How to Summon in Elden Ring | How it works and when to do it

The FromSoftware games are billed to be fantastic single player experiences that pit you against hulking monsters out for blood. But each of these titles have had multiplayer instances in both PVP and cooperative settings. Here’s how to summon in Elden Ring for both multiplayer and single player purposes.

Summon NPCs that you’ve befriended on your journey, or bring in a friend to take down a boss.

How to summon in Elden Ring - NPCs

Source | FromSoftware, Bandai Namco

Understanding Summoning Mechanics

Summoning is relatively straightforward in Elden Ring. Ash Spirits, NPC summons and multiplayer are all classed as summons, but are slightly different in execution.

Ash Spirts

  • Ash spirits are summons that use FP as a means to summon them. They also will require you to have a high enough Mind stat, and have received the spirit prior. After talking to Renna the witch, the Spirit Calling Bell and Lone Wolf Ashes will be your intro to Spirit Ashes.
  • Each of your spirits will have different uses for some short time use. You can only have one Ash Spirit active at a time, but some Ash spirits are a group of summons. They can be further upgraded by Roderika in Stormveil Shack, who also gives you a second Ash Spirit herself.

Summoning NPCs

  • Separate from these repeatable summons. Some NPCs that you’ve befriended in the world can become summonable NPCs. Similar to how it worked in previous games, players will be able to find statues, mostly outside of boss rooms. Specific NPCs can be summoned in specific locations, unlike Ash Spirits, but unlike Ash spirits, these summons don’t cost FP. Look for gold stone scripts near Martyr Effigies to interact with, and get chatty with NPCs to get access to more NPCs to potentially summon.

Multiplayer and PvP Summons

  • If you want to play Elden Ring with friends, you’ll need to enable multiplayer in the settings. If you want to limit it to just friends, create a password to share with them. If you’re going to be the host, you’ll need a Small Golden Effigy, which can be found near the Tree Sentinel Boss. Like with NPCs, you’ll need to interact with a Martyr Effigy open the menu to summon your friends.

Where can I Summon in Elden Ring?

How to Summon in Elden Ring

Source | FromSoftware, Bandai Namco

Now that you’ve learned how to summon in Elden Ring, you should know that summoning isn’t available everywhere. To summon help, you need to be in an area where the boss is still alive. This includes major bosses as well as minor area bosses. The presence of a golden summoning sign on the ground indicates that you are in a summonable area.

Tips for Successful Summoning:

  • Use Passwords: If you’re struggling to find your friends in the summoning list, come up with a unique password to thin the list.
  • Summon players if you don’t have an NPC: Fulcurling Finger Remedy allows you to use a Tarnshed’s Furled Finger next to a small golden effigy to summon anyone who wants to join. It helps for if you don’t have a valid summonable NPC.
  • Prepare for Intrusions: The Elden Ring player count is big, and not all of them are allies. Opening your world to allies also means potential invasions by hostile players, so always be prepared for an unexpected battle.

Summoning can be a great way to get a leg up over a hurdle that’s been stopping you from progressing. If you want to stay offline and not let another player’s build influence your run, the variety of NPC summons and Ash Spirits can be enough to shake things up. Summonable NPCs requiring some socializing means that not every encounter needs to be a fight.

Read next: Elden Ring: How to Get to Malenia