Elden Ring: All Endings Explained

elden ring has three endings with an extra three variants on the vanilla ending leading to a total of six at least six that we know of at the moment there are a few theories of even more endings but so far they're not confirmed and despite being more straightforward in explanation than its predecessors elden ring still leaves a lot unsaid and this means the endings may seem a bit vague so in this video i'm going to do my best to explain each of the six endings and what they mean lore wise to the world of the lands between first i want to note that all of the endings include the final boss fight a two-phase gauntlet first against radagon vessel of the elden ring and then against the elden beast an eldritch space worm thing which is a representative of the greater will and that became the elden ring itself there is plenty of lore to discuss with these two but they don't differ between the endings so they won't be as much a focus of this video i'll suffice to say that radagon is merica and they are a conflicted vessel or housing of the elden ring according to the item description for america's hammer the weapon they used during their fight with hammer in hand america shattered the elden ring and then radagon attempted to repair it they are meant to be the god of the lands between but it seems that america developed other plans the elden beast however is higher up on the food chain according to the incantation eldon stars long ago the greater will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the lands between which would later become the elden ring the greater will is a great outer god one of at least a few which exists outside the lands between it is essentially the greater god of the elden ring the er tree and the golden order it's also very lovecraftian so the elden beast is a vassal of the greater will and a living incarnation of the concept of order it is also essentially the elden ring itself the centerpiece of mainstream civilization if we can call it that that exists in the lands between once you overcome this utterly annoying boss fight you are left on the stone platform to make your choice between the endings of elden ring the basic vanilla ending is that of becoming the elden lord there are four variants on this ending with the most straightforward being that of the age of fracture most nbc's point you towards becoming the elden lord it seems like that's the whole goal of the return of the tarnished it's what the two fingers and everyone in the round table hold says is what you need to do so if you do it and you play through the game without pursuing any extra quests you get this ending you become the elden lord and usher in the age of fracture you do this by returning the head of fractured america and restoring the elden ring with you as its lord a golden hue returns to the sky and land and you sit on the throne but you may notice that the light is not of shining gold in the shots of the leaves and the throne the light is more like that of a sunset with your shadow clearly visible in the orange light almost like the sun is setting on this age despite your recent ascension to lord this is pretty unsurprising for from software this age of fracture reads like a simple continuation of the problems that led to the start of the game the cycle is continued with nothing truly resolved often times the most straightforward ending in fromsoft games is not the one that thematically resolves the issues of the game to some extent in dark souls and really in dark souls 3 the basic ending of relinking the flame is simply prolonging the issue continuing a cycle of stagnation that really should probably be broken the age of fracture is just that the lines between are still broken and beholden to the whims of the greater will the sun is setting on this age one unquestionably afflicted by stagnation and one with not a thing resolved this basic ending doesn't rock the boat but it doesn't lead to a resolution either now we can explore the variant endings where you still become an elden lord but bring about a different age first is the age of order this ending is achieved by completing the questline for gold mask and brother corin adherence of the golden order and the faith of the erd tree completing their questline brings about the mending rune of perfect order an item you can pick up from a dead gold mask this unlocks a choice at the end of the game to use this rune to mend the elden ring with and if you do so a golden circle surrounds the elden ring at the center of america golden light fills the sky and shines down from above showering you the elden lord and gold the description for the mending rune of perfect order states that it is a rune of transcendental ideology which will attempt to perfect the golden order the current imperfection of the golden order or instability of ideology can be blamed upon the fickleness of the gods no better than men that is the fly in the ointment it also states that it was discovered not created by gold mask an important distinction that will come up later with the other variants so this sounds like a better ending than the age of fracture a flaw in the golden order was noticed and gold mask a ceaseless watcher of the ergery discovered a possible solution though brother corin is not so sure if you speak to him in the asheville capital he is on verge of a mental break the master was nothing more than a madman enchanted by a vain and ruinous delusion he rejected the perfection of the golden order seeking to supplant our glorious faith with his own could there be a more pitiable comedy look at it the culmination of perfection burning before our very eyes [Laughter] he says that gold mask was actually a madman and that his final attempt to fix things his discovery is tantamount to heresy a rejection of the golden order now even if corn isn't the sound as judge the description of the rune claims the current imperfection is caused by the fickleness of the gods no better than men but the new order we create rests on us the tarnish and who's to say we do not share in such fickleness there's no evidence that we as the player character or any other tarnished in terms of virtue are any better than the gods the new order may have a golden light but it still seems to do its best to maintain the status quo of the elden ring and the greater will the age of order is an improvement on the age of fracture but it seems at best to be a better prolonging of fate and a continuation of subjugation by an outer god next is the age of the duskborn brought about by completing the questline of death associated with fia finishing this questline will award the player with the mending rune of the death prince a rune gestated but not discovered by fia this ending has the death prince rune circumscribe the bottom of the elden ring then a misty grey shrouds the world a rain of seeming ash under which no leaf stirs in this grey rain we sit as elden lord of a land that will know death for the first time in ages the rune of the death prince is made up of the two curse marks of death which appeared at the time of the death of the first demigod this rune creates an order of death restored a return of death after its confinement during the creation of the original golden order this also via hopes stays the persecution of those who live in death no longer to be hunted by the likes of people like dee so this is a significant departure from the original order as it brings back a core element of existence that the order removed the concept and possibility of death despite this being another elden lord ending the original intent of the elden ring and the greater will seems to actually be mired to what extent is left unclear though as you still become an elden lord and conventionally restore the elden ring this might just be a bump in the road for the designs of the greater will now the possibility of death does allow for some thematic resolution because the stagnation of endlessly living now has an answer death however the simple presence of death doesn't seem to metaphysically change the world or the overarching situation of the lands between so i'm not sure we can say that this ending brings with it much meaningful change the final variant of becoming an elden lord is the blessing of despair brought about by completing the dung eater's questline finishing this quest line will award the player with the mending rune of the fel curse a loathsome rune gestated by the dung eater this ending has the fel curse rune cover the elden ring with its decrepit blight the world is covered by an apocalyptic sky of swirling orange sores the herd tree is a pale white the leaves don't stir and the throne is surrounded by a dank fog and the fel curse defines the age one of a blessing of despair this ending is a fitting one to pair with the dung eater a reviled curse of a man in his own right and from him we can learn more about this blessing of despair the seabed curse the item which is needed to progress dung's quest and achieve this ending states that it is a curse grown on a corpse killed and defiled by the dung eater a tender pox afflicted with omen horns by doing so he prevents dead souls returning to the erd tree leaving them forever cursed one of the most loathsome things found in the lands between so this action is a travesty to the normal order the description of the curse rune says that when it is used on the elden ring that the curse will last eternally afflicting every generation of the world but what is this affliction really we know it prevents souls from returning to the urgery but if the order and the urgery are not benevolent entities then this might not be a bad thing it could be that with that in mind we can understand the name of this ending how despair can be a blessing after all the description of the curse rune also states if order is defiled entirely defilement is defilement no more and for every curse a cursed blessing perhaps this total defilement of the order is able to bring out a world where separation from the erd tree is a blessing maybe such a separation could constitute a proper end to existence a true death also important to note is the connection of the fel omen the seedbed curse has omen horns the full rune name is mending rune of the fel curse and the dung eater's helm describes itself as a malformed helm resembling an omen with its horns cut off so not the boils or pus that it might originally seem but cut off omen horns is what dons the dung eater's armor the helm also states of the dung eater himself that he has the heart of an omen without the body to match could there be any crueler existence what does it matter then if the curse claims it all so there are inexorable links to the omen cursed and reviled beings and this reads a bit nihilistic after the suffering the omen have endured responding in kind by cursing the world so is this really a blessing found through despair or simply a curse by another name there are also possible connections to the boss moak twin of morgan and lord of blood he has a connection with an outer god other than the greater will one called the mother of truth or the formless mother who bestows power upon accursed blood like the blood of the omen some players think there might be another secret ending called the age of the blood that deals with moog but