Introduction to Elden Ring Endings
Navigating the sprawling, dark fantasy world of FromSoftware’s masterpiece can be an overwhelming endeavor. With so many choices, items, and intricate questlines, figuring out the working elden ring endings guide list is essential for any Tarnished looking to claim the Elden Throne. Unlike traditional linear RPGs, Elden Ring features multiple distinct conclusions, each altering the fate of the Lands Between in profound ways. Whether you want to plunge the world into eternal darkness, restore the Golden Order, or forge a brand-new path with the stars, understanding how to trigger these outcomes is crucial.
There are six main achievements tied to the endings, though the game actually offers several subtle variations depending on the Mending Runes you acquire. Achieving every single one requires meticulous planning, defeating demigods, and interacting with specific NPCs across Limgrave, Liurnia, Caelid, and beyond. This comprehensive guide will walk you through every working Elden Ring ending, outlining the prerequisites, crucial steps, and how to lock in your desired conclusion without accidentally ruining your playthrough.
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The Standard Path: The Age of Fracture
If you simply play through the game, defeat the final boss, and interact with the fractured Marika without completing any secondary NPC questlines, you will receive the default ending. While it might not have the dramatic, world-altering cutscenes of the other paths, it is still fully recognized in the working elden ring endings guide list.
To achieve the Age of Fracture, you simply need to progress through the main story. Defeat Morgott in Leyndell, burn the Erdtree, defeat Malikath in Crumbling Farum Azula, and finally conquer the final bosses at the Erdtree Sanctuary. Upon touching the Marika statue, choose the option to "Mend the Elden Ring." This resets the status quo, placing you on the throne as the new Elden Lord, albeit under the same divine paradigm that caused the Shattering in the first place.
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The Golden Order Re-established: Age of the Order
For players who believe the Golden Order is worth saving but needs correction, Brother Corhyn and Goldmask’s questline provides a compelling alternative. This path leads to the Age of the Order, resulting in a variation of the standard Elden Lord ending that fixes the perceived flaws of the Greater Will’s dogma.
To complete this path, you must find Brother Corhyn at the Roundtable Hold and eventually locate him along the highway in Altus Plateau. You will also need to find Goldmask near the Stargazer's Ruins. The most critical step in this quest involves solving the riddle at the Erdtree Capital using the Law of Regression incantation while standing before the statue of Radagon. Once you reveal that Radagon is Marika, you must progress the quest by finding them at the Mountaintops of the Giants and eventually near the Colosseum in Leyndell, Ash Capital.
Here are the key steps to secure the Mending Rune of Perfect Order:
- Meet Brother Corhyn at the Roundtable Hold and exhaust his dialogue.
- Locate Corhyn in Altus Plateau and Goldmask on the broken bridge.
- Give the Gold-Masked Tome to Corhyn and learn the Law of Regression.
- Cast Law of Regression in front of the Radagon statue in Leyndell.
- Find Goldmask and Corhyn in the Ashen Capital and loot the Mending Rune of Perfect Order from Goldmask’s body after defeating the final bosses.
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Embracing Despair: The Curse of the Dung Eater
If you prefer a darker, more nihilistic approach to the Lands Between, the Dung Eater’s questline is what you are looking for. This horrific path leads to the Blessing of Despair ending, where every living soul in the world is cursed for eternity, ensuring their descendants are born into suffering.
To start this grim journey, you must gain access to the Roundtable Hold’s inner chambers and speak to the Dung Eater, who appears as a phantom. He will demand that you find a Seedbed Curse to unlock his physical body in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell. You will need to track down five out of the six available Seedbed Curses scattered across dangerous late-game areas like Volcano Manor and Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
Once you feed him the curses and obtain the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, you can use it at the end of the game. This instantly places the Lands Between under a perpetual curse, fundamentally altering the final cinematic to reflect your horrifying choice.
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The Age of the Duskborn: Fia’s Questline
Deathbed Companion Fia offers an alternative to the Golden Order that embraces the notion of those who live in death. By completing her sprawling questline, you unlock the Age of the Duskborn ending, which introduces Death into the Order rather than banishing it.
