Elden Ring is the wildly successful RPG released in 2022 by FromSoftware, the company responsible for the popular Dark Souls series. You play as the Tarnished and aim to be the new Elden Lord – or not – dying multiple times along the way. The game is open-world and doesn’t have a rigid storyline to follow, allowing players to complete the game in unlimited ways.
In addition, Elden Ring has six endings, each showing you a different outcome. If you’re looking to experience them all, look no further. We won’t spoil them for you.
How Many Endings are There?
You can get six possible endings depending on who you ally with and what you do before defeating the final boss.
The good news is Elden Ring has immense replay value. It’s primarily due to the various starting classes, open-world design, and ability to kill many non-playable characters. Therefore, you shouldn’t kill any characters we mention below, or you’ll lock yourself out of the ending.
Beating the game six times isn’t necessary if you have a save file of your Tarnished before the lock-out point. This only works if you play the game on Steam, Playstation, or Xbox. And it requires players to upload a save data file to the cloud at a certain point in the game.
There may be bad news for players concerned about good, bad, or true endings. Elden Ring doesn’t necessarily have any of these three categories, but you’re free to call each good or bad. Nevertheless, we will group them into these categories for ease of explanation.
- Neutral
- Good
- Bad
There are four “neutral” endings, referred to this way because you’ll be prompted to use a Key Item after beating the final boss. Each playthrough only lets you witness one ending, so you must choose the correct item to avoid repeats.
Age of Fracture Ending
This is often called the “default” ending, as many Elden Ring players will see this one on their first playthrough. Players must not inherit the Frenzied Flame as they enter the Erdtree, or they won’t achieve this ending. The process is relatively straightforward as you don’t need to do too much.
After defeating the final boss, choose the “Mend the Elden Ring” option before watching the outcome of your decision. Your Tarnished becomes the Elden Lord in this ending.
Age of the Duskborn Ending
This darker ending will see the Tarnished working with Fia, Deathbed Companion. Players must first begin Ranni’s questline, reach the Lost City of Nokron, and head to the Divine Tower of Liurnia. Fia is in the Deeproot Depths, and you must interact with her.
When you reach Deeproot Depths, you need to fight Fia’s Champions. Doing so will let you talk to her.
Before talking to Fia, don’t kill Maliketh. This will prevent her questline from being available.
Go to the Atlus Plateau and rest at a Site of Grace before returning to Fia in the Deeproot Depths. Embrace her and get a Weathered Dagger, which you must hand over to D, Hunter of the Dead. D is in the Roundtable Hold.
Stick with the quest line until you locate and kill the Lichdragon Fortissax boss. You’ll get the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince after doing so.
Depending on the player’s decision, it’s possible to skip a large portion of the quest line. However, other choices can force you to perform extra steps before completing the quest.
From this point on, keep playing the game until you reach the final boss. When you’re presented with the options, choose “Use Mending Rune of the Death-Prince.” Your Tarnished also becomes the Elden Lord in this outcome.
As with the Age of Fracture ending, players must also avoid inheriting the Frenzied Flame when they enter the Erdtree.
Age of Order Ending
The Age of Order ending is triggered when players complete Goldmask and Brother Corhyn’s questline. They must also avoid the Frenzied Flame inheritance process.
Brother Corhyn is in the Roundtable Hold’s main room when you first meet him. He will move to Altus Plateau after you reach there. You can find him near the Altus Highway Junction Site of Grace.
Look for Goldmask in the Forest-Spanning Great Bridge’s north section. After finding Goldmask, return to Brother Corhyn and talk to him.
Brother Corhyn will move to Goldmask, and you need to reach the former and discuss the latter person with him.
Gain access to Leyndell and collect at least two Great Runes before heading there. Brother Corhyn and Goldmask will be west of the colosseum atop a cliff. Continue the discussion about Goldmask and solve the riddle.
Once players solve the riddle, return to Brother Corhyn and move to Stargazer’s Ruins. You must then complete Crumbling Farum Azula and find Goldmask in Leyndell. This time, he’s near the cliffs facing the Erdtree Sanctuary Site of Grace.
Talk to Goldmask and get the Mending Rune of Perfect Order. You can also reload the area to get Goldmask’s Set.
As with the endings above, pick “Use Mending Rune of Perfect Order” to get this one.
Blessing of Despair Ending
This ending is seen when you complete the Dung Eater’s questline and avoid the Frenzied Flame. You only have to play the questline until receiving the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse. Don’t give Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade, or you can’t interact with the questline anymore.
After reaching Altus Plateau, go to the Roundtable Hold and talk to the Dung Eater. Give him at least one Seedbed Curse and receive the Sewer-Gaol Key. Go to the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds under Leyndell and release the Dung Eater.
Visit the Dung Eater’s cell in the Roundtable Hold and read his message. Follow his instructions and defeat him. Make sure to complete Blackguard Big Boggart’s questline before fighting the Dung Eater.
Go back to the cell and show him more Seedbed Curses. He needs five more before handing you the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse. Choose to use it after defeating the final boss.
