Re: Age Of The Duskborn Ending Elden Ring
Yvette Burkhammer
Endings for Elden Ring cover the possible conclusions of the game, determined by the player and their influence on The Lands Between's denizens. Each ending is shaped by the player's interactions with certain NPCs and their respective Side Quests. This page covers each ending, the requirements to reach an ending, and frequently asked questions. There are a total of six (6) possible endings in Elden Ring.
Traditionally, no; each playthrough can only have a single ending, and another can only be seen after completing your next playthrough in New Game+. However, it is possible to make use of save states at the end of your first playthrough to complete an ending and then load to a previous state and complete another. This is an effective way to unlock all ending-related Achievements or to see multiple endings without completing another full playthrough. So far, this method is possible on Steam, PS4/PS5, and Xbox One/Series.
With the exception of one ending that will explained below, you can work towards and complete all the relevant quests required for each ending without being locked to it. After beating the final boss, you can choose which ending you want to go for out of the endings you've unlocked.
This question suggests that you have met with the Three Fingers to inherit the Frenzied Flame. To reverse this, you will need Miquella's Needle which can be obtained after completing Millicent's questline and returning the Unalloyed Gold Needle to the Scarlet Aeonia left after Malenia, Blade of Miquella's fight. Miquella's Needle can be used at Dragonlord Placidusax's arena in the Crumbling Farum Azula to reverse the Three Fingers' flame of frenzy. Fighting Placidusax is not necessary to use the needle; simply being in the boss arena will do.
After using the Cursemark of Death on Godwyn's corpse to give him a second life as the First of the Dead, Fia lays with him and bears the first of Dead demigods - in the form of a rune. In the Age of the Duskborn Ending, the Tarnished chooses to use this Mending Rune of the Death-Prince to begin a new age of Duskborn as Elden Lord - where the Lands Between are engulfed in a harrowing fog and the principle of life within Death is embedded into Order, ridding the world of immortality and allowing the natural cycle of life and death to occur for all people and creatures alike.
The Age of Order Ending is an alternative version of the Golden Order ending, where the Tarnished chooses to use the Mending Rune of Perfect Order on the Elden Ring to restore order to the Lands Between by putting an end to all the strife caused by forces "emboldened by the flames of ambition".
The noble Goldmask once lamented that "all the good and the great wanted, in their foolishness, is an absolute evil to contend with", implying that one who seeks greater power to further his or her ambition will, in all likelihood, presents himself or herself as the greater good and condemn the other side as the absolute evil. Each will accuse the other as committing heresy. Strife would ensue, plunging the Lands Between into chaos and unending conflicts.
The Age of Order thus envisions a new age of stability, where there is no more conflict brought upon by the "fickleness of the gods no better than men" which was "emboldened by the flames of ambition".
The Blessing of Despair Ending is an alternative version of default ending of the game, where the Tarnished chooses to use the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse and begin the new age as Elden Lord - the difference being, now, the Lands Between has now been overtaken by a reviled curse. While the details of what the curse brings isn't fully explained, it is the same curse brought from Dung Eater's defilement, causing defiled souls to be unable to return to the Erdtree. With the fell curse embedded in the Elden Ring, all present and future generations will be afflicted with this loathsome curse.
In the Lord of the Frenzied Flame Ending, the Tarnished goes down a different path to become the Lord of Frenzied Flame. If the Frenzied Flame is inherited before the events at the Forge of the Giants, Melina leaves the Tarnished's company, leaving the Tarnished to sacrifice their own body at the Forge. This leads to an extra scene at the ending, showing Melina without the mark on her left eye, devoting herself to deliver "Destined Death" to you.
As explained by the Three Fingers through Hyetta at the end of her quest, this ending sees the Tarnished take up the mantle of the Lord of Chaos, and tasked with burning the world, along with the mistakes of the Greater Will - all existing sin, torment, fracture, and curse - to unite everything and everyone much like the crucible which existed before time.
In the Age of the Stars Ending, after defeating the Elden Beast, instead of mending the Elden Ring, the Tarnished summons Ranni the Witch in front of Marika's remains.
