Every Elden Ring Achievement and How to Unlock Them

Completing all 42 achievements in Elden Ring is a monumental task that requires a blend of combat prowess, meticulous exploration, and strategic planning. Whether you are playing on Steam or aiming for the Platinum Trophy on PlayStation, the journey through the Lands Between involves defeating some of the most challenging bosses in gaming history and uncovering secrets hidden in the farthest corners of the map.

It is important to clarify from the outset that Elden Ring features 42 achievements in the base game: 1 Platinum (on PlayStation), 3 Gold, 14 Silver, and 24 Bronze. Despite the massive scale of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, it does not add any new achievements or trophies to the list. Therefore, your path to 100% completion remains tied strictly to the base game content.

Understanding the 42 Achievements in Elden Ring

The achievement list in Elden Ring is remarkably fair compared to previous FromSoftware titles. There are no achievements tied to grinding covenant items or reaching maximum levels in online play. Instead, the list focuses on:

Three major endings: These represent the culmination of the game's narrative.
Four categories of legendary collectibles: Armaments, Talismans, Sorceries/Incantations, and Ashen Remains.
Boss defeats: Over 30 achievements are unlocked simply by defeating major and optional bosses.
General progression: Reaching the Roundtable Hold, restoring a Great Rune, and upgrading a weapon to its maximum level.

Most players will naturally unlock around 50% to 60% of these during a standard playthrough. However, reaching 100% requires a keen eye for "missable" content and specialized NPC questlines.

The Three Great Endings for Gold Trophies

Elden Ring has several ending variations, but only three distinct achievements are tied to them. Each of these is a Gold achievement.

Elden Lord

This is considered the "standard" ending. To unlock it, you must defeat the final boss and interact with the Fractured Marika to mend the Elden Ring. While there are several sub-variations of this ending (Age of Fracture, Age of the Duskborn, Age of Order, and Blessing of Despair), any of them will trigger the Elden Lord achievement. No specific complex questline is mandatory, though following Fia, Goldmask, or the Dung Eater's quests will provide the necessary Mending Runes for the variations.

Age of the Stars

This achievement is tied to Ranni the Witch’s extensive questline. It is widely considered the most popular ending due to its cinematic quality and lore implications. To trigger this, you must complete Ranni's entire journey, which involves:

Meeting her at Ranni's Rise in Liurnia.
Defeating Starscourge Radahn to open the way to Nokron, Eternal City.
Retrieving the Fingerslayer Blade.
Traveling through Ainsel River Main to Lake of Rot and defeating Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
Using the Dark Moon Ring (found in a chest in Raya Lucaria) to reach the Moonlight Altar. After defeating the final boss, you must use a blue summon sign on the ground rather than interacting with Marika.

Lord of Frenzied Flame

This is the most "extreme" ending and can actually lock you out of other endings unless you use a specific item (Miquella’s Needle) to reverse it. To achieve this, you must descend to the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell, defeat Mohg, the Omen, and navigate a treacherous jumping puzzle to reach the Frenzied Flame Proscription. After stripping off your armor and being embraced by the Three Fingers, your character becomes the vessel for the Flame of Frenzy. Selecting this ending at the end of the game grants the achievement.

Collecting the Legendary Items for Silver Trophies

The four "Legendary" achievements are the most common stumbling blocks for completionists. These require you to find specific high-tier items hidden across the world.

All 9 Legendary Armaments

This achievement is particularly notorious because one item is highly missable.

Grafted Blade Greatsword: Dropped by Leonine Misbegotten at Castle Morne in the Weeping Peninsula.
Sword of Night and Flame: Found in a chest in Caria Manor, Liurnia.
Ruins Greatsword: Dropped by the duo boss (Misbegotten Warrior and Crucible Knight) at Redmane Castle after defeating Radahn and speaking to Jerren.
Marais Executioner's Sword: Dropped by Elemer of the Briar at The Shaded Castle in Altus Plateau.
Dark Moon Greatsword: Rewarded at the end of Ranni’s questline.
Bolt of Gransax: MISSABLE. This is located on the giant golden spear in Leyndell, Royal Capital. You must collect this before defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade. Once the capital turns into the Ashen Capital, this item is gone until New Game Plus.
Eclipse Shotel: Found in the church at Castle Sol in the Mountaintops of the Giants.
Devourer's Scepter: Dropped by Knight Bernahl. You can kill him early at Warmaster's Shack or complete his quest until he invades you in Crumbling Farum Azula.
Golden Order Greatsword: Dropped by the Misbegotten Crusader in the Cave of the Forlorn, Consecrated Snowfield.

