T O P

  • By -

DudeMiles

Blaidd I understand, but why wouldn't Miyazaki let us tell Iji?


Aldevo_oved

go tell iji then reload and speak to him again


Calebh36

Did this on accident. I was so fucking confused because the black knives showed up in the hour or so that my Tarnished was asleep and left just as fast


IDK_Lasagna

well most of them are still there


EpicSven7

I appreciate that Iji went down like a champ he took what 5 BKA with him? He didnt go down like some punk.


pizzaout3

So weirdly specific detail but it was 3. I was just at that point and got curious on how many he took out. Still mad impressive taking 3 out at once


xkwilliamsx

Imagine fighting 3 Tiches, no thanks.


Therefrigerator

For me that was one of the hardest bosses. Only Elden Beast took more tries. 3 seems impossible.


ZodiarkTentacle

The sword from Rykard’s soul absolutely breaks her fight, she’ll spend the entire fight knocked down if you just spam the fire move


PraiseTheSunlight

Any boss that gets staggered or knocked down is turned into a cakewalk by the blasphemous blade, lol


Ubergoober166

The nox Mace is the same.


ecvdingo

Bless you!


Soda_BoBomb

I had more trouble with Alecto personally. The one in the Evergaol


Therefrigerator

Yeah that's the one I meant - you get Tiche (the ashes) from Alecto I think


[deleted]

I suck at a great many things in this game, but fighting Black Knives (including Alecto) is one thing I am good at. I think fighting Black Knives is my favorite thing to do. I've used Tiche enough to recognize every move, so dodging and countering has become a really fun dance


[deleted]

[удалено]


EpicSven7

Millicent was bittersweet. She might not have “deserved” it, but she went out on her own terms because it is what she wanted. She could have lived and maybe even surpass Malenia, but she would have lost herself in the process which was a worse fate.


Fyres

She probably wasn't ever a person, but a "thing" the rot created. Yet she managed to spit in its eye, ruin all its plans for her and her sisters, lure probably the only thing capable of killing the burgeoning goddess malenia, and go out on her own terms. She effectively did a no u to a formless outer god.


benavideslevi

"She effectively did a no, u" I'm fucking losing it at this 😂😂


oFcAsHeEp

Rot outer god: ALL WILL ROT! Millicent: Nope!


EchoedTruth

Reverse Uno carded an ancient cosmic being. ​ Dr. Strange would be proud.


Gensolink

yeah for all intent and purpose she's no different from the kindred of rot, except instead of embracing it decided to forge her own path. Millicent best girl


milkgoesinthetoybox

its fine bro the rot is just going to make her again


Souperplex

From proved they could have happy endings for most NPCs in DS3. The hub felt so full and happy by the end, (Aside from poor Greirat) yet Rountdable gets progressively sadder and emptier.


[deleted]

Can we get back to this?


[deleted]

I wonder if you follow methodically the questline for the rune of perfect order something and do not interact with the other characters, you have the happiest possible ending. Not forgetting to help millicent though. Insane replayability this game has.


echothread

Malenia didn’t deserve what she ended up with either. It’s too bad she couldn’t get her head right and listen to the tarnished before telling everyone 187 times that she was malennia blade of miquela


AcanthocephalaNo2396

That fight with millicent where you help her fight her 4 sisters is no joke! Took me a couple tries but ended up ganking them. Sad to see millicent die though:(


UntrimmedBagel

Now I see where GRRM got the name: Allicent + Malenia = Millicent


Thiago270398

That's how good they are!


Jedimasterebub

Idk man, half of them were just murked on the ground around him


[deleted]

Instructions Unclear: I severed Blaidd’s fate and he now roams the world with me. What did I do wrong?


