Elden Ring is an open world game, and that means that players have a lot of agency when determining how to tackle the game. If they have the skill for it, there's nothing stopping players from diving headfirst into Caelid, one of the most deadly areas in Elden Ring, before they even step foot in Stormveil Castle. The game does a great job of trying to guide players down the intended, easier path, but players will always look for ways to make the already difficult game even more challenging. Following the Guidance of Grace will lead players to defeat Godrick the Grafted and Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon first, but the game feels very different if players skip these boss fights.
For those that aren't aware, it is impossible to enter Leyndell Royal Capital without first acquiring two Great Runes. This is no easy feat, as it requires players to find and defeat two shardbearers. Under normal circumstances, the first two shardbearers players will encounter are Godrick the Grafted and Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, but neither of these boss battles are actually required to progress further in the game's story. Any two shardbearers will do, and hunting down these other shardbearers gives playing Elden Ring a distinctly different feeling.
Elden Ring - All Shardbearers
In total, there are seven entities that hold shards of the Elden Ring, referred to as Shardbearers. These powerful foes grant the Tarnished a Great Rune upon defeat which, when activated, bestows powerful effects onto the player. The seven shardbearers are: Godrick the Grafted; Rennala, Queen of the Full moon; Starscourge Radahn; Mohg, Lord of Blood; Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy; Morgott the Omen King; and Malenia, Blade of Miquella. Of these seven bosses, a stunning five of them can be fought from the moment players step out into Limgrave.
Morgott the Omen King is found within Leyndell Royal Capital, so it stands to reason that there is no way to fight him without first gathering two Great Runes. Likewise, Malenia can be found deep within the roots of the Haligtree in the Consecrated Snowfield of the Mountaintop of the Giants, an area that players can't reach until they defeat Morgott in Leyndell. Aside from those two bosses, all the rest can be completed in any order, and players only need to defeat two of them in order to get one of Elden Ring's many endings.
Elden Ring - Starscourge Radahn as the First Great Rune
If players are dead set on letting Godrick live and leaving Rennala to her machinations in the Academy of Raya Lucaria, then they might choose to tackle Starscourge Radahn as their first Great Rune. Doing this means that almost all of Limgrave's content is completely optional, and players can instead head straight to Caelid to weather the Scarlet Rot, face down deformed enemies, and storm Redmane Castle. After fighting through the guards of this place and defeating the Crucible Knight and Misbegotten Warrior, players will find themselves at the Radahn Festival.
Now players will face their first major challenge, but they won't have to do it alone. Unlike the fight against Godrick where players are limited to the help of one or two friends or Nepheli Loux, the Radahn Festival allows the Tarnished to summon a myriad of powerful allies like Blaidd and Iron Fist Alexander. This cinematic boss fight is a whole different experience than fighting Godrick, and will require players to show an impressive level of skill and dedication if they hope to come out of this fight alive.
Elden Ring - Mohg, Lord of Blood as the Second Great Rune
With Radahn defeated and the first Great Rune under the Tarnished's belt, it's time to seek out Mohg, Lord of Blood. Normally, players access Mohg's area by way of a teleporter found in the Consecrated Snowfield, but it's also possible to get to Mohgwyn Palace by completing White Mask Varre's questline. After invading other players' worlds, soaking a cloth in the blood of a slain maiden, and joining Varre's cult as a Knight of Mohg, players will eventually be granted an audience with Mohg himself.
Directly defying White Mask Varre's instructions, the Tarnished can use the Pureblood Knight's Medal to teleport to Mohgwyn Palace to find Mohg and kill him, putting an early end to his bloody, would-be dynasty. This fight is no laughing matter, and a far cry from Rennala's boss fight (one that is often considered the easiest of the seven shardbearer fights). It also paints the Tarnished in a different light. Rather than following the Guidance of Grace, the player has now infiltrated a secret order dedicated to worshiping the demi-god of blood, betrayed Mohg's dynasty, and assassinated him.
Elden Ring - Fighting Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy and Morgott the Omen King
At this point, the Tarnished has both the Great Runes required to enter Leyndell Royal Capital, but before doing that they could still head to Mt. Gelmir and find Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. It's worth noting that Rykard could also have been fought instead of either Radahn or Mohg as well. Reaching this boss will see players joining Tanith and her group of assassins at Volcano Manor, hunting down fellow Tarnished and directly opposing the Erdtree and the Golden Order. Once they finally reach Rykard, the player is in for a cinematic fight as they use the Serpent-Hunter Spear to slay the blasphemous demi-god.
Perhaps one of the strangest things about this path is that players will meet Morgott for the first time in Leyndell instead of meeting him as Margit in Stormveil Castle. This means there's little to no history between the two when they fight at the seat of the Erdtree. Not only is this path through Elden Ring incredibly challenging when compared to the more standard route, it also feels like a completely different game at times. It's incredible how much choice Elden Ring gives players on their quest to become Elden Lord.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.