Introduction to the Lands Between and Your Journey on PS5
Welcome, Tarnished, to the ultimate best elden ring endings guide ps5. FromSoftware’s magnum opus is a game of staggering scale, deep lore, and profound consequences. As you traverse the fog-shrouded valleys of Limgrave, scale the snow-capped peaks of the Mountaintops of the Giants, and finally conquer the crumbling ruins of Farum Azula, your ultimate goal remains the same: claim the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord. But what kind of ruler will you be?
On the PlayStation 5, experiencing the breathtaking performance and fast loading times makes tracking multiple playthroughs or managing cloud saves for achievement hunting smoother than ever. However, unlocking the Elden Ring hidden endings requires meticulous planning, a keen eye for lore, and the completion of some of the most intricate NPC questlines in modern gaming history. Whether you are playing on a base PS5 or a PS5 Pro, the visual fidelity of the Erdtree burning is a sight to behold, making your choice of ending all the more impactful.
In this comprehensive PS5 Elden Ring endings guide, we will break down every single major conclusion available in the base game. We will explore the standard paths, the hidden achievements, and help you decide which destiny is truly the best Elden Ring ending for your specific playthrough.
---
Understanding the Elden Ring Endings System
Before diving into the specifics, it is vital to understand how endings work in this sprawling open-world RPG. Unlike previous Souls titles where your ending was locked in strictly by your actions throughout the game, Elden Ring allows you a degree of flexibility—provided you have fulfilled the necessary prerequisites.
Upon defeating the final boss of the game, you are presented with a site of grace. Interacting with this grace, or interacting with a specific item on the ground or a summoned NPC, triggers the final cutscene. This means that if you complete multiple questlines in a single playthrough, you can technically back up your save data to PlayStation Plus cloud storage on your PS5 and experience nearly every mending rune ending without starting a brand-new game.
However, certain endings—specifically the Frenzied Flame—lock you out of all other choices unless you perform a specific, arduous cleansing ritual. Therefore, understanding the nuances of each path is essential for any completionist aiming for the Platinum trophy on PlayStation.
---
The Standard Path: The Age of Fracture
The Age of Fracture: The Default Ending
If you reach the end of the game without completing any major optional NPC questlines, you will naturally drift toward the most standard conclusion: The Age of Fracture.
To achieve this, you simply repair the Elden Ring with the default materials at your disposal. There are no special items required, and no complex faction alignments to maintain.
- Prerequisites: None. Simply defeat the final boss and interact with the statue of Marika.
- The Outcome: The Erdtree remains, the Golden Order is restored in its traditional form, and your Tarnished ascends to the throne as the Elden Lord.
- Lore Implications: While it is considered the baseline ending, many players view it as a continuation of a deeply flawed and stagnant system. It does not fix the corruption of the Outer Gods; it simply replaces the missing ruler with a new one.
---
The Mending Rune Endings (Variant Paths)
If you want to modify the world rather than just maintaining the status quo, you can acquire specific Mending Runes through complex character questlines. These runes are used alongside the fractured Elden Ring to usher in a new era for the Lands Between.
The Age of the Duskborn (Fia's Questline)
If you are fascinated by Godwyn the Golden, the Prince of Death, and the tragic lore of those who live in death, Fia's questline is a must-play. By championing the cause of the undead, you unlock the Age of the Duskborn.
- How to Unlock: Interact with Fia at the Roundtable Hold, let her hold you, and eventually acquire the Cursemark of Death from the top of the Divine Tower of Liurnia. Give this to Fia in the Deeproot Depths after defeating the Fia's Champions boss fight. Defeat Lichdragon Fortissax to receive the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince.
- The Outcome: Upon defeating the final boss, use the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. The world is plunged into a mystical twilight where death is integrated naturally into the cycle of life, rather than being treated as an abomination by the Golden Order.
The Blessing of Despair (The Dung Eater's Nightmare)
For those embracing a darker, more chaotic playthrough, the Blessing of Despair is the most macabre ending in the game. It is associated with the vile Dung Eater, whose goal is to curse every single soul in the Lands Between for all eternity.
- How to Unlock: Find the Dung Eater in the Roundtable Hold (as a projection), find his real body in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell, feed him Seedbed-Curses, and ultimately use the Poupée potion given to you by Seluvis (optional, but part of a branching path) or subdue him to acquire the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse.
- The Outcome: Using this rune alters the Elden Ring to inflict an inescapable curse on all future generations, binding every soul in the Lands Between to the same defiled fate as the Omen. It is widely considered the darkest Elden Ring ending.
The Order of the Golden Rule (Goldmask and Corhyn's Quest)
If you believe that the Golden Order is fundamentally good, but merely corrupted by flawed, fanatical gods and humans, then Brother Corhyn and Goldmask's questline offers a path of intellectual and theological purity.
