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Elden Ring

Game Progress Route Walkthrough

By
Scott Peers

This page contains an overview for the easiest route progression through all the regions in Elden Ring, including Limgrave, Weeping Peninsula, Liurnia of the Lakes, Caelid / Dragonbarrow, Altus Plateau / Mt, Gelmir / Leyndell, Royal Capital, Subterranean Shunning-grounds, Mountaintops of the Giants and the Consecrated Snowfield, Nokron, Eternal City, Deeproot Depths, Ainsel River, Siofra River, Crumbling Farum Azula, Leyndell, Capital of Ash, and all legacy dungeons. We’ll cover where you should go first, and a brief overview of the objectives in each location.

Route Progression Guide

The below overviews relate to essential encounters with NPCs and key items that you will need to progress through the game, or which will significantly improve your experience regardless of class. The overviews will therefore not cover all optional bosses, locations, or items. If you’re looking for a more complete list of these for each region, you’ll find detailed overviews in their respective sections for this guide.

If you’re looking for a specific region walkthrough, this handy table below will let you instantly jump to any of them.

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Note this only includes the areas from the original release of Elden Ring. For a route progress on the Shadows of the Erdtree expansion, check back later for a link to our extensive guide on it!

Limgrave Route Progression Overview

The two main regions of Limgrave (West and East) will provide your first encounters with numerous important NPCs and their quests. You’ll find plenty of optional bosses to gain runes and level your character as you prepare for the Stormveil Castle legacy dungeon, and ultimately the fight with your first Demi God Boss, Godrick the Grafted. It’s a good idea to thoroughly explore this region and kill as many optional bosses as possible before you enter Stormveil Castle, since you’ll be better prepared for some of the tougher encounters in there. Limgrave will also introduce you to some basic survival mechanics in the form of health / focus point flasks, and the Flask of Wondrous Physick. You can try different builds in the form of strength, dex, or magic and figure out what you might want to commit to before moving on to new regions. By the time you reach Stormveil Castle, you should have a decent understanding of build types, with a number of weapons and armor pieces to choose from. You’ll find a number of Smithing Stones, particularly in the Limgrave Tunnels, which you can use to improve your weapons for the first time.

West Limgrave Objectives

East Limgrave Objectives

Stormveil Castle Objectives

Weeping Peninsula Route Progression Overview

The Weeping Peninsula can be seen as a kind of extension from Limgrave. You’ll probably want to come here first before you venture into Stormveil Castle, if only to further level your character and begin the questlines for Irina and Edgar. If you’re a magic user, you will at least want to obtain the Memory Stone from Oridys’s Rise. Any character build will benefit from the Crystal Tears which can be found at the churches in this region, increasing the amount of replenished health and focus points when using flasks.

Weeping Peninsula Objectives

Roundtable Hold Route Progression Overview

You will gain access to the Roundtable Hold once you’ve defeated Margit, the Fell Omen. Melina will then invite you to the hold after resting at a Site of Grace. Alternatively, if you rest at a Site of Grace in Liurnia of the Lakes or Caelid before defeating Margit, you will be invited to the hold at this point instead. Once you have access to the hold, you can fast travel to it at any time. You’ll find it in the southwestern corner of your world map.

The main purpose of visiting Roundtable Hold is to progress the questlines of NPCs noted in the table below, some of which won’t appear until later in the game. You can also make use of Smithing Master Hewg here to upgrade your weapons, and eventually improve your Spirit Ashes after progressing Roderika’s questline. The Twin Maiden Husks will also become a kind of eternal merchant, to whom you can give Bell Bearings which are looted from dead NPCs, allowing you to purchase their goods from the Twin Maiden Husks instead. Finally, you should bring any Great Runes to Enia, the Finger Reader to exchange them for unique items, but be sure to duplicate them at a mausoleum first, and keep in mind that you can choose to sell them for a substantial amount of runes if you have no use for the unique items.

You should return to the Roundtable Hold whenever anything significant happens throughout the story, especially related to NPC questlines.

