There are many questlines in Elden Ring, and most of them are incredibly easy to miss. Among these is the Ranni questline, which takes you through a long list of labours in service of the witch-doll. You’ll need to beat multiple bosses, find several hidden items and explore some daunting areas along the way.
Along with simply being one of the most interesting optional adventures, completing Ranni’s questline will enable you to unlock the Ranni ending at the conclusion of Elden Ring. This is a long one, but if you like Ranni it’s definitely worth it.
Here is our full Ranni questline guide to help you complete Ranni’s questline in Elden Ring.
- RELATED: Elden Ring Review (spoiler-free)
Introduction to the Elden Ring Ranni questline
Before we get into the nitty gritty, note that this questline is crucial for obtaining one of the Elden Ring endings. The Ranni ending is also known as the Age of the Stars ending, and can only be obtained by fully completing Ranni’s questline.
An important point to remember is that completing the Ranni questline does not lock you into the Ranni ending and you can still get a different ending if you wish. So far, based on Trophy and Achievement monitoring, it seems like the Ranni ending is actually the most popular Elden Ring ending.
Ranni can actually be met very early in the game, but this doesn’t impact the questline. If you visit the Church of Elleh after resting at three Sites of Grace, she will appear as a witch going by the name of Renna. Here, she will give you the Spirit Calling Bell free of charge. If you proceed too far into Elden Ring, she will stop appearing and you must buy the Spirit Calling Bell from the Twin Maiden Husk merchant in Roundtable Hold, which still only costs a paltry 100 Runes.
Anyway, it’s time to get the ball rolling.
How to find Ranni and start the Ranni questline
Ranni is found in a tower suitably named Ranni’s Rise, in the Three Sisters area (map location pictured above). This is in the northern part of Liurnia of the Lakes, and is first accessed by clearing Caria Manor and defeating Royal Knight Loretta.
Ranni’s Rise is on the western edge of Three Sisters and will be the only one of the towers accessible when you first reach the area, as the others are locked by seals. Climb the stairs and ladders all the way to the top to find Ranni, who will ask you to serve her. Accept, and this will commence the Ranni questline.
- If Ranni sends you away without requesting your service, then you will have to return to Roundtable Hold and speak to Rogier. This should change Ranni’s mind, allowing you to go back to her and accept the quest.
- If Ranni is not there at all, this is because you have started the festival at Redmane Castle. You must defeat Radahn before returning to the top of Ranni’s Rise, where she will now appear. You have to beat Radahn to complete the questline anyway, so it’s just doing this step out of order.
After accepting Ranni’s offer, she’ll ask you to speak to three other people in her service. Thankfully, these are all nearby. Go back downstairs and speak to Blaidd, Iji and Seluvis. You won’t actually be able to leave until this is done, so exhaust all of their dialogue and head back to Ranni at the top of the tower.
After returning to Ranni, your next task will be to go underground to Nokron, the Eternal City and retrieve a treasure.
OPTIONAL: Follow Blaidd and find the way to Nokron
These steps can actually be skipped altogether. You can go straight to fight Radahn or if you’ve beaten him already you can go straight to Nokron (and the steps will be unavailable). However, if you’ve not reached the Altus Plateau region then this will be the only other way of unlocking the Radahn boss fight:
- Speak to Blaidd in Ranni’s Rise and he’ll tell you he is heading to Siofra River
- Find the Siofra River Well in Limgrave, found on the eastern side. It has a long lift that takes you underground (pictured above)
- After a fairly long journey through the well, find Blaidd by the Spirit Spring, and he’ll tell you his suspicions about Seluvis
- Return to the Three Sisters area and talk to Seluvis. He’ll give you Seluvis’s Introduction
- Go to the Waypoint Ruins in Limgrave, go down the steps and give Seluvis’s Introduction to Sellen
- Sellen will inform you that the key to finding Nokron is Starscourge Radahn, who has stopped the movement of the stars. He must be defeated to release them and open the way
There are also some further optional steps involving Seluvis, who provides magical draughts to give to various people. You only need to pursue his instructions to receive the Magic Scorpion Charm, which vastly boosts magic power at the cost of physical defence. If you are a melee build, this is useless anyway.
