ELDEN RING: How to Install Mods on Windows

Welcome! Have you ever wanted to spice things up in the lands between? Perhaps a mod that overhauls the game and adds new mechanics and weapons? Or a mod that randomizes item locations for a higher replayability? Maybe you just want some cool new skins to play as your favorite characters. Well, it’s simpler than you think! This guide assumes no previous knowledge or experience on modding, and don’t worry, this won’t permanently change your files or mess anything up with your game.

Note: This guide is made for WIndows only. There are mod managers that work with Linux but I have no experience with them, sorry.

Normally, you can easily install mods by dragging and dropping them into your game folder. Some mod developers would even recommend doing this, but this is a terrible idea for three reasons:

• It becomes a nightmare to uninstall mods since you need to find and remove every file you added
• Some mods overwrite existing files, forcing you to verify files to get them back
• You can’t play multiplayer with mods, so you’ll have to commit to having them and not play multiplayer for a while.

Thankfully, the souls community foresaw these issues and created mod launchers, the most popular one being Mod Engine 2. This launcher allows you to keep your mods separate from your game files and automatically disables multiplayer on launch so you don’t risk getting banned!

Download Mod Engine 2 from here.[github.com] Make sure to grab the most recent version.

Once downloaded, extract everything in the zip file. This can be anywhere, so place it somewhere convenient for you because you’ll open this folder a lot. Your folder should look something like this:

Lets get to the good stuff, actually installing mods. Mods will go into the “mod” folder.

First, download your mods through NexusMods.[www.nexusmods.com]

Then, open the mod files you downloaded.

If the mod consists of a .DLL file, drop it into the “mod” folder.

If it’s a .BIN folder, drop that into the “mod” folder, but keep in mind only one mod can change regulation.bin, having more than one of this file will cause only one of them to be loaded.

If the mod consists of one or more folders such as “parts” or “chr” or “sfx” (among others), drop the ENTIRE folder into the “mod” folder.

In the end, your mod folder should look something like this:

Now all you need to do is go back to your Mod Engine 2 folder and run launchmod_eldenring.bat
If Windows attempts to stop you through smartscreen, just click “More info” then “Run anyway”

The game will now automatically launch through Steam with all the mods you added. Easy Anti Cheat will be disabled such that you won’t get banned for playing online with mods. When the game launches and says “Inappropriate activity detected, online play disabled”, that means it’s working fine and EAC is off!

Your mods should work now. If not, make sure you’ve placed them in the correct folders and make sure don’t have two mods trying to overwrite the same files. Enjoy!

Mod Engine 2 allows a bit more advanced control through the config file called “config_eldenring.toml”. This allows you to specify mod folders or organize more efficiently. For example, I have a randomizer mod that I really enjoy and want to keep separate from my “mod” folder so I can easily add/remove it at any time.

Open the file using notepad. Most of the options are unimportant, so just pay attention to the list of mod folders you can access. I have a folder called “randomizer” next to my “mod” folder, so you can add a new line with the folder name and path. Be sure to add a comma in the end of the prevous line, too.

You can add as many folders as you want to separate your mods and specify load order, though usually it’s more of a hassle than it’s worth.

Not sure where to start or want some mod recommendations? Here are the best ones so far as of May 15, 2022

• Skip the intro logos and remove white startup screen[www.nexusmods.com]
• Pause the game[www.nexusmods.com]
• Key Item Randomizer.[www.nexusmods.com] This one randomizes all item drops and item locations with powerful customization, making a really interesting gamemode that makes you explore the game all over again and discover items at a random order!
• Elden Ring Reforged.[www.nexusmods.com] This mod reworks many parts of the game, adds a new “deflect” mechanic, and makes the game a lot more interesting for your 2nd playthrough! It’s in active development, so maybe wait until this one is done if you’re super interested.
• Elden Ring Ascended Mod.[www.nexusmods.com] Not for the faint of heart, this mod is a challenging overhaul that changes enemy AI, adds new armor/weapon/talisman effects, and generally makes the game fresh again. It’s still in beta, but it’s plenty fun if you’re looking for a challenging playthrough.

By popcar2