The best Elden Ring mods right now are Seamless Co-op for uninterrupted multiplayer, Elden Ring Reforged and Convergence for full overhauls, Clever’s Moveset Modpack for new weapon animations, thefifthmatt’s Item and Enemy Randomizer for replays, and uberhalit’s FPS unlocker for performance. All of them run on the Steam PC version, and nearly all of them need Easy Anti-Cheat turned off. Below you’ll find what each mod does, what it needs, how to stack several into your own modpack, and what to check after a patch.
The quick list
The table covers the six mods this guide recommends. Each one has its own section further down.
| Mod | What it does | Requires | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seamless Co-op | Full co-op playthrough with no session resets after bosses | Its own launcher, every player runs it | LukeYui |
| Elden Ring Reforged | Large balance and content overhaul | Mod Engine 2 (bundled) | ivi |
| The Convergence Mod | New classes, magic, items and enemy changes | Mod Engine 2 | The Convergence team |
| Clever’s Moveset Modpack | New movesets and weapon animations | Mod Engine 2 | Clever |
| Item and Enemy Randomizer | Shuffles item locations and enemy placement | Mod Engine 2 (bundled) | thefifthmatt |
| Elden Ring FPS Unlocker and more | Unlocks the frame cap, adds widescreen and FOV options | Standalone patcher, EAC off | uberhalit |
You won’t find download counts or “most popular” rankings here. Nexus Mods numbers change daily, and a stale count helps nobody. These picks rest on what each mod adds, how well it’s maintained, and how much it changes a second or third playthrough.
Before you mod: Easy Anti-Cheat and online play
Elden Ring on PC ships with Easy Anti-Cheat. When you launch the game normally through Steam, start_protected_game.exe starts EAC first and then the game. Modified files plus EAC is how players get flagged. A flagged account is matched only with other flagged players online.
So the working rule is simple. Modded Elden Ring is offline Elden Ring, apart from Seamless Co-op, which uses its own servers and does not touch FromSoftware’s matchmaking. Mod Engine 2 launches the game without EAC, which is why most mods ship with it or require it.
Before you install
Back up your save first. It lives at %APPDATA%\EldenRing[your Steam ID]\ER0000.sl2. Copy the whole folder somewhere safe before your first modded launch.
Consoles are out. PlayStation and Xbox versions of Elden Ring have no mod support, so everything in this guide applies to the Steam release only.
The tools you need
Most Elden Ring mods fall into two types. Some replace game data such as parameters, maps and animations. Others are DLL files that hook into the running game. Each type has a standard loader.
| Tool | What it’s for | Maintainer | Where it’s published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mod Engine 2 | Loads replacement game files from a separate folder, launches without EAC | soulsmods group | GitHub |
| Elden Mod Loader | Loads DLL mods from a mods folder via dinput8.dll | TechieW | Nexus Mods |
| Smithbox | Editor for params, maps and other game data (for making or merging mods) | vawser | GitHub |
Vortex and Mod Organizer 2 are central to Skyrim or Fallout setups, but they barely matter here. Most Elden Ring mods are installed by hand into a Mod Engine 2 folder, and that’s the method this guide uses. Read the mod page for anything that gives different instructions.
Setting up Mod Engine 2
Install Mod Engine 2
- Download the latest Mod Engine 2 release.
- Extract it to its own folder, outside the game directory.
- Drop mod files into the “mod” folder inside it.
- Open config_eldenring.toml if a mod needs DLLs listed.
- Launch with launchmod_eldenring.bat, not Steam.
The key idea is that Mod Engine 2 never overwrites your actual game files. It tells the game to read from its mod folder first. If you delete that folder, you’re back to vanilla, which makes troubleshooting much less painful.
Seamless Co-op
LukeYui’s Seamless Co-op removes almost every limit FromSoftware put on summoning. In vanilla Elden Ring, a co-op session ends when the area boss dies, you need to place summoning signs, and the guest’s progress barely counts. With Seamless Co-op, your group plays the whole game together, travels together, and each player keeps their own world progress.
It works differently from almost every other mod on this list. It doesn’t use Mod Engine 2. It ships its own launcher, ersc_launcher.exe, and a settings file called ersc_settings.ini where you set a shared co-op password. Every player in the group must run the same version of the mod with the same password.
Seamless Co-op saves to a separate file with a .co2 extension instead of the vanilla .sl2. Your normal character won’t be touched, and moving a character over means copying and renaming the save by hand. Do this only with backups.
