The latest FromSoftware game, Elden Ring, is also the most punishingly difficult, with some endings that are tough to explain. For some players, even seeing just one is a far-off dream due to the challenging bosses and hordes of enemies, but it's always possible. Each of them resolves the events of the story and affects the Lands Between in a different way, so those who want their perfect ending may want to read up on them.
[Warning: Spoilers for Elden Ring are below.]
In Elden Ring, the ultimate goal is to gather all of the Great Runes possessed by Queen Marika the Eternal's demigod children, and become the Elden Lord. After they've gathered all the shards of the titular Elden Ring, there are a few ways they can wrap up the story, some better than others. It's best to take one's time in Elden Ring, so that players can seek out what they need to get the ending that they want - not to mention get enough runes and items to make the game not quite so overwhelmingly hard. Some endings may have requirements that are hidden or hard to find, so it's important to do more than a little exploring.
There are six endings in total in Elden Ring, and each one varies in terms of how satisfying it is. Players will need to leave no stone unturned if they want to unlock all of them, as some require certain questlines to be completed. Almost all of them end with the Tarnished ascending to the title of Elden Lord, but all of them permanently change the Lands Between. Whether it's for the better or worse depends on the choices players make when the time comes. Players shouldn't let pride ruin Elden Ring for them; they should take every advantage they can get in their pursuit to unlock the endings and become the Elden Lord.
Elden Ring's Default Ending
The Elden Ring ending that's easiest to get is the default, where the player simply chooses to mend the Elden Ring at the end of the game. It doesn't require any extra questlines to be completed beyond defeating all the required bosses, so it's the one that beginners should strive for before they try to get any of the endings that need more work. Even that is no small feat, however, since there are 12 bosses that players must defeat just to beat the main game. The order they're defeated in is flexible, but the fact remains that it takes a lot of work to get this far.
After the default ending, not much changes in the Lands Between. The Tarnished has achieved their goal of becoming the Elden Lord. Caelid is still covered in Elden Ring's scarlet rot. The Erdtree, however, is gone, burned down by Melina. This is universal among endings - to some degree, at least - and is required to progress the story to the end. All of the Lands Between's flaws are still there, and the Outer Gods still meddle in the affairs of mortals. It can be considered the "canon" ending, but whether it's the "good" one is up for debate.
Elden Ring's Duskborn Ending
The Duskborn ending is a bit different from the standard one. In order to obtain it, players have to complete Fia's questline, which will eventually give them the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. After defeating two Shardbearers, or demigods, they have to find Fia in Roundtable Hold. She'll give them a dagger, which they need to give to D, Hunter of the Dead. After leaving and coming back, they find D dead, and Fia will flee to Deeproot Depths. Hugging Fia in Elden Ring might hurt, but it's worth it in the long run. In Deeproot Depths, players will have to defeat a boss, and tell her that they want Fia to be hugged. After obtaining the Cursemark of Death via Ranni's questline, players will defeat a boss within Godwyn the Golden's dream. Once the boss is defeated, they'll finally receive the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince.
Once the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince is in hand, it's a - relatively - simple matter of beating the game, after which players need to choose to mend the Elden Ring with the rune. Once they do, it's mostly the same as the canon ending; the Tarnished still becomes the Elden Lord. In this ending, however, the immortality that the denizens of the Lands Between once had is gone. From Elden Ring's dogs to its demigods, all creatures will live and die naturally. It's not much better than the canon ending, and players probably shouldn't think too hard about all the allies they doom to die by taking it.
Elden Ring's Despair Ending
The Despair ending is possibly the worst one that players can get in Elden Ring. In order to get it, players need to obtain the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse from Dung Eater, found in Roundtable Hold. He will only give them this item after they've given him five Seedbed Curses. They'll need at least one before he will talk to them, after which they will delve into the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds and fight Dung Eater. After defeating him, he will return to Roundtable Hold, where players can give him the Seedbed Curses in exchange for the Fell Curse rune. Elden Ring's Seedbed Curse locations make Dung Eater a frustrating NPC to deal with, but it needs to be done for the Despair ending.
The results of using the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse are horrifying. Dung Eater's curse spreads to every living thing in the Lands Between, bringing about an age of unmatched suffering. This curse is never truly explained, but it's presumably some form of painful sickness that Dung Eater spreads with his murder and defilement of corpses. If players choose the Despair ending, then it befalls all living things within the Lands Between. Dung Eater truly does succeed in cursing everyone's children's children.
