You’re going to miss stuff. Honestly, that’s the first thing anyone needs to accept before diving into the absolute mess that is the quest design in the Lands Between. FromSoftware doesn’t care about your quest log because, well, there isn't one. You're wandering through a decaying world where NPCs have their own agendas, and if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, you might get a piece of the puzzle. If not? They die off-screen, and you find a pile of clothes where a person used to be.
That’s the magic. Elden Ring side quests aren't checklists; they're tragic, missable vignettes that define the tone of the entire game.
Most people approach these like they’re playing a standard open-world RPG. They expect a map marker or a "journal updated" notification. When that doesn't happen, they get frustrated. But if you look at how Ranni the Witch or Iron Fist Alexander moves through the world, it’s clear that Hidetaka Miyazaki wanted players to feel like a small part of a much larger, uncaring machine. You aren't the center of the universe. You're just the person who happens to be holding the sword when everything goes south.
The Problem With Traditional Guides
If you look up a guide for Elden Ring side quests, you’ll see these massive, 40-step walkthroughs that make the game feel like a chore. Go here. Talk three times. Reload the area. Go there. It’s exhausting. And frankly, it kills the vibe.
Take Sellen’s questline. It’s one of the most mechanically complex stories in the game involving primal glintstone, body swapping, and a massive conflict within the Academy of Raya Lucaria. If you follow a guide, you’re just a delivery driver. If you find her naturally, chained to a wall in a damp cellar, the mystery is suffocating. You have to wonder: Why is she here? Who did this?
The game relies on "environmental storytelling"—a term that's been memed to death, but it actually applies here. You see a corpse with a specific item near a quest NPC, and suddenly the dialogue makes sense. It’s detective work.
Ranni, Blaidd, and the Trap of the "Best" Ending
Everyone wants to do Ranni’s quest. It’s the big one. It gives you the Dark Moon Greatsword, it unlocks a massive secret area, and it leads to what many consider the "canon" or at least the most satisfying ending. But because it’s so popular, people forget how weirdly obtuse it is.
You have to find a miniature doll and talk to it at a specific campfire. Multiple times. Who does that?
Most players only figure this out because they read it online. But think about the lore implications for a second. Ranni, this powerful Empyrean who defied the Greater Will, is hiding inside a toy. She’s embarrassed. She literally tells you to stop talking to her because it’s "unseemly." That character beat is worth more than the stat block on the sword you get at the end.
Then there’s Blaidd. Poor, loyal Blaidd. His tragedy is baked into the mechanics of the world. As a Shadow created by the Two Fingers, he is literally programmed to be loyal to Ranni, but also programmed to kill her if she betrays the Golden Order. His descent into madness isn't just a "sad story"—it’s a demonstration of how the gods in this game treat their subjects like biological software.
The NPCs You're Probably Ignoring (But Shouldn't)
- Diallos Hoslow: He starts as a pompous "noble" who talks about the tale of House Hoslow being told in blood. He’s a loser. He fails at everything. But his ending in Jarburg is perhaps the most human moment in the entire game.
- Goldmask: He doesn't even speak. You literally stand next to a guy in a gold mask while he points at a tree. It sounds stupid. Yet, his quest reveals the "Radagon is Marika" twist, which is the single most important piece of lore in the franchise.
- Boc the Seamster: His quest has no major combat rewards. He just wants to be told he’s beautiful. In a world of demi-gods and dragons, helping a rat-man feel okay about his face is a strange, necessary grounding element.
Why the "Failure" States Matter
In most games, failing a quest is a "Game Over" or a missed achievement. In Elden Ring, the failure is often the point.
Look at Millicent. You spend hours helping her overcome the Scarlet Rot. You find her a prosthetic arm. You help her fight off her sisters. And in the end, she chooses to die. She chooses to pull out the needle and succumb to the rot on her own terms rather than becoming something she’s not.
If you "succeed" in her quest, she dies. If you "fail" by killing her early, you get a different talisman. The game doesn't reward "good" behavior in the traditional sense; it rewards commitment to a path.
The Breakpoints You Need to Know
While I hate rigid guides, there are a few "points of no return" that will absolutely nukes your ability to finish Elden Ring side quests.
- Entering Leyndell: This progresses several NPCs to their mid-game locations.
- Killing Rykard: If you kill the Lord of Blasphemy before finishing the Volcano Manor assassinations, everyone leaves. The questline just stops. You miss the Raging Wolf armor—the iconic set from the trailers.
- The Forge of the Giants: This is the big one. Burning the Erdtree changes the world state. If you haven't finished Corhyn or Goldmask’s business by then, you’re out of luck.
The Messy Reality of Patch 1.03 and Beyond
It’s worth noting that when the game launched, some quests were literally broken. Nepheli Loux and Kenneth Haight just... stopped. They stood in their respective spots and had no ending. FromSoftware patched the endings in later.
This proves that even the developers struggle with the scale of these Elden Ring side quests. They are trying to weave dozens of threads through a world that is 100 square miles large. It’s inevitable that things get tangled.
Some people hate the lack of a quest log. They say it’s "outdated" or "disrespectful of the player's time." I’d argue the opposite. By not giving you a checklist, the game treats you like an adult. It assumes you’re paying attention. If you forget what Thops wanted, that’s on you. If you didn't realize that the "boiled prawn" guy, Blackguard Big Boggart, is actually a crucial part of the Dung Eater’s lore, that’s your story to live with.
How to Actually Approach These Quests
Stop looking at your second monitor.
Seriously.
The best way to experience these stories is to talk to everyone until their dialogue repeats. Then, read the descriptions of the items they give you. If an NPC says they are heading "north," actually look at the map for a road or a structure to the north. Don't just teleport to the nearest Site of Grace.
You'll find that the world is much smaller—and much more intimate—than it looks.
The tragedy of the Lands Between isn't that the world is ending; it's that it already ended, and these people are just the leftovers trying to find a reason to keep standing. Whether it's Alexander wanting to be the greatest pot in the world or Fia wanting to give a "second life" to those who live in death, these motives are deeply personal.
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Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
- Read the "Notes" bought from Merchants: They often hint at quest locations or mechanics (like how to handle the Wandering Mausoleums) that feel like "side quests" but aren't labeled as such.
- Use Map Markers: Since the game won't do it for you, use the built-in icons. Use the "person" icon for NPCs. When they move, delete the old one. It creates a breadcrumb trail of your own journey.
- Don't Rush the Bosses: Most quest progression is tied to Great Runes. If you kill two or three Shardbearers in a row without checking back at Roundtable Hold, you’ve likely skipped five different dialogue tiers.
- Listen to the "At Rest" Dialogue: Some NPCs, like Melina or Ranni, only talk to you when you select a specific option at a Site of Grace. These are easily missed but contain the heaviest lore drops.
The beauty of the system is its fragility. You can't see everything in one go. You aren't supposed to. Your version of the Elden Ring side quests will be different from mine because you might have accidentally killed Patches in that cave, or you might have never found the path to the Haligtree. And that makes your playthrough yours. In a medium filled with curated, identical experiences, there is something deeply refreshing about a game that is perfectly okay with you missing half of its best content.