This page contains an overview for the easiest route progression through all the regions in Elden Ring, including Limgrave, Weeping Peninsula, Liurnia of the Lakes, Caelid / Dragonbarrow, Altus Plateau / Mt, Gelmir / Leyndell, Royal Capital, Subterranean Shunning-grounds, Mountaintops of the Giants and the Consecrated Snowfield, Nokron, Eternal City, Deeproot Depths, Ainsel River, Siofra River, Crumbling Farum Azula, Leyndell, Capital of Ash, and all legacy dungeons. We’ll cover where you should go first, and a brief overview of the objectives in each location.

Route Progression Guide¶

The below overviews relate to essential encounters with NPCs and key items that you will need to progress through the game, or which will significantly improve your experience regardless of class. The overviews will therefore not cover all optional bosses, locations, or items. If you’re looking for a more complete list of these for each region, you’ll find detailed overviews in their respective sections for this guide.

If you’re looking for a specific region walkthrough, this handy table below will let you instantly jump to any of them.

Quick Search¶

Note this only includes the areas from the original release of Elden Ring. For a route progress on the Shadows of the Erdtree expansion, check back later for a link to our extensive guide on it!

Limgrave Route Progression Overview¶

The two main regions of Limgrave (West and East) will provide your first encounters with numerous important NPCs and their quests. You’ll find plenty of optional bosses to gain runes and level your character as you prepare for the Stormveil Castle legacy dungeon, and ultimately the fight with your first Demi God Boss, Godrick the Grafted. It’s a good idea to thoroughly explore this region and kill as many optional bosses as possible before you enter Stormveil Castle, since you’ll be better prepared for some of the tougher encounters in there. Limgrave will also introduce you to some basic survival mechanics in the form of health / focus point flasks, and the Flask of Wondrous Physick. You can try different builds in the form of strength, dex, or magic and figure out what you might want to commit to before moving on to new regions. By the time you reach Stormveil Castle, you should have a decent understanding of build types, with a number of weapons and armor pieces to choose from. You’ll find a number of Smithing Stones, particularly in the Limgrave Tunnels, which you can use to improve your weapons for the first time.

West Limgrave Objectives¶

East Limgrave Objectives¶

Stormveil Castle Objectives¶

Weeping Peninsula Route Progression Overview¶

The Weeping Peninsula can be seen as a kind of extension from Limgrave. You’ll probably want to come here first before you venture into Stormveil Castle, if only to further level your character and begin the questlines for Irina and Edgar. If you’re a magic user, you will at least want to obtain the Memory Stone from Oridys’s Rise. Any character build will benefit from the Crystal Tears which can be found at the churches in this region, increasing the amount of replenished health and focus points when using flasks.

Weeping Peninsula Objectives¶

Roundtable Hold Route Progression Overview¶

You will gain access to the Roundtable Hold once you’ve defeated Margit, the Fell Omen. Melina will then invite you to the hold after resting at a Site of Grace. Alternatively, if you rest at a Site of Grace in Liurnia of the Lakes or Caelid before defeating Margit, you will be invited to the hold at this point instead. Once you have access to the hold, you can fast travel to it at any time. You’ll find it in the southwestern corner of your world map.

The main purpose of visiting Roundtable Hold is to progress the questlines of NPCs noted in the table below, some of which won’t appear until later in the game. You can also make use of Smithing Master Hewg here to upgrade your weapons, and eventually improve your Spirit Ashes after progressing Roderika’s questline. The Twin Maiden Husks will also become a kind of eternal merchant, to whom you can give Bell Bearings which are looted from dead NPCs, allowing you to purchase their goods from the Twin Maiden Husks instead. Finally, you should bring any Great Runes to Enia, the Finger Reader to exchange them for unique items, but be sure to duplicate them at a mausoleum first, and keep in mind that you can choose to sell them for a substantial amount of runes if you have no use for the unique items.

You should return to the Roundtable Hold whenever anything significant happens throughout the story, especially related to NPC questlines.

Roundtable Hold Objectives¶

Liurnia of the Lakes Route Progression Overview¶

The main areas of Liurnia of the Lakes (South, Central, Academy of Raya Lucaria, East and West) cover a vast region which opens up the game, especially for magic users. You’ll find numerous scrolls and spells to expand your magic repertoire, and you’ll continue to progress questlines for NPCs that you first met in Limgrave, while also meeting a bunch of new ones. The Raya Lucaria Academy, where Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon dwells, is your next encounter with a legacy dungeon. Once you’ve defeated Rennala, you’ll be able to speak with her to change the appearance of your character for free, or respect your character stats in exchange for a Larval Tear. You’ll find a few of these valuable items in Liurnia, and plenty more in other regions. By the time you reach Rennala you should have at least one Larval Tear, and likely more if you follow our objective overviews.

