Elden Ring, the 80+ hours RPG from From Software, eventually ends. And there are a couple of endings you can unlock, depending on your progress and what you’ve done throughout your Elden Lord journey filled with perils and pitfalls.

This feature plots out and explains the game’s ending process and how to get one of each. Since we’re dealing with endgame content, there will be major spoilers. So here’s your warning:

Elden Ring Endings Guide – General

Here’s what you need to know.

The three main endings with totally different outcomes after you kill the last boss are:

• Elden Lord (you rule the world as Elden Lord)
• Lord of the Frenzied Flame (you go your own way & set the world on fire; literally)
• Age of the Stars (you help out a cute Moon Witch and usher in a new cold ruling age)

Some of these endings have multiple versions based on a theme. For example, the “Elden Lord” ending has three or more variations depending on the actions you take throughout the game.

You can only see one ending per playthrough. This means that if you are prompted to continue playing in The Lands Between just before the last boss & ending, you cannot use that same state to see the other endings.

The door to the final boss is locked off once you’ve finished the game, so you need to play through the game again, whether it’s using a brand-new character or playing New Game Plus Journey 2.

To get these other endings, you need to complete side quests involving certain important NPCs in Elden Ring like Ranni and Fie. However, some of their quests are locked out if you go further into the main story. Hence that’s why you have to play through the game again if you’re close to the final boss and ending.

Elden Lord Ending(s)

In this ending, you follow the path of the Two Fingers and become Elden Lord. This ending has different variations like The Age of Fracture, Age of Duskborn, and more.

Elden Lord: Age of Fracture

Just follow the core plot and do not complete any ending-related side content.

Elden Lord: Age of Duskborn

Unlocked by following the Fia side quest which also involves D, Hunter of the Dead. This questline won’t kick off until you reach Altus Plateau for the first time, when Fia will make a request of you.

Working through this quest and tracking down Fia after she leaves Roundtable Hold will lead to you eventually obtaining the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince key item. She’s found in the Deeproot Depths, which is reached by heading deep beneath Leyndell, Royal Capital, starting with its sewers and working down from there.

Use that at the very end of the game to restore the rune of death, dispelling the curse of immortality from the land as you ascend to become the Elden Lord.

Elden Lord: Age of Order

This ending is built around the side quest that revolves around Goldmask and Brother Corhyn. Corhyn begins in Roundtable Hold, but once you enter Raya Lucaria Academy with the Glintstone Key, he tells you he’s leaving in search of Goldmask.

You must track them both down (they first both appear in the Altus Plateau) and follow their quest. First, speak to Goldmask on a broken bridge to the north of the Plateau, then find Cohryn a little further south to tell him where Goldmask is. They will reunite and will move around Altus a little, and eventually to Leyndell.

At one point you’ll need to solve a puzzle by casting the Law of Regression Incantation in front of a statue in the capital. The spell can be learned after giving the Golden Order Principia Prayer Book to a cleric; the book is found in the capital, too. If you can’t cast the spell, just respec. You’ll be able to take the Mending Rune of Perfect Order from Goldmask in the Ashen Capital after your trip to Crumbling Farum Azula.

Elden Lord: Blessing of Despair

To get this variation, you need to complete the Dung Eater quest and beat him in an invasion.

After that, you can give him Seedbed Curse items in the Leyndell Gaol, and if you give him enough, he will give you the Rune of the Fell Curse. Seedbed Curse key items can be found on bodies that have been defiled by Dung Eater. There are several of these in the Royal Capital, plus in Elphael (accessed via the Haligtree Secret Medallion), and even one in Volcano Manor.

Here’s a walkthrough for the Dung Eater quest.

Lord of the Frenzied Flame

This ending lets you, the Tarnished, break from the Three Fingers rule. You save Melina’s life, but she is pissed at you and becomes your enemy.

To unlock this ending, you must head into the sewers below Leyndell, and then deeper beyond the sewers to eventually reach the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds. You need to defeat a boss down in the Church of the Forsaken, and then hit the altar at the rear of the boss room to reveal another secret path. Keep going, and you’ll reach a mysterious door made of molten rock.

Remove your clothes and stand before this door in order to meet the Three Fingers, which will “bless” you with the curse and power of the Frenzied Flame. Be warned, doing this locks you out of the other endings.

Age of the Stars

Arguably the good ending of Elden Ring. The ending involves completing the long-as-heck Snow Witch Ranni sidequest.

The exact triggers around Ranni’s quest and appearance are complicated. At the very least, just make sure to finish Rodgier from Roundtable Hold’s quests; you’ll ultimately be able to find Ranni at Ranni’s Rise in Western Liurnia. Depending on your game progress, she may only appear after beating Radahn (or even before).

This quest also involves wolf sword guy Blaidd, who can be encountered in the woods near the Limgrave Minor Erdtree from right at the start of the game.

The Ranni questline is complicated, to say the least. It involves finding many items along the way and interacting with many characters. When Ranni disappears and you get a miniature doll of her, you need to talk to her Doll at a site of grace. This works for some players, but it again appears to vary depending on triggers – some have reported only being able to talk to the doll at the last Site of Grace before the Lake of Rot, underground. Long story short: at some point in the mid-game, you need to talk to the doll to continue the questline.

Follow the questline to its conclusion, then complete the rest of the game as normal. You’ll notice before the very final interaction of the game, after the final boss, there’s a Blue Summon Sign. Touching this instantly summons Ranni, which triggers the Age of the Stars ending.