Introduction to Elden Ring Endings
Navigating the sprawling, desolate, and beautiful landscapes of FromSoftware’s masterpiece can be a daunting task, especially when you realize your choices actually matter. If you are looking for a working Elden Ring endings guide today, you are likely standing at the precipice of the Erdtree, wondering which path to take. With multiple distinct conclusions available to the Tarnished, achieving your desired cinematic payoff requires meticulous planning, specific NPC questline completions, and often, a hefty amount of combat prowess.
Understanding how the Elden Ring story conclusions work is vital because once you defeat the final boss, you are either locked into your chosen path or forced into New Game Plus. Whether you want to restore the Golden Order, plunge the Lands Between into a perpetual curse, or burn it all down in favor of chaos, this comprehensive guide will walk you through every single working ending currently available in the game.
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Understanding the Elden Ring Endings System
Before diving into the specific steps for each path, it is important to know how the game handles these conclusions. Unlike previous titles, Elden Ring Mending Runes and specific items give you the agency to choose your destiny right at the very end—provided you have unlocked the prerequisites.
Generally speaking, the conclusions can be broken down into three major categories: the Standard/Default endings, the Mending Rune variations, and the secret/hidden endings. While the core final boss sequence remains largely the same, the item you use at the final interactive prompt dictates the final cutscene and the state of the world moving forward. Let us break down every working Elden Ring endings guide today requirement, starting with the baseline paths.
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The Age of Fracture: The Standard Path
If you reach the end of the game without engaging deeply in optional NPC side quests, you will naturally drift toward the default conclusion known as the Age of Fracture. This is often considered the baseline ending and requires the least amount of external quest progression.
To achieve this, you simply need to defeat the final boss of the game, interact with the shattered statue, and choose the option to repair the Elden Ring. There are no special runes required in your inventory. In this scenario, you become the Elden Lord, but the fundamental status quo of the Lands Between remains largely unchanged. The Erdtree still stands, the Greater Will remains in relative control, and the cycle of the world continues much as it did before your arrival.
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The Mending Rune Endings
For players seeking a bit more flavor and narrative closure, three distinct endings require you to acquire a Mending Rune by completing intricate character storylines. These runes can be presented at the final choice to alter the nature of the Elden Lord's reign.
Age of the Duskborn Ending
This path is tied directly to the tragic and creepy questline of Fia, the Deathbed Companion. By holding her and progressing her dialogues at the Roundtable Hold, you eventually give her the Cursemark of Death.
- Travel to the Deeproot Depths and defeat Fia's champions.
- Give her the Cursemark of Death obtained from the Divine Tower of Liurnia.
- Reload the area and interact with her dream to defeat Lichdragon Fortissax.
- Collect the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince from Fia's body.
- Upon defeating the final boss, use this rune to initiate the Age of the Duskborn, integrating those who live in death into the natural order.
Age of Order Ending
If you prefer a more bureaucratic, scholarly approach to fixing the fractured world, you will want to assist Goldmask and Brother Corhyn. Their questline takes you across the Altus Plateau and Leyndell, Royal Capital.
- Meet Corhyn and Goldmask at various locations, eventually converging in Leyndell.
- Use the spell Law of Regression on the statue of Radagon to reveal a massive lore secret.
- Speak to Goldmask again at the Stargazer's Ruins in the Mountaintops of the Giants.
- Locate him near the Colosseum in Leyndell, Capital of Ash, to loot the Mending Rune of Perfect Order.
- Use this rune at the end to usher in the Age of Order, correcting the flaws of the fickle gods.
Blessing of Despair (The Dung Eater Ending)
Perhaps the most grim and unsettling path in the entire game involves the notorious Dung Eater. This questline requires you to collect Seedbed Curses found throughout the world to corrupt him.
- Find the Dung Eater in the Roundtable Hold (initially a projection) and unlock his cell in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds.
- Feed him five Seedbed Curses to receive the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse.
- Upon finishing the game, select this option to plunge the Lands Between into a horrifying curse where every soul is defiled for eternity.
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The Secret and Hidden Endings
Beyond the standard and mending rune paths, two massive secret conclusions require dedicated playthroughs, complex multi-step quests, and massive boss battles. These are the most sought-after conclusions for completionists.
