Elden Ring guide: Ranni the Witch’s questline walkthrough

Elden Ring’s Ranni questline is less of a side quest and more a parallel quest. It’s full of lore and will take you across most of the Lands Between in the many hours it takes you to complete it. It also unlocks an alternate ending to the game.

In this Ranni’s questline guide, we’ll walk you through every step of her dark journey from meeting her, heading to Siofra River with Blaidd, heading to a festival to fight Starscourge Radahn, 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, much later, claiming the Dark Moon Greatsword.

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Ranni Elden Ring table of contents

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

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Three Sisters and Ranni’s Rise, Liurnia

You’ll actually meet Ranni for the first time — calling herself Renna — when you visit the Church of Elleh in Limgrave after collecting your spectral steed. At that point, she’ll give you the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes, but she’ll disappear for quite a while until you happen upon her again in Liurnia.

Later, after you make your way through the creepy hand-filled Caria Manor and defeat the Royal Knight Loretta, you’ll have access to a plateau called the Three Sisters.

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

The Three Sisters are referring to three wizard towers, Renna’s Rise, Ranni’s Rise, and Seluvis’s Rise. To access these three Rises, you’ll have to head into Ranni’s Rise and speak with Ranni the Witch (who called herself Renna when she first met you).

Talk to her until she asks you to enter her service. Do so, and she’ll ask you to speak with three other people in her employ — War Counselor Iji, Preceptor Seluvis, and Blaidd. (It does not seem like you have to have met Blaidd or Smithing Master/War Counselor Iji before this.)

Speak to their spectral forms on the ground floor of Ranni’s Rise, and then return to Ranni. (This is the only way you’ll be able to physically leave the grounds.)

Your first task is to find Nokron, Eternal City with Blaidd.

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The road to Nokron

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Blaidd mentions that he’s heading through the well in Mistwood to the underground and asks you to meet him there. Head to East Limgrave. There’s no site of grace near the well, so just pick one and ride.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

You’ll find the Siofra River Well along the east side of East Limgrave, a little north of the Minor Erdtree (and northeast of the Mistwood Ruins where you might’ve met Blaidd the first time). Head inside and ride the lift down.

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

You’ll drop into the Siofra River region. There’s a bit of exploring you can do, but you can only reach a handful of the sites of grace for now. Make your way vaguely east and north.

You’ll find Blaidd behind one of the huge bridge supports. Your progress into Nokron is stalled, though. Blaidd suggests speaking to Seluvis.

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Seluvis and Sellen

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Head back to the Three Sisters region — the closest site of grace is at Ranni’s Rise — and head to the southernmost of the three towers.

He’s ... unpleasant and has his own stuff going on. Ask him about Nokron, and he’ll point you to Sorceress Sellen in Limgrave and give you the Seluvis’s Introduction item.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Head to the Waypoint Ruins in Limgrave. If it’s your first visit, you’ll have to make your way past a lot of poisonous flowers and defeat a Mad Pumpkin Head. After the area’s boss is defeated, you’ll get access to the Waypoint Ruins Cellar site of grace and meet Sorceress Sellen.

Speak to her and show her the letter of introduction. She’ll let you know that one General Radahn has to die for you to get into Nokron.

Head back to Blaidd in Siofra River and tell him Sellen’s story. He’ll tell you about a festival being held in Caelid where you can fight Radahn himself who is, by the way, the “strongest of all the demigods.” Blaidd will head to the festival.

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Redmane Castle

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Ultimately, you’re heading to Redmane Castle, but you can’t head straight there. Make your way to the southernmost point of Caelid, where you’ll find the Impassible Greatbridge site of grace. You’ll find a Waygate there that will deliver you directly into Redmane Castle. Make your way inside, and check out the (oddly subdued) Radahn Festival.

Speak to the Festival Master — the guy yelling from the nearby rampart — and say you’re “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

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Starscourge Radahn

Nearby, there’s another Waypoint on the other side of the castle that will take you to the Wailing Dunes where you’ll fight Starscourge Radahn.

