Elden Ring: Ranni The Witch Questline Guide | FinalBoss (2023)

Here’s how to unlock the Age of the Stars ending in Elden Ring

Completing Ranni the Witch‘s questline in Elden Ring is a troublesome task. Primarily because Elden Ring sucks at giving instructions — intentionally — and at times, it feels like you need to be lucky enough to run into random events to progress.

Ranni’s quest is a brain-teaser by Miyazaki that’s for sure. I constantly suffered from headaches figuring out everything from finding Ranni’s location to retrieving that blasted treasure of Nokron. It’s an irritating ride at times but for the most part, you get to see lovely sights along the way and participate in phenomenal boss fights, so this is one questline you should consider doing.

And if you’re concerned about all the steps involved or just don’t know where to begin, then there’s no need to worry as this Ranni the Witch questline guide will walk you through all the hassles of it.

Elden Ring Ranni Quest Walkthrough

When you set your first foot in Limgrave, you’ll encounter a Tree Sentinel right in front of you. Beyond the Tree Sentinel lies the Church of Elleh, where you’ll encounter Ranni for the first time. She’ll only be present there if you have acquired Torrent, your trusty steed, so be sure to talk to Melina at the Gate Front Site of Grace in Limgrave.

At the Church of Elleh encounter, Ranni will give you the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes, and then she’ll disappear. This is an optional meeting which you can skip if you want.

Starting Ranni’s Questline

Now to actually start the questline, you have to meet Ranni atop Ranni’s Rise located in Liurnia of the Lakes. In the northernmost part of Liurna, you will find the Caria Manor. Follow the path from the Road of the Manor Site of Grace and you will reach the manor entrance. Also, don’t forget to interact with Iji the Blacksmith who will be sitting near the same Grace Site.

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Start progressing through the Caria Manor, and you’ll inevitably have to vanquish Royal Knight Loretta. Once that’s done, proceed to the three towers outside the manor and at the top of the middle one, you’ll find Ranni. I should mention there’s a really strong dragon here initially. Fighting it till half its health will result in it flying away, further advancing the story.

Interact with Ranni in her tower and accept the prompt to enter her service. She’ll then task you with finding a way to enter Nokron, the Eternal City, and bring back an item. But before doing that, head to the lower floor as per Ranni’s instructions and meet her other helpers: War Counselor Iji, Preceptor Seluvis, and Half-Wolf Blaidd.

Exhaust all of their dialogs, and Blaidd will let you know he’s going to the Siofra River to look for a way into Nokron. Return to Ranni and talk to her another time, otherwise, you won’t be able to leave the tower.

That’s the end of the first step in completing Ranni’s questline in Elden Ring.

Optional: Finding Blaidd The Half-wolf

Okay, so here Elden Ring gives you a choice. Our primary goal is getting to Nokron, and that can be done by simply killing General Radahn who lies past Redmane Castle. But the thing is, how do you find that part out?

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Well, as per the step-by-step order of things, after you’ve entered Ranni’s service, you have to go find Blaidd in the Siofra River Well, an underground region that can be accessed from an elevator that is slightly north of the Mistwood Minor Erdtree in Limgrave.

On entering the Siofra River Well, take the elevator past the ruins up ahead, and afterwards, keep going north while staying close to the cliffside situated to your right. You’ll find Blaidd standing there who will ask you to visit Seluvis’s Rise, the third tower besides Ranni’s Rise.

Interact with Seluvis and ultimately he’ll point you in the direction of Sorceress Sellen. You can find Sellen’s hideout in an underground chamber a little north of the Agheel Lake South Site of Grace in Limgrave. Finally, as you talk to Sellen, she’ll explain why Starscourge Radahn needs to die for you to enter Nokron. On returning to Blaidd with this information, he’ll tell you to meet him at Redmane Castle where General Radahn can be found.

Defeating General Radhan

Going through all the above-mentioned steps will take a lot of time, not to mention it’s quite irritating. If you simply want to skip over the unnecessary formalities, then after becoming Ranni’s accomplice, set out directly to Redmane Castle which is located in the southeast part of Caelid.

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You’ll find a teleporter located near the bridge that leads you to Redmane Castle. Using the teleporter drops you in the middle of the castle. Keep moving forward and you’ll see that the Radahn Festival is taking place. Talk to the NPC leading the festival activities and select the “Ready as I’ll ever be” prompt. Go on ahead and take the descending elevator, there will be another teleporter in front which will send you straight to the Wailing Dunes where Starscourge Radahn awaits.

Defeating Radahn causes a meteor shower, and the impact opens up the entrance to Nokron near the Mistwood in Limgrave. It’s really hard to miss since the sky is littered with giant rocks, and there’s a giant crater in the ground, so yeah, you won’t get lost at least. Descend down the crater and voila, you’ve made it into Nokron.

Retrieving The Treasure From Nokron

From the Nokron Site of Grace, proceed through the ruins ahead. There will be a boss fight with the Mimic Tear (the best Spirit Ash) up ahead, and past the boss room, there’s a bridge. Take the left exit at the far end of the bridge and keep going forward. You’ll eventually find the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace right next to a cliff. If you pay attention to the cliff, there’s a ledge ahead and not just a bottomless abyss.

