Ranni Questline Guide — Full Walkthrough to Age of Stars

Ranni the Witch’s questline is Elden Ring’s longest NPC chain — an eleven-step journey from a Liurnia manor to the bottom of the world and back up to a moonlit altar. Finishing it unlocks the Age of Stars ending and the fan-favorite Dark Moon Greatsword.

Where does Ranni’s quest start?

Beat Royal Knight Loretta at Caria Manor in northern Liurnia (defenses: spectral archers on the walls — sprint the courtyard). Past the manor sits the Three Sisters: Ranni’s Rise is the middle tower. Ranni waits at the top; say you’ll serve her and the chain begins — she wants the hidden treasure of Nokron.

How do I reach Nokron?

The stars are literally frozen until Starscourge Radahn falls — beat him at the Caelid festival (early? See the progression route) and a meteor opens the crater at Fort Haight’s east cliffs. Descend into Nokron, Eternal City and loot the Fingerslayer Blade from the giant-skeleton throne chamber.

Return the blade to Ranni. She gives you the Carian Inverted Statue (opens the divine tower for her discarded body — needed for the Death Prince’s Cursemark for Fia’s ending path) and vanishes. Now hunt her miniature form.

What happens after the blade?

• Take the Miniature Ranni doll from the Renna’s Rise chest (the now-unlocked north tower), then speak to it at a grace until it talks back — this starts her puppet body along the Ainsel River.
• Ride the river down through the underground; at Nokstella she asks you to kill the Baleful Shadow ahead.
• The path ends at the Lake of Rot — the nastiest rot zone in the game — where Astel, Naturalborn of the Void guards the coffin that carries her skyward. Bring rot resistance (Preserving Boluses) and range; Astel’s gravity grab punishes melee greed.

How does the quest end?

The coffin lifts you to the Moonlight Altar — a locked highland zone. Inside the Cathedral of Manus Celes, descend the hole in the floor, and find Ranni’s two-finger-slayed body. She appears; place the ring on her hand, she thanks you and disappears — leaving the Dark Moon Greatsword behind.

At the Elden Throne after the final boss, a blue summon sign on the floor beside the fractured ring is your choice: touch it and Ranni’s ending plays — the Age of Stars. All six endings are mapped in the all-endings guide.

What are the common failure points?

• Ranni not at her tower: Loretta isn’t beaten, or you already passed the point where Rogier asked you to find her — talk to him at Roundtable first.
• Nokron crater won’t open: Radahn must die — the meteor is his defeat.
• The Baleful Shadow won’t die: it’s a scripted duel in Nokstella; it hits like a boss but can’t be summoned for — treat it as a mini-boss check.
• Millicent’s line intersects at Elphael’s rot goddess — a separate chain (Malenia is that quest’s endgame).

New to the game? Get your footing with the beginner guide first — this quest assumes Liurnia-to-endgame mobility.