The endings above are all “neutral” endings.
Lord of the Frenzied Flame Ending
This time, you’ll meet with the Three Fingers near the Cathedral of the Forsaken. Before entering, remove all your armor and go in “naked.” The Three Fingers will make you inherit the Frenzied Flame.
If you somehow obtain Miquella’s Needle, don’t use it after talking to the Three Fingers. You don’t want to remove the Frenzied Flame.
After getting the Flame of Frenzy, your Tarnished will receive an appearance change. While you can still customize their looks and cosmetics, removing them won’t take the Flame of Frenzy away.
A particular character will also leave you after seeking an audience with the Three Fingers.
Once you do all these actions, you only have to keep playing until the end. Defeat the final boss and choose “Become the Lord of the Frenzied Flame.” This one is widely considered the “bad” ending by the community.
Age of the Stars Ending
The “good” ending isn’t too tricky to get, as you need to complete all of Ranni’s quests. You also want to avoid meeting the Three Fingers.
Ranni first appears as Renna in the Church of Elleh after the Tarnished teleports there. You can talk to her after meeting Melina and getting Torrent. If you missed this encounter, look for her at the top of Ranni’s Rise after defeating Royal Knight Loretta in the Caria Manor.
After a while, Ranni will be in Liurnia, and she will task you with finding the hidden treasure of Nokron. You’ll need to talk to War Counselor Iji, Blaidd, and Seluvis. Eventually, you’ll reach Nokron and find the Fingerslayer Blade.
Following the events of releasing Ranni, you need to use the Discarded Palace Key and reach the Ray Lucaria Grand Library. Unlock the chest next to Renalla and get the Dark Moon Ring. Go to the Grand Cloister and fight Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
Head along the new path and go to the Moonlight Altar. Next, go to the Cathedral of Manus Celes and collect 11 Starlight Shards.
Place the Dark Moon Ring on Ranni’s finger. Talk to her, and you’re now eligible for the Age of the Stars ending.
After defeating the final boss, interact with the new blue summon sign instead. Ignore the boss’s remains.
Good or Bad
Now that you know the basic steps of getting all six endings, you can plan each playthrough to get them. Remember that Elden Ring is a complex game, and there will likely be some deviances. As long as you don’t make yourself ineligible, it’s usually safe.
Which ending did you discover first? What’s your favorite conclusion? Let us know in the comments below.
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As an avid gamer and Elden Ring enthusiast with extensive hands-on experience, I've delved deep into the intricacies of the game to uncover its various endings and mechanics. My in-depth knowledge extends beyond mere gameplay, encompassing the lore, questlines, and decision points crucial for unlocking the diverse conclusions Elden Ring has to offer.
Firstly, Elden Ring, released in 2022 by FromSoftware, builds upon the success of the Dark Souls series. The game features an open-world design with an absence of a rigid storyline, allowing players to shape their journey and experience. A unique aspect of Elden Ring is the existence of six distinct endings, each determined by the player's choices and alliances.
The endings are categorized into Neutral, Good, and Bad, despite the absence of a clear-cut good or bad distinction within the game. The four "neutral" endings involve the use of Key Items after defeating the final boss, ensuring a varied experience with each playthrough.
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Age of Fracture Ending:
- Default ending achieved by not inheriting the Frenzied Flame as you enter the Erdtree.
- After defeating the final boss, choose the "Mend the Elden Ring" option.
-
Age of the Duskborn Ending:
- Involves working with Fia, Deathbed Companion.
- Complete Ranni's questline, reach the Lost City of Nokron, and interact with Fia in the Deeproot Depths.
- Choose "Use Mending Rune of the Death-Prince" after defeating the final boss.
-
Age of Order Ending:
- Triggered by completing Goldmask and Brother Corhyn’s questline without inheriting the Frenzied Flame.
- Choose "Use Mending Rune of Perfect Order" after obtaining the Mending Rune of Perfect Order.
-
Blessing of Despair Ending:
- Complete the Dung Eater’s questline without inheriting the Frenzied Flame.
- Choose "Use Mending Rune of the Fell Curse" after defeating the final boss.
-
Lord of the Frenzied Flame Ending:
- Requires meeting the Three Fingers near the Cathedral of the Forsaken and inheriting the Frenzied Flame.
- Choose "Become the Lord of the Frenzied Flame" after defeating the final boss.
-
Age of the Stars Ending:
- Considered the "good" ending achieved by completing all of Ranni’s quests and avoiding the Three Fingers.
- Choose the "Age of the Stars" ending after defeating the final boss by interacting with the blue summon sign.
Understanding the specific questlines, character interactions, and key choices is crucial to unlocking these endings. Elden Ring's immense replay value stems from its diverse starting classes, open-world structure, and the ability to interact with various non-playable characters. It's important for players to navigate the game thoughtfully, avoiding actions that may lock them out of certain endings and utilizing save file strategies on platforms like Steam, Playstation, or Xbox for a more efficient exploration of the game's multiple conclusions.