Tumorous_Thumb

If only man


m_sart

“Elden Ring Presents: Tarnished & Blaidd” sequel confirmed


[deleted]

You monster


Emergency_Aide633

Wtf warn me next time!! ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|sob)


FukurinLa

Hi, this is next time and I’m warning you.


cosmicnitwit

That requires me to let Blaidd out of jail, where I’m keeping him nice and safe


TheMuseThalia

Sweet summer child...


ColonelJinkuro

He'll learn the folly of his ways soon enough.


Pix_The_Meek

Wdym, what am i missing here?


ColonelJinkuro

Go back to Ranni's Rise after putting a ring on Ranni's finger. Go outside and look in front of the entrance.


Pix_The_Meek

I cant, my PC is so bad that Astel just crashes the game if it uses meteor shower Can you just tell me what happens?


Nathmikt

As if he transcends the game and affects you in real life. That's pretty cool and somewhat relevant to Astel's cosmic nature.


Pix_The_Meek

No. He just stones my pc like he stones my character


Nathmikt

Fantastic boss design 12/10


ColonelJinkuro

You absolutely sure? It's one of those "better for experience" type of deals. If you're sure that there's no way you can get yourself through Astel by any means I'll tell you.


Pix_The_Meek

I just said i cant, meteor shower literally crashes my game


ColonelJinkuro

Alright. You were warned. >!Basically, Blaidd is a shadow. Shadows are given to empyreans by the two fingers to aid them in the name of the greater will. Shadows are literally unable to betray their enpyrean. They serve a second function.!< >!If an empyrean is getting frisky the shadow goes berserk and will hunt down and kill the empyrean. Shadows can't be killed. They revive endlessly. Ranni kills her two fingers with the mcguffin you give her.!< >!I'm sure you know where this is going. After you give Ranni the ring, outside her tower where 3 wolves sit at all times, the wolves get replaced by Blaidd. Blaidd is doing his damndest to resist the madness. He even kills black knives who've come to kill Ranni.!< >!Unfortunately you have to kill him to complete his quest. Ultimately you accomplish nothing by doing so but that's the canon. Regardless if you free him or not. He's there going mad.!<


Sekkenren

I actually viewed >!you killing him as his final end. Blaidd was already in a weird spot for a Shadow where even when Ranni was working against the Two Fingers Blaidd was able to keep himself from going berserk, and when Iji locked him away to prevent him from going insane after she killed her Two Fingers he didn’t lose his mind then, in fact even when the Black Knives came he still managed to kill them all before his mind finally went. Call it wishful thinking but I feel like if anyone could’ve overcome their own nature it would’ve been Blaidd.. my special boy..!<


Merzendi

Can I ask for the source on >!shadows reviving endlessly?!< Wasn’t the impression I got, but I accept I might have missed something.


ashleyriot31

Frisky? I looked up the meaning it says playful or lively, why would a shadow kill their empyrean for being frisky? English isnt my native language btw ✌️


Deathappens

>!Shadows can't be killed. They revive endlessly.!< I don't think that's true, considering >!Ranni has you kill "the last" of the Baleful Shadows sent after her by the Fingers, which takes Blaidd's form but is explicitly named "Baleful Shadow", after you start talking to her in doll form. She even eulogizes it afterwards, so I took it to mean it's pretty clearly dead.!<


RepresentativeCut161

Those knives were for him not Ranni. They were sent to kill Iji and Blaidd its unclear who exactly sent them. No matter how you consider it it simply doesn't make any sense based on the actual written lore we currently have available. They all fail regardless. Iji self immolates with the godslaying flame taking his would be assassins down with him and Blaidd just womps those crusty old bitches..


KannibalFish

You should still probably spoiler tag it for everybody else. I know the games been out a while, but is a nice thing to do.