Pro Tip: If the achievement doesn't pop after collecting all nine, try moving them to your Storage Chest at a Site of Grace and then moving them back into your inventory. This often forces the game to re-check the achievement criteria.

All 8 Legendary Talismans

Unlike weapons, none of these are strictly missable, though some are in late-game areas.

Radagon Icon: Found in the Raya Lucaria Academy, near the Debate Parlor.
Radagon's Soreseal: Found in Fort Faroth in Caelid.
Godfrey Icon: Dropped by Godefroy the Grafted in the Golden Lineage Evergaol (Altus Plateau).
Moon of Nokstella: Found in a chest in Nokstella, Eternal City.
Old Lord's Talisman: Found in Crumbling Farum Azula, in a chest near the bridge leading to Maliketh.
Marika's Soreseal: Found in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree, behind a Stonesword Key door.
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman: Also in Elphael, found in a chest above the drainage channel area.
Erdtree's Favor +2: Found in the Leyndell, Ashen Capital. It is guarded by three Lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirits in the large ash-filled courtyard.

All 7 Legendary Sorceries and Incantations

Flame of the Fell God: Dropped by Adan, Thief of Fire in the Malefactor's Evergaol (Liurnia).
Greyoll's Roar: Purchased from the Cathedral of Dragon Communion in Caelid after defeating the Great Elder Dragon Greyoll.
Elden Stars: Found on a corpse in Deeproot Depths, near the Great Waterfall Crest.
Founding Rain of Stars: Found in a chest inside Heretical Rise (Mountaintops of the Giants). You must walk across an invisible bridge to enter.
Ranni's Dark Moon: Found in a chest at Chelona's Rise (Moonlight Altar), requiring you to find three ghostly turtles.
Comet Azur: Given by Primeval Sorcerer Azur in Mt. Gelmir.
Stars of Ruin: Given by Master Lusat in Sellia Hideaway (Caelid) after receiving the Sellian Sealbreaker from Sellen.

All 6 Legendary Ashen Remains

Lhutel the Headless: Dropped by the Cemetery Shade in Tombsward Catacombs (Weeping Peninsula).
Mimic Tear: Found in a chest behind a Stonesword Key door in Night's Sacred Ground (Nokron).
Black Knife Tiche: Dropped by Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader at the Ringleader's Evergaol (Moonlight Altar).
Redmane Knight Ogha: Dropped by the Putrid Tree Spirit in the War-Dead Catacombs (Caelid, after Radahn).
Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff: Dropped by the Ancient Hero of Zamor in Sainted Hero's Grave (Altus Plateau).
Cleanrot Knight Finlay: Found in a chest in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.

Boss Defeat Achievements

The majority of Elden Ring’s achievements come from slaying powerful foes. These are categorized into mandatory story bosses and major optional encounters.

The Shardbearers (Silver)

These are the main demigods of the Lands Between. You need to defeat at least two of the first four to enter Leyndell, but for 100% completion, you must defeat all of them:

Godrick the Grafted (Stormveil Castle)
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (Raya Lucaria Academy)
Starscourge Radahn (Redmane Castle, Caelid)
Praetor Rykard (Volcano Manor)
Morgott, the Omen King (Leyndell, Royal Capital)
Mohg, Lord of Blood (Mohgwyn Palace)
Malenia, Blade of Miquella (Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree)

Story Progress Bosses (Silver/Bronze)

These bosses are roadblocks on the main path:

Margit, the Fell Omen: Guarding the entrance to Stormveil.
Red Wolf of Radagon: Found midway through Raya Lucaria.
Godfrey the First Lord (Golden Shade): Found in the Royal Capital.
Fire Giant: Found at the Forge of the Giants.
Godskin Duo: Found in Crumbling Farum Azula.
Maliketh, the Black Blade: The gatekeeper of the Rune of Death.
Hoarah Loux, the Warrior: The final challenge before the Elden Beast.

