Ring of Elden Modding Guide

INTRODUCTION:

This guide explains how to install the Elden ring. It also serves as a reference for some modification tools that may be useful to me or others.

Required Tools

Mod Engine 2

Smithbox (optional)

Recolor with full plugin support

Fashion requirements

Essentials

Updated Stutter Corrections

Seamless Cooperative Game

Quality of life/benefits

Height Panel Mode

Camera Offset

Visual effects

Temporal Super Sampling (Optional)

Disable sharpen filter (for use with TSS)

Neutral Color Grading (LUT only)

Neutral color gradation for SoTE

Darker night (SotE DLC)

REVENANT Recolor

Gameplay

Sekihaku deviation

Elden Mode

Start Line

Step 1: Download the Fashion Engine

MOD ENGINE 2 is our best mod loader and the only tool needed to install mods. You can use it in conjunction with Elden Mod Loader, but you don't need it if you know how to use ME2 (Mod engine 2).

To get started, take the latest version of ME2 and unpack it to your preferred location. In this guide, it is unpacked onto the desktop. Open the folder to see the file named 'launchmod_eldenring.bat'. Leave this folder open and continue.

Step 2: Install .DLL files in ME2

Although most mods that contain .DLL files require Elden Mod Loader to install, and we'll do the installation procedure with it, you can actually install all mods using ME2. To do this, edit the config_eldenring.toml file in an open folder. You can use any txt editor, but NotePad++ or VSCode is recommended.

To get started, install Fix Stutter Update Update. This mod prevents a strong stutter associated with connecting and disconnecting USB devices, which, in my opinion, is very good. First, download and unpack the latest version of the DLL from the fashion page referenced above. Then move the .dll file, along with the toml and bat files, to the Mod Engine 2 folder. At this point, the folder should look like the following.

Next, open the above configuration file and look for the following: 

# List of files to upload to the game as DLL MOD.

List of files loaded into the game as DLL mods # Absolute mod paths are supported, but you must use '˶' to separate paths. For example, if your mod is in E:⇄coolstuff⇄coolmod.dll, you can specify it in the configuration.

# Enter the path "E˶coolstuff˶coolmod.dll" for the configuration.

If no disk is specified (C:, D:, etc.), path # will be relative to where the launcher is located. For example, if the path is "mod.dll", # tell Mod Engine 2:

# Mod Engine 2 will look for a directory named mod in the Mod Engine 2 directory where the launcher is located.

#

# Multiple modes must be separated by commas. For example, if there are three modes, the following is used:

# external_dlls = ["coolmod.dll", "D:￤nicemods￤nicemod.dll", "sosofolder￤nicemod.dll"].

external_dlls = [].

In particular, notice the string "external_dlls = []". Now, for ME2 to know how to load the DLL, you need to enter the relative or absolute path to the DLL you are trying to load. Therefore, in Stutterfix, use a relative path and modify the string as follows:

external_dlls = [

  "StutterFixDLL.dll"

]

It is important to pay attention to the formatting used here. Quotation marks are required and must be comma-separated, unless they are at the bottom of the list. For example

external_dlls = [

  "StutterFixDLL.dll",

"Example.dll"

]

It works well. However,

external_dlls = [

  "StutterFixDLL.dll".

"Example.dll",

]

not very good. It is always better to use a comma just in case. Also, since white space outside the quotes doesn't matter, I usually put a comma return for readability.

At this point, we have implemented a stutter fix that is loaded only when using this instance of ME2 (i.e., when starting with a bat file). This will allow you to play vanilla online without getting banned - if you were using Elden Mod Installer, the DLL would always load, but it's not always perfect. This is a good example of how to install a DLL mod using a relative path, but what about an absolute path?

Step 3: Install Seamless Co-op

Seamless Co-op is a must-have mod for many people, including me, and it is very easy to set up to work in ME2. First, install Seamless as usual, unzip the archive to the game folder containing eldenring.exe. At this point, if you don't already have seamless saves, you should use a seamless executable to launch the game and quickly create the save. Otherwise, SEAMLESS may fail.

Then go to the folder "SeamlessCoop" in the game files - there should be a DLL file called "ersc.dll". Find the path to this file in this folder. The simple way to do this is to right-click on the folder with the path at the top and select "Copy Address". Below is how to do this.

Now go back to the configuration file you just created. Add another entry with double quotes and commas, copy and paste the text you just copied.The path to your file will probably be different from mine, but it looks something like this.

external_dlls = [

  "StutterFixDLL.dll",

  "C:◆Steamsteamapps◆common◆ERDEN◆RING◆RING◆Game◆SeamlessCoop"

]

Now we need to make some changes before we finish. To get started, we need to add a second backslash before each file.

external_dlls = [

  "StutterFixDLL.dll",

  "C:⭕Steam⭕Apps⭕Common⭕ELDEN RING⭕Game⭕SeamlessCoop"

]

Then add another backslash and DLL as above.

external_dlls = [

  "StutterFixDLL.dll",

  "C:㊟SteamApps㊟Common㊟ELDEN RING㊟Game㊟SeamlessCoop㊟ersc.dll"

]

This completes the installation and download of Seamless Co-op to ME2. Note: You will need to go back to the Seamless Co-op ini file and set a password before you can play.