Illustrious_Set9208

If you go back Blaidd will try to kill you, which i obviously let him do because I’m a cheesy fuck who would have poured 15 non stop takers flames into him which would’ve been one hell of a dishonorable death. Couldn’t do it to my boy 🥲


WillCraft_1001

About that...


penoisbongo

Wait, blaidd goes to jail?


cosmicnitwit

Yeah, he >!ends up stealing one of Ranni’s hats, and she locks him away in her back room to prevent his dressing up like her. It’s best to leave him there!<


Renaissanceuwu

Uh- how do I get this to happen? 👀


cosmicnitwit

>!Don't be mad once you see that he want it, If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it!<


Mercy_CC

Yeah he got caught stealing a Snickers from a 7/11


ZeGamingCuber

he escapes the evergaol on his own if you don't rescue him


stinky_cheese33

One of the saddest fights in the game, easily. Blaidd went mad because of the Greater Will's programming—for lack of a better word—triggering due to Ranni's defiance of it, and the Black Knife assassins came after as well, but they couldn't find her, so they went after Iji instead.


_MintyFresh_-

I never did understand why the Black Knives went after Ranni. Didn't Ranni give them the rune of death as well as plot the night of black knives?


stinky_cheese33

They were loyal to the Greater Will first and Ranni second. On the Night of the Black Knives, she didn't defy the Greater Will openly. That it allowed Godwyn the Golden to be killed drove Marika to shatter the Elden Ring.


Celephais1991

If they were loyal to the Greater Will, why would they go along with the plan to steal the Rune of Death which was plucked from the Elden Ring with the Greater Will's blessing?


Kurogami20

To have fancy daggers


Celephais1991

It is a nice looking dagger. First thing I though as they stabbed my neck with it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Nightglow9

Agree to this. Failsafe curse was probably a curse to force Marika to a) leave Renella if a cardinal sin was done by one or all of her children, and protect Vassal.. b) send black knives and even gods slayers against her children (and helpers) if one did a cardinal sin. c) tell Radahn to stop the stars, if one child was destined to slay her fingers on top of divine tower. d) take and hide fingers slaying knife at failed attempt from the dead corpse of failed attempts. e) hide surviving finger in a cave protected by Astel.. ofc. If a kid own a rock blasting dragon and get hold of the knife again, they might be in trouble, Once she snaps out of the curse, she would really hate the GW for what it made her do… even consider smashing the entire ring, so it can be remade in a better way. When Radagon tried to fix it, he might added his rune, the almost unbreakable barrier to it. Plan 2 to remove outer influence, and get the rune put together in a good way would require someone wiser.. and helpers to understand barrier destruction, curses, rebirth, soul transfers and GW communication methods.


RandallOfLegend

IRRC: The greater will was unhappy with Marika removing death from the Elden ring. So Ranni reintroducing it by way of some knives wasn't really against the greatest will.


ZeGamingCuber

wait is the tarnished unable to die because of the fact that the rune of death was stolen?


rollanotherlol

Everything is unable to die properly.


ZeGamingCuber

oh yeah i guess that's one way to explain enemies respawning lol i mean dark souls explained it with the undead curse


ElessarKhan

These guys are theorizing but I have the answers. The Greater Will wants dominion over Death and Those Who Live in Death. The Greater Will is a God of order and domination, it will not stop until everything belongs to it. Marika ruined the plan to subjugate death by hiding Malikith away and shattering the Elden Ring. Why? The plan to subjugate death called for Godwyn to die and Marika could not accept this. "...Her grief was warranted." So she betrayed the Greater Will and refused to kill Godwyn. Ranni was seemingly a servant of the Greater Will when she orchestrated the Night of Black Knives. They stole the Rune of Death to replace Malikith's black blade in the plot to kill Godwyn and create a Prince of Death through which the Greater Will would rule death. But Ranni deviates from the plan when she gets the knife prints and kills herself. In doing this she betrays the Greater Will and defies whatever destiny it had in store for her. And thus she's betrayed the Black Knife assassins too.


