As Elden Ring players sink more time into the game, they will inevitably come to a point where they finish the adventure. However, that finish line is different for each and every player. For some, simply beating the game counts as finishing it. For others, it's only done when they have fully explored and acquired every item in The Lands Between. For die-hard completionists, that includes getting every single one of Elden Ring's achievements.
There are 42 total achievements/trophies in Elden Ring. Most can be attained by beating the game's bosses or collecting its legendary spells, weapons, and talismans, but three of the most coveted achievements pertain to the game's endings. These achievements; "Elden Lord," "Age of the Stars," and "Lord of Frenzied Flame;" can each be unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements. Doing so nets players an ending befitting the choices they made across their journey. While this allows for more storytelling on FromSoftware's part and incentivizes players to make different decisions in another playthrough, netting these achievements can be troublesome for achievement hunters.
Multiple Endings In FromSoftware Games Aren't New
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Multiple endings have been a constant in FromSoftware's games since the original Demon's Souls, but unlike Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 2 - both of which only had one ending achievement/trophy - Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and now Elden Ring have achievements tied to all of their endings. This means that in order to finish their achievement hunt in a legitimate manner, players have to replay the games until they have seen each ending. This may not seem so bad in a game with two endings like Dark Souls, but when talking about something like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which not only has four endings but also boss achievements related to said endings, it just makes things troublesome.
There is an illegitimate way to cut down on some of that achievement-hunting time. By manually editing save files on console or PC, players can create a "hard save." This allows them to go back in time and make decisions that unlock a different ending, thus saving them from having to do another difficult playthrough in games like Elden Ring. Considering FromSoftware's game design constantly saves a player's progress, and that their endings are usually tied to a single choice or line of dialogue, it makes getting those ending achievements much easier.
FromSoftware May Not Want to Fix What Isn't Broken
Still, creating a hard save isn't exactly what the developers want players to do. It wouldn't be fitting to add hard saves or game pauses into FromSoftware titles, as this would conflict with their unforgiving nature. If players could save and reload their progress just before a potentially life-threatening jump or boss fight, that would drastically reduce the overall risk and ruin the experience people have come to know and love (or hate).
Instead of messing with the core formula, it would be easier moving forward if FromSoftware designed its upcoming games to have a single achievement tied to completing the main story, no matter the ending. Devout players could still replay the games to see the different endings, but at least those who are content with a single playthrough won't feel left out if they miss the other conclusions and any associated trophies. Players also won't have to mess with their save files, which could lead to an account ban, and they'll have themselves a fully completed achievement/trophy list to boot.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.