Step 4: Install non-DLL mods

Non-DLL mods are typically big mods such as Clever's Movepack or Sekiro Deflection. These mods can contain things like Regulation.bin and other files. When installing these mods you can usually just throw uncompressed files into the ME2 mod folder, but there is a good way to merge mods using the ME2 mod folder system. Note: This method only works with files that are not in conflict. This is not a substitute for merging edit files or anything else; if two files conflict, only the one with the higher installation order will be installed.

To get started, install Sekiro Deflection: go to the fashion page and download "— SIMPLE VERSION —". Unpack the archive and put it aside. Next, prepare the ME2 folder structure: go to the bat and toml files folder and create a new folder. I called it "sekiro," but it could be anything. Then move the files from the Sekiro Deflection fashion folder to that sekiro folder. It should be like this.

Now, return to the trusted toml file and look for the following:

# List the directories containing the mod files in order of priority. You will find a game within each of the mod catalogs listed

Software must contain entity # in entity structure. For example, if you are creating an parts/something.partsbnd.dcx mod, the version of the mod must be in mod/parts/something.partsbnd.dcx.

# Absolute mod paths are supported, but '˶' must be used to separate path elements. For example, if the mod is in E:⇄coolstuff⇄coolmod, the configuration must contain.

# In the configuration, specify the path as "E˶coolstuff˶coolmod".

If there is no disk specifier (C:, D:, etc.), the path # is relative to where the launcher is located. For example, if the path is "mod", # Mod tells Engine 2:

# Tell Mod Engine 2 to search for a directory named "mod" in the # Mod Engine 2 directory where the program is located.

#

# Multiple modes must be separated by commas. For example, if there are three modes, this is used as follows:

# mods = [.

# { enabled = true, name = "coolmod", path = "mod1" }

{ enabled = true, name = "nicemod", path = "mod2" }, # { enabled = true, name = "nicemod", path = "mod2" }

# { enabled = true, name = "sosomod", path = "mod3" }

# ]

# Note that modengine 2 currently has no way to resolve # file conflicts that contain regulation.bin.

# Therefore, in the event of a conflict, the highest priority mode will be loaded. # Note that we have no way to resolve conflict files that contain regulation.bin, # so the highest priority mode will be loaded in case of conflict.

# For future releases.

mods = [

  { enabled = true, name = "default", path = "mod" }

]

In particular, in the last line you specify the folder with mods and the order of their installation. By default, ME2 installs everything from the mod folder, which is enabled by default, but we don't use this folder. Remove it or ignore it.

Now add the sekiro folder to the installation order.

mods = [

  { enabled = true, name = "Sekiro", path = "sekiro" }

]

There are three fields. The first field indicates whether the mods will be set to ME2; the second field is good if it is unique, so put something easy to remember.

Sekiro Deflection is currently installed and running successfully. If you don't want to play with this mod anymore, just change "enabled = true" to "enabled = false".

To install multiple mods, create separate folders, place mod files in them, and add them to the mod install queue. Note that if the files overlap, the mods that are first or higher in order will be given priority.

mods = [

  { enabled = true, name = "Sekiro", path = "sekiro" }

{ enabled = true, name = "Example1", path = "example" }

]

Step 5: Visual Mode, Part 1

This step is very similar to the previous one. This section describes how to configure neutral color and dark night modes. To get started, download the LUT versions of Neutral Colour Grading, the latest Neutral Colour Grading SOTE files, the latest Darker Nights files, and the lights-only files.

Create a new folder called "lighting" in the ME2 folder and extract the files there. Move the map folder instead of the neutral mode folder so that SOTE Neutral overwrites the base game files. The folder should look like this:

Add this folder to the order in which the configuration files are installed. Placing this folder at the bottom will allow mods to overwrite it if they need to discard changes. Do the following

mods = [

{ enabled = true, name = "Sekiro", path = "sekiro" }

{ enabled = true, name = "Lighting", path = "lighting" }

]

This will make the night and interior spaces in the game much darker, and the usual color gradation - more neutral. This will be adjusted when the tones change.

Step 6: Visual fashion, part 2.

Now we are going to install Reshade - if you have installed Temporal Super Sampling, Reshade should fully support the plugin - note that if you run the game through Steam, you are likely to be banned. Reshade has warned that this version isn't secure for multiplayer, but if you're using Seamless only then everything should be fine. If you want to switch between online vanilla games and modding, you can skip Temporal Super Sampling and buy a regular Reshade. 