Roundtable Hold Objectives

Location Objective
Sitting at the roundtable Speak with D, Hunter of the dead to progress his questline
Standing by the eastern wall near the roundtable Speak with Diallos to begin his questline
Through the passage north from the roundtable, in the room just beyond Nepheli Loux Find the Twin Maiden Husks, a useful merchant
Through the passage east from the roundtable Find Smithing Master Hewg, a useful blacksmith
Through the passage east from the roundtable, in the room to the right of Hewg Speak with Fia and begin her questline
Standing by the northwest wall near the roundtable Speak with Brother Corhyn and begin his questline
Standing by the hearth near the roundtable / opposite Hewg after dialogue Speak with Roderika to progress her questline
Standing by the hearth / through the passage north from the roundtable, in the room to the left Speak with Gideon Ofnir for some useful information and lore
Through the doors to the southwest of the roundtable Speak with Enia, the Finger Reader to learn about lore and exchange Great Runes for unique items
Sitting at the balcony, northwest of the roundtable Speak with Sorcerer Rogier to progress his questline
Through the passage north from the roundtable, in the room at the end of the hallway to the northeast You can interact with Dung Eater here, but won’t be able to progress his questline until you reach Altus Plateau

Liurnia of the Lakes Route Progression Overview

The main areas of Liurnia of the Lakes (South, Central, Academy of Raya Lucaria, East and West) cover a vast region which opens up the game, especially for magic users. You’ll find numerous scrolls and spells to expand your magic repertoire, and you’ll continue to progress questlines for NPCs that you first met in Limgrave, while also meeting a bunch of new ones. The Raya Lucaria Academy, where Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon dwells, is your next encounter with a legacy dungeon. Once you’ve defeated Rennala, you’ll be able to speak with her to change the appearance of your character for free, or respect your character stats in exchange for a Larval Tear. You’ll find a few of these valuable items in Liurnia, and plenty more in other regions. By the time you reach Rennala you should have at least one Larval Tear, and likely more if you follow our objective overviews.

Liurnia of the Lakes South / Central Objectives

Academy of Raya Lucaria Objectives

Liurnia of the Lakes East Objectives

Lower Ainsel River Objectives

You’ll reach the Lower Ainsel River by taking the elevator down from Ainsel River Well in eastern Liurnia of the Lakes, just north of the Eastern Tableland Site of Grace. There isn’t that much to do down here, but you’ll find some valuable key items along the way.

Location Objective
West of Ainsel River Sluice Gate Drop down a ledge from the Ant Queen chamber to loot a Celestial Dew
North of Ainsel River Downstream Obtain the Map (Ainsel River) from the corpse
North of Ainsel River Downstream Purchase Celestial Dew, Perfumer’s Cookbook [4], and Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [16] from the Wandering Merchant
Northwest of Ainsel River Downstream Defeat the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella for a Great Ghost Glovewort

Liurnia of the Lakes West / Caria Manor Objectives

You will need to get the Fingerslayer Blade from Nokron, Eternal City in Siofra River (covered after Caelid and Dragonbarrow below) before you can enter Ainsel River Main from Renna’s Rise. However, we recommend doing all the other tasks listed below before you move on from Liurnia of the Lakes. You can then return to Ranni the Witch once you have the Fingerslayer Blade to enter Nokstella, Eternal City. Note that you need to defeat Starscourge Radahn in Caelid before you can enter Nokron, Eternal City and Siofra Aqueduct.

Location Objective
The Four Belfries Loot the Imbued Sword Key from a chest near the altar of the first belfry
North of Northern Liurnia Lake Shore Site of Grace Obtain the Map (Liurnia, West) from the obelisk
Road to the Manor Site of Grace Speak with War Counselor Iji
In small room at southeastern side of the manor Loot the Glintstone Craftsman’s Cookbook [6] from a corpse
West of Manor Upper Level Site of Grace Loot the Golden Seed from the tree
On balcony above Manor Lower Level Site of Grace Speak with Pidia, Carian Servant for the Glintstone Craftsman’s Cookbook [7] & Larval Tear
East of Caria Manor Interact with the ghost to obtain a Larval Tear (requires viewing of “Resurrection” Painting first)
Ranni’s Rise Speak with Ranni the Witch in her tower west of Caria Manor to begin her questline and give her Fingerslayer Blade
Carian Study Hall Go to the Carian Study Hall with the Carian Inverted Statue (given to you by Ranni after handing over the Fingerslayer Blade)
Divine Tower of Liurnia Use the Carian Inverted Statue to access the divine tower, where you’ll find the Cursemark of Death
Seluvis’s Rise Speak with Preceptor Seluvis to begin his questline, find a Memory Stone at the top of his tower
Renna’s Rise After giving Fingerslayer Blade to Ranni the Witch, enter Renna’s Rise to reach Ainsel River Main

