Online Matchmaking
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Table of Contents
Online Play
Soul Memory Ranges
Tier List
Multiplayer Item Ranges
Other Notes
Covenants
Other Online Features
Online Play Issues (ports)
PS3
Xbox Live:
Dark Souls II Server Ports:
Online Play
The summoning/invasion mechanics have changed slightly from Dark Souls. Below are items that facilitate online play:
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| White Sign Soapstone | This is required to summon other players and can be found by talking to Mild Mannered Pate in Forest of Fallen Giants. You need to complete the gauntlet in front of him to get the soapstone from him. |
| Red Sign Soapstone | Sold by Titchy Gren in Undead Purgatory. Requires the defeat of the Executioner's Chariot to get to. Allows players to be summoned as a hostile phantom. |
| Small White Sign Soapstone | Found in the room above Merchant Hag Melentia in Cardinal Tower, in Forest of Fallen Giants. Used to summon other player's as shades (shorter duration of summoning). |
| Black Separation Crystal | Default Item. Used to banish friendly phantoms or to leave a host's world as a phantom. |
| Cracked Red Eye Orb | Dropped by Enslaved Pig and won when winning a Brotherhood of Blood duel. Used to invade other worlds. |
| Cracked Blue Eye Orb | Dropped by Old Knight. Won by winning a Blue Sentinel duel. Used to invade worlds of the guilty. |
| Guardian's Seal | Given by Blue Sentinel Targray upon joining the Blue Sentinels covenant. Automatically summons you to other worlds to protect Way of Blue members when they are invaded. |
| Crest Of The Rat | Given by the The Rat King upon joining the Rat King Covenant. Draws trespassers of the Rat King's territory into your world as gray spirits. |
| Bell Keeper's Seal | Given by Belfry Guard upon joining the Bell Keepers covenant. Allows player to invade bell tower trespassers in Belfry Luna (The Lost Bastille) or Belfry Sol (Iron Keep). |
| Dragon Eye | Given by Magerold of Lanafir upon joining the Dragon Remnants covenant. Allows members to lay a Dragon Soul Sign and be summoned as a hostile Dragon Spirit phantom in another player's world. |
Soul Memory Ranges
Soul Memory is the total number of souls your character has ever obtained (regardless of what was done with them). It is used as a matchmaking requirement, as being within a certain Soul Memory range of another player allows you to connect. There are various tiers of Soul Memory, and the restrictions on multiplayer connections involve how many tiers you are away from another player.
Disclaimer: The specifics of the following information may be subject to change in the future. This was tested during Calibrations 1.05 and Ver. 1.04, on PS3 only.
Tier List
| Tier # | Soul Memory |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 - 9,999 |
| 2 | 10,000 - 19,999 |
| 3 | 20,000 - 29,999 |
| 4 | 30,000 - 39,999 |
| 5 | 40,000 - 49,999 |
| 6 | 50,000 - 69,999 |
| 7 | 70,000 - 89,999 |
| 8 | 90,000 - 109,999 |
| 9 | 110,000 - 129,999 |
| 10 | 130,000 - 149,999 |
| 11 | 150,000 - 179,999 |
| 12 | 180,000 - 209,999 |
| 13 | 210,000 - 239,999 |
| 14 | 240,000 - 269,999 |
| 15 | 270,000 - 299,999 |
| 16 | 300,000 - 349,999 |
| 17 | 350,000 - 399,999 |
| 18 | 400,000 - 449,999 |
| 19 | 450,000 - 499,999 |
| 20 | 500,000 - 599,999 |
| 21 | 600,000 - 699,999 |
| 22 | 700,000 - 799,999 |
| 23 | 800,000 - 899,999 |
| 24 | 900,000 - 999,999 |
| 25 | 1,000,000 - 1,099,999 |
| 26 | 1,100,000 - 1,199,999 |
| 27 | 1,200,000 - 1,299,999 |
| 28 | 1,300,000 - 1,399,999 |
| 29 | 1,400,000 - 1,499,999 |
| 30 | 1,500,000 - 1,749,999 |
| 31 | 1,750,000 - 1,999,999 |
| 32 | 2,000,000 - 2,249,999 |
| 33 | 2,250,000 - 2,499,999 |
| 34 | 2,500,000 - 2,749,999 |
| 35 | 2,750,000 - 2,999,999 |
| 36 | 3,000,000 - 4,999,999 |
| 37 | 5,000,000 - 6,999,999 |
| 38 | 7,000,000 - 8,999,999 |
| 39 | 9,000,000 - 11,999,999 |
| 40 | 12,000,000 - 14,999,999 |
| 41 | 15,000,000 - 19,999,999 |
| 42 | 20,000,000 - 29,999,999 |
| 43 | 30,000,000 - 44,999,999 |
| 44 | 45,000,000 - 359,999,999 |
| 45 | 360,000,000 - 999,999,999 |
Multiplayer Item Ranges
These ranges are calculated from the perspective of the player using the corresponding items.
