Elden Ring Trophy Guide & Roadmap

March 2, 2022 by DK 208 Comments

Elden Ring Trophy Roadmap

Estimated trophy difficulty: 6-7/10 (depends on how you play the game – overleveling with runes / gear dropped by other players makes it easier)
Approximate amount of time to platinum: 60-100 Hours (skill dependent, and with save game backups to get all 3 endings in 1 playthrough)
Offline Trophies: 42 (1, 3, 14, 24)
Online Trophies: 0
Number of missable trophies: 5
- Elden Lord – only 1 ending per playthrough but can manually back up save beforehand
- Age of the Stars – only 1 ending per playthrough but can manually back up save beforehand
- Lord of Frenzied Flame – only 1 ending per playthrough but can manually back up save beforehand
- Legendary Armaments – weapon called “Bolt of Gransax” is missable (located in Royal Capital), but can also have another player drop it for you
- Lichdragon Fortissax – missable if you kill the quest giver Fia (Deathbed Companion) before the boss
Glitched trophies: 0, no glitched trophies
Does difficulty affect trophies?: No Difficulty Settings, it’s the same difficulty for everyone, but you can level up as much as you want to make it easier
Minimum Playthroughs: 1 (with save game backup before ending)
PS4/PS5 Autopop & Save Transfer: Save Transfer = YES, Autopop = NO
PS4/PS5 Crossbuy: Yes
Free-Roam / Level Select after Story?: Partially – One area “Leyndell, Royal Capital” changes drastically towards the end of the game, locking you out of most things there. But you can still go to all trophy-related bosses after the ending. You can still do all steps for all endings after defeating the endboss (before you pick your ending).
Release Date: February 25, 2022

Introduction

Welcome to the Elden Ring Trophy Guide! Elden Ring is a massive open world souls title of developer From Software. Elden Ring takes the well-known Souls formula to brand new heights with a huge open world map, a ton of hidden secrets and more. This guide will help you achieve platinum in a single playthrough which is very much possible if you follow the steps exactly. In order to achieve the platinum in a single playthrough you will have to take advantage of the PS Plus Save Cloud (PS4+PS5) or a USB device (PS4 only).

You do not have to kill every single boss in the game for the platinum, but definitely a big chunk of them. You need all the trophy-related bosses, as well as some of the bosses that drop legendary gear needed for trophgies. The Roadmap is step-by-step walkthrough how to progress and what to look out for on your journey for platinum in one playthrough. Make sure to read through each step before continuing with your playthrough in order to avoid missing anything. For tactics against the bosses check the Elden Ring Boss Guide. For all sites of grace and other named locations, refer to Elden Ring All Sites of Grace.

Before beginning with the Roadmap, here are answers to frequently asked questions that are good to know:

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I get the trophies for legendary weapons and talismans by receiving them from other players? – Yes, other people can drop you the weapons and artifacts and the trophy will unlock. However, legendary ashes and legendary spells/incantations can NOT be dropped so you must find those yourself (only armaments & talismans).
Can I get the platinum in a single playthrough? – Yes, you can if you follow the steps outlined in the Roadmap.
Can I get the platinum by playing completely offline? – Yes it is possible. Playing online, however, lets you duplicate items with a partner (see how to dupe items) and you can see messages by other players that can have useful hints.
Can I duplicate items with other players? – Partially. You can drop Runes, Talismans, Weapons, and Armor (as long as they are not upgraded). You can’t drop Spells, Ashes of War, Smithing Stones.
Which build should I play? – Astrologer (Mage) is the most beginner-friendly because of the constant distance between you and the bosses. It requires less dodging and many bosses are easily exploitable with certain magic spells. So go with Astrologer for an easier time. As a Mage immediately go for the weapon and spell Meteorite Staff + Rock Sling, this works well against all bosses and is accessible from the start. Later, after reaching Altus Plateau, you can one-shot most bosses with Comet Azur + Cerulean Hidden Tear. Also use the Mimic Tear to summon a copy of yourself to fight bosses for you. These moves are all you need to defeat most bosses with ease.
Should I just run from one boss to the next one? – No. The Roadmap will explain which areas to explore (steps for endings etc) before heading to the next main objective. You should explore every area carefully to get more items and upgrade materials.
Can I save after the final boss? – Yes, you can save right after the final boss “Elden Beast” but DON’T interact with the statue after the boss until you backed up your save (statue triggers the ending).
Are there missable trophies? – Yes, a few of them, mentioned in overview above and in roadmap / trophy guide below.
Are any bosses missable? – Yes, in particular Lichdragon Fortissax, but only if you kill Fia the Deathbed Companion. You can still do all steps for this and any other boss after picking an ending (just choose to continue your playthrough and don’t start NG+).
Are all the Shardbearers part of the main story? – No. Half of them are actually optional for a regular playthrough but necessary for the Platinum.
Does progressing one ending void the others? – The only thing you are NOT allowed to do before beating the final boss is the very last step of the Lord of the Frenzied Flame Ending. You should complete all the steps towards the Age of the Stars Ending and all but the last step of Lord of the Frenzied Flame Ending before killing the final boss.
Do weapons created from Boss Remembrance count towards Legendaries? – No. Even though they are golden when dropped, only the stuff you can find in the open world counts.
How do I back up & restore my save file on PS4/PS5? – Console Settings > Saved Data Management > Saved Data > Console Storage > Upload your save to PS+ Cloud [PS5/PS4] or USB flash drive [PS4 only]. If using PS+ cloud (only option on PS5) make sure you have automatic save sync uploads disabled or else it could automatically overwrite your cloud save (PS5 Settings > Saved Data and Game/App Settings > Saved Data PS5 > Sync Saved Data > Auto-Sync Saved Data = Disabled). To copy it back: Console Settings > Saved Data Management > Saved Data > Cloud Storage / USB Drive > Copy to Console > Overwrite console saves.
How to back up & restore saves on PC? – For Steam it should be C:\ Users\ [username]\ AppData\ Roaming\ EldenRing – but also back up the other Steam folder to be safe – C:\ Program Files (x86)\ Steam\ userdata. Copy and paste these into another folder where you can find it later. To restore the save, paste it back and overwrite.
How to back up & restore saves on Xbox One/Xbox Series? – disconnect yourself from the internet > move around in-game whilst disconnected from internet for a few seconds > reconnect yourself back to the internet > now it will force a cloud save > (double-check that it really uploaded to the cloud) > do what you need without exiting the game (exiting the game may overwrite cloud save) > when done, press Home-Button > scroll down to Elden Ring > press Options > Manage Game > Saved Data > click Gamertag > Delete Saved Data > Delete from Console > if it still shows the save, delete it again until it’s gone > press Home-Button and restart the game > it will now sync/download your backup save from cloud.

Step 1: Explore Starting Regions, Defeat Margit, Leonine Misbegotten, Godrick

First of all, if you find the game too difficult you can sort of cheat it by overleveling right from the start. You can make it as easy or as hard as you want it to be by overleveling or underleveling. The best starting class for beginners is the Astrologer (mage). If you want an easier experience you can grind to Level 100+ right from the start, put about 60 points into Intelligence and 50 points into Vigor and the rest into Mind attribute. If you are lucky enough to have a friend who has already beaten the game, they can drop you all their endgame gear and duplicate endgame runes to make you Level 100+ instantly without any work (can get to level 200+ in a few minutes when duplicating runes). Alternatively, you can farm XP by yourself, for methods see Elden Ring Infinite Runes Farming Method & Duplication Exploit.

Now let’s begin our journey!
After arriving in Limgrave, rest at Gatefront site of grace and talk to the lady there to unlock the mount. Then go to Church of Elleh and talk to Ranni (witch) sitting on the ruins next to the smith – she gives you a Bell to summon spirits that you can equip in the item wheel and summon during boss fights. As a reminder, if you are unsure of any location referenced, please refer to Elden Ring All Sites of Grace Locations, there are over 500+ named in-game locations, the links here on location names will jump straight to the mentioned site of grace so you don’t need to scroll.

From Gatefront head up the path north-west to reach the boss “Margit, the Fell Omen“. After dying to Margit a few times go rest at a site of grace and you will be invited to Roundtable Hold by a lady (hub area). Accept the invitation.

Margit is quite hard to defeat. Instead, let’s spend some time getting stronger: make sure to search for Golden Seeds and Sacred Tears to upgrade your health / magic potions. You can spend these items at any site of grace in the flask menu. This makes the game vastly easier because it gives you more flasks, so you can restore health/mana more often during bosses. You can also upgrade weapons with Smithing Stones to level up weapon damage. Everything across Limgrave, Weeping Peninsula, Caelid, Dragonbarrow is accessible from the beginning, giving you plenty of Flask Upgrades early on. General Note: to unfog the map you must find Map Pieces, marked on the fogged map by little pillar icons. Let’s also make a quick detour to Caelid to grab the Meteorite Staff + Rock Sling (accessible from the start). While not needed for trophies this is the best starting staff/spell, making bosses much easier to defeat. The staff cannot be upgraded as it’s already S-tier for Intelligence damage scaling and it further buffs Gravity Spells like the Rock Sling which stuns most bosses after 4-5 hits, it has the longest range and homes in on enemies. This staff/spell combo actually deals more damage than if you fully upgraded the starting staff to Level 25! It uses quite a lot of mana but as you level up your Mind attribute this will become less of a problem.