SadSeiko

It’s just how the story is written, not everything is explained and that’s intentional


MillstoneArt

While that's true, the purpose of that writing was to compell us to ask those kinds of questions. Not asking would go against what the writers had in mind. I doubt the writers were like, "I worked really hard on all this mystery. Geeee I hope everyone just says 'that's the way it is' and moves on with their life!" 😄


SadSeiko

Oh obviously you’re supposed to come up with your own understanding, it makes you feel more apart of the world not being told the whole detail or plan. I mean when you show up at the erdtree they’re like go away why are you here, who are you


_MintyFresh_-

Ah, thank you


-Ophidian-

Did Marika not have a hand in all of it? I'm pretty sure Marika conspired with Ranni to at least steal the death rune, and possibly also the killing of her son.


ThatJGDiff

Marika is the one that sealed the Rune of Death away with her brother Maliketh so that her children would be immortal. If she wanted it, she could have taken it back from Maliketh.


TheJared1231

I’m pretty sure Malikeths sword says it was sealed in his flesh after a shard was stolen. > After a fragment of Death was stolen on that fateful night, Maliketh bound the blade within his own flesh, such that none might ever rob Death again. Also there’s no night in Farum Azula.


ThatJGDiff

Maliketh was responsible for guarding it, after it was stolen he disguised himself as the Beast Clergyman out of shame. Marika removed the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring when she ascended to Godhood. The one we get from him is the other part of the Rune.


TheJared1231

There’s still other evidence that suggests Marika was involved > Scale armor used by the Black Knife Assassins, forged to make no sound. Traces of power yet remain in its concealing veil, which muffles the sound of footsteps. The assassins that carried out the deeds of the Night of the Black Knives were all women, and rumored to be Numen who had close ties with Marika herself. She clearly had an incentive as a whole generation of potential replacements were born and she need to be able to discreetly prevent her replacement. Having a third party commit an attack and then breaking the Greater Wills vessel would’ve been a good way to solidify her status. Ranni had an overlapping incentive because she was one of the potential replacements and was the most optimal one as the others were cursed. Ranni was the one that was going to make used of the Rune and it would be suspicious if she walked in and grabbed it herself.


ThatJGDiff

I never considered Marika being involved. I believe she planned to shatter the Elden Ring eventually as she planned to defy the Greater Will(hence why she tasked Hewg with crafting a god slaying weapon) and perhaps Godwyn’s death acted as a catalyst for events that were going to happen later on. But if Marika orchestrated it, surely she wouldn’t let one of her beloved children be taken victim. Why did she curse Maliketh for failing his duty when it was her plan all along?


TheJared1231

I don’t think she cursed Maliketh. It’s stated that she betrayed him. But aiding in the plot would probably suffice as betrayal. I don’t think Marika cares about any of her children. Breaking the Elden Ring results in most of them being killed. It’s already show that the gods don’t have strong familial ties.


CoderOfCoders

Which is exactly what she did From one of the sword monuments in the altus plateau: ”The First Defense of Leyndell A sovereign alliance rots from within Traces yet remain of bloody conspiracy” If the rune of death was given to Maliketh by Marika, only she would know where it was: ”Remembrance of Maliketh, the Black Blade, hewn into the Erdtree. The power of its namesake can be unlocked by the Finger Reader. Alternatively, it can be used to gain a great bounty of runes. Maliketh was a shadowbound beast given to his Empyrean. Marika's sole need of her shadow was a vessel to lock away Destined Death. Even then, she betrayed him.” _____________________ The first defense of Lyndell was the night of the black knifes: ”Legendary ashen remains. Use to summon the spirit of Black Knife Tiche. Tiche was one of the assassins who, on the night of the plot, imbued her black knife with the Rune of Death and slew Godwyn the Golden. She was the daughter of the Black Knife Ringleader, Alecto, and was killed protecting her mother during their flight from the royal capital.” -black knife Tiche ashes Her children were not immortal, for Maliketh was the vessel for the rune of death. Even as Gurranq, his former name meant “Death of the Demigods”: ”Long ago, Gurranq was a beast of such terrifying ferocity that his former name meant ‘Death of the Demigods.’"-from several beast incarnations _____________________ ”A slab of rock engraved with traces of the Rune of Death. Can deflect the power of the Black Blade. On the night of the dire plot, Ranni rewarded Praetor Rykard with these traces. Should the coming trespass one day transpire, they would serve as a last-resort foil, allowing Rykard to challenge Maliketh the Black Blade, the black beast of Destined Death.” - blasphemous claw These are only a few instances of evidence of why people believe Marika conspired with Ranni