The mod supports Shadow of the Erdtree, which LukeYui added after the expansion launched on June 21, 2024. The player cap has changed across versions, so check the current number on the Nexus Mods page before planning a big group.
Modder's note
Version mismatches cause most failed connections. When one player updates Seamless Co-op, everyone updates, and you all compare the version number on the mod page before blaming your ports.
Elden Ring Reforged
Elden Ring Reforged, made by ivi, is the overhaul to install if you love the base game and want a rebalanced, deeper version of it. It goes through weapons, spells, enemies and progression, adding new equipment and reworking builds that vanilla left weak. The aim is a game that still feels like FromSoftware made it, with fewer dead-end builds.
It ships bundled with Mod Engine 2, so setup mostly means extracting and using the included launcher. Because it rewrites a huge share of the game’s parameters, treat it as a base layer. Don’t drop it in alongside another overhaul.
Reforged has supported Seamless Co-op in past releases, which makes it popular with groups that have already beaten the game once. Compatibility depends on matching versions of both mods, so check the Reforged page for which Seamless Co-op build it currently targets.
The Convergence Mod
Convergence comes from the team that built the Convergence overhaul for Dark Souls III, and it takes a bigger swing than Reforged. Expect new starting classes, new schools of magic, a large number of new items, and changes to enemies and bosses. Reforged polishes the game you know. Convergence makes it feel like a different game set in the Lands Between.
It runs on Mod Engine 2. Like Reforged, it changes core game data, so Convergence and Reforged cannot run together. Pick one per playthrough.
It’s also the slowest to update after a big patch, which is normal for an overhaul this size. If the game just updated, read the mod page or changelog before launching an existing Convergence save.
Clever’s Moveset Modpack
Clever’s Moveset Modpack, from the modder known as Clever, focuses on combat feel. It adds new movesets and animations to weapons, so familiar weapon classes get attack strings and skills they don’t have in vanilla. If you’ve reached the point where every greatsword plays the same, this is the mod you want.
It runs through Mod Engine 2. Moveset mods edit animation files and usually parameters too, so the big question is what you pair it with. Combining it with another overhaul means both mods want to own the same files. Some overhauls have published compatibility versions or patches, and you should look for those on each mod’s page rather than trying to force the two together.
Item and Enemy Randomizer thefifthmatt built the well-known randomizers for Dark Souls III and Sekiro, and his Elden Ring Item and Enemy Randomizer brings the same idea to the Lands Between. Items get shuffled across the world, and enemies (bosses included, if you choose) are moved around. The randomizer uses rules so that runs stay finishable, which is what separates it from pure chaos.
It ships with Mod Engine 2 and its own interface, where you choose options, generate a seed, and launch. A seed is shareable, so you and a friend can race the exact same randomized world.
This is the best replay value in Elden Ring modding. You already know where every Somber Smithing Stone is, and the randomizer makes that knowledge useless in the best way.
Modder's note
Start a fresh character for every new seed. Loading an old save into a newly generated world can leave key items in impossible states.
Elden Ring FPS Unlocker and more
Elden Ring is locked to 60 frames per second on PC and doesn’t natively support ultrawide. uberhalit’s open-source tool patches the running game to remove the frame cap, enable widescreen resolutions, and adjust the field of view.
It’s a standalone patcher, not a Mod Engine 2 mod. You start it, it launches or attaches to the game, and it applies the changes. EAC has to be off.
Be aware that tools like this patch memory directly, so game updates can break them until the author or community catches up. If the tool stops working after a patch, that’s the expected reason. Newer community alternatives exist, but compare their update dates on Nexus Mods before choosing one.
Physics and some animations in FromSoftware games are tied to frame rate, so test a high frame rate in a few fights and cutscenes before committing a long playthrough to it.
Building your own Elden Ring modpack
There isn’t an official Elden Ring modpack or a one-click CurseForge-style bundle. When people say “elden ring modpack,” they usually mean one of two things: an overhaul like Reforged or Convergence that bundles many changes, or a personal stack of smaller mods running together through Mod Engine 2.
Building that stack depends on one file: regulation.bin. It holds the game’s parameter data, including weapon stats, enemy stats, item tables, spell values and much more. A large share of gameplay mods ship their own regulation.bin.