» Elden Ring All Golden Seed Locations (Flask Amont Upgrades)
» Elden Ring Sacred Tear Locations (Flask Strength Upgrades)
» Elden Ring All Smithing Stone Locations (Weapon Upgrades)

Just spend some time exploring the early game regions until you feel strong enough to take on Margit. During your exploration of Weeping Peninsula (south of Limgrave), go defeat trophy boss Leonine Misbegotten.

If you have trouble with this you can return later. You can still go back to all trophy bosses after the game ending, but for the purpose of this step-by-step walkthrough they will all be pointed out at their earliest appearance, the goal being that by the end of your playthrough you will have all trophies if you follow these steps.

Once you feel strong enough, go defeat Margit, the Fell Omen, after him go through Stormveil Castle and defeat Shardbearer Godrick.

Step 2: After Stormveil Castle, finish Academy of Raya Lucaria

After defeating Godrick in Stormveil Castle your next objective should be Academy of Raya Lucaria in Liurnia region.

To enter the Academy, first grab the Academy Glintstone Key between Temple Quarter and Crytalline Woods behind the green dragon (marked below, number 1 in image):

You don’t need to fight the dragon now, you just want to grab the key behind it to break the blue seal at the academy entrance, at South Raya Lucaria Gate (number 2 in image above). In the Academy are 2 trophy bosses, defeat both of them: Red Wolf of Radagon & Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. If you get lost here, see Academy Walkthrough. After defeating Rennala you are done with the Academy, now head to Caria Manor.

Step 3: The beginning of setting up Age of the Stars Ending

Caria Manor is an important area for you. Not only will you find another trophy boss there – Royal Knight Loretta – but more importantly you want to reach the area behind the Manor itself (immediately after Loretta boss). There you will find 3 towers. In Ranni’s Rise talk to Ranni who really is Renna and accept working for her. Go through all the dialogue options and talk to her 2 servants downstairs as well (Iji & Seluvis). They both look like ghosts (a big giant and a smaller human), both on the ground floor of the tower where you talk to Renna.

Step 4: Defeat Radahn and head to Nokron Eternal City + Steps Towards the Age of the Stars Ending and Lichdragon Fortissax

Now it is time for Shardbearer Radahn (Level 70+ recommended). To get there, go to Impassable Greatbridge in Caelid. If the portal at the bridge is active you can use it to enter Redmane Castle instantly, if not you must ride across the bridge, go up the slope on the left where enemies are, when reaching the castle gate jump down the cliffs to the right of the gate and follow the cliffs until you find a ladder, climb up to the castle walls, jump down right side of castle wall and go straight ahead to enter the Plaza. Talk to the announcer on the walls where people are gathered, then go through the church behind him, use the elevator and step through a portal to be teleported to the Radahn boss.

After defeating him a crater will appear north-west of Fort Haight which will allow you to enter Nokron, Eternal City. You can spot the location easily because of floating rocks in the sky above it.

You can drop down the cliffs around the crater to any point where the fall doesn’t kill you. Then ride further down into the crater and jump from one platform to the next until you get to the underground dungeon. Down there you want to finish the Nokron area completely. It also contains 3 trophy bosses: Mimic Tear, Valiant Gargoyle, Regal Ancestor Spirit.

The whole Nokron area has a lot of secret paths to reach the bosses and is tricky to navigate. At this point we recommend you follow the dedicated Nokron, Eternal City Walkthrough page. Once done, continue here.

At the end of Nokron you will have found a treasure chest containing – Fingerslayer Blade. Give it to Renna (back at Ranni’s Rise behind Caria Manor) and the questline towards the Age of the Stars Ending will continue.

Talk to Renna twice and she will give you the “Carian Inverted Statue”. Now head to Study Hall Entrance, use it at the altar at the entrance, get through the now inverted building (drop down the wooden beams to an elevator), which leads you to the Divine Tower of Liurnia. On top of this tower you will find the Cursemark of Death which is one of the requirements towards the questline of secret boss Lichdragon Fortissax. But you can’t fight him yet, just hold on to this item for now, more on it later.

Step 5: Ainsel River (Nokstealla Eternal City) + Steps towards Age of the Stars Ending

Now head back to the area behind Caria Manor where you talked to Renna. The tower in the north called Renna’s Rise will now be open.