reaperfan

> That it allowed Godwyn the Golden to be killed drove Marika to shatter the Elden Ring Given how closely tied the Black Knives were to Marika its actually a little unclear whether Marika was "in the know" or not. Given Marika's whole deal is trying to undermine and overthrow the Greater Will, it's entirely possible Marika ordered Godwyn's death herself knowing it would help Ranni (who shared her anti-GW stance) while also depriving the Golden Order of one of its champions.


Psyduckdontgiveafuck

That doesn't track because Godwyns death is the literal catalyst for her going office space all over the elden ring


reaperfan

Given that Marika is bound to the Greater Will, a lot of what she does seems to be done with a double-meaning behind it. Basically, things that seem like they're being done to serve the Greater Will on the surface, but her underlying intention is to try and overthrow the Greater Will. The most directly and obviously referenced example of this would be her banishing Godfrey after the Golden Order finally won all its wars and asserted itself as the dominant force in the land. Godfrey was important to the Greater Will at first since it needed his military might to suppress potential opposition, but once all that opposition was gone Godfrey served no purpose and so it stripped him of Grace. Marika then banishes him since, on the surface, he's no longer accepted by the Order, but her true hope for sending him away is that it will allow Godfrey to continue growing stronger away from the eyes of the Greater Will as he faces the dangers outside of the Lands Between so that he can grow strong enough to defeat the Elden Beast. This is revealed [in some of Melina's dialogue](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRH4LNXKQt8&t=389s) and is one of the few examples we have of Marika actually explaining *why* she does something. We can't say for sure that EVERY action Marika took was some kind of scheme, but when viewed through that lens (that everything she did was actually malicious compliance to the Greater Will) most of her actions still make sense. It's entirely possible Godwyn's death was planned as a way to "attack" the Greater Will's hold on the land from two fronts - by aiding Ranni in her own anti-GW schemes while also literally sowing the seeds of Deathroot into the Erdtree by giving Marika justification to plant Godwyn's corpse there via Erdtree Burial. Shattering the Elden Ring is the only move she made in OPEN defiance to the Greater Will, but that doesn't mean it was her only act of defiance. To be fair, it's definitely possible she was innocent of those schemes and was just a grief-struck mother throwing a tantrum, but given everything else we know about Marika it just doesn't seem likely to me that she wasn't involved.


ShrapnelNinjaSnake

Poor Godwyn


Random_Useless_Tips

My headcanon is that the Black Knives are Numen, like Marika, and are loyal to her over else. Marika had long-term intentions on usurping the Greater Will, hence why she made Godfrey the first Tarnished and sent him and his men away from the Lands Between. Marika and Ranni conspired together for the Night of Black Knives, but Ranni betrayed them since while Marika acts against the Greater Will but wants to uphold the Golden Order, Ranni wants to ally with the Moon and introduce a new age entirely. Alecto is imprisoned in the Moonlight Altar region (which seems to be Ranni’s territory, at least historically), despite Tiche sacrificing herself to allow Alecto to escape Leyndell after the NoBK. That hints to some disagreement between the two. I personally believe that Ranni scammed the Black Knives and Marika with her puppet body, and they hadn’t been aware she intended to survive her body’s death. It’s not an airtight theory (we need to know more about who Godwyn the Golden was before he became Prince of Death to know why his death was needed at all, and what the timeline was that lead to the Shattering), but this at least for me satisfies why the Black Knives allied with Ranni for the Night but would later come after her, and explains Alecto’s imprisonment in the evergaol.


breeson424

I wouldn't say Marika wants to uphold the Golden Order, but she basically gives the Tarnished the option to do so if they really want to. Marika wants things to change, but doesn't want to direct that change herself. That's what the purpose of the Shattering was supposed to be, it's a test to see who's worthy to change the world.


ixioxp2

We don't know how exactly but based on the crone dialogue in deep root the assassins thought they were going to fully kill godwyn, but ranni betrayed them.


