This sits outside the game itself, which is exactly why it is hard to find a straight answer about it.
Short answer
The short version: it is canon where the developers say it is, and enjoyable regardless.
Licensed soundtracks are the most likely part to be missing from a re-release. Canon status is decided by the developers rather than by the adaptation's writers. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.
Where to find it legitimately
Official art books contain material that never appears in the game itself. Adaptations take liberties, and the interesting ones take them deliberately. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. Fan work is frequently better than official work and is not the same thing.
Release order and chronological order are different, and both have their advocates. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Assets circulated online are often ripped rather than released, which affects what you can legally do with them.
What is fan-made
It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see.
- Check whether something is official before treating it as canon.
- Play first if you mind spoilers — adaptations rarely respect them.
- Check the version you are actually running before assuming anything is broken.
- Credit fan artists if you reuse their work.
Where it fits with the game
Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over.
Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. Everything below is framed around the current state of Elden Ring rather than a launch-week impression.
Whether it is worth your time
Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.
The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice.
What exists officially
Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows.
Where people go wrong
- Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
- Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
- Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
- Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.
Elden Ring FAQ
What if none of this works for me?
Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.
Does this work the same on console and PC?
The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.
Is it canon?
Where the developers have said so, yes. Adaptations produced under licence are frequently their own continuity.
Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?
No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.
Bookmark it if you like, but honestly, once you have done it once you will not need to come back.