Introduction to Elden Ring Endings
Welcome to the ultimate free Elden Ring endings guide. FromSoftware’s masterpiece, Elden Ring, is a monumental open-world action RPG that offers players a staggering amount of freedom, challenge, and lore to uncover. One of the most fascinating aspects of your journey through the Lands Between is that your choices matter profoundly. Depending on the quests you complete and the items you acquire, the game can conclude in several drastically different ways.
With six distinct endings available in the base game, figuring out how to achieve your desired conclusion without paying for expensive strategy guides can be overwhelming. Fortunately, this comprehensive Elden Ring endings guide is entirely free and designed to walk you through every single requirement, NPC questline, and crucial decision needed to unlock all achievements and experience the complete tapestry of the game's narrative.
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Understanding the Mechanics of Elden Ring Endings
Before diving into the specifics of each conclusion, it is important to understand how the game triggers these cinematic finales. In the base game, most major endings are decided at the very end of the game after defeating the final boss. You will interact with a statue or a specific item, effectively locking in your chosen path.
However, some endings require you to lock in a specific state much earlier, while others completely override your choices unless you actively work to reverse them. This Elden Ring endings guide will help you avoid accidental lockouts so you can make informed decisions. Many players prefer to back up their save files just before the final choice, allowing them to experience multiple endings in a single playthrough without committing to multiple grueling runs.
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The Standard Path: Age of Fracture
Age of Fracture: The Default Ending
The Age of Fracture is considered the standard or default ending of Elden Ring. If you do not follow any specific side quests involving major NPCs like Ranni or Fia, this is almost certainly the conclusion you will receive.
To achieve the Age of Fracture, you simply need to defeat the final bosses, repair the Elden Ring using the basic Mending Rune, and claim your place as the Elden Lord. While this ending lacks the dramatic world-altering transformations of the other paths, it represents the continuation of the current established order, albeit with your Tarnished sitting upon the throne.
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The Mending Rune Endings
Aside from the standard path, there are three other endings that also result in becoming the Elden Lord, but with vastly different sociopolitical consequences for the Lands Between. These require you to find and use unique Mending Runes during the endgame sequence.
Age of the Duskborn
To unlock the Age of the Duskborn, you must complete the intricate questline involving Fia, the Deathbed Companion, and D, Hunter of the Dead. Fia seeks to restore the Prince of Death and bring a world where those who live in death are no longer persecuted.
- Talk to Fia at the Roundtable Hold regularly and allow her to hold you.
- Give the weathered dagger to D, which eventually leads to D's tragic demise and Fia leaving the Hold.
- Locate Fia in the Deeproot Depths, defeat her champions, and use the Cursemark of Death (obtained from the Divine Tower of Liurnia via Ranni's questline).
- Defeat Lichdragon Fortissax to acquire the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince.
- Upon defeating the final boss, use this rune to initiate the Age of the Duskborn.
Age of Order
The Age of Order is tied to the scholarly and devout Goldmask and Brother Corhyn. Their questline explores the theological flaws of the Golden Order and the Greater Will.
- Meet Goldmask and Corhyn in Altus Plateau and relay information back and forth.
- Discover Goldmask's riddle at the Erdtree Capital, revealing that Radagon is Marika using the Law of Regression incantation.
- Find them at the Mountaintops of the Giants and eventually in Leyndell, Ashen Capital.
- Obtain the Mending Rune of Perfect Order from Goldmask's body after exhausting his quest.
- Use this rune at the end of the game to fix the fractured world by stripping the gods of their fickle, human-like emotions.
Blessing of Despair
Perhaps the darkest of the Elden Ring endings, the Blessing of Despair is orchestrated by the detestable Dung Eater. This ending curses every single living being in the Lands Between, and all generations to follow, ensuring that their souls are trapped and unable to return to the Erdtree.
- Find the Dung Eater in the Roundtable Hold (appearing as a phantom) and unlock his cell in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds.
- Feed him Seedbed Auges found throughout the world, particularly in Leyndell and Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
- Acquire the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse and use it upon game completion to plunge the world into an eternal, horrific curse.
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The Secret and Alternate Endings
The two most popular and narrative-heavy endings in Elden Ring require deep commitment to massive side quests that span almost the entire map.