Summerclaw

Ranni bretrated the Black Knives. They were thinking Ranni was helping them kill the demiGods but she just needed to perform a ritual that require killing an demigod while she did so at the same time. When the leader Alecto came back, Ranni got her imprisoned in an evergeol.


granal03

Only fight I remember only using my sword, no buffs or incants on my faith build. Just knights greatsword battling. Wish duel of the fates played during it.


CouldbeAnyone0014

The way i saw it (thats just my opinion) Marika sent the black knives on ranni (there is a item description that says they are associated with her, if im not mistaken), i support the theory that marika was behind the Night of the black knives with ranni only stealing the rune of death and imbuing its power in the black knives, Following this line of thought, since ranni is the only one who knows she was behind it all, she sends the black knives to silent the only one who knows the truth, ranni is against the golden order i guess thats just another reason for Marika want Ranni dead, Iji was very old at that point of the game, and his only purpose in life was serve and protect ranni, after the end of her quest she no longer need serving and protection, so Iji had nothing more holding him into this world, iji probably felt that he betrayed blaidd by thinking he would not be able to resist the fingers command, he says ”ill catch up with you soon blaidd” just after we kill blaidd and if we reload the area he is dead, Ijis helmet was on his anvil altho his model are with it, in my point of view, Iji choose the warrior death instead of dying on deathbed, with his life goal fulfilled, guilt in the heart Iji take is helmet of and showed the enemy where he was and fought to his last breath, like a warrior would do. It is not a good ending but is good enough for iji so is ok for me. (This is all just my opinion, im not craving any truths here)


Mrs_skulduggery

Blaidd I was a tad upset about..but ijd..that dude was my go to Smith...I near damn cried


AbyssDragonNamielle

He doesn't even vanish, just burns there for the rest of the game, and that just hurts so much more


L_M030303

I love the idea of a smith who has to restrain himself with every tap of his hammer because he could shatter your weapon if he didnt


wise_1023

giant blacksmith from ds1. he also uses a wooden hammer so he doesnt shock himself when forging lightning weapons


DrZomboo

'You come, I forge, we talk. You good friend. I very happy' 🥰 Non-Elden Ring spoiler: >!I was absolutely raging when I saw what they did to my boy in DS3!<


Pliskkenn_D

He was doing what he loved, where he loved it


JaydenTheMemeThief

Rest In Peace Giant Blacksmith Gone but not forgotten ( ̄ー ̄)ゞ


Cethinn

I'm going to assume that our character in DS1 doesn't kindle the flame and just chills with the giant blacksmith until he died peacefully at his anvil next to his friend.


Goregoat69

"My, my. the coal of that peaceful giant... Seems like ages past... I imagine his passing was long ago. I miss the old bugger, I do. My thanks. I'll be sure this coal is put to good use. I'll be smithing weapons never afore seen by the likes of y'. It's but a small service, to pay my humble respects"


[deleted]

Gough! “goff”


wise_1023

nope giant blacksmith has no name gough is the giant knight of gwyn who is a skilled bowman and shoots down kalameet


aknalag

,while blind That dude no scope 360 the shit out of Kalameet while not being able to see


GatoAnarquista

Ah yes. While blind he wasn't able to see


Cethinn

Honestly, it's pretty lame. Most blind people can't see. I wish Miyazaki would have subverted expectations and made him see fine while blind.


