In the sprawling, enigmatic world of Elden Ring, the journey to become the Elden Lord is a monumental task in itself. Yet, the true culmination of a player's saga lies not merely in defeating the final foe but in the specific future they forge for the Lands Between. As of 2026, achieving these various conclusions remains a cornerstone of the game's enduring legacy. Each ending demands a unique path, weaving through hidden quests, optional horrors, and profound choices, with their difficulty ranging from a direct narrative conclusion to labyrinthine journeys of discovery. The player's final act is less a simple choice and more a testament to the specific trials they willingly undertook across the open world.

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The Age of Fracture

The most straightforward conclusion, the Age of Fracture, is achieved by following the core narrative path. After the climactic battle with the Elden Beast, the player simply chooses to mend the Elden Ring upon touching Fractured Marika. This ending requires no esoteric side quests or cryptic puzzles; it is the direct consequence of the main quest's completion. For many, it serves as the baseline experience—a conclusion as inevitable and foundational as gravity, yet one that still demands mastery over the game's considerable challenges. While not the most adventurous finale, it remains a significant achievement, a testament to overcoming the primary trials set by the Erdtree's guardians.

The Age of Order

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Ranking as the second-easiest ending, the Age of Order introduces the first layer of complexity beyond the main story. It requires the completion of the intertwined questlines for the scholarly Goldmask and his faithful attendant, Brother Corhyn. Unlike endings that demand slaying legendary beasts, this path is a pilgrimage of intellect. The primary hurdle is solving a theological riddle, which necessitates a high Intelligence stat of 37 and the acquisition of the Law of Regression incantation. Once the puzzle is solved and presented to Goldmask, the player obtains the Mending Rune of Perfect Order. The quest is a delicate dance of logic and faith, scattered across the map like pieces of a grand, silent theorem waiting to be proven.

The Blessing of Despair

The path to the grim Blessing of Despair is a descent into a uniquely tedious form of horror. To gain the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, players must first brave the notoriously labyrinthine and hostile Subterranean Shunning-Grounds to encounter the loathsome Dung Eater. The true difficulty, however, lies in the subsequent scavenger hunt. Players must scour the Lands Between for five Seedbed Curses, items hidden in violated corpses across optional and often treacherous areas. Each curse is a dark secret, tucked away in corners of the world most would rather avoid. Returning them to the Dung Eater at the Roundtable Hold is a slow, methodical process of embracing the world's corruption, culminating in one of the game's bleakest conclusions.

The Age of the Duskborn

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The Age of the Duskborn is a significant leap in difficulty, primarily due to its formidable boss requirement. To secure this ending for the persecuted undead, players must ally with Fia, the Deathbed Companion, and see her lengthy questline to its end. While much of the journey involves navigating political intrigue and delivering messages, the climax is a trial by lightning. To earn the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince, players must enter the Deathbed Dream and defeat Lichdragon Fortissax, a legendary dragon boss widely considered one of the game's most challenging encounters. This ending is thus gated behind not just exploration and narrative steps, but also a peak test of combat skill—a gauntlet thrown down in a storm-wracked dreamscape.

The Lord of the Frenzied Flame

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The path to becoming the Lord of the Frenzied Flame is an arduous test of navigation and perseverance. Its difficulty stems not from an ultra-difficult boss but from the tortuous journey to the Three Fingers deep within the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds. Players must navigate the sewer's depths, discern and break illusory walls, and survive punishing platforming sections reminiscent of a maddening, vertical labyrinth. Reaching the Flame and accepting its chaotic gift irreversibly locks the player into this ending, burning away all other potential futures. The process is a harrowing pilgrimage into the world's deepest, most chaotic underbelly, a journey as disorienting and all-consuming as being swept away by a primal, colorless tide.

The Age of the Stars

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Widely regarded as the most complex and demanding ending, the Age of the Stars is a full-scale odyssey. It requires the complete and meticulous fulfillment of Ranni the Witch's expansive questline. This journey is an epic tapestry woven from exploration, cryptic dialogue, and formidable combat. Key challenges include:

  • Traversing some of the game's most perilous zones, like the Consecrated Snowfield and the eternal city of Nokron.

  • Defeating the cosmic horror, Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, an optional boss of tremendous power.

  • Managing a long chain of interactions with multiple NPCs across vast distances.

The reward is commensurate with the effort: the player becomes Ranni's consort, ushering in a new age guided by the moon and stars, far removed from the Golden Order. This questline is the game's ultimate narrative puzzle box, its pieces scattered across the cosmos like starlight, requiring a dedicated cartographer of fate to assemble.