Now, during the installation, you need to go to Eldenring and choose Direct X 12. It will ask you what effects you want to install, so choose the Revenant Reshade ini that I linked to. If you download this mod and choose this ini during the installation, you will get all the desired effects. It is useful to place this ini in the Elden Ring game installer for later use.

This will enable Reshade when the game starts. Personally, I'd do some customization. Press the Home key on the keyboard and turn off chromatic aberration, borders and ADOF. Also disable the fps counter here and check the Enable Performance Mode check box.

Reshade is intended for use with 5/10 brightness, but it is recommended to set the brightness to 10/10 with some other additional elements.

Step 7: Visual changes, part 3 (optional).

This step is not 100% necessary to gain good experience, but it is important if you need better performance or better anti-aliasing solution.

To get started, go to the Temporal SS MOD page and get the latest version. Extract the contents and simply copy the ERSS2 folder and ERSS2.dll into the Elden Ring Game folder. The dxgi.dll file is already provided by Reshade and is not required. Next, rename the file "ERSS2.dll" to "ERSS2.addon" so that Reshade installs it as an addon.

Launch the game and press the Home key, you will see an update window; if you are using the NVIDIA GPU, you will need to use the update solution. In this step, you can adjust the scaling and sharpening. Personally, I use FSR3 with a sharpness of 0.800 only for smoothing.

If you use Temporal SS, I recommend you also get the Disable Sharpening mode that I referenced. Install it just like any other DLL mod (Step 2) because Elden Ring enables sharpening by default and can confuse it with the built-in Temporal SS option. In addition, TAA can cause blurring in the base game, so turn off in-game anti-aliasing when using it; other effects such as DoF and motion blur can also make it difficult for the upsciler to display a clear image. Personally, I disable DoF, but I keep the motion blur high.

Step 8: DLL mods that contain other files

There is another mod class, besides mods that contain DLLs, edits, and other files. These mods contain DLLs and other files. Examples are the Camera Offset and Stance bar mods. Installing such mods requires only a little more work.

Start with Stance Bar fashion. Download the latest version and extract files - open internal folders until you see DLLs, other folders and ini files. Now create a new folder as you did with Sekiro Deflection and Lighting in your ME2 installation. I called it "posture." Now move the files you downloaded to this folder.

Next, combine both steps of installing the mod for this mod. Add DLLs to the External DLLs section first.

external_dlls = [

  "StutterFixDLL.dll",

  "C:￤SteamApps￤Common￤ELDEN RING￤Game￤SeamlessCoop￤ersc.dll",

"posturePostureBarMod.dll",

]

Note that this time the folder is enabled.

Then add the entire folder to the mods section.

mods = [

{ enabled = true, name = "Sekiro", path = "sekiro" }

{ enabled = true, name = "Posture", path = "posture" }

{ enabled = true, name = "Lighting", path = "lighting" }

]

Now both DLL and all free files are loaded via ME2. You can repeat this process to offset the camera. Personally, I would also disable dynamic camera movement. 

Step 9: Merge Regulation.bin Files

Since I'm playing both Sekiro Deflection and Elden Mode right now, I needed to merge the Regulation.bin files. Fortunately, basic defragmentation is fairly straightforward. To get started, download the Smithbox referenced above. Unzip the file and move it to a convenient location. Then download Elden Mode and open the Regulation.bin file.

Locate the Smithbox.exe file in the downloaded file and open it. You will see a window to download or create the project. Select to create a project and name it. I chose Sekiro Elden Mode. The directory should be the folder with the Regulation.bin file you downloaded earlier. Next, specify the game executable as eldenring.exe. Finally, check the name of the import line. Click Create.

Next, click Param Editor at the top. Then click Merge Params in the right pane. The result is this image: Set destination editing to Regulation.bin in Sekiro Deflection. Mine was in the folder ME2 "sekiro", press Apply and she should merge immediately.

You should now have a new regulation.bin.prev file in your folder. The new merged file must now be regulation.bin. Take this file and replace the regulation.bin file that was previously in the 'sekiro' folder. This would mean that "Sekiro Deflection" and "Elden Mode" were merged. I also included a video of the fight with the Guardian of the Trees right after the fight, so you can get an idea of what it looks like and plays.

We hope that this guide will be useful for those who are trying to manage the process of creating mods in Elden Ring.

Other merge guides (hks and tae files)

This is not part of the main guide, but it is worth mentioning: to merge files other than regulation.bin, you need other tools. Cleverraptor6 has two excellent articles on how to manually merge regulation files (instead of using the AutoMerge feature, i.e., performing Step 9 manually) and merge tae files (on dcx files containing animation). For completeness we consider both options.

The most recent files you are likely to encounter are hks files, usually located in the action/script folder. These are scripts that are more difficult to merge - if two mods have the same file, you need to compare them and copy the scripts that one adds and the other does not. It is more nuanced and requires a higher level of understanding. It is recommended that you use the Compare Plugin for NotePad++.