As players explore the Lands Between in Elden Ring, they will come across numerous merchants with items to sell. While some fans will be satisfied with peacefully browsing the merchants' wares before moving along, others may have more sinister plans for these characters. Indeed, some players may be interested in killing the merchants in Elden Ring, and this guide is here to detail the consequences that are associated with that act.
To note, the following information is only applicable to the Abandoned, Hermit, Imprisoned, Isolated, Nomadic, and Wandering Merchants that are scattered across the map. Players that are considering killing any NPCs beyond those specific merchants should thus seek additional guidance before they proceed. Fans that do not heed this advice, and instead kill characters with impunity, may find that they have locked themselves out of some of Elden Ring's questlines and cannot access some of its endings.
Elden Ring: Should You Kill the Merchants
To put things simply, there is no apparent negative consequence for killing the game's merchants. In fact, there is a very compelling reason to slay them, and that is that each one drops a Bell Bearing when dispatched. These Bell Bearings can in turn be given to the Twin Maiden Husks in Elden Ring's Roundtable Hold to add the associated merchant's offerings to their inventory. This makes it much easier to purchase merchant items, as it becomes unnecessary to keep track of the vendors' individual locations and items.
Despite the convenience that killing the merchants in Elden Ring offers, some players may still be uncomfortable with executing them. For those fans that are indeed on the fence, a bit more information about the merchants may be helpful, as the lore that surrounds them may serve to inform the decision. Here is that information, which has been pulled from the Nomadic Merchant's Armor Set, and players that want to discover this lore in-game are advised to stop reading now:
These merchants once thrived as the Great Caravan, but after being accused of heretical beliefs, their entire clan was rounded up and buried alive far underground. Then, they chanted a curse of despair, and summoned the flame of frenzy.
One final point that may be worth mentioning is that Merchant Kale, who is located in the Church of Elleh in Limgrave, does a play a role in the beginning of Blaidd's questline in Elden Ring. However, dispatching the vendor will not prevent players from seeing that story to its conclusion, as he will drop the item that is relevant to the questline when slain. Additionally, fans should not be too worried if they do not receive the item upon killing Kale, as they can still pickup Blaidd's thread later in the game.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.