Liurnia of the Lakes South / Central Objectives¶

Academy of Raya Lucaria Objectives¶

Liurnia of the Lakes East Objectives¶

Lower Ainsel River Objectives¶

You’ll reach the Lower Ainsel River by taking the elevator down from Ainsel River Well in eastern Liurnia of the Lakes, just north of the Eastern Tableland Site of Grace. There isn’t that much to do down here, but you’ll find some valuable key items along the way.

Liurnia of the Lakes West / Caria Manor Objectives¶

You will need to get the Fingerslayer Blade from Nokron, Eternal City in Siofra River (covered after Caelid and Dragonbarrow below) before you can enter Ainsel River Main from Renna’s Rise. However, we recommend doing all the other tasks listed below before you move on from Liurnia of the Lakes. You can then return to Ranni the Witch once you have the Fingerslayer Blade to enter Nokstella, Eternal City. Note that you need to defeat Starscourge Radahn in Caelid before you can enter Nokron, Eternal City and Siofra Aqueduct.

Lower Siofra River Objectives¶

The Lower Siofra River is a fairly easy region which you can take on earlier than this if you prefer, but it makes more sense to come here after speaking with Ranni the Witch behind Caria Manor in western Liurnia of the Lakes. She will ask you to find Blaidd by heading down the Siofra River Well in eastern Limgrave. While you’re down here, you can find a few valuable key items after speaking with Blaidd before you leave.

Upper Ainsel River (Nokstella, Eternal City) and Lake of Rot Objectives¶

This area should be relatively easy after fully exploring Liurnia of the Lakes. However, if you find that you’re having trouble, you can come back to it after Caelid and Altus Plateau if necessary. You will need to come down here to progress the questline for Ranni the Witch, but you’ll also find some Larval Tears and a few other valuable key items.

Caelid and Dragonbarrow Route Progression Overview¶

You can come to Caelid or Dragonbarrow before you finish Liurnia of the Lakes if you prefer. However, bosses and enemies in this region are generally tougher to deal with, so you’ll probably find it easier after levelling your character in Liurnia first. Note that most encounters in Dragonbarrow are more difficult than those in the rest of Caelid, but you can come here early on to begin giving Deathroots to Gurranq, Beast Clergyman and to pick up the Golden Seed nearby. Otherwise, you might want to leave Dragonbarrow until after Altus Plateau. You will at least need to defeat Starscourge Radahn in southeastern Caelid (Redmane Castle) before you can enter Nokron, Eternal City and the Siofra Aqueduct, covered below. If nothing else, you should also speak with Gowry and Millicent to begin their questlines, even if you don’t want to spend time fighting enemies and bosses in Caelid just yet.

Caelid Objectives¶

Dragonbarrow Objectives¶

Although Dragonbarrow is generally much tougher than the rest of Caelid, there’s a lot you can do here without fighting too many enemies. Most of the objectives listed below can be accomplished during or just after completing the majority of southern Caelid.

Upper Siofra River (Nokron, Eternal City & Siofra Aqueduct) Objectives¶

Once you’ve defeated Starscourge Radahn, you can enter this region by heading northwest from the Fort Haight West Site of Grace, in southeastern Limgrave. Here you’ll now find an enormous hole in the ground, with large pieces of rock suspended in the air above it. You can jump down the rocks here (preferably while mounted) to reach Nokron, Eternal City. You’ll find a number of useful items down here, including more Larval Tear items and the Fingerslayer Blade, which is necessary to advance the Ranni the Witch questline.

Deeproot Depths Objectives¶

The Deeproot Depths are almost an extension of Upper Siofra River. You can reach them after defeating the Valiant Gargoyle & Valiant Gargoyle (Twinblade) at the Great Waterfall Basin in Siofra River. You can then interact with the coffin beneath the waterfall to be teleported to the Great Waterfall Crest in Deeproot Depths. Here you can advance the questline for Fia and D’s Twin Brother.

