Elden Ring is a classic FromSoftware title, marrying elements of fantasy, the macabre, and deep lore with punishing gameplay. Elden Ring has more than proven itself deserving of all its pre-release hype, and players have sung its praises. Now that Elden Ring has been out for a few weeks, more and more players are reaching the final stages and are being confronted with the choices at the end of the game.
Elden Ring has six possible endings depending on player choice. Some of them don't appear to differ too greatly, with the player's Tarnished completing their promise of restoring the Elden Ring and reestablishing some kind of order. However, there are subtle differences in each choice that can severely impact how the Lands Between will look and operate moving forward. The 'default' choice is the Age of Fracture, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the 'best' one.
SPOILER WARNING: The rest of this article contains spoilers for Elden Ring's Age of Fracture
Elden Ring's Default Ending
This is probably the ending that requires the least amount of prerequisites and planning. Simply completing the game and achieving the end that the Tarnished set out to resolve – mending the Elden Ring and becoming the new Elden Lord as a fresh age begins – will trigger the Age of Fracture ending. After defeating the last boss (or technically two bosses, with Radagon of the Golden Order and the Elden Beast appearing immediately after), players simply need to choose the "Mend the Elden Ring" option. Several of the other options just offer variations of this ending – like the Age of Order – which makes Age of Fracture seem like the most basic and straightforward choice.
NPC and in-game guide Melina tried to achieve this ending throughout the game, aiming to restore the previous age from before the fracturing of the Ring. Players have ascended to the role of the Elden Lord, and they intend to rule over this new age where the Golden Order continues to shape and influence the Lands Between. FromSoftware games usually have deep lore and occasionally complex narratives, even if these stories are buried under layers of gameplay and hidden in item descriptions. But compared to older FromSoftware titles, Elden Ring is more character-based and story-led, with the aftermath of the shattered Ring clear as the players explore the Lands Between. The whole point of the game is to reform the Ring and become the Elden Lord, and the Age of Fracture achieves this perfectly.
Elden Ring's Age of Fracture Ending Isn't as Simple as It Seems
While the Age of Fracture ending appears to tick all the boxes for the aims of an Elden Ring playthrough, it's not quite that straightforward. It would be difficult to find a FromSoftware title that had an unequivocally good ending for everyone involved; there is usually some kind of caveat or dark undertone to even the happiest of endings. While it's true that the Age of Fracture should usher in a new period of peace, however short-lived that may be, the fact is this means that the cycle could repeat all over again, and there's nothing stopping the Ring being shattered once more and plunging the world into chaos.
This theme of cyclical violence and tragedy is also seen in the Dark Souls series with the Lords of Cinder, and while it is not necessarily a bad fate, it isn't really a good one either. There is usually some kind of 'status quo' conclusion in FromSoftware titles, which is often the ones players are supposed to be pursuing throughout the game. However, when they learn more about it and the true nature of the choice is revealed, it doesn't actually seem that great. The games will then offer some kind of alternative that may seem overly destructive or chaotic, but that nevertheless frees the inhabitants from an endless cycle of the same thing over and over again. It's up to players to determine which is worse, and which they would prefer to see befall the Lands Between in their own playthroughs.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.