As an avid Souls player with over 100 hours within the Lands Between, I‘ve discovered an optimal route that balances rewarding exploration with manageable difficulty. Having played through Elden Ring multiple times, I‘ll guide you on an exciting adventure to ascend for Elden Lord without needlessly bashing your head against punishing walls.
Why Follow a Route in an Open World Game?
Elden Ring marks FromSoftware‘s first foray into open world design, and they‘ve knocked it out of the park. The exhilarating freedom to explore the interconnected Lands Between in any direction you choose is incredible. However, this also means encountering areas tailored for certain character levels and weapon upgrades.
For instance, the snow swept Mountaintops of the Giants housing the Fire Giant expects you to wield at least a +12 somber weapon. An unprepared explorer would only tickle the health bar of enemies meant for the end game.
My Aim for This Route
Therefore, my goal is to highlight an optimal path that:
- Encourages rewarding exploration without missing integral areas
- Retains balanced difficulty so you don‘t hit punishing brick walls
- Sets you up to overcome exciting challenges with essential tools and upgrades
Let‘s begin with creating your warrior in the Stranded Graveyard.
Limgrave: Testing Fundamentals
Emerging from the Chapel of Anticipation into the vast plains of Limgrave, you‘re eased into Elden Ring‘s expansive world. Home to where your journey begins, West Limgrave features plenty of mini dungeons, NPC quests and sites to explore while getting accustomed to basic mechanics.
I highly recommend engaging these early foes using spirit ashes to learn attack patterns without frustration. Employ ranged options to pull lone enemies away from groups and don‘t be afraid to run away from deadly combos. Keeping a notebook tracking enemy resistances helps too!
Noteworthy Locations
Church of Elleh – Merchant Kale sells the essential Crafting Kit among other items
Gatefront Ruins – Find your first Smithing Stone Miner‘s Bell Bearing to access unlimited weapon upgrade stones up to level 2 with just runes!
Stormhill Shack – Cookbook [3] unlocks crafting bone, lightning and magic arrows
Key Items For Any Build
- Map Fragments – Slowly reveal the world map to better track your exploration
- Spirit Calling Bell – Enable spirit ash summoning to manage aggro
- Whetstone knife – Allows applying weapon skills with Impetus to open more options
I cannot emphasize enough the value of fully exploring Stormveil Castle as your first major dungeon. Defeating bosses here unlocks essential Tarnished intrinsics like rune level ups and sacred flasks while the side content prepares your build.
Stormveil Castle Critical Path
Main Bosses
- Margit, The Fell Omen: Teaches delayed attack recognition
- Godrick, The Grafted: Dragon head second phase keeps you attentive
Upgrade Materials
- 5x Smithing Stone [1]
- 2x Smithing Stone [2]
- Precious item ahead therefore visions of treasure
With Stormveil conquered and key items acquired, we next access exciting new regions by turning our sights north to scenic Liurnia.
Liurnia of the Lakes: Conquering Magic & Hidden Sorcery
The glistening moonlit lakes of Liurnia make a visual spectacle while posing unique threats like sorcerers, crystalline warriors and spectral spirits. Tread carefully as you‘ll face substantial mana wielding opposition on your path to accession.
Recommend Level: 45 with +3 or higher weapon
While Liurnia caters to mid game warriors, it‘s home to fantastic opportunities for less seasoned fighters too. Here‘s my suggested route along with reasons to explore each site:
Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel
Early dungeon provides a haul of Smithing Stones:
- 5x Smithing Stone [3]
- 3x Somber Smithing Stone [2]
With a +6 weapon, we‘re ready to delve deeper into sorcery secrets.
Caria Manor
- Begins the questline for Ranni the Witch, unlocking hidden Nokron and treasure
- Defeat Loretta for Caria Manor Key to access Three Sisters region
Academy Gate Town
- Farm heavy Glintstone Arrows from miners
- Royal House Scroll for sorceries like Stars of Ruin
- Raya Lucaria Academy Key guarded by dragon
Raya Lucaria Academy
Demigod Boss
- Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
Rewards
- Respec your character with Larval Tears
- Academy Glintstone Key for expanded sorceries
With dissenting Carians conquered, we next traverse into scarlet rotted Caelid.
Caelid: Trial by Fire & Scarlet Rot
If Limgrave and Liurnia tested your metallic mettle, Caelid expects you to wield that tempered steel with proficiency against unrelenting horrors. Both fire and scarlet rot ravage these war torn barrens filled with misfortune and decay.