nothing concrete has been found though a connection between this blessing of despair ending and the secrets of the omen does seem unquestionable okay so that ends the variance of the elden lord ending next is the second major ending the age of stars this ending is brought about by completing the witch ronnie's questline and summoning her to the stone platform initiating her blue summon sign will bring about a wholly new cutscene in which ronnie is the one who returns the head of fractured america and then she speaks to every living being and every living soul now cometh the age of the stars a thousand-year voyage under the wisdom of the moon here beginneth the chill night that encompasses all reaching the great beyond into fear doubt and loneliness as the path stretches into darkness before you then take her hand as her eternal consort this ending is both ominous and optimistic themes of fear doubt and loneliness are usually dark and frightful but they also symbolize independence and a breakaway from dogmatic ideology such as the faith of the golden order and urgery you can actually speak with ronnie again after finishing her quest but before this ending there is a new grace at the top of her eyes and here she explains the order she envisions i take it thousands i shouldn't be surprised i thought i might expound a little further upon the order i envisioned mine will be an order not of gold but the stars and moon of the chill night i would keep them far from the earth beneath our feet as it is now life and souls and order abound tightly together but i would have them at a great remove and have the certainties of sight emotion faith and touch all become impossibilities which is why i would abandon this soil with mine order what's thou come to me even now my one and only lord this dialogue falls in line with the final cut scene ronnie rejects the machinations of the greater will and its representative the two fingers no order of its gold will be had instead an order of loneliness where people do not have the crutch of fate but perhaps through this they gain greater control of their own path choosing how they wish to make their way through the darkness ronnie mentions the description of celestial do the item you use to absolve your sins in the church of vows might also hint at this it states once upon a time the stars of the night sky guided fate and this is a recollection of those times a time when the night stars guided fate could mean there's some outer god associated with knight and stars but it could also mean something like what humans in our own world have done using stars to navigate seas and lands saving stories and legends in the constellations in our new dark under the stars we can find our own path and make use of the night sky as a tool not for dogmatic decree but as a part of our personal journey so and this is obviously my interpretation a lot of this is this age of stars ending bears similarity to what i would call the best or canon ending of dark souls 3 where you summon the fire keeper and let the flame go out that ending too is ominous but it is also one of hope a facing the new darkness to grow and progress and doing so with the fire keeper by your side in elden ring we the player take the more secondary role as ronnie's consort but the motifs and thematic resolution are pretty much the same this really leads me to favor this ending as the one most in line with the driving themes of the story it gives the most resolution to the kinds of ideas touched on in the story and it seems to me to be the best fit for a best or hannon ending obviously fromsoft leaves these endings interpretational because they enjoy the aspect of players determining their own story in the game but even in a meta way this ending aligns with that kind of vision because it's the ending most free from control of any outside force it is the ending symbolic of the player making their own story and i also want to point out that this interpretation of the endian can find support in the philosophy of frederick nietzsche which bears influence not only on berserk an inspiration for the dark fantasy of fromsoft and something directly paid homage to in this game of elden ring but it also bears influence directly on some of fromsoft's themes the ever striving and overcoming challenge especially in relation to the self was extremely central to nietzsche and the themes present in this ending mirrors a lot of his work in the books the spoke zarathustra beyond good and evil and the gay science nietzsche saw the end of faith in our own world the death of god as he put it as leaving us stranded in fear and isolation just as ronnie says but while the end of this grand illusion may be disconcerting it is also freeing nietzsche writes finally the horizon seems clear again even if not bright finally our ships may set out again set out to face any danger every darian of the lover of knowledge is allowed again the sea our sea lies open again maybe there has never been such an open sea just like the open sea of nietzsche the horizon of the age of stars is not bright but it is clear darkness abounds but the stars dot the sky and the living beings of the lands between are free to make their own voyage finally we have the third main ending the lord of frenzied flame this ending is different because it is achieved by finding and interacting with the three fingers at some point during the game not the two fingers but the three fingers the ones behind the spells of frenzy and frenzied flame once this interaction condition is met you are locked into the ending and you activate it by simply interacting with fractured america at the end of the game you can actually