Enter that tower and go up the ladder to find a portal, use it to teleport to Ainsel River Main. For the section that follows you can also use the Age of the Stars video from 14:33 onwards, it’s a long dungeon: After the teleportation, from where you spawn there’s a stone coffin straight ahead of you, on it is a glowing item. Pick it up, it’s Miniature Ranni. Now sit at the next site of grace to the right. You will have an option to talk to Miniature Ranni at the Site of Grace. Keep talking to her until you run out of dialogues (she will keep saying the same). She wants you to kill the Baleful Shadow for her, found deep within this area. Follow the path forward until you reach Nokstella, Eternal City. Continue through Nokstella. When you reach site of grace Nokestella Waterfall Basin you will find a red NPC shortly after – that is the Baleful Shadow. Kill it for the Discarded Palace Key which you can use to open the chest in the room where you fought Rennala in Raya Lucaria Grand Library. Open the chest next to Rennala and you will receive Dark Moon Ring.

Step 6: Securing Age of the Stars Ending

Return to where you defeated the Baleful Shadow NPC and keep following the path, go through the Lake of Rot and reach Grand Cloister (Age of the Stars video from 21:16 onwards). In Grand Cloister drop down and interact with the coffin in the bloody water on the left. It will transport you to the boss fight against Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. After defeating it, head forward and you will reach Moonlight Altar (if the path is sealed you must grab the Dark Moon Ring next to Rennala in Raya Lucaria Grand Library). In this new area, which is actually a plateau in the south-west of Liurnia, head towards the northeastern edge to Cathedral of Manus Celes, in these ruins drop down the right into a cave system. At the end you will find Renna. Talk to her to secure the option to unlock the Age of the Stars Ending AFTER defeating the endboss “Elden Beast” at the end of the story. That’s all the preparation done for this ending (trophy won’t unlock yet, more on in Step 11). Renna also leaves behind the legendary Armament Dark Moon Greatsword, pick it up, then you can leave.

Step 7: Reaching Altus Plateau & Shardbearer Rykard

Now that this is done it is time to head towards The Ravine in the northeast of Liurnia. Go through Ravine-Veiled Village, which will lead to the trophy boss Magma Wyrm Makar.

After this you will reach a new region Altus Plateau. From here you can now head to Mt. Gelmir to go for trophy bosses Godskin Noble & Shardbearer Rykard. You must reach the mountaintop of Mt. Gelmir (side boss “Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast” here but no need to fight it, can ride around it and jump off the big stone right behind it), which leads to Volcano Manor.

In Volcano Manor talk to the lady on the throne to get her key, in the corridor next to her open the first door on the right, enter this room and inside hit the wall on the right to open a secret path to the town behind Volcano Manor. At the end of the town you find a portal to Rykard, or alternatively you can do the quest series for the lady on the throne and she will teleport you straight to him (doesn’t matter which way you do it).

Step 8: The Capital

With at least 2 Great Runes (Godrick’s and Radahn’s are enough), you can now enter into the Royal Capital. Go through the gate in the north-east of Royal Capital, blocked by a mandatory boss Draconic Tree Sentinel (no trophy).

Once inside the Royal Capital, finish the main story path on which you will fight Godfrey the First Lord and Shardbearer Morgott. After defeating Shardbearer Morgott interact with the wall of thorns behind him and sit at the site of grace, this is necessary to advance the story. Afterward make sure to grab the missable Legendary Armament Bolt of Gransax in the Royal Capital.

The last thing here is to head into the sewers and defeat Mohg, the Omen (<– click link to see his trophy/video for the path, it’s tricky to get there). Defeating him is also a step towards the Lord of Frenzied Flame Ending. AFTER defeating Mohg, the Omen fast travel away to exit the sewers, do NOT continue on the path behind him (do NOT go through the secret altar path/platforming section behind him and most importantly do NOT interact with the red door at the end of that platforming path). Interacting with the red door would lock you into the Lord of Frenzied Flame Ending and thus lock you out of the other endings for this playthrough! We’ll return here in Step 11!

Step 9: Mountaintops of the Giants

With the Medallion you got from defeating Shardbearer Morgott head to Avenue Balcony site of grace in the Capital. From the site go up the stairs, follow the path to the east, open the big gate at the end. This leads to a wooden elevator that gets you out of the Capital. Follow the path across the city walls until you reach another big elevator that brings you to Forbidden Lands. There’s only one path forwarding leading you to the Grand Lift of Rold. Here you must show the Medallion that Morgott dropped and it will bring you to Mountaintops of the Giants. Remember this Elevator since it has another important role soon.