Age of the Stars
The Age of the Stars is widely regarded as the "true" or most satisfying ending by a vast portion of the community. Spearheaded by Witch Ranni, this ending removes the influence of the Greater Will and the Golden Order entirely, plunging the Lands Between into a cold, dark night accompanied by a thousand-year journey among the stars.
- Meet Ranni at Ranni's Rise in Caria Manor and pledge your allegiance to her service.
- Journey through Nokron, Eternal City, to find the Fingerslayer Blade.
- Use the Carian Inverted Statue in the Carian Study Hall to navigate the Divine Tower of Liurnia and obtain the Cursemark of Death.
- Ascend to Ainsel River Main, defeat the Baleful Shadow, and receive the Discarded Palace Key.
- Open the chest in Raya Lucaria to get the Dark Moon Ring, then brave the Lake of Rot to find Ranni.
- Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, and traverse the Moonlight Altar to place the ring on Ranni's finger, earning the Dark Moon Greatsword and setting up the ending.
Lord of Frenzied Flame
If you prefer chaos, destruction, and a fiery annihilation of the entire world, the Lord of Frenzied Flame is the path for you. Championed by the Three Fingers deep beneath Leyndell, this ending completely locks you out of all other endings unless you use a very specific, hidden quest item to cleanse yourself.
- Descend into the depths of the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds past Mohg, the Omen.
- Find the hidden wall behind the altar and platform down the perilous tomb-like parkour section.
- Strip off all your armor and interact with the door guarded by Hyetta, allowing the Three Fingers to brand your Tarnished.
- Your appearance will drastically change, and you will become the vessel for the Frenzied Flame, overriding all other Mending Rune choices at the end of the game.
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How to Reverse the Frenzied Flame
Because the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending forces itself upon you once the Three Fingers brand your body, many players accidentally lock themselves out of the other endings. Fortunately, there is a way back.
To cure yourself of the Frenzied Flame and regain your freedom of choice, you must complete the questline for Millicent and use Miquella's Needle inside Crumbling Farum Azula, specifically within the arena of Dragonlord Placidusax. Doing this removes the flame, allowing you to choose the Age of the Stars, Age of Fracture, or any Mending Rune ending instead.
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Tips for Maximizing Your Playthrough
To make the most of your journey through the Lands Between, keep these expert tips in mind:
- Explore thoroughly before triggering major world state changes, particularly burning the Erdtree, as this locks out certain NPC quests and items.
- Keep track of NPC locations by talking to them until their dialogue repeats.
- Read item descriptions carefully, as they hold the key to understanding where to go next.
- Use online community resources and this free Elden Ring endings guide to cross-reference quest steps so you never miss a crucial interaction.
By following the detailed steps in this guide, you can experience every narrative arc that Elden Ring has to offer without spending a dime. Whether you seek the peaceful night of the stars, the orderly repair of the Golden Order, or the fiery embrace of the Frenzied Flame, your journey through the Lands Between is entirely yours to shape.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many endings are there in Elden Ring?
A: There are six distinct endings in the base game of Elden Ring. These include the Age of Fracture (standard), Age of the Duskborn, Age of Order, Blessing of Despair, Age of the Stars, and the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Q: Can you get multiple endings in a single playthrough?
A: Yes, you can technically experience multiple endings in one playthrough by backing up your save file to cloud storage or a local USB drive right before interacting with the final area's statues or choices. However, you must complete all respective prerequisite quests beforehand.
Q: Is Ranni's ending considered the best one?
A: While Elden Ring does not have an officially designated "good" or "bad" ending, the Age of the Stars (Ranni's ending) is widely considered by the community to be the most fleshed-out, satisfying, and lore-rich conclusion available.
Q: What happens if I inherit the Frenzied Flame by accident?
A: If you accidentally inherit the Frenzied Flame from the Three Fingers, you will be locked into that ending. You can reverse this by completing Millicent's questline, defeating Malenia, and using Miquella's Needle inside the Dragonlord Placidusax boss arena in Crumbling Farum Azula.
Q: Do I need to start a New Game Plus to see all endings?
A: No, you do not need to start a New Game Plus if you back up your save file right before the final decision. However, if you do not use save backups, you will need to play through the game multiple times to unlock all corresponding achievements.
Q: Which ending is the hardest to unlock?
A: The Lord of Frenzied Flame and Age of the Stars are generally considered the most complex and difficult endings to unlock due to the massive scale of their associated quests, hidden platforming sections, and obscure NPC interactions.