Lower Siofra River Objectives

The Lower Siofra River is a fairly easy region which you can take on earlier than this if you prefer, but it makes more sense to come here after speaking with Ranni the Witch behind Caria Manor in western Liurnia of the Lakes. She will ask you to find Blaidd by heading down the Siofra River Well in eastern Limgrave. While you’re down here, you can find a few valuable key items after speaking with Blaidd before you leave.

Location Objective
Southeast of Siofra River Bank Obtain the Map (Siofra River) from beneath the obelisk
Southeast of Siofra River Bank Light the braziers and defeat the Ancestor Spirit
East of Siofra River Bank Speak with Blaidd to progress his questline
East of Siofra River Bank Find a Stonesword Key at the end of the bridge
West of Worshippers’ Woods Purchase Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [17], Purchase Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [18], Stonesword Key (x3), and Larval Tear from Nomadic Merchant
Southwest of Below The Well Loot a Golden Seed from the tree

Upper Ainsel River (Nokstella, Eternal City) and Lake of Rot Objectives

This area should be relatively easy after fully exploring Liurnia of the Lakes. However, if you find that you’re having trouble, you can come back to it after Caelid and Altus Plateau if necessary. You will need to come down here to progress the questline for Ranni the Witch, but you’ll also find some Larval Tears and a few other valuable key items.

Location Objective
Ainsel River Main Interact with Miniature Ranni for Ranni the Witch’s questline
West of Nokstella, Eternal City Site of Grace Loot the Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2] from a chest up the stairs
Nokstella, Eternal City Obtain three Larval Tear’s throughout the city
Lake of Rot Shoreside Obtain the Map: Lake of Rot from the obelisk
North of Grand Cloister Site of Grace Defeat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit for a Golden Seed
Northwest of Grand Cloister Site of Grace Loot the Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [22] from a chest inside a small stone structure

Caelid and Dragonbarrow Route Progression Overview

You can come to Caelid or Dragonbarrow before you finish Liurnia of the Lakes if you prefer. However, bosses and enemies in this region are generally tougher to deal with, so you’ll probably find it easier after levelling your character in Liurnia first. Note that most encounters in Dragonbarrow are more difficult than those in the rest of Caelid, but you can come here early on to begin giving Deathroots to Gurranq, Beast Clergyman and to pick up the Golden Seed nearby. Otherwise, you might want to leave Dragonbarrow until after Altus Plateau. You will at least need to defeat Starscourge Radahn in southeastern Caelid (Redmane Castle) before you can enter Nokron, Eternal City and the Siofra Aqueduct, covered below. If nothing else, you should also speak with Gowry and Millicent to begin their questlines, even if you don’t want to spend time fighting enemies and bosses in Caelid just yet.

Caelid Objectives

Dragonbarrow Objectives

Although Dragonbarrow is generally much tougher than the rest of Caelid, there’s a lot you can do here without fighting too many enemies. Most of the objectives listed below can be accomplished during or just after completing the majority of southern Caelid.

Location Objective
Church of the Plague Loot the Sacred Tear and speak with Millicent to begin her questline,
Sellia Hideaway Find Master Lusat within the hideaway, part of Sorceress Sellen’s questline
Fort Faroth Find the Dectus Medallion (Right) within the fort
Along the road northwest from Fort Faroth Obtain the Map (Dragonbarrow) from the obelisk
Near Isolated Merchant’s Shack Defeat the Bell Bearing Hunter to obtain the Gravity Stone Peddler’s Bell Bearing
Bestial Sanctum Obtain the Beast Eye by giving Gurranq, Beast Clergyman a Deathroot
Southeast of Bestial Sanctum Loot the Golden Seed from the tree
Lenne’s Rise Find the Memory Stone at the top of the tower
War-Dead Catacombs Defeat the Putrid Tree Spirit to obtain a Golden Seed
Enter Siofra River Well and use the elevator to Dragonbarrow At the top of the elevator you’ll find the Great-Jar outside a colosseum, defeat the three knights to complete the interaction

