So you've defeated Radagon and the Elden Beast to become an Elden Lord. Maybe you're sick of getting killed by Malenia and need something that will help you get back into the fray. Perhaps you're looking to get back into the swing of things ahead of Elden Ring's release on Nintendo Switch 2. Whatever the reason, you want to make The Lands Between exciting again. Here are some tried and true ways to reinvent FromSoftware's lauded open-world RPG.

Try New Game Plus

Let's start with the easiest thing you can do: Play Elden Ring again. After you reach an ending, the game will ask you if you want to begin Journey 2. If you select yes, you'll start over at the Chapel of Anticipation with the boss that's designed to kill you. In New Game Plus, you'll keep your Runes, level, most of your inventory and key items, as well as however much of the map you uncovered previously. While this means you'll begin the game with a number of enhancements, the game also increases the health, attack power, and Rune rewards for all bosses. Bosses will drop duplicates of weapons you already have, allowing you to dual-wield combinations that would be impossible in the base game.

Why make a notoriously difficult game even harder? Well, it's one way to appreciate the game's incredible boss battles. The version of the boss you defeated the first time is not that enemy's final form. If beating bosses the first time was a thrill, imagine what it'll feel like when those villains pull out all the stops? You can begin as many new Journeys as you'd like, but Elden Ring stops upping the ante after your eighth re-run.

Try multiplayer

Elden Ring is an entirely different beast online. Here, you'll meet all sorts of characters, from alien-looking Albinaurics who wield ridiculous weapons like trumpets, to half-naked men who wear jars on their heads. Trying co-op or PvP is worth it just to get a taste of that circus. You may get some new build ideas, or find a low-stakes way to try out a new tactic.

PvP also allows you to get a better sense of how good you truly are at the game. It's one thing to defeat a boss with a specific set of moves and another to kill a live player who is capable of anything. If you win, you'll get a Rune Arc — powerful items that are scarce in the base game.

You can also get Rune Arcs from doing co-op play, which some people may prefer over the intensity of PvP. You can invite other players into your game to help you with a tough section, or you can lend a hand to those in need. Some people like to crack a Finger item during sections of the game they've already mastered. These portions of the game may not pose a challenge anymore, but they'll make you feel like a hero on par with Let Me Solo Her. You could also be a total jerk to other players. We don't recommend trolling, but you should go in to multiplayer expecting it.

Try a new build

Elden Ring packs a number of different classes and a large assortment of unique equipment that will immediately make the game feel like a new experience. Wielding the Meteorite Staff, for example, is very different than running a bleed build with Rivers of Blood or Moonveil. Better yet, you don't have to start a new playthrough to muck around and see what you like. With Larval Tears, you can respec at any time after beating Rennala in the Raya Lucaria.

If you're really itching for a challenge, you can always try progressing through the game as a Wretch — a class that begins with no armor and a wooden club for a weapon. Though this class is tough to play at first, its evenly distributed stats make it more of a blank canvas for whatever hare-brained build you want to try.

Even after a number of updates, some classes are stronger than others. The Incantation-focused Prophet can be difficult to figure out until you find the right spells. By that same token, progressing as a Prophet may feel all the more rewarding. Those of you picking up the Switch 2 Tarnished Edition of the game will be pleased to know it comes with two totally new classes, the Heavy Knight and Idus Knight. You could be one of the first Elden Ring players to figure out how to best use these new options!

Dive into the lore

Alex Garland's film adaptation of the game is coming up, so it may not be a bad time to revisit Elden Ring's story. Much of the reason people are obsessed with FromSoftware games is the cryptic but rich lore, which in this case, was written with the help of George R.R. Martin. The politics of The Lands Between are surprisingly complicated, and characters may be connected in ways that are not immediately obvious. It's fun to interpret all the item descriptions and then compare your findings to popular fan theories about the game. One could easily spend dozens of hours watching recap videos or explainers on all the things Elden Ring never spells out.

Another aspect to sink your teeth into is all the data-mined videos that show early gameplay ideas, cut content, and storylines that feel like they should have been included in the actual game. Two cut questlines involving Kale and the Silver Tear enemies in the Eternal Cit will get you cursing at what could have been. Before you know it, you'll find yourself arguing with a 3-year-old Reddit post about what one unused voice line actually means.

