Completing Elden Ring's long and arduous journey is a feat that will likely take players quite a while to reach; however, once they do, New Game Plus (NG+) will start their quest through the story all over again. Upon defeating the final boss in Elden Ring, players will be confronted with an option to begin their second journey. Unless they want to get right into a brand new game, it is recommended to go back through and ensure players collect all the items they want before they become unavailable.
If the initial option to start a new game is turned down, it is always available for players to reactivate in RoundTable Hold at the main site of grace at the table. Once players have officially decided that they want to take their same characters into a brand new run-through of the game, they can begin NG+. Keep in mind some objects, quests, runes, etc., will not carry over to the next game.
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Beginning with the more important aspects of Elden Ring's NG+ system is what players will lose when starting anew. Some of the main objects lost in a NG+ run are Great Runes, the items received from defeating some of the game's tougher bosses. Any progress in the main quest and side quests also restart in Elden Ring, with the NPCs revived. Keys and certain areas opened by those keys will also be closed again, including areas opened with 
Stonesword Key. The Stonesword Keys in your inventory will carry over but need to be used again. Finally, although the map remains intact with each location discovered, all Sites of Grace will disappear.
On the brighter side, there is a laundry list of items Elden Ring allows players to keep once Journey 2 begins. All weapons, armor, talismans, consumable items, smithing stones, spirit ashes upgrades, cookbooks, and flask upgrades will remain in the player's possession. Some other unusual items will also stay when in NG+, like gestures and boss remembrance items in Elden Ring, so they can still be cashed in during the second run. Players may notice that when starting a new game, there is no class selection nor keepsake that they can begin the game with, and that is because the starting class carries over to the next game.
Elden Ring: New Game Plus Features
There are a few things to note when beginning a new playthrough besides which items are lost. Since the player's stats will remain the same and the map resets, it will be impossible to respec their character until they reach the appropriate area with Rennala in Elden Ring, though the items used to respec stays with them. So, if a player wants to begin a fresh run with new stats, it is always recommended to respec with Rennala before beginning the NG+ journey. Remember that the chosen starting class will still affect the respec, even within NG+.
Finally, there are a few more changes that the world, in general, goes through outside of the player. For one, enemies will now have an increased health pool and deal more damage to match the player's level. Similarly, they will also drop runes at a much higher rate to accommodate the player's higher level and need for more runes to level up in Elden Ring. Items will also refresh and will be found in the same places as the first playthrough.
Next: Elden Ring: Complete Walkthrough, Boss Strategies & Build Guides
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
