Every Elden Ring Ending Ranked
Welcome, fellow Tarnished, and today we are ranking all six of Elden Ring’s endings, from maidenless all the way to most blessed. As many of the ending-specific scenes in FromSoftware’s open-world magnum opus barely last a minute, we’ll be basing our choices on the culmination of each of the proceeding questlines, as well as their impact on the Lands Between as a whole. We can only hope that the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC’s endings pack just as much punch as some of these fantastical, and in some cases disturbing, conclusions. As expected, be on the look out for spoilers down the line.
#6: The Age of Fracture
Might as well start with the easiest. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with this ending. After all, you succeeded in your goal of becoming the Elden Lord, and now rule over the Lands Between as Marika once did. There’s nothing special required to get this ending – simply take down Radagon and the Elden Beast, repair the Elden Ring, and you’re golden. Of course, this means you’re still very much a puppet of the Greater Will – the outer god that so many were desperate to escape – and are essentially keeping the status quo until another Grace-Given comes along to try and pick a fight. As basic an ending as the fallen leaves could hope to tell.
#5: The Age of Order
Do you aspire to the silent teachings of the Ever-Brilliant Goldmask? Think the Golden Order should be accepted by everyone? Then this is the ending for you. Following the ever-elusive Goldmask and his ever-faithful companion Brother Corhyn as they teleport all across the Lands Between, their questline may cost you a fair amount of runes in the long run, but it will also lead to the colossal revelation that Marika and Radagon are one and the same person. From there, it’s simply a case of repairing the Elden Ring with the Mending Rune of Perfect Order, the results of which will enforce the Golden Order’s restrictions and disciplines on all living things – free-will be damned. If hunting down Goldmask weren’t such a hassle and he didn’t fleece you out of so much, this might have ranked higher, but as it stands – all that is gold does not always glitter!
#4: The Age of the Duskborn
Everyone remembers Fia – the enigmatic member of the Roundtable Hold who bemisted Tarnished everywhere with her infamous hugs and seductive voice. Yeah…turns out her moniker of the Deathbed Companion isn’t just for show – she is reeeeeally driven to restore the concept of dying to the Lands Between, something that was removed on account of Marika’s shattering of the Elden Ring. If you want to do right by FromSoft’s ultimate goth girl, then you’re going to need the Mending Rune of the Death Prince. On the positive side, there’s plenty more of Fia’s embrace to be found while in pursuit of her questline, but then you’ll have to dive into a dream and vanquish the imposing Lichdragon Fortissax at the tail end of it all! Conquering these trials leads to death returning to the Lands Between, but given Fia’s cryptic words, it’s likely you’ve brought about a slew of Undead Gods along the way. Can you imagine how epic it would have been if Godwyn’s bloated frog corpse casually walked into frame during the final cutscene?
#3: The Blessing of Despair
They don’t call him the loathsome Dung Eater for nothing – the man’s entire existence is devoted to murdering people and violating their corpses, all in the hope of one day being able to curse future generations so they’re populated with pustules from the moment they’re born. If you find such a disgusting dream to be appealing, for whatever reason, then you are more than free to help your new pestilential partner make his twisted vision a reality. After gathering up a slew of Seedbed Curses – growths that can only be found on the remains of the Dung Eater’s victims – you can then use them on the Dung Eater himself, who is all too happy to be given a taste of his own medicine, since his own death and violation creates the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse. From there - you guessed it – add it to the Elden Ring and BOOM! You’ve subjected countless innocents to lives filled with plague and suffering! Congrats.
#2: Lord of the Frenzied Flame
Elden Lord? Don’t need it. All we want is to watch the world burn! That’s pretty much the mindset for those that sought out Elden Ring’s indisputably evilest ending. The sheer build up as you venture deeper and deeper into the earth until you find the sealed Cathedral of the Forsaken is immense, where you’re eventually greeted by the Three Fingers. While the Two Fingers are all about order and serve The Greater Will, its extra-digited companion acts as the lone vassal for the Lord of the Frenzied Flame, an Outer God that’s all about chaos. After being imbued with the flame, and eventually beating the final boss, players are greeted with the sight of the Lands Between set ablaze while their Tarnished now stands as the new Lord of the Frenzied Flame. It’s so obscenely evil that you can’t help but love it. That is, as long as you’re okay with making an enemy out of a now royally pissed off Melina.
#1: The Age of the Stars
The Lands Between is certainly home to a fair few maidens, but none quite measure up to the complexity, nuance and ethereal beauty of Ranni the Witch. The fact her personal questline is one of, if not the, most engrossing in Elden Ring doesn’t hurt either. After swearing loyalty to her cause, the Tarnished is sent off to a slew of breath-taking yet equally dangerous locations, meet an awesome supporting cast (looking at you best boy Blaidd!), take on a torrent of epic boss battles, and eventually learn of Ranni’s ploy to remove the Greater Will altogether, uplifting humanity while she intends to spend her new godhood gallivanting around the cosmos (at least if you go by the original Japanese translation). In many ways, this hard-fought series of quests makes for the best ending for just about everyone. Just remember Tarnished, make sure you talk to Ranni every chance you get to earn maximum affection. Consort mode unlocked baby!
