Elden Ring's Best Progression Route Has A Surprise Added Bonus

Summary Elden Ring offers a challenging gameplay experience due to its difficulty and vast, dense world created with input from George R. R. Martin.

Players should follow a recommended progression path through different areas based on their level and upgrade level.

The late game in Elden Ring features a significant difficulty spike, with a linear path post-Capital leading to endgame content in the Ashen Capital.

Elden Ring is one of gaming's recent triumphs, having won Game of the Year back in 2022. It presents players with a vast, densely packed world filled to the brim with harsh obstacles and dangerous enemies. Like any Soulsborne game, it is notoriously difficult, and it can be quite an arduous task to see everything that Fromsoftware has put into the Lands Between. It's all worth seeing, too, given that the legendary author, George R. R. Martin, had a hand in the game's world-building.

Despite allowing the player to go almost anywhere as soon as they are free to roam Limgrave, there is an intended route to go through. This is dictated by enemy difficulty, but it isn't the most obvious, given that players can randomly teleport to the other side of the map after interacting with Waygates or even chests. Still, there is a route made for the player to experience everything without having to go through any unintended difficulty spikes.

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Elden Ring's Best Progression Path

Suggestions For A Streamlined Playthrough

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Advised Level Area Upgrade Level 1 - 15 West Limgrave +0 15 -20 East Limgrave +1 20 - 30 Weeping Peninsula +2 30 - 40 Stormveil Castle +3 40 - 50 Liurnia of the Lakes +4 50 - 60 Raya Lucaria Academy +5 60 - 70 South Caelid +10 60 - 70 Altus Plateau +10 70 - 90 Mt. Gelmir +13 90 - 100 Leyndell, Royal Capital +15 100 - 120 Forbidden Lands/Mountaintops of the Giants +20 120 - 130 Crumbling Farum Azula +24 130+ Leyndell, Ashen Capital +25

It should be noted that players should do the areas at whatever level they feel comfortable at. It will also depend on build, as some builds will require more varied stats, which will need a greater number of levels, while others only need to upgrade a few stats and will be powerful at lower levels. Upgrades for unique weapons work differently (this includes Remembrance and Legendary Weapons), with the upgrade cap maxing out at +10 rather than +25 for normal weapons.

The upgrade material for unique weapons is different. Players will have to gather Sombre Smithing Stones, rather than regular Smithing Stones, to upgrade these. Typically, the Ashes of War on these weapons cannot be changed.

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Early Game Progression Through Elden Ring

Starting In The Lands Between

All Tarnished start their adventure in West Limgrave. For a Soulsborne title, the area does a good job at easing players into the game, provided they avoid the infamous Tree Sentinel at the start. Those who venture to Stormveil Castle immediately will meet the game's first difficulty spike: Margit, the Fell Omen. It is advised to explore Limgrave first, fight some mini-bosses, and gather better equipment before facing Margit, as he is the obstacle to entering Elden Ring's first proper dungeon. Those who complete Castle Morne can consider themselves ready for Margit and Stormveil Castle.

Liurnia of the Lakes is next, and this is where some of Elden Ring's side quests start to take shape. Players should always be on the lookout for friendly NPCs during a playthrough, as well as explore every nook and cranny since many of these caves and minor dungeons contain unique weapons that can shape a playthrough. After gaining the key to The Academy, and sufficient levels and gear, head to Elden Ring's second major dungeon to face off against its mages. Once completed, the game's respec feature will then be unlocked.

With two Great Runes in hand, the player could journey straight to Leyndell, but there is still a lot to see, even if it isn't all pleasant. The next stop should be either Caelid, famous for being Elden Ring's equivalent to Dark Souls' Blighttown, or the Altus Plateau (both are comparable in difficulty). After sufficiently exploring those areas, head to Mt. Gelmir and Volcano Manor before the Capital. This way, some of Elden Ring's highlights, such as Radahn's boss fight, won't be missed. After all that, head to the Capital and its Sewers.

If a player is following NPC questlines, then the game should naturally lead them to the underground areas, like Siofra River. If unsure, head underground after the Radahn boss fight, as a new entrance to it will have opened up.

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Elden Ring's Brutal Late Game

Difficult Ramps Up Quickly

One of Elden Ring's notorious features is its final third difficulty spike. After completing the Capital, the game pulls no punches and can become quite linear. It will unlock a new area, which also allows players to finish the Volcano Manor questline and defeat Rykard. Once a player ventures through the Forbidden Lands and Mountaintops of the Giants, it's a straight path through the Crumbling Farum Azula and Leyndell, Ashen Capital. It should be noted that finishing the Mountaintops will irreversibly change the world, so ensure that other quests are done beforehand.

Of course, there will be some backtracking in places in order to complete side quests. This can be done once the Forbidden Lands and Mountaintops have been entered, but once a Tarnished is in Farum Azula, they are stuck there until it is completed. Once the Erdtree is set ablaze, it is the beginning of the endgame for Elden Ring, and there is no turning back. This largely affects the Capital, and other areas can be explored in the post-game.

In theory, this path will give players as many levels as possible while allowing them to see all that Elden Ring has to offer. After becoming Elden Lord, there is still more for the Tarnished to do. Heading to the Haligtree to defeat the renowned Melania, Blade of Miquella, and to Mohgwyn Palace to defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood, is advised. The latter will be mandatory to start Elden Ring's expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, but the area is tough and a post-game level character would be optimal for it.