NOTE: I am not the original creator of this mod. Both the original mod and its creator do not exist on NexusMods anymore, so I took it upon myself to update the mod for the current patch and add the DLC content as it was my favorite Elden Ring mod. Since then, I have managed to expand it with the addition of Progression Mode and many QoL features, so I hope you enjoy it.
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Description

A boss fight arena mod for Elden Ring. This mod was originally made for practicing boss fights and trying out different builds, without having to spend hours on getting to the boss and upgrading your character, as well as for players who mainly enjoy the boss fights for replayability. Killing a boss doesn't disable them, so that you can keep fighting them.

The mod now includes two main modes: Sandbox and Progression. Read more about these below.

Note that this mod is meant as a standalone experience due to all the changes it makes. You should use a dedicated character slot for each mode, not use those characters in the vanilla game, and conversely, not use vanilla characters with the mod. More details below.
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Features: Sandbox Mode

• Includes every boss (defined as any enemy with a named HP bar at the bottom) in the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
• Fight any boss as many times as you want (killing them doesn't matter)
  

• After creating a character, you get teleported to Roundtable Hold
• Roundtable Hold has everything you need to get your build going fast: you can level up for free, obtain any item in the game for free, upgrade weapons and Spirit Ashes at no cost, freely trigger New Game+ cycles, re-spec at any time and no cost, and other conveniences.
  

• You can fight bosses by talking to Gideon, who is standing at the entrance to the chamber where the Two Fingers used to be.
  

- Talk to him, and you can then select which boss to fight
- Selecting a boss teleports you close to the boss

• Dying to a boss teleports you close to the boss whenever possible, so that you can try again quickly. Note that this is not currently possible for many bosses, especially in the DLC, and you will have to select them again.
• Killing a boss teleports you back to the Roundtable Hold
• You can also teleport to the Roundtable Hold normally by using the map in most instances outside of combat.
  

• NG+ cycles have been rebalanced to make early to mid-game bosses more challenging.
• DLC bosses have been rebalanced to remove the need for Scadutree Fragments/Revered Spirit Ash, which do not exist by default in the mod. The vanilla mechanics and stats can be restored with an optional modifier, which also adds the items to Kale's shop.
  

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Features: Progression Mode

• Uses the same basic framework as Sandbox, but you start with almost nothing and must obtain items and upgrades from defeating bosses.
• Every boss has a set of unique item drops with limited randomization, with the option for full randomization across all bosses.
  

• For more information on this mode, check out this article.
  

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Installation

0. BACKUP YOUR SAVE FILES BEFORE USING THIS MOD. While only characters that you load when using this mod will be affected, it's easy to accidentally load into the wrong character, and due to the extensive changes this mod makes to event scripts and flags, you could easily end up with a softlocked/bricked character. You can read this article to learn how to do this: https://www.techradar.com/how-to/where-to-find-your-elden-ring-save-file-location-on-pc

1. You need Mod Engine 2 to use this mod. It has been extensively tested with version 2.1 of Mod Engine, so that's the one I recommend at the moment. Remember to extract the downloaded .zip file first (right click > Extract All). Note that Mod Engine auto-detects your Elden Ring install location (as long as it's a legitimate Steam copy), so you don't need to put it in the game installation folder, and in fact it may cause problems if you do.

2. Once you have Mod Engine 2 set up, extract the Boss Arena .zip file, open the resulting folder, and then copy the CONTENTS of the Boss Arena "mod" folder (NOT the folder itself) to inside Mod Engine 2's own "mod" folder. If you end up with a "mod" folder inside another "mod" folder, you've done it wrong.

3. If you use an existing Mod Engine folder rather than a fresh download of it, make sure its "mod" folder is completely empty before doing step 2. Remember you can have multiple Mod Engine instances for different mods, as the simplest method to select between them.