Now’s the part where you have to do a little bit of platforming. Follow the pathway laid down by the ledge and descend into the city. You’ll drop into a giant hall after the platforming section. From here, take the exit to your right and climb down the staircase. Take another right and you’ll see a room with a giant statue up ahead. The hidden treasure of Nokron is in this room, so pick up the “Fingerslayer Blade” and fast-travel back to Ranni. If you’re getting tired, I’ll let you know this is nowhere near as difficult as getting to the Haligtree secret area — better get your A-game on for that one.

Obtain The Cursemark of Death

Ranni rewards you with the Carian Inverted Statue for giving her the Fingerslayer Blade. Use the statue piece to reach the top of the Divine Tower of Liurnia, and obtain the Cursemark of Death. The entryway to the Divine Tower is from the Carian Study Hall located in eastern Liurna.

Renna’s Rise & Nokstella, Eternal City

Fast travel to Ranni’s Rise, but surprisingly, you won’t find Ranni hanging around anymore. Go to Renna’s Rise instead, the tower to the right (the first tower). Atop Renna’s Rise, use the teleporter waygate present and be whisked away to an anime isekai fantasy land — ugh, if only.

You’ll actually be transported to the Ainsel River Main from Renna’s Rise. Find the Miniature Ranni Doll nearby and rest at the Site of Grace ahead. You’ll see a prompt to talk with the doll which you must do 3 times, and then she’ll request the Tarnished to defeat the Baleful Shadow in Nokstella.

To reach Nokstella, head to the region beyond the Grace Site and look for a network of caves. Although the area is large, it has a linear structure, so the correct path is always forward. When you reach the end of the caves, you’ll find a door to your left.

Enter through it and you’ll have reached Nokstella, Eternal City. Instead of going up the stairs ahead of you, follow the river bed below until you come across a small building with an elevator. The elevator will take you farther underground directly to the Baleful Shadow boss fight. Defeat the Baleful Shadow and Ranni will give you the Discarded Palace Key.

The Raya Lucaria Grand Library

Next, you need to retrieve the Dark Moon Ring from the Raya Lucaria Grand Library. That’s the room where you fight Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon in the Raya Lucaria Legacy Dungeon in Liurna of the Lakes.

If you’ve already beaten Rennala, simply open the chest lying to her right and you’ll get the Dark Moon Ring, an item you’ll need later down the line. On the other hand, if you’ve got no clue on where to find Rennala, then refer to this Elden Ring boss order guide which will help clear things up.

Taking Down Astel, Naturalborn of the Void

Go back to the boss chamber of the Baleful Shadow. Proceed past it and you’ll find yourself in the Lake of Rot, a giant lake that inflicts Rot if you stand in it. The goal here is to reach the Grand Cloister that’s at the far end of the lake.

To reach the Cloister however, you’ll have to cross the lake and the proper way of doing that is by stepping on 4 buttons found on four pillars which will be clearly visible. During this process, it’s guaranteed that you’ll get infected with Scarlet Rot, so either eat Preserving Boluses to remove the status effect or use the “Flame, Cleanse Me” incantation to get rid of the debuff.

A cheeky strategy for getting to the Grand Cloister is by spamming the Bloodhound’s Step Ash of War. This dodge ability allows you to cover large distances quickly, making it possible to cross the lake— you’ve got to hand it to the Elden Ring community.

After reaching the Grand Cloister, descend through it and enter the stone coffin close by. A cutscene will play and you’ll wind up in a boss fight with Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. Astel’s hard to take down, but well, not as hard as beating the Goddess of Rot. Anyhow, beat Astel and follow the path ahead that will take you to the Moonlight Altar, a sub-region of Liurna of the Lakes.

Final Encounter With Ranni The Witch

Up next is going inside the Cathedral of Manus Celes which should be directly in front of you from where you gained access to the Moonlight Altar. It’s a large building, so you’ll know it when you see it. The Glintstone Dragon Adula will be guarding the Cathedral, and once you’ve dealt with it, enter the Cathedral.

To the right of the Site of Grace inside the Cathedral, you’ll see there’s a hole in the ground. At its bottom, there is a bloodied Ranni doll. Interact with it and the Tarnished will put the Dark Moon Ring on her finger. The real Ranni will appear and she’ll say a few things right before she disappears again. She’ll leave behind the Dark Moon Greatsword where she stood, so don’t forget to pick it up as it’s one of the best weapons in Elden Ring.

Choose the Age of Stars Ending

You can give yourself a pat on the back as Ranni’s questline is now completed. The only thing left to do is to progress the story and beat the final boss, Radagon & the Elden Beast. When that’s done, look towards the ground and there will be a blue summon sign. That’s the trigger for the Age of Stars ending. Interact with the sign, summon Ranni, and there you have it.

Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the sweet 2-minute ending cutscene as compensation for the 50 hours you spent unlocking it. But if you’re already done with Ranni’s trip to hell, here’s another to keep you occupied.

Tayyab

Tayyab’s an anime & gaming enthusiast, and since he can’t make them (yet), he loves to write about why he finds them amazing.
Also, he’s a huge Hideo Kojima fan, and everything else that’s Japanese for that matter.