Fia starts at the Roundtable Hold, where she offers you a comforting hug that temporarily lowers your max HP. Eventually, she leaves the Hold, and you must track her down in the Deeproot Depths. To reach her, you will need to navigate the treacherous platforming of the Shunning-Grounds, defeat the Valiant Gargoyles, and ride a coffin across a subterranean waterfall.
To progress her quest, you must acquire the Cursemark of Death from the top of the Divine Tower of Liurnia. This requires defeating Starscourge Radahn and progressing Ranni’s questline. Return the item to Fia, reload the area, and enter her dream to defeat Lichdragon Fortissax. Doing so rewards you with the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince, which you can use upon defeating the final boss to usher in an era where living in death is no longer considered an abomination.
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The Lord of Frenzied Flame: Chaos Takes the World
Perhaps the most dramatic and visually striking conclusion on the working elden ring endings guide list is the Lord of Frenzied Flame. This ending overrides all other choices and locks you out of the other Mending Rune paths unless you take extreme counter-measures later on.
To find the Three Fingers, you must descend deep into the earth beneath Leyndell, past the Mohg, the Omen boss arena, through a brutal and hidden platforming puzzle in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds. Once you reach the sealed door, you must strip off all your armor and weapons to open it. The Three Fingers will brand your character, covering your body in glowing burns and turning your eyes yellow.
While branded, Melina will abandon you, vowing to kill you herself for embracing the flame of chaos. When you reach the end of the game, you will not have the option to mend the Elden Ring. Instead, you will summon a burning, chaotic version of your character as the Erdtree goes up in apocalyptic green and orange flames, incinerating the entire world.
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Age of the Stars: Ranni’s Secret Path
Widely considered by the community to be the "true" or most satisfying conclusion, Ranni the Witch’s questline is massive, spanning nearly every region in the game. Completing it grants you the Age of the Stars ending, removing the Greater Will's direct interference from the Lands Between and ushering in an age of cold, dark freedom alongside the lunar princess.
To begin, you must seek out Ranni's Rise in the Three Sisters area behind Caria Manor in Liurnia of the Lakes. After pledging your service to her, you will embark on a journey that takes you to Siofra River, Caelid, Nokron Eternal City, Ainsel River, and finally the Moonlight Altar above the Liurnia plateau.
Here are the essential milestones for Ranni’s quest:
- Meet Ranni at Ranni's Rise and agree to serve her.
- Speak to her spectral retainers: Blaidd, Iji, and Seluvis.
- Recover the Fingerslayer Blade from Nokron, Eternal City.
- Give the blade to Ranni to receive the Carian Inverted Statue.
- Navigate the Divine Tower of Liurnia to get the Cursemark of Death.
- Travel through Ainsel River Main, defeat the Baleful Shadow, and obtain the Discarded Palace Key.
- Open the chest in Raya Lucaria to get the Dark Moon Ring.
- Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, and traverse the Deep Ainsel well to reach the Moonlight Altar.
- Place the ring on the doll of Ranni inside the cathedral to claim the Dark Moon Greatsword.
At the conclusion of the game, instead of interacting with Marika’s statue, look for a blue summon sign on the floor near the fractured body. Summoning Ranni triggers a stunning cinematic where she takes over the cosmos and invites you to walk the dark path of the stars by her side.
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How to Back Up Your Save and Get All Endings in One Playthrough
Because playing through Elden Ring multiple times can take hundreds of hours, many players utilize save scumming to view every option on the working elden ring endings guide list in a single playthrough. This method is entirely safe as long as you do not manipulate files while connected to online competitive multiplayer servers.
To perform a save backup on PC, press Windows Key + R, type `%appdata%`, and locate the `EldenRing` folder. Inside, you will find a folder of random numbers containing your save files (`ER0000.sl2`). Copy this folder to a safe backup location on your desktop after defeating the final boss, but before interacting with the end-game prompt.
For PlayStation and Xbox users, the process involves turning off auto-sync for cloud saves. On PlayStation, you can manually upload your save data to PlayStation Plus cloud storage just before the final choice, download it back if you want to view a different ending, or use a USB drive on PS4. Just remember that the Frenzied Flame ending locks you out of the others unless you complete Millicent’s questline and use Miquella's Needle in Dragonlord Placidusax’s arena to cure yourself before the end.
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