Also, at one point he will give you an Amber Draught to provide to Ranni, and doing so will actually halt the Ranni questline unless you seek absolution at the Church of Vows. In fact, she’ll kill you if you speak to her three times after giving her the draught! In my opinion, it’s not particularly worth your while to do any of this so I recommend leaving Seluvis alone.
To be clear, you can skip all of this by reaching Altus Plateau in the north of the map, via the hidden passage or the Grand Lift of Dectus.
Find Radahn in Redmane Castle, Caelid
The only way to unlock Nokron and progress the questline is to defeat Starscourge Radahn in the Caelid region, which will open the path. To reiterate, you can go straight to beat him without completing any of the optional steps above. It is well worth beating Radahn regardless of Ranni’s quest, and you may well have done this already.
If not, you must go to Redmane Castle in southeast Caelid and reach the final courtyard area. To find the castle, go as far south as you can and find the Impassible Greatbridge Site of Grace. Here, you’ll find a bridge leading west that will take you into Redmane Castle.
This can be a tough area if you are tackling it fairly early in the game, so don’t be afraid to spend some time levelling up in Caelid first if you need it.
When you get to the end, there may be a festival taking place, denoted by a ‘no combat’ icon on your screen:
- If you completed the above optional steps involving Blaidd, the festival will be underway
- Alternatively, if you have reached Altus Plateau and rested at a Site of Grace the festival will commence
In the event neither of these conditions are met, then you will not be able to progress further into Ranni’s questline until one of them has been done. Also, the castle will be swarming with enemies and there will be a boss fight against Mistbegotten Warrior and Crucible Knight in the courtyard. If you have completed one of the above, then the castle will be empty and there is no boss to fight… until Radahn.
Beat Starscourge Radahn at the Festival
Once you have started the festival, go and speak to the Festival Master on the upper level and he will give you a choice to battle against Radahn. Confirm you are ready and he will open the way to a teleporter that takes you straight into battle.
Radahn can be a difficult boss, but with the assistance of the other festival-goers, he can be taken down. We have a full guide to the Radahn boss fight here, which should tell you everything you need to know.
Once he is beaten, a short cutscene will play, showing a shooting star flying overhead. This is your route to Nokron, as it will cause a massive crater that can be descended.
Along with this, you will scoop a hatful of Runes, as well as Radahn’s Great Rune which is extremely handy.
Find Nokron and obtain the Fingerslayer Blade
There is now a crater found in eastern Limgrave. It’s south of Mistwood Ruins and just west of Fort Haight, which are the closest landmarks (just west of the point on the map above). Fast travel to the nearest Site of Grace and find the ledges to drop down.
Make your way to the bottom and navigate a series of rooms to finally reach the Nokron, the Eternal City. Soon, you will fight the Mimic Tear boss and reach a stony bridge that takes you to a grassy area. In the upper western part of this, locate the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace which is the closest one to your next series of jumps and drops. If you find yourself at the Aqueduct-Facing Cliffs or the watery areas, you are going the wrong way.
Scale the rooftops and get yourself down to the Night’s Sacred Ground. Keep jumping down the ledges and rooftops and proceed through the buildings until you reach the Night’s Sacred Ground Site of Grace. Reach the end of this long path to find a throne room that you can’t really miss. Open the chest here to obtain the Fingerslayer Blade, which is the treasure Ranni is after.
Side note: Near this area you can also find the Mimic Tear Spirit Ashes, widely considered the best summon in the game. It’s worth a little detour to get this, though you will need a Stonesword Key to reach the chest containing it.
Return to Ranni before climbing Renna’s Rise
After exploring Nokron as much as you want, fast travel back to Ranni and give her the Fingerslayer Blade. She’ll reward you with the Carian Inverted Statue that can be placed on the altar at the start of Carian Study Hall, enabling you to reach the Divine Tower of Liurnia. However this isn’t actually necessary for Ranni’s quest. This detour will earn you the Stargazer Heirloom talisman (boosts intelligence) and the Cursemark of Death, which is required for the Duskborn ending. You can do this later on if you wish.
For now, all you need to do now is rest at a Site of Grace, which will open the seal to Renna’s Rise, one of the other towers in Three Sisters. As you climb the tower you can pick up Snow Witch equipment, and at the top you’ll find a teleporter that takes you back underground to Ainsel River.