4. Make sure Steam is running in the background, and then click the "launchmod_eldenring.bat" file to launch the game with the mod. If nothing happens, you may have a non-standard installation of Elden Ring, file permission issues with the game install folder, antivirus software blocking Mod Engine, or other unknown issues, none of which I can help you with unfortunately.

5. Verify that the title screen has changed to the Boss Arena one, and then start a new character.
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Uninstallation

1. Simply remove the mod's contents from Mod Engine 2's "mod" folder, or just run the game directly via Steam.
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Caution (please read this thoroughly before reporting any issues)

• BACKUP YOUR SAVE FILES BEFORE USING THIS MOD (this is important enough to repeat).
  

• Please create a new character after installing the mod for the first time. Using characters created outside the mod can make some bosses unplayable, make the game and the mod work in weird ways, and it might screw up the progression system of the old save. Also, the very first thing the mod does after creating a character is giving you many items automatically, and you will be missing these if you use an existing character.
  

• While switching from Progression to Sandbox mode on the same character is probably fine, doing it the other way around may result in bugs and would lead to a different game experience than what is intended. My recommendation is to use a different character for each version of Boss Arena.
  

• This mod has been tested with version 1.14 (regulation version 1.14.1) of Elden Ring, the latest patch as of writing this. Older versions of the game will not work properly and I cannot provide support for them.
  

• Aside from Mod Engine 2, you do not need any other mods/tools to make this mod work.
  

• About Mod Engine 2:
  

- When using Mod Engine 2, this mod doesn't change the actual game files.
- Mod Engine 2 automatically disables EasyAntiCheat when the game is run through launchmod_eldenring.bat
- You cannot connect to FromSoftware servers or online features.
- Thus launching and using the mod through ME2 should not get you banned.

• Using the modded character save when playing online may get you banned!
  

• Compatibility with other mods is not guaranteed.
  

- Please take into account that this mod changes multiple aspects of the game and many resources the game uses:
- Maps, event scripts, conversation scripts, character placements, game parameters, title screen, text parameters...
- Because of this, you cannot use this mod straight out of the box together with many other mods.
- Getting this mod to work with other mods probably requires manual work and understanding of how mods internally work. That said, merging other mods into this one should probably be fine as long as they don't involve changes to events, map or talk data, so for example things like most param edits or cosmetic/moveset/AI changes. But again, I can't provide any guarantees or support for using this mod in conjunction with others.

• I advise against exploring the game world outside the Roundtable Hold and fighting bosses. This mod was designed to be a very focused, standalone experience, only to be played through fighting the bosses and using the tools in Roundtable Hold. Playing the game outside the intended areas might cause bugs in the game and in how the mod works.
  

• There are most probably some bugs that I have missed. From my own testing and playing the mod, I haven't had any major issues, but don't hesitate to report any bugs you find to the Bugs section here. The more information you include, the better.
  

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Credits

• RepO98 - original creator up to version 1.4 of Sandbox Mode.
  

• PositronCannon (myself) - current maintainer since version 1.5 of Sandbox Mode; creator of Progression Mode.
• KaruMiraiii - French translation.
  

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Special Thanks

• All the creators of modding tools for FromSoft games. Particularly Smithbox/DSMapStudio, UXM, Mod Engine, DarkScript3, ESDStudio/ESDLang and WitchyBND.
  

• All the contributors to the Souls modding wiki for the invaluable information they have compiled. Shoutout in particular to thefifthmatt for his excellent tutorial on EMEVD scripts in Elden Ring (invaluable to help me reverse engineer this mod in order to update it) on top of his many contribution to the tools above (and for the countless hours of fun I've had with his randomizer mods).
  

• Grimrukh and LobosJr for their "Learning to Mod FROMSOFT Games" series on YouTube, which served as an excellent introduction to modding for a complete beginner like me.
  

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Source Files

You can find the updated source files for the mod on this repository. Most of the files are the same as in the downloads here, but they also include commentated versions of the event and talk scripts.