The fight against Radahn is one of the hardest in Elden Ring. We won’t go into that here.

Once Radahn is defeated, a star will fall into Limgrave, opening a new entrance to Nokron a little south of Mistwood Ruins. Visit the new Starscourge Radahn site of grace and speak to Blaidd. He says he’ll meet you where the star fell.

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Forlorn Hound Evergaol (optional)

If you head to Limgrave and look around the new giant hole in the ground, you won’t find Blaidd.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Instead, head to War Counselor Iji at the Road to the Manor site of grace in Liurnia. Choose his talk option and then ask about Blaidd. He’ll be insistent that you not worry about him.

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

But let’s worry. Head to the Forlorn Hound Evergoal — you might’ve visited here as part of Blaidd’s early questline — a little south of the Agheel Lake South site of grace.

Stand in the center of the gaol and perform the Finger Snap gesture just like you did to speak to Blaidd the first time. He won’t shop up, but you’ll get the option to speak to him. Hear him out and open the evergaol to free him.

Head back to the Road to the Manor in Liurnia and speak with Iji again. Ask him why is Blaidd in the Evergaol. He’ll do some foreshadowing.

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Nokron, Eternal City

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Head back to Limgrave, and you’ll find a gigantic crater just south of the Mistwood Ruins. It’s hard to miss because it’s huge and there’s a cloud of rocks floating above it.

Drop inside and use the ledges to descend carefully — start on the south and east side of the crater and spiral around counterclockwise. You’ll eventually see a dimly lit tunnel along the north side.

Keep heading north and dropping off of ledges until you reach the rooftops of Nokron, Eternal City.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

You’ll have to play through most of Nokron at this point. You’ll start at the Nokron, Eternal City site of grace. From there, you’ll have to head southeast and defeat a Mimic Tear, and then continue up to the Ancestral Woods.

From the Ancestral Woods site of grace, you can drop down into the Night’s Sacred Ground area and, eventually, find the site of grace there. Fighting your way vaguely north along the road from the Night’s Sacred Ground site of grace, you’ll come to a chest with the Fingerslayer Blade inside. There’s also a Waygate here that will return you to the Ancestral Woods site of grace.

If you check the description of the Fingerslayer Blade key item, it says it’s the “hidden treasure of the Eternal City of Nokron,” which is what Ranni asked you to find.

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Give the Fingerslayer Blade to Ranni

You’re free to keep exploring Nokron at this point (there’s lots of good stuff to collect), but Ranni’s quest requires us to return to her. Head back to Ranni’s Rise in Liurnia and speak with her.

Talk to her a couple times, and she’ll give you the Carian Inverted Statue. Exhaust her dialogue, and she’ll say she’s heading out on a dark journey.

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Carian Study Hall

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

About halfway up the east side of Liurnia, you’ll find the Carian Study Hall. If you’ve been here before, you were only able to fight Preceptor Miriam and collect some gooides. This time, though, walk forward and examine the pedestal in front of the globe right there in the main hall.

Back in the elevator shaft behind the globe, you’ll be able to reach a new area of the Carian Study Hall — well, actually, you’ll be on the underside of the area you could explore before. After you defeat Miriam again, you can make your way down to the ceiling where you’ll find a door that leads to the Liurnia Tower Bridge site of grace.

Follow the bridge east where you’ll fight a Godskin Noble. Continue past to the Divine Tower of Liurnia and ride the elevator to the top where you’ll find a site of grace of the same name.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

At the very top of the tower, you’ll find the Cursemark of Death and Stargazer Heirloom on a corpse. The Cursemark description says it was “carved into Lunar Princess Ranni’s discarded flesh.” The Stargazer Heirloom is a talisman that raises intelligence.

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Renna’s Rise

Head back to Ranni’s Rise. Ranni won’t be there, but you’ll find a new Ranni’s Chamber site of grace up top.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Head to the tower to the north, Renna’s Rise (Renna, not Ranni). Climb the ladder inside to find the Snow Witch armor set inside a chest.