Find Miniature Ranni and clear Nokstella
Near the point you emerge, there is a corpse with a Miniature Ranni doll. Pick this up and proceed down the path to the Ainsel River Main Site of Grace.
You can actually talk to Miniature Ranni here (pictured). Keep selecting the option to speak to her and eventually she will tell you to defeat the Baleful Shadow, which is found further on in this area. If you keep talking to Ranni whilst resting, she will provide some further insights into her quest.
Keep working your way through the river to find Nokstella, and reach the far-west part of the map where there is a Site of Grace called Nokstella Water Basin. This is a long journey that’ll take you a while, but keep going until you reach the second lift that takes you underground to the Site of Grace. Just ahead of this is a tunnel that leads to the Baleful Shadow boss, who will appear near an open coffin next to the water.
If he doesn’t appear, the chances are you haven’t spoken to Minaiture Ranni enough times so go back to the last Site of Grace and exhaust her dialogue. Be careful not to lure any other enemies from the tunnel into the boss area as they can cause you trouble and inflict Deathblight.
Baleful Shadow shouldn’t be a hugely challenging foe at this point. He looks like an intruder and can consume three flasks throughout the fight. If you have a melee build, try and dodge towards him to get behind his back and inflict a backstab for massive damage. He’s pretty quick so it’s worth staying just on the edge of his range to lure him into attacking, enabling you to dodge and counter.
Beat Baleful Shadow to recover the Discarded Palace Key, and prompt some further dialogue from Ranni.
Use the Discarded Palace Key in Raya Lucaria Academy
The Discarded Palace Key opens a chest in the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria Academy.
Now, you’ve probably cleared this dungeon by now (it’s generally cleared second, after Stormveil Castle) but there is a chance you have not.
If not, you must go to the central area of Liurnia of the Lakes and beat the entire dungeon including Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon at the end. Again, we have a full guide to the boss battle here if Rennala is causing problems.
Assuming this is done, fast travel to the Grand Library and use the key to open the chest behind Rennala (on the right-hand side as you look at her). You’ll retrieve the Dark Moon Ring, which is the next crucial item in Ranni’s questline.
Cross the Lake of Rot
The next part of Ranni’s questline isn’t pleasant. Head back to the place you fought Baleful Shadow in the underground Ainsel River, and run past the arena to find a lift that takes you down to the next Site of Grace and the Lake of Rot Shoreside.
Once you’ve reached it, you’re faced with an enormous red lake that will quickly infect you with Scarlet Rot when you attempt to cross. You have a few options to get to the other side:
- Simply accept the Scarlet Rot damage and continually consume flasks until you reach the end (recommended)
- Use Preserving Boluses to negate the effects of Scarlet Rot
- Find the switches to raise a series of platforms which can break up the journey and allow you to recover
Ultimately, the first option will be the quickest and won’t cost you any actual items. However you choose to do it, get to the other side and find the Site of Grace. You must travel in a general southwest direction, and it might take you a few tries to get your bearings but as long as you have not allocated too many magic flasks you’ll be OK.
Beyond this is the Grand Cloister, and an optional Ulcerated Tree Spirit that drops a Golden Seed if you choose to defeat it.
Either way, your next destination is the coffin at the top of the Rot waterfall. Believe it or not, you must climb into the coffin and rest, which ends up taking you to the next area and a tricky boss fight.
Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
Astel is a tough cookie, but like any boss he can be taken down with the right tactics.
Aim for his head, which is the best place to deal damage. He has a string of ranged, AoE and physical attacks, but the best opportunity is after his orb attack. When you see him bring his arm down with a series of orbs, quickly get back to avoid them. As soon as these have exploded, there is a decent window to run in and strike multiple times before he attacks again.
Generally it is worth being quite aggressive and staying close to him, as there are numerous attacks that will miss you altogether if you are sufficiently close. However, you must keep your wits about you as he can switch up his patterns and even teleport away, dealing damage in the process. Usually he will simply teleport somewhere else, but sometimes Astel appears above you and grabs you. If you cannot see where he is, prepare to dodge as this is a hugely damaging move that can kill you.
