Update: We’ve streamlined the information on this page, embedded more links to our guides to help you out, and added a summary of all of Ranni’s quest steps, so you can easily figure out what you have left to do.
Your journey through The Lands Between is likely well underway, but commencing Ranni’s quest in Elden Ring will unveil a vast expanse of additional content to explore.
If you aim to acquire the Dark Moon Ring, wield the Greatsword, or defeat the Baleful Shadow, extensive exploration is essential.
Elden Ring: Ranni Questline Walkthrough
Ranni’s questline is intricate and expansive, making it easy to lose your way. Below, we have meticulously detailed each step to help you track your progress, ensuring a seamless return to this guide as you navigate through the many captivating locations encountered throughout this questline.
Overview of Ranni’s Quest
Ranni’s quest in Elden Ring is lengthy and can appear complex at times. Below is a concise summary of all the necessary steps, allowing you to easily identify what you’ve accomplished and what remains. Optional steps are indicated accordingly.
- [Optional] Meet Wolf in Mistwood.
- Complete Caria Manor, then meet Ranni in Ranni’s Rise. If she’s absent, defeat Radahn and return.
- Engage with Ranni’s counsel: Blaidd, Seluvis, and Iji.
- Talk to Ranni again; she will then go to sleep.
- Locate Wolf in Siofra River.
- Visit Seluvis in Seluvis’ Rise and obtain Seluvis’ Introduction letter.
- Find Sellen at Waypoint Ruins and present her with Seluvis’ Letter.
- Rejoin Blaidd; the Redmane Festival will commence.
- [Alternative routes to trigger the Redmane Festival] Instead of engaging with Blaidd, Seluvis, and Sellen, reach Altus Plateau or speak with Jerren at Redmane Castle about Iji, then consult Iji.
- Vanquish Radahn at Redmane Castle.
- Travel to Nokron and collect the Fingerslayer Blade.
- Deliver the Fingerslayer Blade to Ranni and receive the Carian Inverted Statue in return.
- Utilize the Carian Inverted Statue at the Divine Tower of Liurnia to access the Cursemark of Death.
- Head to Renna’s Rise, use the teleport to reach Ainsel River.
- Collect the Miniature Ranni Doll in Ainsel River and converse with it repeatedly at a Site of Grace.
- Defeat the Baleful Shadow in Ainsel River and acquire the Discarded Palace Key.
- Use the Discarded Palace Key on the chest in Rennala’s boss area to obtain the Dark Moon Ring.
- Proceed back to Ainsel River and advance into the Lake of Rot, entering a coffin that will transport you to the Grand Cloister.
- Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, in the Grand Cloister.
- Enter the Cathedral of Manus Celes, gift Ranni the Dark Moon Ring, and procure the Dark Moon Greatsword. The quest concludes here.
How to Initiate Ranni’s Quest
To embark on Ranni’s quest in Elden Ring, visit Caria Manor, defeat Royal Knight Loretta, then ascend to Ranni’s Rise located in the secluded Three Sisters area behind the manor.
The interaction can vary; normally you may converse with her without issues. However, if you’ve initiated Rogier’s quest, he might direct you to Ranni, who will then require a follow-up visit to enlist you in her service.
Should you reach Altus Plateau or trigger the Radahn Festival, Ranni will become unavailable until after Radahn’s defeat.
This is because Blaidd plays a critical role in Ranni’s quest, paralleling his involvement in the Radahn Festival.
After agreeing to serve her, speak with the three key characters at various tower levels: Half-Wolf Blaidd, Preceptor Seluvis, and War Counselor Iji. Make sure to exhaust their dialogue before returning to Ranni, who will mention her need for sleep and indicate she cannot converse further for a period of time.
Next, find Wolf in Siofra River.
Travel to Mistwood and head to the Siofra River Well to descend underground. Here, you can locate Blaidd at the position shown above. Engage him for assistance in reaching Nokron.
Next, return to Seluvis’ Rise, located southeast of Ranni’s Rise. Converse with Seluvis and take an unrelated potion for his quest—avoid giving it to Nepheli—and then request the introductory letter from him.
Your next destination is Waypoint Ruins in Limgrave, where you’ll encounter Sellen at the base after defeating Pumpkin Head. Agree to learn sorcery, then deliver the letter from Seluvis to her.
Return to Blaidd in Siofra River and inform him of your discoveries. You will then proceed to the Impassible Greatbridge Site of Grace, as shown in the southeast of Caelid, and use the teleporter to access Redmane Castle.
If you were already at Redmane’s courtyard or have reached Altus Plateau, you may skip part of Ranni’s quest. This doesn’t significantly impact your experience, as you won’t miss any critical equipment, merely some extra lore.
Although you can initiate Sellen’s quest without visiting Seluvis beforehand, completing Seluvis’ quest first is recommended for quicker progression.
Proceed to the courtyard and converse with Blaidd, who is near a fire. Ascend the stairs before you to meet Jerren, the festival organizer. Watch the cutscene and journey through the chapel behind you to engage in the fight. Defeating Starscourge Radahn will bring you one step closer to Ranni’s quest completion.
Head to the main building’s entrance behind Jerren, walk through the door to access the elevator leading down to the beach. Here, a teleporter will take you directly to the boss battle with Radahn.
Obtaining the Fingerslayer Blade in Elden Ring
Navigate to the Fort Haight West Site of Grace and head west towards the floating rocks in the sky. Descend to the bottom of the crater to unlock your path to Nokron.
Continue forward through the city and confront the Mimic Tear boss. Don’t forget to pick up the Glovewort Bell Bearings while in the area.
After defeating the Mimic Tear—consider removing your equipment prior to entering the battle and re-equipping it to make the fight simpler—head to the southwest corner to find the Ancestral Forest Site of Grace. Then, leap from the cliffs onto the rooftops and carefully traverse around until you reach a massive church.
