Elden Ring ending guide: How to get all six endings

elden ring
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Elden Ring is a long and difficult game, but it doesn’t go on forever. After a few dozen hours, you’ll find yourself ready to face down the final boss and usher in a new age for the Lands Between. However, like other Soulsborne games, Elden Ring doesn’t just offer one static ending. Depending on your story and gameplay choices, you can see up to six different resolutions. The default ending is relatively simple to get, but the rest all involve complicated quest chains.

In this piece, we’ll explore how to get each Elden Ring ending, keeping spoilers to an absolute minimum. Before we start, however, it’s worth noting that you can get only one ending per playthrough. If you want to see every single variant, you’ll have to play through the game six times, or perform some cloud-save trickery to make backups.

If you’re just going for achievements/trophies, however, you’ll have to beat the game only three times. While there are technically six possible endings, four of them are variants on a theme, while the other two are completely different.

How to get the Elden Lord ending

elden ring

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

First, let’s start with the simplest ending, known as “Elden Lord.” To get this ending, all you have to do is finish the game normally. You don’t have to take on any protracted questlines; you don’t have to follow any arcane advice from non-player characters. Just play through the game normally, and choose to “Mend the Elden Ring” in the end. It’s what every major character in the game has foreshadowed since the beginning, so there are no big surprises here. This is also called the “Age of Fracture” ending.

Elden Ring screen shot

(Image credit: FromSoftware Inc.)

How to get the Elden Lord variant endings

If you’d rather see some payoff for Elden Ring’s various questlines, there are three more complicated variants on the Elden Lord ending.

To get the Age of Duskborn ending, complete Fia’s questline and use the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince after the final boss. Without rehashing her entire quest here, Fia is the woman in Roundtable Hold who wears a blue dress and offers to embrace you. Talk to her frequently on your Roundtable visits, and she’ll eventually give you directives.

To get the Blessing of Despair ending, complete the Dung Eater’s questline and use the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse after the final boss. The Dung Eater occupies Roundtable Hold after you reach the Altus Plateau, and you’ll have to gather hard-to-find Seedbed Curse items to satisfy his quest conditions. Be warned that this is a pretty dark ending.

To get the Age of Order ending, complete Brother Corhyn’s questline and use the Mending Rune of Perfect Order after the final boss. You’ll meet Brother Corhyn in Roundtable Hold, but he’ll depart after a while. Follow him to the Altus Highway Junction, and he’ll give you further instructions from there.

How to get the Age of Stars ending

elden ring

(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

The Age of Stars ending is quite different from the Elden Lord endings. It’s not quite as thematically airtight, but it does contain some intriguing references to other FromSoftware works. It also lets you spend more time with the captivating witch Ranni, and who doesn’t want that?

To get the Age of Stars ending, you’ll have to complete Ranni the witch’s questline, which is long and elaborate. But you’ll also get some terrific rewards, including the iconic Dark Moon Greatsword. After you beat the final boss, choose to summon Ranni, and she’ll take it from there.

How to get the Frenzied Flame ending

Elden Ring screen shot

(Image credit: FromSoftware Inc.)

The Frenzied Flame ending is probably the strangest one that Elden Ring has to offer. It’s also the most difficult to trigger. Your maiden, Melina, will actually abandon you if you pursue the Frenzied Flame ending, just to give you an idea of how far off the beaten path you’ll have to go.

Still, if you want it, you’ll have to traverse a few optional areas and fight a tough boss. Find the Subterranean Shunning Grounds underneath Leyndell, Royal Capital, then explore them until you reach the very bottom. There, you’ll fight Mohg, the Omen. (You might want to wait until late-game to do this. He hits pretty hard, but he’s manageable if you have high levels and upgraded equipment.)

Be sure to rest at the Site of Lost Grace first, as the next part is tricky. The altar in Mohg’s chamber is actually a false wall, so roll toward it and follow the path forward. From here, you’ll have to descend a steep and complicated collection of crossbeams and jutting tombstones, and one false move will send you plummeting to your death. It’ll probably take a few tries.

Once you reach the bottom, Melina will give you one last warning. If you’re intent on ignoring her, remove all of your equipment, including your weapons and talismans, and stand in front of the huge door. You’ll obtain the Burning Scar, which is about as dramatic as it sounds.

After you beat the final boss, choose to “Become the Lord of Frenzied Flame,” and prepare for the chaos.

Incidentally, if you change your mind after getting the Burning Scar, there is one way to undo the damage. You’ll have to explore Miquella’s Haligtree and fight the optional, ultra-difficult boss Malenia, Blade of Miquella. When you defeat her, you’ll receive an item called Miquella’s Needle.

In Crumbling Farum Azula, you’ll come across a boss called Dragonlord Placidusax. In his arena, you can use the needle to undo the Frenzied Flame, leaving the Elden Lord and Age of Stars endings open. Melina won’t come back to your service, however.


Once you've completed all the endings, here are 10 games you can play after Elden Ring

Marshall Honorof

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.