Elden Ring guide: Ranni the Witch’s questline walkthrough

Assist Ranni on her gloomy trip.

Elden Ring’s Ranni questline is more of a parallel quest than a side quest. It’s rich in story and will take you through the majority of the Lands Between in the many hours it takes to finish. It also grants access to an alternate ending to the game.

We’ll walk you through every step of Ranni’s dark journey, from meeting her to heading to Siofra River with Blaidd, fighting Starscourge Radahn at a festival, finding the Eternal Cities of Nokron and Nokstella, collecting the Fingerslayer Blade and the Discarded Palace Key, finding the Dark Moon Ring, heading to the Lake of Rot and the Moonlight Plateau, and claiming the Dark Moon Greatsword.

RANNI ELDEN RING TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
• Forlorn Hound Evergaol (optional)
• Nokron, Eternal City
• Give the Fingerslayer Blade to Rann
• Three Sisters and Ranni’s Rise, Liurnia
• Baleful Shadow
• Open Rennala’s chest
• Lake of Rot
• Moonlight Altar
• The road to Nokron
• Seluvis and Sellen
• Redmane Castle
• Starscourge Radahn
• Carian Study Hall
• Renna’s Rise
• Ansel River Main and Nokstella, Eternal City

THREE SISTERS AND RANNI’S RISE, LIURNIA

When you visit the Church of Elleh in Limgrave after receiving your phantom steed, you’ll encounter Ranni for the first time, calling herself Renna. She’ll offer you the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes at that point, but she’ll vanish for a bit until you run across her again in Liurnia.

After completing the scary hand-filled Caria Manor and defeating the Royal Knight Loretta, you’ll get entrance to the Three Sisters plateau.

Renna’s Rise, Ranni’s Rise, and Seluvis’ Rise are the three wizard towers mentioned by the Three Sisters. To get access to these three Rises, enter Ranni’s Rise and talk with Ranni the Witch (who called herself Renna when she first met you).

Talk to her until she asks you to join her army. If you do, she’ll want you to talk with three more persons on her payroll: War Counselor Iji, Preceptor Seluvis, and Blaidd. (It doesn’t appear that you need to have encountered Blaidd or Smithing Master/War Counselor Iji prior to this.)

Return to Ranni after speaking to their ethereal forms on the ground floor of Ranni’s Rise. (This is the only way you’ll be allowed to exit the premises.)

Your first mission is to accompany Blaidd to Nokron, Eternal City.

THE ROAD TO NOKRON

Blaidd indicates that he’s going to the subterranean via the well in Mistwood and begs you to meet him there. Travel to East Limgrave. There are no grace sites near the well, so simply select one and bike.

The Siofra River Well is located on the east side of East Limgrave, just north of the Minor Erdtree (and northeast of the Mistwood Ruins, where you may have first encountered Blaidd). Enter the building and take the lift down.

You will arrive at the Siofra River area. You can do some exploration, but you can only access a few of the grace places for the time being. Make your journey eastward and northward.

Blaidd can be found behind one of the massive bridge supports. However, your journey towards Nokron has been halted. Blaidd recommends speaking with Seluvis.

SELUVIS AND SELLEN

Return to the Three Sisters region – the nearest place of grace is at Ranni’s Rise — and go to the southernmost of the three towers.

He’s… nasty and has his own issues. When you ask him about Nokron, he will direct you to Sorceress Sellen in Limgrave and offer you the Seluvis’s Introduction item.

In Limgrave, go to the Waypoint Ruins. If this is your first visit, you’ll have to navigate a maze of toxic blooms and vanquish a Mad Pumpkin Head. After defeating the area’s monster, you’ll get entrance to the Waypoint Ruins Cellar site of grace and meet Sorceress Sellen.

Speak with her and present her the introductory letter. She’ll tell you that General Radahn must die in order for you to enter Nokron.

Return to Siofra River and inform Blaidd about Sellen. He’ll tell you of a festival in Caelid where you may face Radahn himself, who is the “strongest of all demigods.” Blaidd will attend the festival.

REDMANE CASTLE

You’re eventually going to Redmane Castle, but you can’t go right there. Make your journey to Caelid’s southernmost tip to locate the Impassible Greatbridge place of grace. There is a Waygate there that will take you directly to Redmane Castle. Make your way inside to see the (albeit modest) Radahn Festival.