Major Optional Bosses (Silver/Bronze)

These require exploring off the beaten path:

Dragonlord Placidusax: Hidden in Crumbling Farum Azula. You must "lie down" in a specific spot to reach him.
Lichdragon Fortissax: Part of Fia’s questline in Deeproot Depths.
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void: Encountered at the end of the Lake of Rot.
Regal Ancestor Spirit: Found in Nokron by lighting the six pillars.
Commander Niall: Guarding the Haligtree Secret Medallion in Castle Sol.

Progression and System Achievements

These achievements are tied to the game's mechanics and general milestones.

Roundtable Hold: Unlocked once Melina invites you to the hub area.
Great Rune: Unlocked after restoring any Great Rune at its respective Divine Tower.
Erdtree Aflame: Unlocked after using the giant's forge to set the Erdtree on fire.
God-Slaying Armament: Unlocked by upgrading any weapon to +25 (Standard) or +10 (Somber). This requires an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone or a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. There are a limited number of these per playthrough, mostly found in late-game areas like Farum Azula, Haligtree, or as quest rewards from NPCs like Latenna or Nepheli Loux.

Essential Strategies for a Single Playthrough Platinum

While Elden Ring is designed to be played multiple times, many players prefer to earn all achievements in a single 80-100 hour run. This is possible through a technique called "save scumming," but it requires careful attention to quest progression.

The Save Scumming Method

Once you defeat the final boss (the Elden Beast), a Site of Grace called "Fractured Marika" will appear. Do not interact with the statue or the summon sign yet.

Rest at the Grace and quit the game.
Back up your save file. On PC, copy the save folder. On PlayStation, upload it to the PS+ Cloud (and disable auto-sync). On Xbox, this is more difficult but can be done by deleting local saves to force a cloud sync.
Load the game and trigger Ending A. Once the achievement pops, quit the game.
Restore your backup save and trigger Ending B. Repeat for Ending C.

Crucial Pathing Checklist

To ensure you can get all endings and items in one run, follow this checklist:

Ranni’s Quest: Complete this fully before the end of the game to ensure the blue summon sign is available.
Bolt of Gransax: Collect this as soon as you reach Leyndell. Do not wait.
Bernahl’s Scepter: If you miss him at the shack, ensure you complete the Volcano Manor requests so he appears in Farum Azula.
Frenzy Flame: You can get "embraced" by the Three Fingers at any time. However, if you do this before the end, you are locked into the Frenzied Flame ending. To see the other endings, you must complete Millicent’s questline, defeat Malenia, and use Miquella’s Needle in Placidusax’s arena to "cure" the frenzy. It is often easier to do the Frenzy Flame ending last in your save-back-up rotation if you plan to save scum.

Summary

The path to 100% achievements in Elden Ring is a comprehensive tour of the game's highest peaks and deepest dungeons. By focusing on the 42 specific goals—ranging from the three main endings to the collection of legendary gear and the defeat of the Lands Between's most fearsome demigods—you will experience everything this masterpiece has to offer. The most critical piece of advice remains: keep a close watch on the Bolt of Gransax and enjoy the epic encounters with bosses like Malenia and Radahn. With the DLC not adding new trophies, your goal is clear, and the Platinum is within reach for any determined Tarnished.

FAQ

Does the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC have its own achievements? No, the expansion does not feature any new achievements. All achievements for Elden Ring are tied to the base game content.

Which achievement is the hardest to get? Most players consider "Shardbearer Malenia" the hardest due to the difficulty of the boss fight, while "Legendary Armaments" is the trickiest due to the missable nature of the Bolt of Gransax.

Can I get all achievements offline? Yes, all 42 achievements can be completed in offline mode. None of them require multiplayer, invasions, or co-op.

What happens if I miss the Bolt of Gransax? If you have already turned Leyndell into the Ashen Capital, you must either start New Game Plus or have another player drop the weapon for you in multiplayer. Dropping the item and picking it up will trigger the achievement.

How many playthroughs are required for 100%? Technically three, because of the three ending achievements. However, using save backups, you can complete it in a single playthrough.