Age of the Stars (Ranni's Ending)
Widely regarded by the community as the "true" or most satisfying conclusion, Ranni's questline takes you across almost every region in the game, including secret underground cities.
- Meet Ranni at Ranni's Rise in Liurnia of the Lakes.
- Travel through Nokron, Eternal City, to retrieve the Fingerslayer Blade.
- Give the blade to Ranni, allowing her to access the Carian Study Hall and the Divine Tower of Liurnia.
- Navigate Ainsel River Main and Lake of Rot, defeating Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
- Traverse the Moonlight Altar, place the Dark Moon Ring on Ranni's finger, and claim the Dark Moon Greatsword.
- Summon Ranni using the blue summon sign on the ground after defeating the final boss to trigger the Age of the Stars, replacing the Golden Order with the Age of the Moon and freeing humanity from the Outer Gods.
Lord of Frenzied Flame (The Chaos Ending)
If you want to watch the world burn, this is the path for you. Guided by the Three Fingers deep beneath the capital, this ending locks you out of all other choices unless you take extreme counter-measures.
- Descend deep beneath the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds past the Mohg, the Omen boss arena.
- Navigate the harrowing platforming puzzle down the chasm to reach the Three Fingers.
- Strip off all your armor and interact with the door to receive the embrace of the Frenzied Flame.
- Melina will abandon you, vowing to kill you herself.
- Defeat the final boss to trigger a fiery cutscene where you burn the entire world to ash. Note: You can reverse this ending by completing Millicent's questline, defeating Malenia, and using Miquella's Needle inside Dragonlord Placidusax's arena in Crumbling Farum Azula.
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Tips for Managing Multiple Endings in One Playthrough
Because playing through the game multiple times can take dozens of hours, many players look for ways to see multiple conclusions in a single save file. While the game natively only allows one choice per playthrough, you can use the save scumming method if you are playing on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox.
To do this, you must back up your save file to the cloud or a USB drive right before interacting with the final game prompt. After viewing one ending, simply restore your save file from your backup and choose a different path. However, keep in mind that certain actions, such as inheriting the Frenzied Flame, will override other choices until cleansed with Miquella's Needle. Always double-check your inventory for required items like the Cursemark of Death or the Dark Moon Ring before heading toward the end game sequence.
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Q: Can I get multiple endings in a single Elden Ring playthrough?
A: Technically yes, if you use the save backup (save scumming) method on your platform of choice before making the final decision. Otherwise, the game forces you into New Game Plus, requiring a fresh run to see a different cinematic unless you prepare your save files manually.
Q: How do I lock myself out of Ranni's ending?
A: You generally do not lock yourself out of Ranni's ending unless you accidentally trigger the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending, which overrides other paths unless you use Miquella's Needle to cure yourself. As long as you complete Ranni's quest and summon her at the end, you are good to go.
Q: What is the most popular ending in Elden Ring?
A: The Age of the Stars (Ranni's ending) is widely considered the most popular and expansive conclusion among the community due to its extensive questline, unique lore revelations, and visually stunning cinematic.
Q: Do I need to beat Malenia to get any of the endings?
A: You do not need to defeat Malenia for the standard, mending rune, or Ranni endings. However, if you want to reverse the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending using Miquella's Needle, you must defeat Malenia to obtain the item required to cleanse yourself.
Q: What happens to Melina if I choose the Frenzied Flame ending?
A: If you inherit the Frenzied Flame before Melina burns herself at the Forge of the Giants, she survives that event, angrily abandons you, and vows to hunt you down to deliver destined death. A special post-credits scene also shows her vowing to find you.
Q: Can I change my ending choice after defeating the final boss?
A: Once you defeat the final boss, you are presented with a choice depending on the items in your inventory. If you do not have any special Mending Runes or Ranni's summon sign, you will automatically be forced into the Age of Fracture. You cannot go back to complete quests once you trigger the final cinematic.
Q: Where do I find all the Seedbed Curses for the Dung Eater?
A: Seedbed Curses are exclusively found in Leyndell, Royal Capital, and Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. There are six total in the game, but you only need five to complete the Dung Eater's questline and acquire the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse.