| Item | Downward Range | Upward Range | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Sign Soapstone | -3 Tiers | +1 Tier | Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 17 - 21 |
| White Sign Soapstone with Name-Engraved Ring | -6 Tiers | +4 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 14 - 24 |
| Small White Sign Soapstone | -4 Tiers | +2 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 16 - 22 |
| Small White Sign Soapstone with Name-Engraved Ring | -7 Tiers | +5 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 13 - 25 |
| Red Sign Soapstone | -5 Tiers | +2 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 15 - 22 |
| Dragon Eye | -5 Tiers | +5 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can send their sign to a host in tiers 15 - 25 |
| Cracked Red Eye Orb | -0 Tiers | +4 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can invade a host in tiers 20 - 24 |
| Cracked Blue Eye Orb | -3 Tiers | +3 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can invade a host in tiers 17 - 23 |
| Bell Keeper's Seal | -1 Tier | +3 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can invade a host in tiers 19 - 23 |
| Crest of the Rat | -1 Tiers | +3 Tiers | Host at tier 20 can summon a phantom from tiers 19 - 23 |
| Guardian's Seal | -5 Tiers | +4 Tiers | Player at tier 20 can be summoned by a host in tiers 15 - 24 |
Item ranges will require retesting to find if anything has changed since Patch 1.10
Other Notes
- Soul Memory is the only range-based parameter that restricts who can connect outside of the Brotherhood of Blood arena. There is no level range otherwise in Dark Souls 21. This means that:
- A level 1 and a max level player can connect if they have identical or similar Soul Memory.
- Two players of an identical level cannot connect if they are too far apart in Soul Memory.
* Brotherhood of Blood arena has been given Soul Level matchmaking as of Patch 1.10. Players who are within 5 levels with each other will have higher priority to match, (SL 150 will match with SL 145-155 faster than an SL 200 matching with an SL 150)
- Since the release of Patch 1.10, there is no division between players in regular NG vs higher NG+ cycles.
- The Name Engraved Ring is not just a filter that makes pairing up with friends easier, but it also extends the viable Soul Memory range for co-op when equipped. Belonging to the Heirs of the Sun covenant does not extend the Soul Memory range.
Covenants
- Being in the Heirs of the Sun covenant will increase the chances of being visible, and thus summoned for co-op.
- If you are in Belfry Sol or Belfry Luna then members of the Bell Keepers covenant can invade you.
- If you are in Grave of Saints or Doors of Pharros, members of the Rat King Covenant can summon you into their world.
- The Blue Sentinels can invade you if you have acquired the status of Sinner or greater.
- Members of the Way of Blue can receive help from a Blue Sentinel when they are invaded by a red phantom.
- Members of the Brotherhood of Blood can invade you as a red spirit using Cracked Red Eye Orbs.
- Members of the Dragon Remnants can be optionally summoned and fought.
Other Online Features
- Bloodstains: If you see a bloodstain on the ground, you can stand above it and activate it to see another player's death or the final few seconds before death. If a seemingly innocent place is covered with bloodstains, then that is a good hint that the place is not all that it seems (unless you're over by the cliffs of Majula. It is unknown by me as to why, but people love jumping off).
- Illusions: If you see a light blue illusion, then you are watching another player (who is online) playing. The illusions tend to only last a few seconds and you cannot interact with them, but they do help give the player some solace that others are going through the same strife as themselves.
- Messages: Other players can leave messages around the land of Drangleic and they will appear in your world. You can view them and rate them, as well as leave your own. The message system uses options rather than free typing, which can make messages cryptic at times. Messages are very useful if you are stuck or worried about an area, giving you valuable information about your current location. Leaving messages has an added benefit in that you'll receive a health bonus if you receive a rating from another player.
- Burning: Burning a Human Effigy at a bonfire will prevent summonings or invasions for 30 minutes. Messages and illusions can still be seen.
- Name-engraved Ring: Using this ring and choosing the same gods will greatly increase the chance of seeing each other, and will prevent any possible summons whom do not have the ring on or have not chosen the same god.
Online Play Issues (ports)
If you do not see any online features, then you may need to open certain ports in your firewall and your router. The ports to open are:
PS3
TCP 80
TCP 443
TCP 5223
UDP 3478
UDP 3479
UDP 3658
Xbox Live:
TCP 80
TCP 53
TCP 3074
UDP 88
UDP 3074
UDP 53
Dark Souls II Server Ports:
Dark Souls II server TCP/UDP ports:
TCP: 50000 - 50100
UDP: 50000 - 50100