Elden Ring quests: How to start NPC storylines

Some of these sidequests can lead you to different endings.

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The quests in Elden Ring aren’t easy to find and even when you do, the steps to complete them aren’t always clear. You don’t need to finish NPC sidequests to finish the game but if you overlook them completely you could miss out on valuable gear, items, or differentElden Ring endings.

The quests themselves vary in length and difficulty. Some are simple and only require a couple of steps to complete, while others includeboss fightsand can take you right up to the endgame areas.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you first step into the Lands Between, so this guide will help to point you in the right direction—at the very least, it will give you a brief respite from getting trampled by bosses. Here’s a breakdown of the Elden Ring quests by area, what they reward, and how to start them.

Ending specific Elden Ring quests

The following quests are tied to the different endings you can get and reward theMending Runeitems, which are used after you’ve defeated the final boss. The only exception is Millicent, who instead offers an item that prevents you from getting a certain ending.

The ending-specific Elden Ring quests are:

All Elden Ring sidequests in order

This list covers every Elden Ring quest in the rough order that you’d encounter them. The Lands Between is huge and you’re able to explore any area you feel comfortable venturing into. As such, I’ve broken down the NPC quests by region.

Limgrave quests

Blaidd

Blaidd’s quest is very short and requires you to kill one boss. Once you’ve visited the Mistwood Ruins and heard the howling there, speak to the merchant at the Church of Elleh to receive a gesture. Using this gesture back at the ruins will bring Blaidd down to ground level to speak with you. The talisman listed above isn’t awarded on completion of this quest but is unlocked when you speak to the blacksmith in Liurnia of the Lakes.

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Read more:Elden Ring Blaidd quest guide.

Kenneth Haight

The majority of Kenneth’s quest can be done before you venture outside of Limgrave. It’s not a long questline and you’re rewarded with the Erdtree Dagger for completing the first part. His story culminates in Stormveil Castle with the end of Nepheli’s quest.

Read more:Elden Ring Kenneth Haight quest guide.

Boc the Seamster

This is the only quest in Elden Ring (as far as I’m aware) that doesn’t offer any reward. Instead, you get to feel good about yourself for helping out and getting to know this demi-human. There are a few steps to follow, which will take you to Leyndell, Royal Capital.

Read more:Elden Ring Boc quest guide.

Yura

This is another quest that is easy to miss. The steps of this quest take you into Liurnia and to Altus Plateau beyond. It’s possible to get most of the rewards without doing every step, but it’s not a long questline anyway, so you may as well do it properly.

Read more:Elden Ring Yura quest guide.

Sorceress Sellen

Sellen is first encountered in the Waypoint Ruins cellar in Limgrave. Her quest won’t start properly until you’ve beaten the Raya Lucaria Academy boss, Rennala, and reached Mt. Gelmir to retrieve a specific item, however.

This quest isn’t as long as some of the others, though you’ll need to defeat Radahn to continue the quest past a certain point.

Read more:Elden Ring Sellen quest guide.

Knight Bernahl

You first meet Bernahl in Limgrave, though the bulk of his quest is tied to Volcano Manor. The quest steps are relatively short, but you can get locked out of one of them if you progress too far and kill the main boss in Mt Gelmir.

Read more:Elden Ring Bernahl quest guide.

Iron Fist Alexander

The adventures of the #1 Pot Boy span most of Elden Ring, beginning in Limgrave and carrying through a late-game area. This jolly jar warrior will also help you out in some of Elden Ring’s biggest boss battles.

Read more:Elden Ring Alexander quest guide.

Weeping Peninsula quests

Irina

You can start Irina’s quest as soon as you like. You need to cross the Bridge of Sacrifice in south Limgrave to reach her. The bridge is heavily guarded so your best bet is to just ride past all the enemies there onTorrent.

This is a fairly short quest that requires you to kill the boss at Castle Morne. He can be pretty tough at lower levels.

Read more:Elden Ring Irina quest guide.

Stormveil Castle quests

Gatekeeper Gostoc

You meet this NPC when your first attempt to enter Stormveil Castle. You’ll have one choice to make during the quest, though it doesn’t really affect the outcome. Like Kenneth Haight, Gatekeeper Gostoc’s story culminates at Stormveil Castle when you finish Nepheli’s quest.

Read more:Elden Ring Gatekeeper Gostoc quest guide.

Rogier

Rogier’s quest isn’t a long one but it’s easy to miss what you need to do in Stormveil Castle to trigger one of the steps. Pushing too far into the game or progressing certain other NPC quests makes this questline missable.

Read more:Elden Ring Rogier quest guide.

Nepheli

This is another reasonably short questline though you’ll need to defeat Godrick the Grafted to complete it. Nepheli can be found in a room just before the Secluded Cell Site of Grace in Stormveil Castle. If you don’t speak to her, hersummonsign won’t be present in front of the boss door.

Read more:Elden Ring Nepheli quest guide.

Roundtable Hold quests

Diallos

You encounter Diallos when you arrive in Roundtable Hold. His questline doesn’t have too many steps, but you’ll need to work through Volcano Manor to progress it after a certain point. It’s unclear whether you need to speak to him at Roundtable Hold to have him move to his next area, but this is where you can first meet him.