Upper Siofra River (Nokron, Eternal City & Siofra Aqueduct) Objectives

Once you’ve defeated Starscourge Radahn, you can enter this region by heading northwest from the Fort Haight West Site of Grace, in southeastern Limgrave. Here you’ll now find an enormous hole in the ground, with large pieces of rock suspended in the air above it. You can jump down the rocks here (preferably while mounted) to reach Nokron, Eternal City. You’ll find a number of useful items down here, including more Larval Tear items and the Fingerslayer Blade, which is necessary to advance the Ranni the Witch questline.

Deeproot Depths Objectives

The Deeproot Depths are almost an extension of Upper Siofra River. You can reach them after defeating the Valiant Gargoyle & Valiant Gargoyle (Twinblade) at the Great Waterfall Basin in Siofra River. You can then interact with the coffin beneath the waterfall to be teleported to the Great Waterfall Crest in Deeproot Depths. Here you can advance the questline for Fia and D’s Twin Brother.

Location Objective
Great Waterfall Crest Defeat the Erdtree Avatar near the Site of Grace
North of Deeproot Depths Find the Map (Deeproot Depths) from a corpse on the podium
Northwest of The Nameless Eternal City Defeat Crucible Knight Siluria and find a Stonesword Key on the roof of the church
Prince of Death’s Throne Defeat Fia’s Champions and then speak to Fia to progress her questline
Prince of Death’s Throne You can find D’s Twin Brother here as part of his questline
Prince of Death’s Throne Defeat Lichdragon Fortissax after providing Fia with the Cursemark of Death

Altus Plateau, Volcano Manor (Mt. Gelmir), and Leyndell, Royal Capital Route Progression Overview

The Altus Plateau as a whole covers an enormous region, which can be separated between Altus Plateau (central), Mt. Gelmir and Volcano Manor (west), and Leyndell, Royal Capital (east). You’ll progress a number of NPC questlines here, and begin some new ones, especially in Volcano Manor. You’ll find numerous Golden Seed and Sacred Tear items, which can be used to further enhance your character, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve your build with new armor and weapons. We’d recommend starting with Altus Plateau central, then moving on to Mt. Gelmir and Volcano Manor, before finally heading east to Leyndell, Royal Capital. Both Volcano Manor and Leyndell, Royal Capital have Elden Lord bosses, but you won’t fight Godfrey, First Elden Lord in Leyndell until it becomes Leyndel, Ashen Capital later in the story.

Altus Plateau Objectives

Volcano Manor and Mt. Gelmir Objectives

Capital Outskirts, Leyndell, Royal Capital & Subterranean Shunning-Grounds Objectives

Forbidden Lands and Mountaintops of the Giants Route Progression Overview

The Forbidden Lands connects Altus Plateau to Mountaintops of the Giants. The Mountaintops are split into two main areas, with maps for both east and west. However, the western part of Mountaintops of the Giants is more commonly referred to as the Consecrated Snowfield, and you can only go there after obtainting the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Left) from Commander Niall in Castle Sol, northwestern Mountaintops of the Giants. You’ll also need the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right), given to you by Albus at the Village of the Albinaurics in Liurnia of the Lakes. The Forbidden Lands, Mountaintops of the Giants and Consecrated Snowfield provide a lot of upgrade materials for your flasks and character build in general. Defeating the Fire Giant near the Foot of the Forge in southeastern Mountaintops is also essential to reach Crumbling Farum Azula later in the game.

Forbidden Lands and Mountaintops of the Giants Objectives

Consecrated Snowfield and Miquella’s Haligtree Route Progression Overview

Once you’re done with the Forbidden Lands and eastern Mountaintops of the Giants, you can return to the Grand Lift of Rold and travel to the Consecrated Snowfield. Here you’ll find plenty of key items and upgrade materials, and you can finally fulfil the request from Albus by summoning Latenna at the Apostate Derelict. Once you’re done with this area, you can use Miquella’s Haligtree Portal behind Ordina, Liturgical Town to reach the Miquella’s Haligtree legacy dungeon. Though not essential to the main story, there’s enough valuable items to make it worthwhile. You’ll also need to come here for Millicent’s questline, and to find more Seedbed Curse items for Dung Eater.

