Welcome to the ultimate Elden Ring endings guide, your one-stop resource for navigating the treacherous lands between without spending a single dime. From Software’s masterpiece is renowned for its punishing difficulty, breathtaking vistas, and, most importantly, its branching narrative paths. If you are looking for a free elden ring endings guide free of paywalls, fluff, or confusing jargon, you have come to the right place. Achieving the best possible conclusion to your journey requires meticulous planning, specific questline progression, and sometimes making heartbreaking choices.
In this comprehensive walkthrough, we will break down every single ending available in the base game. Whether you want to plunge the world into eternal darkness, restore the golden order, or embrace the chaotic flame of frenzy, this guide covers it all. Let us dive deep into the lore, requirements, and steps needed to unlock all major conclusions for your Tarnished hero.
Understanding the Elden Ring Endings System
Before diving into the specific paths, it is crucial to understand how endings work in Elden Ring. Unlike previous titles from the developer, Elden Ring features multiple distinct conclusions that are determined by the items you possess and use after defeating the final boss. While some paths require you to finish massive, multi-tiered NPC questlines, others simply require interacting with a specific object or summoning a specific character at the very end of the game.
The most important mechanic to know is the save backup trick. If you play on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, you can back up your save file right before the final encounter. This allows you to experience multiple endings in a single playthrough without having to replay the entire 100-hour campaign. However, doing this blindly can lock you out of certain achievements, so following a structured free elden ring endings guide free of spoilers (until the final steps) is your best bet for a seamless playthrough.
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The Standard Path: Age of Fracture
The Age of Fracture is considered the default or standard ending of Elden Ring. If you reach the end of the game without completing any major optional NPC questlines that reward a Mending Rune, this is the path the game will naturally push you toward. It is the baseline state of the world, maintaining the status quo under the Greater Will.
To achieve this ending, you simply need to defeat the final boss, interact with the fractured Marika, and choose to mend the Elden Ring without any special items in your inventory. While it might lack the dramatic world-altering effects of the other conclusions, it is a clean slate and a reliable fallback for players who just want to roll the credits and start a New Game Plus journey.
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The Mending Rune Endings
There are three unique endings that act as variations of the standard ending, each achieved by finding and using a specific Mending Rune. These items are earned by completing the complex questlines of key NPCs found throughout the Lands Between.
Age of the Duskborn
This ending is tied to the deeply tragic and macabre questline of Fia, the Deathbed Companion, and D, Hunter of the Dead. By helping Fia embrace those living in death and collecting the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince, you can alter the Elden Ring to integrate death naturally into the golden order, rather than casting it out as an abomination.
- Meet Fia at the Roundtable Hold and allow her to hold you to receive the Baldachin's Blessing.
- Progress her dialogue until she gives you the Weathered Dagger to pass on to its rightful owner.
- Give the dagger to D, which triggers a tragic sequence in the Roundtable Hold.
- Travel deep into the underground depths of Deeproot Depths to find Fia resting near the Prince of Death's throne.
- Defeat Lichdragon Fortissax and use the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince upon completing the game.
Age of Order
If you prefer a more bureaucratic, scholarly approach to fixing the gods, the Age of Order is for you. This path is guided by Goldmask and Brother Corhyn, who seek to correct the fickleness and madness of the Golden Order by establishing absolute truth and logic.
- Locate Brother Corhyn at the Roundtable Hold and eventually find him along the Altus Plateau highway.
- Find Goldmask near the bridge in the Altus Plateau and report his location back to Corhyn.
- Solve the fundamentalist riddle at the Erdtree Sanctuary using the Incantation "Law of Regression."
- Discover their final resting place in the Ashen Capital and acquire the Mending Rune of Perfect Order.
Blessing of Despair
Often referred to as the "Dung Eater Ending," the Blessing of Despair is the darkest and most dystopian path you can take. By following the vile actions of the Dung Eater, you curse every soul in the Lands Between, dooming generations of the unborn to share his defiled and wretched fate.
- Find the Dung Eater's projection in the Roundtable Hold after reaching the Altus Plateau.