Read more:Elden Ring Diallos quest guide.

Fia, Deathbed Companion

You can find Fia in Roundtable Hold as soon as you have access to this area. Her quest won’t start properly though until she asks for a favour and gives you the Weathered Dagger. This appears to be triggered by either arriving in Atlus Plateau or killing Radahn.

There are quite a few steps to this quest, along with a few bosses to kill. It takes you right up to one of the endgame areas.

Read more:Elden Ring Fia quest guide.

Brother Corhyn (and Goldmask)

Brother Corhyn simply sells incantations when you first meet him at Roundtable Hold, but his quest will open up as soon as you make it as far as Altus Plateau. His story is intertwined with that of Goldmask and completing this questline will reward you with one of the items needed for a specific ending.

Read more:Elden Ring Brother Corhyn quest guide.

Dung Eater

You find the Dung Eater in a room in Roundtable Hold that is inaccessible until after you’ve reached Altus Plateau. His quest doesn’t have many steps but you need to find five Seedbed Curses in order to finish it. Because of this, you’ll need to have made your way to some of the end-game areas to complete it.

Read more:Elden Ring Dung Eater quest guide.

Liurnia of the Lakes quests

Hyetta

Hyetta’s quest isn’t particularly complicated, but you’ll need to collect items to give to her, one of which requires you to kill a couple of invading NPCs. This questline takes you all the way to one of the final areas of the game.

Read more:Elden Ring Hyetta quest guide.

Thops

You find Thops in the first church you encounter after you enter the Liurnia of the Lakes region. He’ll sell you sorceries, but talking to him further reveals his interest in aGlintstone Key. Find the second key to give to him requires you to defeat the Red Wolf of Radagon in Raya Lucaria Academy.

Read more:Elden Ring Thops quest guide.

Rya

You can first meet Rya in Liurnia of the Lakes and she offers a relatively quick way to get to Volcano Manor early on. The bulk of her quest happens at the manor and you’ll need to defeat a mini-boss there to acquire an item needed to progress.

Rya’s quest also overlaps with theVolcano Manor story arc, so be warned that proceeding too far with this arc can lock you out of completing her questline.

Read more:Elden Ring Rya quest guide.

Blackguard Big Boggart

This is a short quest that takes you as far as Leyndell, Royal Capital. It ties in with Dung Eater’s quest too, so you’ll need to progress that NPC quest if you want to gain the rewards for this one.

Read more:Elden Ring Blackguard Big Boggart quest guide.

Varré

You meet Varré at the very start of the game, at the first Site of Grace you visit when you leave the Stranded Graveyard. His quest won’t start properly until you meet him in Liurnia of the Lakes, however.

You won’t have to defeat any additional bosses to complete this quest, though you will have to invade other players three times to complete one of the steps.

Read more:Elden Ring Varre quest guide.

Jar-Bairn

This quest is actually very short, though you need to complete both Alexander’s lengthy questline and Diallos’s shorter one to complete it. Jarburg is located on the eastern side of Liurnia of the Lakes. You’ll need to drop down to the area, so it’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it.

Read more:Elden Ring Jar Bairn quest guide.

Ranni

You can find Ranni in one of the towers in the northwest corner of Liurnia. You can only access this area once you’ve fought your way through Caria Manor and defeated the Royal Knight Loretta boss.

This is one of the longer Elden Ring quests and you’ll need to kill at least two bosses to complete it.

Read more:Elden Ring Ranni quest guide.

Seluvis

Seluvis’s quest isn’t particularly long but it does tie in with Ranni. It’s worth noting that if you progress his quest right to the end, you’ll be locked out of finishing Ranni’s lengthy quest unless you atone at theChurch of Vows.

Read more:Elden Ring Seluvis quest guide.

Caelid quests

Millicent

Millicent is first encountered at the Church of the Plague in Caelid, though you’ll need to speak to Gowry in his shack first. There are no real requirements to start this quest, other than getting to the area—and staying alive—which might be quite difficult at lower levels.

You’ll need to defeat several bosses during the quest and it will take you right to one of the endgame areas. The item you get for this quest gives you the chance to remove the Frenzied Flame.

Read more:Elden Ring Millicent quest guide.

Mt. Gelmir quests

Volcano Manor

This quest isn’t particularly long but it does interweave with several other NPC questlines. The rewards for this quest include armor sets dropped by your targets, but I’ve only included the ones Tanith hands over in the overview above.

You can get to Volcano Manor fairly early on, and it includes one of the major bosses in the game. It’s also possible to get locked out of this quest if you progress too far in other areas.

Read more:Elden Ring Volcano Manor quest guide.

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Sarah started as a freelance writer in 2018, writing for PCGamesN, TechRadar, GamingBible, Red Bull Gaming and more. In 2021, she was offered a full-time position on the PC Gamer team where she takes every possible opportunity to talk about World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. When not writing guides, most of her spare time is spent in Azeroth—though she’s quite partial to JRPGs too. One of her fondest hopes is to one day play through the ending of Final Fantasy X without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.

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