unlock yourself from this ending but to achieve it you have to be locked into it if you find the three fingers below the capital before you end the game you become marked with burns and fingerprints and your eyes take on the glow of the chaos flame then at the end you become lord of the frenzied flame the head of fractured america will crumble your head will be replaced by an orb of chaos flame and that flame will engulf the world obliterating the earth tree and setting the lands between a light and yellow fire and fingerprints of the three fingers there is no narration to this ending just the sound of fire crackle and smolder and ominous howls and strings the very sky itself seems to burn so this ending is ostensibly bad the utter destruction is hard to view as anything else but it is important to understand what's happening before he passed judgment if you complete hayet's questline she is waiting nearby the three fingers she can become your maiden and tell you the words of the three fingers all that there is came from the one great then came fractures and births and souls but the greater will made a mistake torment despair affliction every sin every curse every one born of the mistake and so what was borrowed must be returned melt it all away with the yellow chaos flame until all is won again the three fingers would have you burn it all away with the chaos flame until all is won again in evangelion fashion so this ending is one of coalescence through a destructive process all is brought together into one entity this one great is ambiguous perhaps everything was once it or perhaps it formed a single outer god or all the life in the realm of the lands between's world it is also hard to see exactly the relation between the greater will and the entity behind the three fingers what the wiki calls the frenzied flame if we take the two fingers and the three fingers together we get five fingers or a whole hand perhaps they used to be this one great before the greater will split them to create its own path or domain there is also the fact that the frenzied flame and its incantations have to do with madness many of the incantations turn others mad which plays into the lovecraftian idea of his great old ones otherworldly gods or entities from space encountering these beings is too much for a human mind to comprehend so in lovecraft's stories it goes mad or insane when it nears them the outer gods of eldon ring share many parallels with lovecraft's deities especially in the ocean sea monster that is the elden beast and in the incomprehensibility of the frenzied flame while this ending is a departure from the plans of the greater will it is simply an arrival into the plans of another great being another outer god the subsuming of everything into the yellow flame also seems to bleak to be a satisfying ending to our tale it is surely an intriguing and grandiose finale but it leaves out much of the rich themes present throughout the story oh and i almost forgot one more thing if you lock into this ending before melina burns herself your body acts as kindling and she doesn't die instead we get a new cutscene at the end of melina with eyes switched promising to hunt us down she is reminiscent of ronnie with their respective closed eyes and ronnie's shadow face and overall i have little reason to think that melano is a malicious actor so i'm chalking this up to another point against this ending as achieving proper resolution so there we have the known endings to eldon ring explained i do want to make note that another theorized yet unconfirmed ending the age of absolute is one that has been tossed around a bit and with more substantiation than the age of blood this ending of the absolute is supported by data mines of the closed network tests which reveal continuations of the quest lines for some npcs npcs like nephili liu kenneth hayt and gustock go stock ghost gastak i don't really remember how to pronounce his name there's also the section of stormville castle that prevents combat likely because it was intended to house npcs like the round table hold so it seems that there actually is something real to this ending with it likely being another variation of the elden lord ending affected by finishing an npc questline in any case whether it was cut currently in a glitched form or saved for a dlc there has so far been no evidence that it is an achievable ending to the game at this moment if by the time this video comes out there is such evidence please let me know since i have yet to see it and that does it for my analysis of the endings in eldon ring plenty of what i have discussed here could do for its own standalone video there's lots of lore with all of these endings and the characters and the quest lines and i will likely make some of those videos along with other lore videos on the game so thank you for watching and be sure to stick around if you're looking to discover more of the lore of the lands between and leave in the comments your own lore theories and if i got anything wrong there is lots of interpretation in this video and there are lots of items in the game that i'm sure i haven't really delved fully deep into so if you have another interpretation and you have something in game to support it i'm all ears the comment section is your playground [Music] hey [Music]

Channel: MadLuigi

Views: 1,742,438

Keywords: elden, ring, elden ring, elden ring lore, endings, ending explained, endings explained, lore, lore explanation, age of fracture, duskborn, fia, tarnished, age of stars, ranni, grace, marika, lands between

Id: zBx6DJBN3aE

Length: 25min 19sec (1519 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 12 2022