Another danger is Astel’s binding fang attack, which will grab you and likely one-shot you. As soon as you see his fangs glowing, get ready to dodge out of there. Finally, a meteor storm will trigger when his health is reduced by half. Dodge like hell and get out of the way, since these pack some series power as well.
Once he’s beaten, you’ll earn the Remembrance of the Naturalborn and 80,000 Runes.
You’ll now open the path to the Deep Ainsel Well lift. Take this and head up to the Moonlight Altar.
Reach Moonlight Altar and Cathedral of Manus Celes
I can’t be the only one who was wondering about this area for the bulk of the game. You’re finally on the elevated part of southern Liurnia, directly above the Village of Albinaurics.
This questline is the only way to reach the area. It also happens to be the new hunting ground of Glintstone Dragon Adula, who first appears in Three Sisters but disappears after taking a certain amount of damage.
Defeat him if you wish to snag some more Dragon Hearts and 120,000 runes, but this is optional.
Head to the northern part of this area to find the Cathedral of Manus Celes. There is a cave near the Site of Grace, which once again involves a bit of careful navigation to avoid falling to your death. Land on the ledge and get into a dark tunnel.
Head through until you find the horrible sight of Ranni’s corpse and some mutilated fingers. Approach Ranni and you will have the option to place the Dark Moon Ring on her finger.
Do it and talk to her again. She will now declare you her consort and advise that she is heading into the night sky. This dialogue officially signals the end of the quest, and means you will finally have the option of Ranni’s ending!
You’ll also get the Dark Moon Greatsword for your troubles, which is a great weapon if you happen to be a greatsword wielder with the necessary stats. It requires 38 Intelligence and causes Frost buildup.
Optional: Afterwards, you can head back to Ranni’s Rise to fight Blaidd and get his armour set. You can also climb Ranni’s Rise again and rest at a new Site of Grace up there. At this Site of Grace you can speak to Miniature Ranni once more, for some additional insight into her plans.
How to get the Ranni ending (spoiler-free)
Now that the Ranni questline is complete, you will have the option of seeing the Ranni ending at the conclusion of Elden Ring. Again, this is not locked in and is completely optional at all times.
With no spoilers, the Ranni ending is unlocked by touching the blue summon sign on the floor after beating the final boss.
If you ignore the summon sign, you can proceed to get a different ending. Check out our full endings guide below for more details about the ways to unlock each different ending. There are some slight spoilers within this article so proceed at your own risk.
Recap: How to complete the Elden Ring Ranni questline
As you can see, this is a lot of work. Here is a reminder of the essential steps in chronological order, although some can be done out of order:
- Reach Ranni’s Rise in Three Sisters, Liurnia and talk to Ranni at the top
- Speak to Ranni’s three other companions and return to Ranni to get your first task
- Optional: Speak to Blaidd before heading down Siofra River Well and finding him again.
- Optional: Speak to Seluvis, receive Seluvis’s Introduction and give this to Sellen in the Waypoint Ruins, who will confirm you must beat Starscourge Radahn
- Defeat Starscourge Radahn in Caelid, unlocked by either completing the above step or simply reaching Altus Plateau and returning to Redmane Castle
- Go down the crater in eastern Limgrave to reach Nokron, the Eternal City
- Make your way down by the Eternal Woods Site of Grace and find the Fingerslayer Blade
- Return to Ranni’s Rise and provide her with the item before resting at a Site of Grace
- Climb Renna’s Rise to reach a teleporter that takes you to Siofra River
- Find the Miniature Ranni by a nearby corpse and speak to her multiple times at a Site of Grace
- Head through Nokstella and find the Baleful Shadow
- Defeat him to obtain the Discarded Palace Key
- Open the chest in the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria Academy to receive the Dark Moon Ring
- Go back to where you fought Baleful Shadow and find the lift down to the Lake of Rot
- Travel through the Lake of Rot and get into the coffin at the end of the Grand Cloister
- Beat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void to unlock the path to Moonlight Altar
- Find Cathedral of Manus Celes in the northeast part of the area and carefully jump into the cave
- Reach Ranni at the end of the tunnel and place the ring on her finger, before talking to her and being deemed her consort
That’s all there is to it (!). Hopefully this Elden Ring Ranni questline guide of how to complete the quest and unlock the Ranni ending in Elden Ring has given you everything you need to know.
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