Tread slowly here, avoiding the wild beasts of Dragonbarrow initially. My proposed route has you gear up to slay the legendary star scourge himself.
Suggest Level: 80+ with +9 somber or +15 standard weapon
Ideal Path
- Clear out Redmane Castle town section
- Light torches and speak to Jerren for Radahn Festival
- Summon cooperation and chip away at the Lord of the Stars
- Return to Nokron, access underground areas
- Clear Lake of Rot, avoid deeper reaches for now
Alternative Route
If Radahn‘s gravity magic has you firmly planted to the dirt, detour west to Weeping Peninsula instead. Here you‘ll find Castle Sol housing the Carian Knight armor set, highly productive against magic foes.
A key optional area in Caelid is the Bestial Sanctum, where you first meet Gurranq who you‘ll encounter again soon. With scarlet rot purged, we next set our sights on the Altus Plateau.
Altus Plateau: Blazing New Ground
While earlier domains tested your fundamental mastery, the Altus Plateau expects proficiency wielding those skills against relentless assaults. Let‘s look at some key events here:
Recommended Level: 100 with +10 somber/+20 standard weapons
Reaching Altus
- Obtain Dectus medallion halves in Limgrave/Caelid
- Hoist secret medallion at Grand Lift of Dectus
Draconic Tree Sentinel
- A mounted dragon knight with an expanded moveset from the Limgrave original
- Delayed horizontal lightning strikes can quickly kill the unwary
- Defeating him opens Leyndell, Royal Capital
Optional but valuable, Mount Gelmir fire region also branches off. The Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy boss rewards the unique Blasphemous Blade for faith builds.
Having honed our skills here, two greater rune wielding shardbearers block our path in the Royal Capital.
Storming Leyndell, Royal Captial
Elden Ring‘s crown jewel is the breathtaking Royal Capital with sights unmatched in previous FromSoftware games. You‘ll truly feel like a battle hardened Tarnished assaulting the very seat of the Erdtree‘s order. But two warrior demigods stand in our way.
Recommended Level: 110+ with +10 / +22 weapons
Morgott, King of the Capital
Our old foe Margit returns wielding searing curses to thwart your ambition. Beware new diving stab attacks and delayed strikes during his second phase.
HP: 8,960, Runes: 90,000
Resistances: Standard, Strike, Slash, Pierce, Holy
Weak To: Fire, Magic
Godfrey, First Elden Lord
With Margit‘s spectral veil lifted, the warrior king Godfrey halts your advance in a thunderous clash. Watch carefully for overhead axe slams and charging shoulder bashes before he resorts to unarmed blows from chieftain Hoarah Loux.
HP: 13,970 Souls: 140,000
Resistances: Standard, Magic, Lightning, Fire
Weak To: Strike, Slash, Pierce
Their combined defensive measures have sealed the Erdtree…for now. After some fiery chaos, the path ahead shall open.
Mountaintops of the Giants: Frigid Endgame
These foreboding frigid peaks are home to FormSoftware‘s toughest gauntlet leading down into the roots of the Erdtree itself. Littered with Forlorn Hound Evergaols housing notorious invaders, the very land itself resists your progress.
My recommended route through the giants‘ domain:
- Castle Sol for the crucial Haligtree Secret Medallion
- Brave the Borealis fog to reach peaks connecting to the Forge
- Fire Giant guards the destroyed Erdtree so we can burn the roots
- Avoid consecrated snowfields and Miquella‘s Haligtree for now
- Enflame the tree with Melina‘s sacrifice, continue the assault
Finale: A Date with Destiny
Here we are at last. Gael tunnel, Mohg, Malenia – all left in our wake. Two figures stand between ourselves and godhood now. Radagon, Elden Beast, this world has but one throne – and the worthy sit upon it.
Tarnished warriors…to your fate take flight! The Age of the Stars awaits.
A Journey to Remember
And that‘s it! From my extensive playthroughs, this route paces your exploration through both optional and critical content for maximum engagement. Early zones encouraged fundamentals while dense late game focused honing combat prowess. I‘ve deliberately offset punishing sequences with exciting encounters like Raya Lucaria.
Will this exact path work for you? Maybe, maybe not. But my insights should hopefully help brave Tarnished in their own quest to become Elden Lord!