- How to Unlock: Meet Corhyn and Goldmask across Altus Plateau and Leyndell. Use the Law of Regression incantation at the giant statue in Leyndell while possessing high Intelligence to discover that Radagon is Marika. Find Goldmask at the ruins near the Mountaintops of the Giants, and finally locate his lifeless body in Leyndell, Ashen Capital, to claim the Mending Rune of Perfect Order.
- The Outcome: You mend the Elden Ring with absolute perfection, removing the fickle emotions and flaws of the gods from the equation, establishing a rigid, infallible divine law across the realm.
---
The Secret and Specialized Endings
Beyond the mending runes lie two massive, highly cinematic conclusions that alter the entire fabric of reality in the Lands Between. These are often considered by the community to be the best Elden Ring endings due to the sheer depth of their associated questlines.
The Age of the Stars (Ranni's Questline)
Without a doubt, the Age of the Stars is the most popular and celebrated ending in Elden Ring. Tied directly to the beloved Witch Ranni, this ending removes the influence of the Greater Will entirely, ushering in an era of cold, dark, and independent freedom for humanity.
- How to Unlock: Begin by meeting Ranni at Ranni's Rise in Caria Manor. Travel to Nokron, Eternal City, to retrieve the Fingerslayer Blade. Give this to Ranni to receive the Carian Inverted Statue, traverse the Divine Tower of Liurnia, take the coffin elevator down to the Lake of Rot, defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, and traverse to the Moonlight Altar. Place the Dark Moon Ring on Ranni's doll finger to unlock this breathtaking path.
- The Outcome: You summon Ranni to take the place of Marika, but instead of ruling directly, she takes the Elden Ring—and you, as her consort—on a thousand-year voyage into the cold, silent night of the cosmos. This removes the meddling fingers, gods, and outer influences, leaving humanity to forge its own destiny. The visual aesthetic of the blue moonlight and the melancholic dialogue make this a fan-favorite.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame (The Flame of Frenzy)
If you are sick of the gods, the cycles of suffering, and the very concept of existence, you can choose to burn it all away. Embracing the Three Fingers deep beneath the capital leads to the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending.
- How to Unlock: Descend past the Moghs in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell, strip off all your armor, and open the massive stone door to receive the embrace of the Three Fingers. Melina will abandon you, vowing to hunt you down as a threat to existence itself.
- The Outcome: Your Tarnished becomes a vessel of pure, destructive chaos. The entire world is engulfed in a cataclysmic, all-consuming flame, burning away the divisions of life and returning everything to the One Great. The final cinematic features a haunting shot of Melina with her blind eye open, holding torrent's ring and vowing to deliver destined death unto you.
---
How to Back Up Your Save on PS5 for Multiple Endings
Because the PlayStation 5 makes cloud saving and USB backups relatively straightforward, you do not necessarily need to play the game six separate times to see every conclusion. Here is how you can optimize your playthrough:
- Reach the End of the Game: Play normally and complete the major questlines for Ranni, Fia, Goldmask, and the Dung Eater.
- Stop Before the Final Boss or Just After: You can defeat the final boss, but do not interact with the final site of grace yet if you want to be completely safe, or interact with it and immediately back out. Alternatively, touch the site of grace to spawn the statute, but do not click it.
- Upload Your Save: Press the Options button on Elden Ring from the PS5 home screen, go to "Upload/Download Saved Data," and manually upload your current local save to the PlayStation Plus Cloud. You can also back it up to a USB flash drive.
- Unlock an Ending: Choose an ending (for instance, Age of Fracture) and watch the credits roll. Let the game transition to New Game Plus, but do not start it.
- Restore Your Save: Download your cloud save back onto your PS5 console storage. Launch the game again, and you will be back before your final decision, allowing you to trigger a different ending (like Age of the Stars or Duskborn).
Note: If you have inherited the Frenzied Flame, you must first cure it by using Miquella's Needle inside Dragonlord Placidusax's arena in Farum Azula after completing Millicent's grueling questline. Otherwise, the Frenzied Flame will override all other choices.
---
Summary: Which Ending Should You Choose?
Choosing the best elden ring endings guide ps5 recommendations ultimately depends on your personal roleplay preferences and how much time you want to invest in secondary content.
- If you want the most lore-rich, atmospheric, and emotionally satisfying conclusion, The Age of the Stars (Ranni) is widely considered the peak narrative experience.
- If you prefer a traditional fantasy triumph where you ascend the throne as a benevolent or neutral monarch, The Age of Fracture or The Age of Perfect Order fits best.
- If you want pure tragedy, cosmic horror, and a radical departure from the norm, the Lord of Frenzied Flame or Age of the Duskborn provide unforgettable cinematic payoffs.
Prepare your gear, sharpen your weapons, and may you find your worth in the waking world, Tarnished.
---