This location, termed Night’s Sacred Ground, is also where you can acquire the coveted Mimic Tear Spirit Ashes.
Venture down the ladder on the opposite side of the church, defeat the massive sentient boulder or take it out from above, then move onto the main street of Night’s Sacred Ground.
Choose to sprint past or confront the silver tears and giants, then claim the item found on the altar at the end of the street.
Here, the Fingerslayer Blade awaits you, along with access to the Night’s Sacred Ground Site of Grace.
Return to Ranni’s Rise, present her with the blade, and receive the Carian Inverted Statue in exchange. This statue opens up your path to the Liurnia of the Lakes Divine Tower via the Carian Study Hall located to the east, which, while not mandatory for Ranni’s quest, is crucial for Fia’s quest, leading to the Age of Duskborn ending.
Note that handing over the blade to Ranni will put a hold on Seluvis’ quest, so if you intend to finish his questline, do so before giving the Fingerslayer Blade to Ranni.
Navigating to Ainsel River and Acquiring the Miniature Ranni Doll
Next, continue your journey to Ainsel River, but you must use routes not previously accessible to you.
Ensure to speak with Blacksmith Iji again; you can purchase the Carian Filigreed Crest talisman from him at this time. This talisman is particularly useful against foes like Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, as it reduces the FP cost of your Skills by 25%.
Proceed to Renna’s Rise, located north of Ranni’s Rise, which was previously sealed off. Ascend the tower, collect the Snow Witch set from a chest midway, and use the teleporter at the top to access a new area deep within Ainsel River.
Once there, obtain the item situated near the coffin, the Miniature Ranni Doll.
Rest at the nearby Site of Grace and interact with the doll, which will be an option while resting. You may initially encounter silence, but continue engaging and it will respond by the third attempt.
This interaction propels you into the next stage of the quest as you gather information about the underground caverns and pursue the Baleful Shadow, enforcing the regime of the Two Fingers.
Finding the Baleful Shadow and Obtaining the Discarded Palace Key
After speaking with the Miniature Ranni Doll, proceed deeper into Ainsel River Main and the Uhl Palace Ruins, taking the right fork leading to Nokstella.
Keep advancing past the formidable centipede enemy in the Uhl Palace Ruins, move through the grand gates, and navigate through an ant-infested cave until you reach Nokstella.
Descend the ladder to reach the Nokstella, Eternal City Site of Grace.
Continue along the river, and ignore the first set of stairs; ascend the second set instead.
Proceed with caution, bypassing enemies, and make a jump off the right side of the bridge upon reaching the building at the far end.
As you advance, run alongside the river and avoid the ant foes and electrical black blobs firing arrows at you. Eventually, you’ll arrive at a grand entrance with an elevator leading to the Nokstella Waterfall Basin.
Carefully navigate through the cave, avoiding the black fog expelled by the basilisk enemies, which rapidly increases your death meter.
In the next clearing, witness a confrontation with the Baleful Shadow boss, portrayed by an invading Blaidd. He’s manageable at a distance with magic or through careful melee combat. Upon defeat, he drops the Discarded Palace Key.
Using the Discarded Palace Key in Elden Ring
With the Discarded Palace Key now in your inventory, you can unlock the enigmatic chest within Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon’s arena.
Travel to the Raya Lucaria Academy Grand Library Site of Grace, where Rennala awaits.
Approach the chest and utilize the Discarded Palace Key to open it. Inside, you will find the Dark Moon Ring.
Utilizing the Dark Moon Ring in Elden Ring
Next, it’s time to return to Nokstella Waterfall Basin, navigate past where you encountered the Baleful Shadow, take the elevator, and continue into the Lake of Rot. Ensure to activate the Lakeside Site of Grace as you exit the elevator.
At this stage, your goal is to reach the Grand Cloister. While you can run over platforms to traverse the Lake of Rot slowly or use a spell like ‘Flame, Cleanse Me’ to dispel the Scarlet Rot, the quicker approach involves dashing directly toward the Grand Cloister with enough Crimson Flasks at hand. For convenience, keep some Cleansing Boluses ready in your quick items for diminishing the rot meter.
Once you arrive at the Grand Cloister, navigate through ledges until you reach the floor, then head left along the river to the waterfall’s summit.Jump into the coffin located here. A cutscene will play, transporting you to the next realm.
As you enter this new area, brace yourself to face Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
With a melee summon to distract Astel and a strong weapon at hand, the encounter shouldn’t be too overwhelming. Although Astel possesses potent attacks that can effortlessly defeat players with low Vigor, their pace is slow, allowing for manageable dodge opportunities with practice.
How to Complete Ranni’s Quest and Obtain the Dark Moon Greatsword
Upon defeating Astel, the Dark Moon Ring becomes critical. Move through the door opposite the boss chamber to enter a realm called the Moonlight Altar.
Without the Dark Moon Ring, progression through the Moonlight Altar to reach the Cathedral of Manus Celes—Ranni’s location—will be blocked. As you advance, be cautious of Glintstone Dragon Adula who may cross your path; it is possible to evade them.
Activate the Cathedral of Manus Celes Site of Grace before jumping down the hole to the right.
Armed with the ring, proceed down into the cave until you encounter the bloody Ranni doll. Interact with her to place the Dark Moon Ring upon her, triggering a short cutscene.
Ranni will then speak to you before disappearing, rewarding you with the Dark Moon Greatsword once she departs. This signifies the conclusion of Ranni’s questline!
Having completed this journey, you are now poised to summon Ranni when you reach the game’s climax, thus unlocking her Elden Ring ending: the Age of the Stars ending.
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