Continue to the top, and you’ll find a Waygate that teleports you to Ansel River Main.

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Ansel River Main and Nokstella, Eternal City

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

As soon as you arrive, you’ll be right near a corpse holding a Miniature Ranni doll. Continue south to the Ansel River Main site of grace. At the site of grace, there’s a new option to talk to miniature Ranni. You’ll have to choose it a few times to get her to actually speak.

She’ll ask you to defeat the Baleful Shadows nearby. (You can keep choosing to talk to her and exhaust her dialogue to get a lore dump.)

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Baleful Shadow

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

You’re free to explore as much of Nokstella as you want, but your ultimate goal is the Nokstella Waterfall Basin to the west. You can get there along the ground level, but the upper level is the Eternal City itself and there’s plenty to pick up there.

From the Nokstella Waterfall Basin, look for a tunnel to the south. At the other end, past the basilisks, you’ll encounter the Baleful Shadow.

Once it’s defeated, you’ll get the Discarded Palace Key as a reward and Ranni will ask you to send her love to Blaidd and Iji. Examining the Discarded Place Key says it opens a chest “found in the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria with her mother Rennala.”

Before you leave here, continue south past where you fought the Baleful Shadow and enter the building. Ride the lift and stop at the Lake of Rot Shoreline, first site of grace inside the Lake of Rot. We’ll be back shortly.

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Open Rennala’s chest

You don’t technically have to have completed the Academy of Raya Lucaria by this point, so if you haven’t, do so now. Head to the Raya Lucaria Grand Library. (As an aside, you’ve probably picked up a few Larval Tears while poking around in Nokron and Nokstella, so you can respec your character with Rennala if you want to.)

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Open the locked chest off to Rennala’s left. Inside, you’ll find the Dark Moon Ring. The description is pretty depressing, but it doesn’t tell you where to go next.

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Lake of Rot

Head back to the Lake of Rot Shoreline site of grace in the Lake of Rot. Make sure you’ve got plenty of stanching boluses (you can learn to craft them from the Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [7] you might’ve found in Limgrave near Stormveil Castle).

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Make your way across the aptly named lake using the buttons to raise safe land to cross. In the south, you’ll find the Grand Cloister and a site of grace of the same name. Clear out the Grand Cloister if you want — there’s an Ulcerated Tree Spirit that’ll drop a Golden Seed.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Your goal is along the river of rot in the south of the Grand Cloister. Look for a coffin perched at the top of a waterfall (rotfall?). Rest in the coffin, and you’ll be transported to a new area and a boss fight.

Another quick note: If you haven’t yet collected the Dark Moon Ring, you’ll be blocked by a barrier that tells you a Ring of Oath is required. The problem is, there’s no such thing. The Ring of Oath is actually the Dark Moon Ring — the oath is kind of implied.

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Astel, Naturalborn of the Void

Head north from where the coffin lands, and you’ll come to a fog wall. Inside, you’ll have a bonkers fight against a Malformed Star-like creature named Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

You’ll get the Remembrance of the Naturalborn when it’s defeated.

What’s important here is the Deep Ansel Well lift all the way to the north. Ride it up.

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Moonlight Altar

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

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin | Sources: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

There’s a lot going on up here that you haven’t had access to yet, but your goal is the Cathedral of Manus Celes. You’ll have to fight Glintstone Dragon Adula along the way.

A quick note: Continuing Ranni’s quest from here will lock you out of completing Seluvis’s questline — which is, in turn, related to Nepheli, Sellen, and Dung Eater as well.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Drop into the cave a little south of the site of grace — drop carefully onto the ledge directly under you so you don’t die. Follow the tunnel until you reach Ranni’s and a Two Fingers’ corpses. Approach her and choose wear ring when the prompt appears.

Speak with her again, and she’ll tell you she’s heading to the sky (oh, and that you’re basically engaged now). She’ll leave behind the Dark Moon Greatsword which deals frost and moonlight damage.

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This is the end of Ranni’s questline. However, she’ll appear again at the end of the game — completing her questline opens a secret ending.