How to play Elden Ring survival mode mod: hunger, thirst, new materials

Dark Souls modder Grimrukh unleashed a Survival Mode mod for Elden Ring, complete with hunger and thirst resources and brand-new crafting materials. 

Since its release on PC and consoles several months ago, Elden Ring has thrived on community-created mods. Some of the more popular mods have added everything from easy mode difficulty options and VR versions to performance improvements and a transmog system.

The latest mod from Scott Mooney, aka Grimrukh, takes things in a different direction, with a Survival Mode that inflicts hunger and thirst, which players must combat with new craftable food items. Survival Mode also introduces fresh materials for crafting and upgrading weapons.

In addition, darker nights sans light sources should make for a truly grim experience post-sundown. Cures for regional diseases feature in the newly-released mod, as well.

How to download Survival mod in Elden Ring

On the heels of a premiere stream hosted by popular Twitch streamer Lobosjr, modder Grimrukh rolled out a Survival Mode mod for Elden Ring on PC.

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Those interested in the challenging new build can access it for free through Nexus Mods. Users will need to first disable Elden Ring’s Easy Anti-Cheat, then follow the instructions outlined by Grimrukh in the installation process:

• Each feature is optional. Follow the README instructions to determine which folders to install. In short, install Game (SHARED), then go into Game (OPTIONS) and choose ENABLED or DISABLED for each feature until you get to the extra files to install. Darkness is supported by all OPTIONS subfolders, but you must also run SurvivalModeDarkness.exe while playing the game if you want it. If you don’t want it, just don’t run this executable.
• You can use Mod Engine 2 or UXM for Elden Ring to play the mod. Make sure you have EasyAnticheat disabled! Mod Engine 2 does this automatically and makes it easier to “uninstall” the mod.

Grimrukh developed the mod alongside Jan Zielasko, King_Bore_Haha, and Thens_DeS. And though this particular effort has officially entered the wild, Grimrukh will not soon leave the world of Soulsborne behind.

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The modder remains hard at work on Dark Souls Nightfall, a fan-made Dark Souls sequel packed with new combat mechanics, bosses, and NPCs.

The team behind Dark Souls Nightfall presently lacks a firm release date but Dark Souls: Remastered owners on Steam can unlock a demo via Nexus Mods.