Dark Souls 2 Summoning Rules: Soul Memory Ranges

Much of Dark Souls 2 is somewhat convoluted and shrouded in mystery, one of the mysteries being the exact requirements for establishing a connection to another player in order to engage in some jolly co-operation. Other than the glowing summon signs that you’ll see littered across the ground at certain points in the game, there’s no real indication as to the Dark Souls 2 summoning rules. More often than not, it’s a case of wildly sprinting towards a visible sign and desperately attempting to use it to summon a player before anybody else can get there first. On the other side of the coin, for those waiting to be summoned to another player’s world, it can be a fairly laborious waiting game, leaving you thinking “surely somebody must need help with this section by now?” Thankfully, Redditor IllusoryWall has worked out just how the connections are established in Dark Souls 2 multiplayer, saving us all a great deal of bafflement.



Dark Souls 2 Summon Signs & Why They Can't Always Be Seen

You may or may not be aware that matchmaking in Dark Souls 2 is based on Soul Memory, which is the overall number of souls that you have attained throughout the course of your playthrough with a particular character. This means that if the gap between yours and a friends’ character gets too large, it may result in their summon signs not appearing in your game, and vice versa. You can view your Soul Memory in the Player Status menu (it’s the number in the top right of that screen). While we originally only knew that players had to be within a certain Soul Memory range of one another if they wished to play together, we now know the precise reason for seeing some summon signs and not others.

As mentioned above, summoning in Dark Souls 2 is based on Soul Memory. Soul Memory is split into 41 different tiers, and which tier you are in will affect who you can summon and who can summon you.

Dark Souls 2 Summoning Guide

Tier Number Soul Memory Requirement   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 - 999,999,999 

 

Dark Souls 2 Summon Calculator

The first step in working out the range of players you can summon is to locate which tier you are in, and which item you will be using to initiate a multiplayer session, as they each produce slightly different results.

White Sign Soapstone (-2/+1)
Probably the most common summoning tool in the game, allows you to be summoned by players up to two tiers below you and one tier above. For example, if you are in tier 10, you can send you summoning sign to players in tiers 8-11.

White Sign Soapstone & Name-Engraved Ring (-5/+4)
The Name-Engraved Ring significantly increases the Soul Memory range of your possible summons, allowing you to send your sign to players five tiers below you and four tiers above you.

Small White Sign Soapstone (-3/+1)
Being summoned as a shade with the Small White Sign Soapstone allows you to send you sign to players up to three tiers below you and one tier above.

Small White Sign Soapstone & Name-Engraved Ring (-6/+5)
The Name-Engraved Ring increases the Soul Memory range to include players up to six tiers below and five tiers above you.

Cracked Red Eye Orb (-0/+3)
Red Phantoms can only use Cracked Red Eye Orbs to invade players in their own tier or up to three tiers above.

Cracked Blue Eye Orb (-2/+2)
Blue Sentinels can invade sinful players up to two tiers below or above them.

Bell Keepers Covenant (-0/+3)
Exactly the same as the Cracked Red Eye Orbs, members of the Bell Keepers Covenant will only be summoned to the worlds of players that are either in the same tier or up to three tiers above.

Red Sign Soapstone (-3/+2)
The Red Sign Soapstone will allow you to send your summon sign to players who are up to three tiers below you, or two tiers above you in Soul Memory.

Dragon Eye (-4/+4)
Using the Dragon Eye, you can send your summon sign to players up to four tiers higher or lower than your current tier.

Rat King Covenant (-1/+3)
Members of the Rat King Covenant can summon players one tier below them or three tiers higher.

If you wish to read further into the subject, take a look at our Guide to Summoning Friends in Dark Souls 2!

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