In the Mountaintops head north to Castle Sol (also circled in image above). There you fight trophy boss Commander Niall. Follow the path behind him to find Haligtree Secret Medallion (Left). This is one of two medallion pieces needed for some secret trophy bosses.

For the second piece Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right) you must head to Village of the Albinauries site of grace in Liurnia region. From this site head up the hill and head straight past the single fire-throwing enemy. At the end of the path is an NPC disguised as barrel, hit the barrel or touch it and the NPC will reveal himself. Talk to him to get the 2nd medallion piece. Head back to Grand Lift of Rold and show the Haligtree Secret Medallion to get to the west Mountaintops. Head to Ordina, Liturgical Town – enter the Evergaol there and light the 4 Statues to reveal a portal that brings you to Miquella’s Haligtree and Elphael. See the video below showing all these steps:

In this area you find 3 more trophy bosses: Shardbearer Mohg, Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree, Shardbearer Malenia. Especially Malenia is a tough one, if you have trouble with her come back later after doing the Endings (you can still free roam to all bosses after the ending). At least you will already have access to the area.

Step 10: Cleanup before the End

Your next stop is the main boss Fire Giant in the south-east of Mountaintops of the Giants.

Behind Fire Giant you can go over a big chain to reach the Forge of the Giants site of grace (head across the left wall on the forge to reach it). Rest at this site of grace, it will give you the option to talk to Melina. Talk to her and she will set the tree on fire (unlocks a story trophy). This also brings you to the last region Crumbling Farum Azula. Now you have access to all regions in the game and we are approaching the end. After arriving there, your fast travel is temporarily blocked but it will unlock again after resting at the first site of grace.

The tree being set on fire also forced Fia (deathbed companion) to move from Roundtable Hold to Deeproot Depths, if she hadn’t already done so in your game. This allows you to do the final steps for the secret boss Lichdragon Fortissax. Fast travel away and do this boss now.

Also make sure you picked up the missable legendary armament Bolt of Gransax in Royal Capital (it disappears after defeating Maliketh).

Head back to Crumbling Farum Azula, this region contains 3 trophy bosses in this order: Godskin Duo (mandatory), Dragonlord Placidusax (optional), Maliketh the Black Blade (mandatory).

Clearing Maliketh brings you back to the Royal Capital where your last trophy boss should be Hoarah Loux the Warrior (he’s NOT the endboss). After him you only have the final boss and endings left. If you are still missing some of the other trophy bosses check the Trophy Guide below on where to find them. Now’s the best time to mop them up.

Step 11: Final Stretch towards the end – securing your save data for the endings

Enter the path behind Hoarah Loux the Warrior to trigger the final boss fight against Radagon of the Golden Order & Elden Beast. AFTER defeating the Elden Beast boss, sit at the site of grace but do NOT interact with the statue or markings on the ground yet (doing so triggers ending and locks you out of other endings). At this point you must back up your save.

For the Endings:

Back up your Save: Console Settings > Saved Data Management > Saved Data > Console Storage > Upload your save to PS+ Cloud [PS5/PS4] or USB flash drive [PS4 only]. If using PS+ cloud (only option on PS5) make sure you have automatic save sync uploads disabled or else it could automatically overwrite your cloud save (PS5 Settings > Saved Data and Game/App Settings > Saved Data PS5 > Sync Saved Data > Auto-Sync Saved Data = Disabled).
Reboot the game, interact with the statue after endboss for Elden Lord Ending
Restore your Save (copy the backup save back onto the console): Console Settings > Saved Data Management > Saved Data > Cloud Storage / USB Drive > Copy to Console > Overwrite console saves.
Reboot the game, interact with the Blue Summon Sign for Renna on the floor for Age of the Stars Ending
Restore your Save again (copy the backup save back onto the console).
Do the remaining steps for Lord of Frenzied Flame Ending – interact with altar behind where you defeated Mohg, the Omen, finish the parkour path there, unequip all your gear and interact with the big red door at the end to get a burned scar. Then interact with the Statue after Endboss for Lord of the Frenzied Flame Ending.

Step 12: Cleanup for the Platinum

Either choose NO when asked for going into New Game+ or restore your save before the ending again. Now you want to collect the remaining legendaries (armaments / talismans / ashen remains / sorceries) for the Platinum. If you are still missing a boss you can still get back to all trophy bosses after the ending. If you did miss something actually missable you can get to it quickly in New Game+.

Useful Tips, Tricks and Guides: