Depending on which questlines a player decides to see through to the end, one of six endings is made available after beating Elden Ring's final boss. Each of the ages fundamentally alters the destiny of the Lands Between, either by fixing it with a Mending Rune or by removing the influence of the Greater Will in some other way.
Two of these six endings can be considered "bad", being the Dung Eater's Blessing of Despair and the Three Fingers' Lord of Chaos endings. The Age of Fracture, the default ending to Elden Ring, simply sees the current world continue as-is with the player becoming Elden Lord. Depending on your perspective, the other three endings can be considered "good" as they improve the world, replace the Greater Will with a theoretically more benevolent deity, or give Those Who Live In Death a second life.
The Age of the Stars: A Cosmic Shift In Divine Influence
- "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, souls, and order are bound tightly together, but I would have them at a great remove." (Ranni the Witch)
To unlock the Age of the Stars in Elden Ring players must complete Ranni the Witch's questline and use her summon sign in the Erdtree after felling the Elden Beast. This questline begins at Ranni's Rise just beyond Caria Manor and takes players across (and deep, deep below) the Lands Between to help Ranni achieve her destiny - to bring the influence of the Dark Moon to the Lands Between and rid it of the Greater Will and the Golden Order.
The Dark Moon and the Greater Will are two of Elden Ring's many outer Gods, each vying for influence and power in the Lands Between. The Greater Will is the dominant outer God, but it is dogmatic with enforcing its Golden Order. Ranni aims for order and divinity to be "at a great remove" from the Lands Between. Under the Greater Will, life, souls, and order are "bound tightly together" but Ranni would divide these concepts and make them unreachable.
The potentially negative parts of this ending stem from Ranni herself and the uncertainty of an age governed by the Dark Moon. While there are problems under the Greater Will, there's nothing to say that different problems wouldn't arise under another God. Additionally, it's important to remember that Ranni was the mastermind behind the Night Of Black Knives and the theft of the Rune of Death. An age under the power of the stars sounds lovely and all, but Ranni killed Godwyn on her path to achieving this destiny - is she really to be trusted as benevolent?
The Age of Order: Righting The Wrongs Of Queen Marika
- "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." (Mending Rune of Order)
To unlock the Age of Order ending in Elden Ring players must complete Goldmask's (and Brother Corhyn's) questline. This quest properly starts in the Altus Plateau, where players help Brother Corhyn find the noble Goldmask to serve him as a scribe. In the end, Goldmask's studies of the Golden Order reveal the truth: that the pettiness of the demigods is what has caused all of the problems that stem from the Golden Order.
When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. Caelid would be totally fine if not for Malenia and Radahn's confrontation, fought for little more than dominance. The shattering of the Elden Ring itself can be traced back to Ranni and her decision to kill Godwyn alongside her mortal flesh. After his meditation on the Greater Will concludes, he discovers the Mending Rune of Perfect Order, which can be found on his body. It is thought that this Rune essentially removes gods and demigods from the equation, giving the Greater Will uninhibited influence over the Lands Between.
There is one major downside to consider when choosing this ending. The Greater Will is generally considered a benevolent force for the Lands Between - as Melina says, births continuing and life existing in the relative peace of the Age of Marika is not such a bad thing. However, the Greater Will is unaccepting of those born outside the Erdtree like Omen and Demihumans and even Dragons. If you choose the Age of Order, the world will certainly improve with the removal of petty demigods, but the Greater Will will continue to be just as dogmatic as before.
The Age of the Duskborn: For "Those Who Live In Death"
- "Formed of the two hollow brand half-wheels combined, it will embed the principle of life within Death into Order. The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored." (Mending Rune of the Death-Prince)
To unlock the Age of the Duskborn players need to complete Fia's questline, which begins in Roundtable Hold when meeting her. Eventually, Fia will leave Roundtable Hold after a confrontation involving a dagger and D, Hunter of the Dead. She is later found in Deeproot Depths, laying with the deformed, horrific corpse of Godwyn buried at the base of the Erdtree. After giving her the Cursemark of Death, she bears the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince to give the undead a respectful life within death, and to give Godwyn a second chance as the First Of The Dead.
Aside from being the same title belonging to Nito from the original Dark Souls, being First of the Dead is significant because in life, Godwyn represented the Golden Order and its infinite cycle of rebirth. The Mending Rune of Death re-instills Destined Death into the Elden Ring, which stops this cycle of rebirth and makes the dead stay dead. When Marika confined Destined Death it meant that the death of the body didn't mean the death of the soul. In the Age of the Duskborn, death of the soul is permanent, but the body is given a chance at life.
The downsides to this ending are numerous, but from a certain perspective, it can be considered "good". If you looked at the corpse of Godwyn and thought, "man, he probably didn't deserve that" then Fia's ending is for you. In a similar way to how Miquella's Haligtree accepts those spurned by grace, the Age of the Duskborn gives the dead a place in the order of the world. The obvious downside to this ending is that if you die, that's it, there's no coming back or being resurrected. Look on the bright side, though: your body might live on!
So, What's The Best Ending To Elden Ring?
Ultimately the best ending to Elden Ring depends on your perspective on a few things: the Greater Will, the laws governing death, and the demigods. Really, any of the game's endings can be considered good, even the Blessing of Despair, you just have to look at it a certain way. Ultimately the Age of Stars, Order, and the Duskborn each have more upsides than downsides.
Choose the Age of the Stars if you want to see the Greater Will replaced with a power much further away, and if you want to help Ranni achieve her destiny as an Empyrean. Just keep in mind that Ranni is not entirely trustworthy and if your death gets her closer to her destiny, she might just order your assassination.
Choose the Age of Order if you don't mind the influence of the Greater Will but just want to see things improved by taking powerful beings out of the equation. Just keep in mind that the Greater Will and the Golden Order are more selective in their benevolence than they might seem.
Choose the Age of the Duskborn if you feel bad for Godwyn and want to see death return to the way it ought to be: permanent, and uninfluenced by the Golden Order. Just keep in mind that this completely halts the neverending cycle of rebirth created by the confinement of Destined Death. Plus, it means more skeletons, zombies, and other undead creatures in the Lands Between.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.