Does each NG+ get harder in Elden Ring? A complete guide

If you‘ve sunk dozens or hundreds of hours into exploring the Lands Between, you may be wondering if Elden Ring‘s New Game Plus (NG+) mode is worth tackling next. I‘m here to fully break down exactly how much tougher each NG+ cycle gets so you can decide if you‘re up for the added challenge.

The short answer is yes, enemies definitively get stronger with each consecutive playthrough, especially in the early NG+ levels. So if you‘re hungry for more after beating Elden Ring the first time, NG+ can add some spice and uncertainty back into familiar fights.

Below I‘ll provide all the nitty gritty details on how much NG+ impacts difficulty. I‘ll also share some tips to help overcome these new threats based on my own multiple playthroughs.

NG+ step-by-step: How enemy stats scale up each cycle

Rather than wildly transforming the experience, NG+ evolves Elden Ring‘s difficulty more subtly by incrementally buffing up enemies. But these stat increases aren‘t uniform across every foe. To really demonstrate how NG+ shakes up the difficulty, let‘s look at exactly how much extra health and damage enemies gain loop by loop.

Standard Enemies

So a typical enemy with 1000 HP and 100 damage on NG would jump to 1300 HP and 110 damage on NG+, then 1600 HP and 120 damage on NG+2, eventually capping out at 3000 HP and 170 damage.

Bosses

For major bosses with 10,000 HP initially, their health would jump to 15,000 on NG+, then 17,500 on NG+2, eventually maxing out at 30,000. Their damage would see smaller but still impactful boosts.

These tables illustrate a key point – enemies scale up much faster than the player does. You might gain 10% more HP/damage from one NG to the next, but foes get 20%, 30% or more. This closes the power gap quickly in the early cycles.

The first 1-3 NG+ runs see the biggest difficulty spikes

Looking closely at the stats above reveals that the earliest NG+ levels are where enemies grow the most in relation to the player. By NG+3 or NG+4, standard foes have nearly double their original health and damage output. But after that scaling flattens out, culminating in the cap at NG+7.

What does this mean in practice? The first couple of NG+ cycles will be where you feel Elden Ring‘s difficulty spike the most sharply. Those foes you steamrolled before suddenly hit brutally hard and survive strikes that used to fell them. You have to shake off old strategies and re-learn boss patterns.

But after adjusting to the initial NG+ laps, your knowledge and muscle memory kicks back in. The key is recognizing that early on, enemies once again overpower you, but this balance shifts back in your favor after several cycles.

Leveling the playing field: Strategies for handling NG+

So what can you do to overcome those daunting first NG+ rounds against jacked up enemies? Here are some tips:

• Optimized builds – Respec your stats to maximize damage for your preferred playstyle. Glass cannon builds work well.

• Upgrade weapons – Somber stones carry over so upgrade special weapons to +10.

• Talismans – Boost damage with Claw, Axe, Ritual Sword talismans.

• Magic – Comet Azur shreds bosses. Mimic Tear remains potent.

• Co-op – Jolly cooperation makes NG+ boss fights manageable.

• Overlevel – Grind runes to outpace enemy scaling.

The key is leaning into offense early NG+ when enemies are at their highest toughness. After a few cycles when you regain your edge, more balanced builds become viable again.

Should you keep playing beyond NG+7?

From the stats above, you can see that NG+7 represents the maximum difficulty in Elden Ring. No additional enemy buffs beyond this point. That means NG+8 and beyond feature all foes at their capped power.

So is there any reason to keep playing past NG+7 if you‘re solely looking for greater challenges? Not particularly. However, there are a few motivations that might inspire veterans to keep looping:

• Mastery – Continue honing skills even against peak foes.

• Experimentation – Respec freely to test creative new builds.

• Completion – Discover areas/quests you missed before.

• Enjoyment – Revisit your favorite game world and bosses.

So while the technical challenge peaks at NG+7, reasons beyond raw difficulty may compel certain players toward additional playthroughs.

The verdict: NG+1-3 offer the most rewarding new experiences

In my own experience across five full NG+ cycles, I found the first 2 or 3 to be the most engaging in terms of reinventing Elden Ring‘s challenge. The initial NG+1 playthrough was by far the biggest shock, forcing me to shake off old habits.

But even up through NG+3, I found I needed to carefully study enemy movesets again and perfectly time my dodges as their damage reached new heights. Beyond that point, my own power started to outscale them again.

So for players looking to balance enjoyment and difficulty, I‘d recommend experiencing Elden Ring up through at least NG+3. Those first few laps around the Lands Between offer the most elegantly tuned spike in challenge, transforming the experience without overwhelming you.

Of course everyone‘s skill level differs, so go beyond NG+3 if you‘re craving more. But in my opinion, those early New Game Plus cycles hit the sweet spot between familiarity and newfound challenge.

So in summary: yes, NG+ continuously scales up foe statistics and therefore Elden Ring‘s difficulty. But the most satisfying difficulty curve is found primarily in the first 1-3 New Game Plus playthroughs before flattening out. So if you‘re hungry for more after becoming Elden Lord, dive into NG+ and enjoy rediscovering the challenge. Just be ready early on as enemies hit harder than ever before!