Play the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

Unless you're playing the Switch 2 enhanced port of Elden Ring, you're going to need to spend some extra money to play the DLC. But if Elden Ring is excellent, Shadow of the Erdtree is incredible. Ideas and storylines that didn't get fully fleshed out in the base game are explored to their fullest extent in the DLC, particularly when it comes to Miquella. Miquella is responsible for many of the base game's events — but we never see the Empyrian in the game.

It's a hefty addition to the game that's packed with all sorts of show-stopping bosses that will impress and anger you in equal measure. Be warned: Shadow of the Erdtree is significantly more difficult than Elden Ring. Most people get stuck on SotE's first boss for a few hours even if they're overleveled for the base game.

Seek out the best side quests

No matter how thorough you are, it's difficult to see everything Elden Ring has to offer without a guide. Secret dungeons have hidden passageways that are easy to miss, and there's no shortage of unmarked quests. Some quests aren't sly like that, but may fall through the cracks as you pursue the main storyline.

Everyone has their favorites, but the quests involving Sellen, Millicent, Iron Fist Alexander, Patches and The Dung Eater are widely agreed to be some of the best narratives within Elden Ring. Boc the Seamstress and Irina are also standouts that rank among the saddest storylines in an already tragic narrative. One of the most surprising moments in the game happens shortly after entering the Eternal City, so make sure to stop by.

If you aren't careful, some quests, like the one in Volcano Manor, will progress or end by accident. Once you've already finished the game for the first time, consider looking up the starting point of questlines you might have missed.

Defeat some optional bosses

Many of the enemies and bosses in Elden Ring aren't necessary to progress the storyline, but that also makes some of them easy to overlook. While playing, you may have noticed that the Bell-Bearing Hunter and the Night's Cavalry had a knack for appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Both actually have specific triggers, and though they may seem obvious in the case of the Night's Cavalry, that doesn't mean you know all the different areas where these wandering bosses can appear.

The Bell-Bearing Hunter drops critical items that expand your stores at the Roundtable Hold, so I'd suggest seeking all of these out as early as possible. The Night's Cavalry gives you new Ashes of War, which you'll want to uncover if you're looking for novel ways to experience the game.

Find hidden dungeons

Elden Ring is a game that rewards exploration, but some areas of the game are borderline impossible to find — unless you already know about them. These include but are not limited to:

•                                 Sellia Hideaway, which resides behind an Illusory Wall inside *an entirely different dungeon*
  

• The War Dead Catacombs at the far end of the beach where you fight Radahn
• Lake of Rot that awaits deep within the Ainsel River
• Leyndell Catacombs, near the Subterranean Shunning Grounds

Try some new items

There is a wide range of items in Elden Ring, some of which are admittedly weird or difficult to figure out. Charming and Bewitching Branches might seem useless if you don't know what enemies they affect. What do items like Hefty Fly Pots or Sacred Bloody Flesh even do? The Iris of Occultation looks kind of menacing ... will it hurt your character? These are questions that can only be answered by trying things out and experimenting. Personally, it took me dozens of hours before I figured out how useful sleep-inducing items could truly be.

Play Elden Ring Nightreign

This entry is basically cheating, but hear me out. Nightreign is Fortnite meets Elden Ring — which doesn't sound like it should work. Somehow, it does. Everything that makes Elden Ring good is here, but turned on its head with new classes and randomized loot, bosses, and playable areas of the map.

The game moves at a significantly faster pace, and there's no such thing as fall damage. You can't stop to really consider what dungeons to challenge or muse over what loot to pick up. Some may find this jarring at first — what do you mean we can't stop the action to make sure we read every single item description? But these gameplay tweaks also push you to make the best out of what you have, and to take more risks. It might take you a dozen hours to finally tackle the dungeon at the bottom of the lava area, but it'll feel magical when you finally do.

"Spoiling" isn't as much of a thing in Nightreign. Knowing how something works doesn't mean you'll make the best out of whatever the game throws at you, nor does it ensure that you'll be able to wordlessly convince your three human companions to go to the part of the map you want. Figuring out secrets like how to find a specific enemy or finding a legendary item is all the more rewarding when the odds are stacked against you, though.