Altus Plateau, Volcano Manor (Mt. Gelmir), and Leyndell, Royal Capital Route Progression Overview¶

The Altus Plateau as a whole covers an enormous region, which can be separated between Altus Plateau (central), Mt. Gelmir and Volcano Manor (west), and Leyndell, Royal Capital (east). You’ll progress a number of NPC questlines here, and begin some new ones, especially in Volcano Manor. You’ll find numerous Golden Seed and Sacred Tear items, which can be used to further enhance your character, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve your build with new armor and weapons. We’d recommend starting with Altus Plateau central, then moving on to Mt. Gelmir and Volcano Manor, before finally heading east to Leyndell, Royal Capital. Both Volcano Manor and Leyndell, Royal Capital have Elden Lord bosses, but you won’t fight Godfrey, First Elden Lord in Leyndell until it becomes Leyndel, Ashen Capital later in the story.

Altus Plateau Objectives¶

Volcano Manor and Mt. Gelmir Objectives¶

Capital Outskirts, Leyndell, Royal Capital & Subterranean Shunning-Grounds Objectives¶

Forbidden Lands and Mountaintops of the Giants Route Progression Overview¶

The Forbidden Lands connects Altus Plateau to Mountaintops of the Giants. The Mountaintops are split into two main areas, with maps for both east and west. However, the western part of Mountaintops of the Giants is more commonly referred to as the Consecrated Snowfield, and you can only go there after obtainting the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Left) from Commander Niall in Castle Sol, northwestern Mountaintops of the Giants. You’ll also need the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right), given to you by Albus at the Village of the Albinaurics in Liurnia of the Lakes. The Forbidden Lands, Mountaintops of the Giants and Consecrated Snowfield provide a lot of upgrade materials for your flasks and character build in general. Defeating the Fire Giant near the Foot of the Forge in southeastern Mountaintops is also essential to reach Crumbling Farum Azula later in the game.

Forbidden Lands and Mountaintops of the Giants Objectives¶

Consecrated Snowfield and Miquella’s Haligtree Route Progression Overview¶

Once you’re done with the Forbidden Lands and eastern Mountaintops of the Giants, you can return to the Grand Lift of Rold and travel to the Consecrated Snowfield. Here you’ll find plenty of key items and upgrade materials, and you can finally fulfil the request from Albus by summoning Latenna at the Apostate Derelict. Once you’re done with this area, you can use Miquella’s Haligtree Portal behind Ordina, Liturgical Town to reach the Miquella’s Haligtree legacy dungeon. Though not essential to the main story, there’s enough valuable items to make it worthwhile. You’ll also need to come here for Millicent’s questline, and to find more Seedbed Curse items for Dung Eater.

Consecrated Snowfield and Miquella’s Haligtree Objectives¶

Mohgwyn Palace Objectives¶

You can venture into Mohgwyn Palace before you go to Miquella’s Haligtree if you prefer. However, you will need to defeat the Sanguine Noble invader north of Yelough Anix Tunnel in the Consecrated Snowfield first. You can then use the portal to Mohgwyn Palace just to the west of where you encountered the invader. Alternatively, you can use the Pureblood Knight’s Medal, given to your by White-Faced Varré at Rose Church in Liurnia of the Lakes, to teleport to Mohgwyn Palace.

Crumbling Farum Azula Objectives¶

You can reach Crumbling Farum Azula by resting at the Forge of the Giants Site of Grace in eastern Mountaintops of the Giants. You will either need to speak to Melina or select “Listen to the sound of the flames” from the list of actions while resting. The latter option will only be available if you’ve interacted with the Three Fingers as part of the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending. Note that once you’ve completed Crumbling Farum Azula, you won’t be able to return to Leyndell, Royal Capital, as it will then become Leyndell, Ashen Capital instead. This will lock you out of some areas in the capital, while opening up access to others, including the final bosses there.

Leyndell, Ashen Capital Objectives¶

You will gain access to Leyndell, Ashen Capital after defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade in Crumbling Farum Azula. You may need to return to the Forge of the Giants Site of Grace in eastern Mountaintops of the Giants to trigger a cutscene which will teleport you there. You should only pursue the objectives for Brother Corhyn and Goldmask if you’re looking to complete the Age of Order ending. The Ashen Capital is essentially the end game point in terms of accessible regions in the game, but there may be more to do in terms of advancing specific NPC questlines or game endings. Be sure to see our NPC Quests - Recommended Order page for a detailed guide on the best order to complete those, and our How to Unlock Every Ending in Elden Ring to get the most out of all the endings in the game.