Here’s the problem. Only one regulation.bin can load. If two mods both include it, whichever file ends up in your mod folder wins, and the other mod’s parameter changes are silently lost. The game launches, nothing crashes, and half of your second mod doesn’t work.
You have three options:
- Use one parameter mod as the base. Choose one overhaul and add only mods that don’t touch
regulation.bin, like texture swaps, UI changes or some DLL mods. - Look for official compatibility patches. Authors often publish versions combining their mod with Seamless Co-op or another popular mod.
- Merge by hand. Tools like Smithbox let you open parameter files and copy changes across. It works, but every game patch and every mod update means redoing it.
DLL mods are a separate case. Mod Engine 2 can load them through the external_dlls entry in config_eldenring.toml, and Elden Mod Loader by TechieW loads them from its own folder. Use one DLL loading method, not both for the same DLL.
What happens when Elden Ring patches
FromSoftware has updated Elden Ring regularly since its February 25, 2022 release, and every patch carries some risk for a modded setup. These are the patterns you’ll keep running into.
| Mod type | Typical patch-day behaviour | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Overhauls (Reforged, Convergence) | Can load but with mismatched parameters, or fail to launch | Wait for the author’s update, keep your old save backup |
| Seamless Co-op | Often needs an update before connections work again | Everyone updates together |
| Memory patchers (FPS unlockers) | Often break until updated | Disable until a fix is posted |
| Randomizer | Usually needs a regenerated seed after updates | Regenerate, start fresh |
| Texture or UI swaps | Usually survive patches | Test quickly and carry on |
Steam lets you disable automatic updates only partially. The safest habit is to back up your save folder before any launch on patch day. If a large overhaul is your main way of playing, keep a zipped copy of your working game folder as well.
Troubleshooting common problems
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Mod changes don’t appear in-game | Launched through Steam instead of Mod Engine 2 | Launch with launchmod_eldenring.bat |
| One mod works, another seems ignored | Two mods both ship regulation.bin | Pick one, use a compatibility patch, or merge |
| “Inappropriate activity detected” warning | Game launched with EAC on and modified files | Restore vanilla files, launch modded only with EAC off |
| Seamless Co-op can’t find friends | Version or password mismatch | Match versions, check ersc_settings.ini on every PC |
| Character missing in Seamless Co-op | It reads .co2 saves, not .sl2 | Your vanilla save is untouched; use a new character or copy carefully |
| Crash at launch after a patch | Mod not updated for the new game version | Remove the mod folder, wait for an update |
Which Elden Ring mod should you start with?
Pick based on what you want next from the game:
- You want to play with friends: Seamless Co-op, and nothing else at first.
- You’ve beaten it once and want more depth: Elden Ring Reforged.
- You want the game to feel brand new: Convergence.
- Combat has gotten stale: Clever’s Moveset Modpack.
- You know the map by heart: Item and Enemy Randomizer.
- You have a high refresh rate or ultrawide monitor: uberhalit’s FPS unlocker.
Install one mod, play an hour, then add the next. Stacking five at once and getting a crash tells you nothing about which mod caused it.
FAQ
Can you get banned for using Elden Ring mods?
Launching with modified files while Easy Anti-Cheat is on can flag your account, which puts you in a restricted online pool. Running mods offline with EAC disabled, the standard Mod Engine 2 method, avoids FromSoftware’s servers entirely. Seamless Co-op connects players through its own system and doesn’t use official matchmaking.
Do Elden Ring mods work on PS5 or Xbox?
No. Elden Ring has no mod support on PlayStation or Xbox. Every mod in this guide is for the Steam PC version.
Do mods work with Shadow of the Erdtree?
Many do, including Seamless Co-op, which was updated after the expansion launched in June 2024. Check each mod’s page for which game version it supports, since overhauls in particular track specific patches.
Can I use Seamless Co-op and an overhaul together?
Sometimes. Overhauls like Elden Ring Reforged have published versions that work with Seamless Co-op, but you need matching versions of both. Every player in the session also needs the identical setup.
Is there an official Elden Ring modpack?
No. The closest equivalents are large overhauls such as Reforged or Convergence, or a personal stack built through Mod Engine 2. The main limit on stacking is that only one regulation.bin can load at once.
Will mods delete my save?
Mod Engine 2 doesn’t touch your save directly, but overhauls and randomizers can leave a vanilla character in a broken state if you load it with mismatched data. Seamless Co-op uses separate .co2 saves. Back up your save folder before every new mod, without exception.
