Can you pause the game in Elden Ring? How do you pause and take a break? Elden Ring is similar to FromSoftware’s other action RPGs, where pausing the game isn’t really possible. However, in this game, you can in fact pause with a simple workaround. As part of our Elden Ring guide, we’re going to explain to you how you can pause the game and keep your character safe from harm.
Elden Ring: How to Pause the Game
Elden Ring is so vast and time-consuming that you will probably want a breather at some point. The game doesn’t have a typical pause function; if you spend time in the menus, looking at your inventory or rearranging your equipment, the action around you continues, and it may cause an untimely death or two if you’re not careful.
However, as discovered by Iron Pineapple, there is actually a way to freeze the action and pause Elden Ring.
How to Pause Elden Ring
Here are the steps required to “pause” Elden Ring.
At any point during play, press Options and then select Inventory.
In the Inventory screen, press the Touch Pad to open Help. This brings up a dialogue box with a few options.
From the Help screen, select the option Menu Explanation.
As long as you have the above screen showing, the game world will be paused. You can use this respite to take a breath or deal with something outside the game before coming back to it. Just be aware that as soon as you press Options to leave the Menu Explanation screen, the world will return to its normal, live state.
Other Pause Options
The above method is the only known way to pause the game in the traditional sense. However, there are other ways you can safely leave the game idle:
Rest at a Site of Grace
Sites of Grace are spots throughout the world of Elden Ring at which you can rest, replenish your Flasks, level up, and more. While resting at any of these points, your character will be safe from harm. Elden Ring won’t pause, as such, but you can leave the game running knowing you won’t be killed while you’re away.
Go to the Roundtable Hold
The Roundtable Hold is another totally safe area in Elden Ring. After discovering it fairly early on in the game — Melina will tell you about it after defeating Margit, the Fell Omen — you will be able to fast travel to it at any point via the map screen. As long as you’re at the Roundtable Hold, your character will come to no harm — there’s even a strict “no combat” rule in place. Again, this isn’t a pause, just a location you can visit to get away from the hostile open world.
Save and Quit
Kind of obvious, this, but you can always save and quit Elden Ring if you need to come away from the game. If you need to pause but would rather not leave the game running in an idle state, you can save and quit at any time from the Options menu. The good thing about this is that Elden Ring will save your exact location and circumstance, so this acts more or less like a pause, only you have to load the game back up to continue.
Have you found yourself looking for how to pause Elden Ring? Take a break in the comments section below, and check out our massive Elden Ring guide for lots more help.
