s all there for you to do! We’ve actually written guides on a lot of these, laid out for you to check out below.
Use everything you have to make the best build possible
The late game of Elden Ring is when you have access to everything, and it’d be foolish not to make use of that while you can. With all the merchants, bosses, areas and special items accessible at this point, it’s the perfect time to experiment with your build and make yourself into something better for the sake of being as prepared as possible for the more challenging NG+. If you’re looking for inspiration or just want to try out the most powerful builds, we’ve put together an Elden Ring best builds page for you to learn from, with options for all kinds of characters.
Farm late-game areas for Runes galore
Again, with everything accessible to you, it’s much easier now than in the NG+ early game to find good farming and grinding spots where you can rack up tens of thousands of Runes easily. We actually put together a page on Elden Ring Rune farming locations, with info on how players can get very rich very fast. Who could object to that?
Spend those Runes on levels, items, spells and Smithing Stones
Spend those Runes! With all the merchants available to you right now, make sure you buy anything you won’t be able to get in the early game. Level up if you think you’ll need it, but also get items that seem valuable, and spells obtained through Prayer Books and Sorcery Scrolls.
You should also buy as many Smithing Stones as possible – as in, dozens of them, if not hundreds. If you’ve worked on finding all the Elden Ring Bell Bearing locations for the Twin Husks in the Roundtable Hold, there’s bad news – they won’t remember you found those for them in NG+, and you’ll have to get them all over again. Until that happens, stock on Smithing Stones (or find them at our Elden Ring Smithing Stones page) and any other items you want well in advance, so you’re sure not to run out until you get those Bell Bearings back.
What does and doesn’t carry over into Elden Ring NG+?
Speaking of Bell Bearings, what does and doesn’t carry over into New Game Plus can seem a bit arbitrary, but it’s worth knowing so you understand the full extent of what the experience will let you keep. We’ve split them into two lists below, so you know what you have to use/spend before heading back to the start.
Carries Over
- Armor/Weapons/Talismans
- Spells
- All Flask Upgrades
- Wonderful Physick upgrades/options
- Map Fragments
- Consumables
- Crafting recipes/Cookbooks
- Gestures
Doesn’t Carry Over
- Game Progress
- npc quest progress
- Quest items
- Unlocked Sites of Grace for Fast Travel
- Keys/Similar Items (such as the Dectus Medallion or Glintstone Key)
- Great Runes
- Bell Bearings (and no, the Twin Husks don’t remember the Bell Bearings you’ve given to them)
- Sorcery Scrolls and Prayer Books (again, relevant merchants forget they’ve been given them)
- Mark of the Frenzied Flame (if you allied with the Three Fingers for the most fiery of the Elden Ring endings)
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