How to Downgrade Elden Ring

Elden Ring patch 1.17 went live on August 27, 2026, and Seamless Co-op broke the same day. Code mods hook into the game itself, so each patch can break them until their makers catch up.

The good news is that you don’t have to give up your normal install. You can keep a second, older copy beside it. Steam updates one, and your mods use the other.

Back up first. Turn off Steam Cloud for the game (right-click it, then Properties, then General). Then copy your save folder, %APPDATA%\EldenRing. A save that has been loaded on a newer version won’t load on an older one.

Old versions are offline only. Online play needs the latest patch. Play the old copy offline or through Seamless Co-op, and keep it away from normal online play.

Pick the version you need

Check your mod’s download page for the game version it supports. For Seamless Co-op, that’s its Nexus page.

Version	Released	What changed
1.17.2 (latest)	October 20, 2026	Bug fixes
1.17.1	September 8, 2026	Fixed DLC items in multiplayer
1.17	August 27, 2026	Balance changes and Tarnished Pack support
1.16.2	May 28, 2026	Stability fixes, and the last version before 1.17

Mods that haven’t updated since 1.17 need 1.16.2. The steps below use it as the example.

Download the old files

This is the method from the SoulsSpeedruns wiki, which speedrunners use to play older patches.

1. Make sure Steam is online. Press Win + R, type steam://open/console and press Enter.
2. Paste each line into the console and press Enter. Steam shows no progress bar, so watch your network use in Task Manager and wait for each one to finish.

download_depot 1245620 1245621 8620480158702245750
download_depot 1245620 1245624 5079239473805799861
download_depot 1245620 2778580 1674424364022381183

The first line is the game data, the second is the game itself and the third is Shadow of the Erdtree. Skip the third if you don’t own the DLC.

These are the IDs players reported for 1.16.2 in this Steam thread and this download script. You can check them on SteamDB’s manifest list, where a 1.16.2 build should be dated May 28, 2026. For any other version, swap in that version’s manifest IDs from SteamDB.

3. Find the files in Steam\steamapps\content\app_1245620. Each download has its own depot_ folder.

Set up the old copy

1. Make a new folder outside your Steam library, such as C:\Games\Elden Ring 1.16.2. Copy what’s inside all three depot folders into it.
2. Next to eldenring.exe, make a text file named steam_appid.txt that holds only 1245620. The SoulsSpeedruns EAC page explains that this lets the old version start.
3. In Steam, click Add a Game, then Add a Non-Steam Game, and pick eldenring.exe from your new folder.
4. Launch it and check the version number in the bottom-right corner of the title screen.

Steam’s updates can’t reach this copy, since it lives outside your library. Your main install keeps updating for online play.

For Seamless Co-op, install the mod release that matches your old version into the new folder, next to eldenring.exe. Then start the game with ersc_launcher.exe. Seamless uses its own .co2 save files, so your normal saves stay separate.

Skip the old Elden Ring Downpatcher on GitHub. Its version list stops at 1.06, and it hasn’t been updated since 2022.

Skip the steps next time

We’re building Version Lock, a Windows app that puts modded games on the version your mods need in one click. It also tells you when your mods catch up with a new patch.

Modding other games? We also cover Skyrim and Fallout 4, and our rollback options cover the rest.

Last reviewed: October 2026.