- Use Seedbed Augurs to unlock his physical body in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell.
- Feed him multiple Seedbed Augurs until he surrenders the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse.
- Apply this rune after defeating the final boss to plunge the world into eternal defilement.
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The Radical Endings
Beyond the Mending Runes, Elden Ring offers two major, radically different conclusions that completely override the standard Golden Order framework. These require intense dedication and change the cinematic cutscene entirely.
Age of the Stars
Widely considered by the community to be the "good" or secret true ending of the game, the Age of the Stars is tied to Ranni the Witch. By completing her epic, sprawling questline, you banish the Greater Will and the Golden Order from the Lands Between, ushering in a cold, dark night of freedom alongside your lunar consort.
- Meet Ranni at Ranni's Rise in Caria Manor (Liurnia of the Lakes).
- Join her service and travel to Nokron, Eternal City, to retrieve the Fingerslayer Blade.
- Navigate the Ainsel River and Lake of Rot to defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
- Obtain the Dark Moon Ring and use it to unlock the sealed area beneath the Cathedral of Manus Celes.
- Summon Ranni at the very end of the game instead of interacting with Marika.
Lord of Frenzied Flame
If you prefer watching the world burn to saving it, the Lord of Frenzied Flame is your calling. Guided by the Three Fingers deep beneath the capital, your Tarnished becomes a vessel of pure chaos, intent on melting all life and distinction back into one primordial mass.
- Descend into the nightmarish Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell, Royal Capital.
- Navigate the notoriously difficult jumping puzzle down to the Three Fingers.
- Strip off all your armor and open the sealed door to receive the mark of the Frenzied Flame.
- Note: This locks you into this specific ending unless you use Miquella's Needle at Dragonlord Placidusax’s arena in Crumbling Farum Azula to reverse the curse.
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Tips for Managing Multiple Endings
To make the most out of your playthroughs without wasting hours backtracking, keep these professional tips in mind:
- Explore Thoroughly: Many side quests intersect. For example, Ranni's questline interacts heavily with the Carian study hall and Nokron, so clear these areas methodically.
- Save Scum Carefully: If you plan to back up your save to get all achievements in one go, make sure you do so after defeating the final boss and before interacting with the statues or summoning Ranni.
- Mind the Lockouts: Accepting the Frenzied Flame will automatically lock you out of Ranni's ending unless you complete Millicent's questline to cure yourself beforehand.
By utilizing this completely free elden ring endings guide free, you are now fully equipped to conquer the Lands Between and claim whatever destiny you desire for your Tarnished. May the guidance of grace—or chaos—lead you to victory!
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FAQ
Q: How many endings are there in Elden Ring?
A:There are six distinct endings in total. These include three variations of the mending rune ending (Age of Fracture, Age of the Duskborn, Age of Order, and Blessing of Despair), alongside two major secret endings (Age of the Stars and Lord of Frenzied Flame).
Q: Can you get multiple endings in a single playthrough?
A:Yes, you can experience multiple endings in one playthrough by backing up your save file right before making your final choice. However, some achievements or trophies require specific paths, so careful planning is still recommended.
Q: How do I lock myself out of Ranni's ending?
A:You can accidentally lock yourself out of the Age of the Stars ending if you inherit the Frenzied Flame from the Three Fingers. To undo this and re-enable Ranni's ending, you must use Miquella's Needle inside Dragonlord Placidusax's boss arena after completing Millicent's quest.
Q: Which ending is considered the best?
A:While subjectivity plays a major role, the community generally regards the Age of the Stars (Ranni's ending) as the most satisfying and lore-rich conclusion, as it breaks the cycle of the gods and brings an age of freedom to the Lands Between.
Q: Do I need DLC to access these endings?
A:No, all six primary endings can be unlocked entirely within the base game. The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion adds incredible lore, bosses, and gear, but it does not add a brand new major world-state ending to the core game's final cinematic.
Q: What is the easiest ending to get?
A:The Age of Fracture is the easiest to achieve because it requires zero optional side quests. You simply need to beat the final boss and interact with the statue of Marika to trigger the credits.
