Many quests in FromSoftware games have players interacting with NPCs and following loose instructions that involve opaque guidelines. Indeed, FromSoftware is known for how little it holds the player’s hand, and while this is a concern for many players who are uninitiated with the developer’s niche gameplay formula, it can be a breath of fresh air to those who dislike how coddling traditional action-RPGs can be.
If players like to feel as though they must learn everything about a game’s world on their own and enjoy the struggle of finding one’s path organically, FromSoftware games such as Elden Ring may be a perfect fit. Elden Ring is more approachable than other FromSoftware titles due to how broad its scope is as an open-world game, which is new for the developer. But Elden Ring’s questlines, while as elaborate and dense as any, are also more rewarding as there are throughlines players can closely follow. One of these through lines results in Elden Ring’s Radahn Festival.
Elden Ring’s Radahn Festival is Optional, But Worth It
In Elden Ring, the Radahn Festival is a ceremonious event that comes before a battle against General Radahn. The festival is held at Redmane Castle on the southeastern corner of Caelid, where the red shores of the Wailing Dunes meet the water. This festival is a necessary prerequisite to being able to fight Starscourge Radahn, as the NPC companions who may be summoned need to be available. There are multiple ways to trigger the Radahn Festival, and it is entirely possible for players to have triggered it in a way unbeknownst to them in a first playthrough, such as not even having journeyed to Redmane Castle until the festivities had already begun. But when players arrive after it has started, they will see a number of spectral NPCs waiting for them there.
However, the Radahn Festival, as well as facing Radahn himself, is completely optional. In order to progress through the Lands Between and access the later areas, players only need to have killed two demigod bosses and activated one of their Great Runes. The choice is up to players, and as such Radahn could be avoided throughout the entire game if players choose instead to kill Godrick and Rennala, for example.
Likewise, players do not need to actually seek out and befriend the NPC summons that appear at the festival. These NPCs include Blaidd, Iron Fist Alexander, Bloody Finger Okina, Lionel the Lionhearted, Great Horned Tragoth, Castellan Jerren, Finger Maiden Therolina, and Patches. Many of these characters are not actually NPCs players can find to interact with anyway, while quests for some of them are long-winded and may span the entire game.
Elden Ring’s Radahn Fight is a War Best Fought With AI Companions
It is up to players whether they wish to seek out the available NPCs for their respective questline rewards, and none of their questlines have any impact on their presence at the Radahn Festival. But even though players do not have to actually encounter or interact with them before the festival for them to appear, the festival is a much more rewarding experience when players find them beforehand and help them in their individual quests.
Players start the boss fight after taking a teleporter to the beach’s shoreline at the bottom of the castle. Here, players either sprint ahead or mount Torrent to close the distance on Radahn as he begins volleying giant arrows and firing magic-imbued arrows at them. Once players reach a mound of deserted armor, they will see golden summon signs that they can then interact with.
It is always encouraged and advised to summon them anyway because it makes the fight slightly easier, but players also receive incredible satisfaction when they charge toward Radahn with a wealth of companions at their side. This boss fight is unlike any in FromSoftware’s history of creative boss fights, and it is still somehow wholly optional. The fight emulates a ceremonious war between the player and Radahn on a storied battlefield, and the fact that players have a handful of revivable NPC summons to call upon to aid them in battle is a wonderful treat.
Other FromSoftware games such as Dark Souls 3 have elaborate quests that many casual players may never know about unless they hear about them elsewhere, as quests in FromSoftware games can often have vague guidelines to follow. But as long as players enter Elden Ring's Redmane Castle during the festival, they can always experience Radahn’s climactic boss fight with NPC companions and are not prohibited from experiencing it by unclear prerequisites from other NPCs or quests.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
