Introduction to Elden Ring Endings and the Reddit Community
When FromSoftware released Elden Ring, the gaming world was forever changed. Navigating the treacherous and breathtaking expanses of the Lands Between is no easy feat, but figuring out how the game actually concludes can feel like an even greater puzzle. If you have ever tumbled down the digital rabbit hole searching for an elden ring endings guide reddit, you already know that the community has spent countless hours dissecting, data-mining, and debating every single nuance of these complex conclusions.
Reddit has cemented itself as the ultimate hub for Tarnished warriors looking to unravel the lore, find hidden questlines, and secure the achievement of their choice. With six distinct endings available in the base game—ranging from the standard default path to the nightmarish Lord of Frenzied Flame—knowing what you are getting into before you commit your save file is essential.
In this comprehensive guide, we are going to break down the most popular endings, synthesize the collective wisdom of the elden ring endings reddit threads, and help you choose the path that best fits your roleplay, your build, and your emotional investment in the fate of the Lands Between.
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Understanding the Elden Ring Endings Landscape
Before diving into specific questlines, it helps to understand how the end-game works in FromSoftware’s magnum opus. Unlike previous titles where defeating the final boss immediately thrusts you into New Game Plus, Elden Ring gives you a crucial moment of choice. Once you defeat the final boss, you are presented with a site of grace. You can interact with this grace to trigger an ending, or you can fast travel away, explore the open world, finish side quests, and come back later.
However, there is one major catch that every elden ring endings guide reddit thread loves to warn players about: the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending. Accidentally inheriting the Three Fingers locks you into a specific path unless you perform a very specific, highly missable quest involving Millicent and Placidusax's arena. Because of this, the community is filled with cautionary tales of players who ruined their "Age of the Stars" run by blindly hugging a naked, burning corpse beneath the Capital.
Let us dive into the core endings and see what the Reddit hivemind has to say about each of them.
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1. The Age of Fracture (Standard Ending)
The Age of Fracture is the default ending of Elden Ring. If you simply follow the path of grace, defeat the mandatory bosses, mend the Elden Ring with whatever standard remnants you have, and sit on the throne, this is the conclusion you receive.
According to consensus on elden ring endings reddit, this is often considered the "meh" ending. It is not necessarily bad, but it does not really fix anything. You are essentially restoring the status quo that led to the Shattering in the first place. Queen Marika remains the vessel, the Greater Will maintains its distant and oppressive grip, and the cycle continues.
- Prerequisites: None. Simply defeat the final boss and interact with the broken Marika.
- Achievement/Trophy: Yes, unlocks the "Elden Lord" achievement.
- Reddit Verdict: Best saved for a first playthrough if you are playing blind, or completely avoided if you want a more flavorful lore experience.
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2. Age of the Stars (Ranni’s Ending)
Ask almost any user on the elden ring endings guide reddit boards which ending is the best, and 9 times out of 10, they will point you toward the Age of the Stars. Tied to the sprawling, multi-stage questline of Witch Ranni, this ending introduces a radically different paradigm to the Lands Between.
In this ending, you summon Ranni instead of repairing the Elden Ring. She ushers in the "Age of the Stars," banishing the Greater Will and the Golden Order from the world. Together, you and Ranni embark on a thousand-year voyage into the cold, dark night of the cosmos. It is mysterious, melancholic, and deeply poetic.
- Prerequisites: Complete Ranni’s questline, which spans Caria Manor, Nokron, the Deeproot Depths, and the Moonlight Altar. You must also place the Dark Moon Ring on her finger at the end of her quest.
- Achievement/Trophy: Yes, unlocks the "Age of the Stars" achievement.
- Reddit Verdict: Widely regarded as the "true" or most satisfying ending by the community, offering a sense of true liberation from divine tyranny.
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3. Lord of Frenzied Flame (The "Bad Ending")
If you want to watch the world burn—literally—then the Lord of Frenzied Flame is for you. This ending completely replaces the final cutscene with a terrifying cinematic where your character's head morphs into a blazing ball of chaos, and Melina vows to hunt you down to the ends of the earth.
Community discussions on elden ring endings guide reddit often highlight the sheer drama of this ending. Melina abandons you if you inherit the flame, and her dialogue changes during the final cutscene if you survive, promising to deliver you "Destined Death."
- Prerequisites: Locate the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell, platform down a nightmarish vertical dungeon, and embrace the Three Fingers behind the altar in the Frenzied Flame Proscription.
- Achievement/Trophy: Yes, unlocks the "Lord of Frenzied Flame" achievement.
- Reddit Verdict: Incredible cinematic value, but dangerous because it locks you out of all other endings unless you use Miquella's Needle at Dragonlord Placidusax's arena.
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4. The Mending Rune Endings
Aside from the standard, Ranni, and Frenzied Flame paths, there are three distinct variations of the Elden Lord ending that require you to acquire a Mending Rune through various side quests. These allow you to reshape the Golden Order rather than just restoring it blindly.
Age of Order (Goldmask’s Ending)
By following Brother Corhyn and the enigmatic Goldmask, you uncover truths about the fundamental flaws of the Golden Order and the fickle nature of the Gods. Goldmask crafts a Mending Rune that removes the petty, emotional interference of the gods from the equation.- Reddit Perspective: Considered by lore enthusiasts to be a deeply intellectual ending that fixes the systemic corruption of the Erdtree without abandoning order entirely.
Age of the Duskborn (Fia’s Ending)
Fia, the Deathbed Companion, champions those who live in death—specifically Godwyn the Golden. By completing her questline through Nokron and Deeproot Depths, you earn the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. This ending integrates "Those Who Live in Death" into the natural order of reincarnation, validating their existence.- Reddit Perspective: Hugely popular among players who love dark fantasy aesthetics and deep, tragic lore. Plus, you get to fight one of the coolest dragon bosses in the game.
Blessing of Despair (The Dung Eater’s Ending)
Often referred to as the "Seedbed Curse" or Dung Eater ending, this is universally recognized on the elden ring endings guide reddit threads as the most horrifying and morally depraved choice in the game. Your mending rune curses every soul in the Lands Between, trapping them and all their descendants in a cycle of suffering so profound that they cannot even return to the Erdtree.- Reddit Perspective: Do it once for the achievement, feel terrible about yourself, and never do it again.
How to Back Up Your Save for Multiple Endings
One of the most common topics discussed in any elden ring endings guide reddit thread is save-scumming. Because achieving all six endings normally requires going through New Game Plus multiple times, many players choose to back up their save files right before the final choice.
If you are playing on PC or PlayStation, you can manually copy your save data to the cloud or a USB drive right after defeating the final boss. Once you trigger one ending and grab the achievement, you can restore your save file and choose a different path. While some purists argue this ruins the organic flow of the game, the Reddit community largely agrees that it is a massive time-saver for achievement hunters who do not have hundreds of hours to spare for multiple playthroughs.
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Conclusion
Navigating the complex lore and branching paths of FromSoftware's masterpiece can feel overwhelming, but utilizing resources like an elden ring endings guide reddit discussion ensures you never miss a step. Whether you choose to usher in the cold freedom of the stars with Ranni, burn the world to ash with the Frenzied Flame, or mend the fractured world with a custom rune, every choice shapes your legacy in the Lands Between. Choose your path wisely, Tarnished.
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