Consecrated Snowfield and Miquella’s Haligtree Objectives

Mohgwyn Palace Objectives

You can venture into Mohgwyn Palace before you go to Miquella’s Haligtree if you prefer. However, you will need to defeat the Sanguine Noble invader north of Yelough Anix Tunnel in the Consecrated Snowfield first. You can then use the portal to Mohgwyn Palace just to the west of where you encountered the invader. Alternatively, you can use the Pureblood Knight’s Medal, given to your by White-Faced Varré at Rose Church in Liurnia of the Lakes, to teleport to Mohgwyn Palace.

Location Objective
Northwest of Dynasty Mausoleum Entrance Obtain the Map (Mohgwyn Palace) from a corpse
South of Dynasty Mausoleum Entrance Loot a Stonesword Key from an altar and a Golden Seed from a corpse
Southeast of Dynasty Mausoleum Entrance Loot a Golden Seed from the tree and the Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [24] from a corpse
Southwest of the Palace Find the Imprisoned Merchant, who sells a number of Stonesword Keys
Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood for Mohg’s Great Rune

Crumbling Farum Azula Objectives

You can reach Crumbling Farum Azula by resting at the Forge of the Giants Site of Grace in eastern Mountaintops of the Giants. You will either need to speak to Melina or select “Listen to the sound of the flames” from the list of actions while resting. The latter option will only be available if you’ve interacted with the Three Fingers as part of the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending. Note that once you’ve completed Crumbling Farum Azula, you won’t be able to return to Leyndell, Royal Capital, as it will then become Leyndell, Ashen Capital instead. This will lock you out of some areas in the capital, while opening up access to others, including the final bosses there.

Location Objective
Northwest of Crumbling Beast Grave Depths Loot the Ancient Dragon Prayerbook from the centre of the room
Tempest-Facing Balcony Loot the Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing [4] from a corpse
Northwest of Tempest-Facing Balcony Loot the Ancient Dragon Apostle’s Cookbook [4] from a platform
West of Dragon Temple Speak with Alexander the Iron Fist
East of Dragon Temple Loot the Golden Seed from the tree
Southeast of Dragon Temple Defeat the Godskin Duo to obtain the Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [4]
East of Dragon Temple Altar Loot a Stonesword Key from a corpse on the ledge
East of Beside the Great Bridge Loot a Golden Seed from the tree
Southeast of Beside the Great Bridge Defeat the Beast Clergyman and Maliketh, the Black Blade for Remembrance of the Black Blade

Leyndell, Ashen Capital Objectives

You will gain access to Leyndell, Ashen Capital after defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade in Crumbling Farum Azula. You may need to return to the Forge of the Giants Site of Grace in eastern Mountaintops of the Giants to trigger a cutscene which will teleport you there. You should only pursue the objectives for Brother Corhyn and Goldmask if you’re looking to complete the Age of Order ending. The Ashen Capital is essentially the end game point in terms of accessible regions in the game, but there may be more to do in terms of advancing specific NPC questlines or game endings. Be sure to see our NPC Quests - Recommended Order page for a detailed guide on the best order to complete those, and our How to Unlock Every Ending in Elden Ring to get the most out of all the endings in the game.

Location Objective
Southwest of Erdtree Sanctuary Find Goldmask and loot his body for the Mending Rune of Perfect Order
Southwest of Leyndell Catacombs Find Brother Corhyn in the ashen dunes and speak with him
Erdtree Sanctuary Defeat Sir Gideon Ofnir, The All-Knowing
Southwest of Queen’s Bedchamber Defeat Godfrey, First Elden Lord and Hoarah Loux, Warrior
Southwest of Queen’s Bedchamber Defeat Radagon of the Golden Order and the Elden Beast for the Elden Remembrance
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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Bandai Namco Entertainment
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, PS5, XB One, XB X|S
  • Guide Release
    24 February 2022
  • Last Updated
    10 August 2024
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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Welcome to our guide for Elden Ring - the critically acclaimed open world game by FromSoftware, Hidetaka Miyazaki & writer George R.R Martin. This guide is a work-in-progress and currently contains the following:

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