Can You Beat Elden Ring's Varré Questline Offline?

Summary Varré's questline can lead to a challenging boss fight and once required an online interaction.

An offline path to completing Varré's questline was added in a patch, allowing all players to experience it.

Completing Varré's questline offers a shortcut to Mohgwyn Palace and Elden Ring's upcoming DLC content.

The very first NPC encountered in Elden Ring, White Mask Varré goes on to offer one of the game’s more unusual questlines. Pursuing it not only leads the Tarnished on a blood-soaked path but also grants unusually early access to one of Elden Ring’s hardest bosses. However, a major aspect of this questline involves a degree of online interaction, which can appear to present a barrier to those who would prefer to remain offline.

Although initially seeming quite affable, White Mask Varré reveals a darker side as the Tarnished continues to interact with him. After joining the Roundtable Hold and speaking to the Finger Reader Enia, Varré can be found at the Rose Church in Liurnia. Here, he gifts the Tarnished with a set of Festering Bloody Fingers after they express discomfort with the Two Fingers. Given that these facilitate Invasions, the implication is clear: Varré wants the Tarnished to kill people. Moreover, it seems the Tarnished has no choice but to attack other Elden Ring players online in order to continue Varré's questline.

Related Elden Ring's Roundtable Hold Invasions Explained (Alberich & Ensha) Mad Tongue Alberich and another NPC inexplicably invade the Roundtable Hold, but there may be some answers to why in Elden Ring's history.

White Mask Varré’s Questline Includes An Offline Path

The Path Lies In The Altus Plateau

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Varré’s questline provides a natural introduction to online multiplayer and Invasions. In actuality, however, there is a way to advance Varré’s questline without going online. However, it takes some time before the Tarnished is able to take this route, as the key to doing so lies on the Altus Plateau. After reaching this point in Varré’s questline, an Invasion Sign will appear in the Writheblood Ruins, to the east of the Bridge of Iniquity Site of Grace. Activating this will transport the Tarnished to the world of Magnus the Beast Claw at the cost of a Festering Bloody Finger.

Magnus the Beast Claw technically offers two slightly different paths to continue. The first and most obvious option is to defeat him in battle; doing so will lead to a new interaction with Varré at the Rose Church as if the Tarnished had invaded other real-life players. However, defeating Magnus is not necessary to continue; if the Tarnished invade Magnus three times, even if they are defeated by him or flee altogether, then this leads to the same result. This matches the number of times the player would have to Invade others online (again, even unsuccessfully) to the same end.

At this point in the questline, White Mask Varré reveals his allegiance to Mohg, Lord of Blood, and invites you to join his order by soaking a Lord of Blood’s Favor in the blood of a Maiden. This and all subsequent steps in Varré’s questline are purely offline, meaning no multiplayer interaction is necessary at any point. Ironically, the Tarnished does not even have to kill anybody in order to join Varré. In addition to invading Magnus the Beast Claw three times, suitable Maiden corpses for the next step appear at the Church of Inhibition and the Chapel of Anticipation.

For Tarnished more willing to spill innocent blood, killing Hyetta or Irina will also allow them to advance Varre’s quest after obtaining the Lord of Blood’s Favor.

Varré’s Questline Was Originally Only Possible To Complete Online

Offline Option Added In 2022

Although White Mask Varré’s questline can be completed in a way that avoids multiplayer, it is worth noting that this was not always the case. Magnus the Beast Claw was actually added as part of patch 1.06, which was released on August 9, 2022. As Elden Ring initially released on February 25, 2022, this meant that Varré’s questline could only be completed by going online for just over five months. Of course, there are those who are unable or unwilling to engage in online play, and this meant that such people were essentially locked out of experiencing Varré’s content.

It is never pleasant to be locked out of game content as a result of personal circumstances, and so the addition of an alternate route through Varré’s questline is certainly something to appreciate. Of course, it would have been preferable if Magnus the Beast Claw had been included from the beginning, but his late appearance is still much better than never being part of the game.

Additionally, it is worth noting that this is not the first time that patches have made substantial improvements to questlines in Elden Ring. Just prior to the reworking of Varré’s content, Ranni’s questline was similarly made easier to complete in the 1.05 patch, proving that as difficult Elden Ring is, there is still a fundamental sense of fair play behind it. Creating an offline alternative to Invasions, in this case, helps to ensure that the game is fully accessible no matter somebody’s circumstances.

Varré Provides A Shortcut For Reaching Mohgwyn Palace

A Useful Segue Into The Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC

The fact that White Mask Varré’s questline, in particular, has been updated to support purely offline play also carries a broader significance given Elden Ring’s upcoming DLC. Following this, it grants easy access to Mohgwyn Palace and the boss battle with Mohg through the use of the Pureblood Knight’s Medal (gained after giving Varré the blood-soaked Favor). Given that accessing Shadow of the Erdtree will require defeating Mohg, Varré’s quest represents a significant shortcut toward the new content, although the actual battle may still pose a significant barrier depending on the Tarnished’s build for the boss fight.

Beyond this, despite the lengthy detour needed to Invade other worlds to Varré’s satisfaction when offline, the remainder of his questline is fairly straightforward. After reaching Mohgwyn Palace, an Invasion sign allowing the Tarnished to fight Varré himself can be found near the Mausoleum Dynasty Midpoint Site of Grace. Killing him here offers a reward of more Festering Bloody Fingers, as well as the unique Varré’s Bouquet weapon, and officially brings an end to Varré’s questline. Although it may be quicker to progress by Invading others online, a patient Tarnished will find no issues in reaching the end regardless.

2:16 Related You're Going To Regret Counting Down The Days Until Elden Ring's DLC Release Although many players can't wait to get their hands on the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, the wait maybe even longer for FromSoftware's next title.

White Mask Varré’s questline is unique for its incorporation of online multiplayer and encouraging Invasions, but for some, this design choice arguably hindered the overall experience of playing Elden Ring. With the addition of Magnus the Beast Claw, however, this issue has been rectified, allowing for the game to be fully enjoyed even without coming into conflict with other players. Moreover, although the shortcut is less significant when playing offline, the fact that Varré’s questline dovetails with Shadow of the Erdtree’s prerequisites makes its wider playability even better for the future of Elden Ring.