Speak to the Festival Master, the man screaming from the adjacent rampart, and tell him you’re “as ready as I’ll ever be.”

STARSCOURGE RADAHN

Another Waypoint on the other side of the castle will take you to the Wailing Dunes, where you will face Starscourge Radahn.

The battle against Radahn is one of the most difficult in Elden Ring. We won’t get into it now.

When Radahn is vanquished, a star will fall into Limgrave, revealing a new entrance to Nokron just south of the Mistwood Ruins. Speak with Blaidd in the new Starscourge Radahn place of grace. He promises to meet you where the star fell.

FORLORN HOUND EVERGAOL (OPTIONAL)

You won’t find Blaidd if you go to Limgrave and check around the new enormous hole in the earth.

Instead, go to War Counselor Iji at Liurnia’s Road to the Manor location of grace. Select his conversation option and then inquire about Blaidd. He’ll tell you not to be concerned about him.

But don’t be concerned. Head to the Forlorn Hound Evergoal, which is a bit south of the Agheel Lake South site of grace. You may have come here as part of Blaidd’s early questline.

Stand in the center of the gaol and make the Finger Snap motion, exactly like you did when you first spoke to Blaidd. He will not shop up, but you will have the chance to chat with him. Listen to him out and open the evergaol to release him.

Return to the Road to the Manor in Liurnia and chat with Iji once again. Inquire as to why Blaidd is in the Evergaol. He’ll do a little foreshadowing.

NOKRON, ETERNAL CITY

Return to Limgrave to locate a massive crater immediately south of the Mistwood Ruins. It’s difficult to overlook because it’s massive and surrounded by a fog of rocks.

Drop inside and cautiously descend using the ledges — start on the south and east sides of the crater then spiral around counterclockwise. Along the north side, you’ll ultimately come across a poorly illuminated tunnel.

Continue north, sliding from ledges until you reach Nokron, Eternal City’s rooftops.

At this point, you’ll have to go through most of Nokron. You’ll begin in Nokron, the Eternal City of Grace. From there, proceed southeast to combat a Mimic Tear before continuing up to the Ancestral Woods.

You can drop down into the Night’s Sacred Ground region from the Ancestral Woods site of grace and finally locate the site of grace there. Fighting your way north from the Night’s Sacred Ground site of grace, you’ll come across a chest containing the Fingerslayer Blade. There’s also a Waygate here that will take you back to the Ancestral Woods grace spot.

The Fingerslayer Blade key item’s description indicates it’s the “secret treasure of the Eternal City of Nokron,” which is what Ranni requested you to uncover.

GIVE THE FINGERSLAYER BLADE TO RANNI

You are free to continue exploring Nokron at this point (there is plenty of interesting stuff to find), but Ranni’s mission demands us to return to her. Return to Ranni’s Rise in Liurnia and talk to her.

After a few conversations with her, she’ll grant you the Carian Inverted Statue. If you exhaust her discourse, she’ll claim she’s going on a dark adventure.

CARIAN STUDY HALL

The Carian Study Hall is located about halfway up the east slope of Liurnia. If you’ve been here previously, you’ll recall that you could only battle Preceptor Miriam and gather some gooides. But this time, step ahead and check the pedestal in front of the globe in the main hall.

Back in the elevator shaft behind the globe, you’ll be able to access a new region of the Carian Study Hall — or, more accurately, you’ll be on the underside of the area you could previously explore. After defeating Miriam again, you can descend to the ceiling and uncover a door that leads to the Liurnia Tower Bridge site of grace.

Follow the bridge east to face a Godskin Noble. Continue beyond the Divine Tower of Liurnia and take the elevator to the top, where you’ll discover the same-named grace location.

The Cursemark of Death and Stargazer Heirloom may be found on a corpse at the very top of the tower. It was “carved into Lunar Princess Ranni’s discarded flesh,” according to the Cursemark description. The Stargazer Heirloom is an intelligence-boosting talisman.

RENNA’S RISE

Return to Ranni’s Rise. Ranni will not be present, but there will be a new Ranni’s Chamber place of grace up above.

Renna’s Rise is the tower to the north (Renna, not Ranni). Climb the interior ladder to locate the Snow Witch armor hidden inside a chest.

Continue to the top to discover a Waygate that will take you to Ansel River Main.

ANSEL RIVER MAIN AND NOKSTELLA, ETERNAL CITY

You’ll be right next to a corpse holding a Miniature Ranni doll as soon as you enter. Continue south to the main site of grace on the Ansel River. There’s a new way to communicate with little Ranni at the location of grace. You’ll have to choose it a few times before she speaks.

She’ll beg you to defeat the neighboring Baleful Shadows. (You can continue talking to her and exhausting her discourse to acquire a lore dump.)

BALEFUL SHADOW

You can explore Nokstella as much as you wish, but your ultimate aim is the Nokstella Waterfall Basin to the west. The lower level can get you there, but the higher level is the Eternal City itself, and there’s much to pick up there.

Look for a tunnel to the south from the Nokstella Waterfall Basin. The Baleful Shadow awaits you at the opposite end, past the basilisks.

When you vanquish it, you’ll be rewarded with the Discarded Palace Key, and Ranni will urge you to offer her love to Blaidd and Iji. Examining the Discarded Place Key reveals that it opens a chest “discovered in Raya Lucaria’s Grand Library with her mother Rennala.”

Continue south beyond where you faced the Baleful Shadow and enter the building before leaving. Take the elevator to the Lake of Rot Shoreline, the first location of grace within the Lake of Rot. We’ll be right back.

OPEN RENNALA’S CHEST

You don’t required to have finished the Academy of Raya Lucaria by this time, so if you haven’t already, do it now. Go to Raya Lucaria Grand Library. (As an aside, you’ve most likely collected a few Larval Tears while exploring Nokron and Nokstella, so you may respec your character with Rennala if you want.)

Unlock the locked box to Rennala’s left. The Dark Moon Ring may be found within. The description is rather gloomy, but it does not indicate where you should go next.

LAKE OF ROT

Return to the Lake of Rot Shoreline grace spot in the Lake of Rot. Make sure you have lots of stanching boluses (you can learn how to make them from the Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [7], which you can get in Limgrave near Stormveil Castle).

Use the controls to build safe ground to cross as you make your way across the aptly called lake. The Grand Cloister and a grace site of the same name may be found in the south. Clear empty the Grand Cloister if you desire a Golden Seed from an Ulcerated Tree Spirit.

Your objective is to go down the river of rot to the south of the Grand Cloister. Find a coffin situated on the ledge of a waterfall (rotfall?). Resting in the coffin will take you to a new region with a boss encounter.

Another short note: If you haven’t yet obtained the Dark Moon Ring, you’ll be met by a barrier informing you that a Ring of Oath is necessary. The issue is that there is no such thing. The Ring of Oath is actually the Dark Moon Ring, with the oath implied.

ASTEL, NATURALBORN OF THE VOID

You’ll come upon a fog wall if you head north from where the coffin landed. Inside, you’ll be pitted against Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, a Malformed Star-like entity.

When it is defeated, you will get the Remembrance of the Naturalborn.

What matters here is the Deep Ansel. Lift all the way up to the north. Ride it to the top.

MOONLIGHT ALTAR

You’ll find yourself on the Moonlight Altar, a high plateau southwest of Liurnia (this is the only way to get up here).

There’s a lot going on up here that you haven’t seen yet, but the Cathedral of Manus Celes is your aim. Along the journey, you’ll have to deal with Glintstone Dragon Adula.

A short note: Continuing Ranni’s quest from here will prevent you from finishing Seluvis’ questline, which is linked to Nepheli, Sellen, and Dung Eater.

Drop into the cave south of the location of grace – gently drop onto the ledge right under you so you don’t perish. Follow the passage until you reach the bodies of Ranni and Two Fingers. When the prompt comes, approach her and choose wear ring.

If you talk to her again, she’ll inform you she’s leaving for the skies (and that you’re practically engaged now). She will leave the Dark Moon Greatsword behind, which deals frost and moonlight damage.

This concludes Ranni's questline. She will, however, reappear at the conclusion of the game – finishing her questline unlocks a special ending.