Ranni supplants Marika as Goddess and takes The Tarnished as her Elden Lord.
She brings an end to The Golden Order, establishing an Order of her own (not named but likely similar to the Order of the Dark Moon, which we currently know little about).
In doing so she also removes the influence of The Greater Will from The Lands Between.
She leaves The Lands Between together with The Tarnished and takes her Order with her, on a journey meant to last a thousand years. As a result of her absence, The Lands Between is left without a lord for the first time in an age.
In her final cutscene she states the following:
"...The battle is over, I see.
I do solemnly swear. To every living being, and every living soul.
Now cometh the age of the stars.
A thousand year voyage under the wisdom of the Moon.
Here beginneth the chill night that encompasses all, reaching the great beyond.
Into fear, doubt, and loneliness...
As the path stretcheth into darkness.
Well then. Shall we? My dear consort, eternal."
She initially planned to go alone, living in solitude for 1000 years. This is suggested by the description of her Dark Moon Ring:
"Whoever thou mayest be, take not the ring from this place, the solitude beyond the night is better mine alone."
In addition to dozens of bosses, areas to explore, and NPCs to complete quests for, Elden Ring has six different endings that you can achieve. Four of these endings involve the Tarnished becoming the Elden Lord. One variant of the default Elden Lord ending is the Age of the Duskborn ending.
Without going into too much detail, the Age of the Duskborn will still have you sitting on the Elden Throne before the credits roll, but this time with Death returning to the Lands Between. If you're looking to unlock this ending, this guide will help. Let's go through everything you'll need to do to unlock the Age of the Duskborn ending.
As mentioned above, the Age of the Duskborn ending is one of the alternate endings you can choose when you become Elden Lord. To get this ending, you will need to complete Fia's questline.
Fia is a Deathbed Companion who you first meet at the Roundtable Hold. Following her questline will eventually lead you to the Deeproot Depths where you will battle Lichdragon Fortissax. At the end of Fia's questline, you can acquire the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. Be sure to follow our complete walkthrough for Fia's questline for detailed information of each step.
After acquiring the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince, continue through the game until you challenge Godfrey, First Elden Lord. After defeating him, you will be able to enter the Erdtree and fight Radagon of the Golden Order and the Elden Beast, who are the final two bosses of the game.
Once the Elden Beast is defeated, you will be able to repair the Elden Ring when interacting with Marika's fractured body. To get the Age of the Duskborn ending, instead of repairing the Elden Ring, you must use the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. This will cause you to restore the Elden Ring using the Death-Prince's Mending Rune, ushering in the Age of the Duskborn, bringing true Death back to the Land Between.
The Age of Fracture is the simplest to obtain, only requiring The Tarnished to finish the game, while all others demand completion their respective side quests beforehand. The Age of Fracture, Age of Order, Age of the Duskborn and Blessing of Despair endings see The Tarnished rise as Markia's new Elden Lord of the Golden Order, mending the Elden Ring, and ushering in their new Age of choice to rule over. The Age of the Stars ending sees The Tarnished aid Ranni the Witch in ousting Marika and remaining at her side as Ranni's first Elden Lord. The Lord of Frenzied Flame ending, caused by the possession of the Frenzied Flame, overrides the possibility of any other ending. The Tarnished's disregards the notion of becoming Elden Lord becoming the Lord of Frenzied Flame instead and incinerating everything that came before.
For The Tarnished to separate themselves from the Frenzied Flame's influence after being inherited, they must aquire Miquella's Needle and follow its specific conditions of use. Once the Frenzied Flame is ridded, it can not be reclaimed in any way, preventing the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending.
The Golden Order, perfected. Gods and demigods perturb order, and their fickleness is no better than that of men. With them out of the equation, the new Age of Order shall finally bring true Order to all.
Those Who Live in Death have as much right to life as the rest of the living. Make it a rule within Elden Ring itself and rule as Elden Lord in the Age of the Duskborn, where the Dead shall live along the living.
Under the wisdom of the Moon, the Elden Lord will take a thousand year voyage into the chill night alongside Consort Ranni. Even if life and souls are one with the order, it will be out of sight, emotion, faith, and touch.
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