Elden Ring's Perfect Order Ending
For those with a bad taste in their mouths after the Despair ending, the Perfect Order ending might be just what they need to lift their spirits. Elden Ring has more Bloodborne DNA than most think, but instead of cursing the Lands Between like Yharnam, they can help it instead. In order to get the Perfect Order ending, players need to complete Brother Corhyn's questline and obtain the Mending Rune of Perfect Order. Obtaining it requires players to find Goldmask, tell Corhyn where he is, and meet them both at Leyndell after unlocking it. Players must then solve a riddle by casting Law of Regression near the Erdtree Sanctuary Site of Grace, at a message in front of a statue. They must return to Goldmask and tell him the answer, after which he and Corhyn will move to the bridge south of Stargazer's Ruins. Once they're there, players must defeat the Fire Giant and the Beast Clergyman. They will find Goldmask's corpse in Lyndell afterward, where he will give them the Mending Rune of Perfect Order.
For those who join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring, it might just be the best ending. After Perfect Order, as the name implies, order will be restored to the Lands Between. What this means is that the Outer Gods will be locked out from influencing the land, including the Greater Will. The Golden Order, the laws of the world that the shattering of the Elden Ring disrupted, are restored. The Golden Order isn't explained well, but the Lands Between presumably changes for the better, now that its people are free to forge their own destiny.
Elden Ring's Lord Of Frenzied Flame Ending
Of course, not every Elden Ring ending results in the Tarnished becoming the Elden Lord or repairing the Elden Ring. In one such ending, the Lord of Frenzied Flame, something very different happens. In order to get this ending, players need to go to Leyndell and meet with Three Fingers before going to the Forge of the Giants. Exploring Elden Ring's world makes the game easier, and one of its alternate endings easier to get. Once players defeat the final boss and reach the Erdtree, they need to choose the "Become the Lord of Frenzied Flame" option. Unlike most alternate endings, it doesn't require a gigantic questline, so it might be the simplest to obtain.
If players want to save Melina, this might be the best option. It's the only Elden Ring ending where she lives. In this ending, the Tarnished themselves will act as a vessel for an Outer God and burn the Erdtree without killing themselves or Melina. Her survival comes with great cost, however. The Lands Between will be covered with a perpetual fire, leading to a great deal of suffering. Melina will show up in a cutscene after the game and vow to kill the Tarnished. Elden Ring takes a long time to beat, but those who want to go out in a literal blaze of glory can. It is possible to meet Three Fingers after Melina burns the Erdtree, however, in which case the ending will still go on but she will still be dead.
Elden Ring's Age of the Stars Ending
There is one ending in Elden Ring where players don't mend the Elden Ring or set the Lands Between on fire, and that is the Age of Stars ending. In order to get it, players need to complete Ranni's questline. In order to do that, players need to find Ranni at Ranni's Rise in Liurnia at night. After speaking to War Counselor Iji, Blaidd, and Seluvis, they must defeat Starscourge Radahan. Then, they need to bring Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade and get the Cursemark of Death from the Divine Tower of Liurnia. Whether players should serve Ranni or not in Elden Ring is up to them, and it may take a long time to complete the questline, but it can be worth it.
If they return to Ranni's Rise and go to the Ainsel River Main, they speak to a doll and must then defeat the Baleful Shadow. After that, they need to get the Dark Moon Ring from the Raya Lucaria Grand Library and go to the Grand Cloister, where they'll defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. If they continue to the Cathedral of Manus Celes, they can free Ranni by using the Dark Moon Ring on her body and unlock the Age of Stars ending.
After choosing the Age of Stars ending in Elden Ring, Ranni will become a god. The Tarnished will become her consort, making the two much like Marika and Godwyn. According to Elden Ring lore, Marika ruled the Lands Between and acted as a vessel for the Elden ring, so Ranni will take her place and the Tarnished will rule by her side. They both ascend to the stars, and Ranni makes the Dark Moon the center of power in the Lands Between instead of the Erdtree. It will guide the lost souls once trapped by the Erdtree in its stead. Whether this ending is good or bad is debatable, but Elden Ring's story will be resolved either way.