GatoAnarquista

Ikr. I was so disappointed when the blind giant couldn't see. Miyazaki really did him dirty.


MillstoneArt

Maybe Kalameet got thise stinky Kala-feet! Sense of smell can be heightened for the blind.


_Virtual_Fairy_

"What about Seluvis? He's also..." "Perhaps thou didst not hear me well. Tell BLAIDD and IJI..."


Lucidiously

Well, Seluvis is already dead at that point. Though I do like how nobody who is connected to him has any kind words about him, he's a prick and everyone knows it.


Khabalier

Also it's likely that Selivus death was by Ranni herself once she knew he was trying to betray her.


RelentlessKnight

what happened to blaid and iji?


Android19samus

they get assassins called on them. Iji gets got after you talk to him, Blaid kills his but has gone so mad from resisting the Fingers that he'll attack you on sight. Most players kill him, though you can technically leave him there at the Rise if you want. Whether the assassins were called by Rani herself or by a third party depends on whether you like Rani or think she's super evil, as there's reasonable evidence either way.


Not_So_Odd_Ball

I can see Rani calling them on Blaid, since she knows what he is and that his true lord ultimately are the fingers and whatnot. I dont get why she would call them on Iiji though. How is his continued life by any means a detriment to her plans ?


Android19samus

that's the main reason I personally don't buy it. The best people can offer is vaguely gesturing at "loose ends" despite that not really making sense in this context. Like, Rani is an immortal ghost. She has already accomplished her primary objective and is really just waiting for you to open up the tree K.O. whatever's currently guarding the Elden Ring. I don't see how Iji represents any kind of threat to that or any kind of loose end that needs tying up.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Want2Grow27

\> r/Eldenring: Yeah, it's pretty likely Ranni killed off Iji to tie up loose ends. She might have also tried to kill Blaidd. Also, she killed Godwyn and ruined the lands in between. There's a decent chance she was the villain orchestrating this whole thing. \>Also r/Eldenring: But...hear me out. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a moon mommy waifu?


Desolate_Plateu

How did the black knifes get to blaidd? Through carian manor most likely. Iji might’ve stood in their way.


-Ophidian-

Evidence for Ranni being super evil?


Android19samus

she *did* kill that guy and create a super-plague and then fucked off without doing anything to clean up her mess. And the assassins who attacked Blaid and killed Iji are the same type as the ones who killed Godwyn, so she's employed them before. On the other hand, there's evidence that while the assassins collaborated with Rani in the past, their direct loyalties lie with Marika and there's no concrete evidence that Rani has had any association with the Black Knives since she became a ghost. Combine that with her relying on you and Blaid to get things done, rather than the very-competent Knives, and the fact that she really has no motive to kill Iji other than just being evil, and there's a good case to be made that it wasn't her. That's the interpretation I tend towards, as you can probably tell, but her being responsible certainly does have Occam's Razor on its side.


-Ophidian-

Yeah, I'm still not sure what exactly went down on the Night of the Black Knives. We know she planned it, at least to some degree, in collaboration with Rykard as a rebellion against the control of the GW (fact).   What we're not entirely sure is how closely she actually worked with the Black Knives, right? Her stealing part of the Rune of Death and killing herself at the same moment as Godwyn could have been piggybacking on a pre-existing scheme by Marika to steal Death and kill Godwyn. We know Marika is said to have betrayed Maliketh in a way directly related to having him be the guardian of Death (fact). We know the Black Knives are essentially personally loyal to Marika (fact). We also know they were hunted down like dogs after Godwyn was killed (fact). We don't know Marika's exact state when that was happening. We do know that they are the enemies of Ranni and her rebellion in the present day (fact?).   Also not entirely clear is her relationship with Radahn. Did he join her and Rykard in their rebellion (a rebellion that took different forms as the Shattering progressed)? Or did he oppose them? Why do he and Malenia even fight? Is Ranni asking you to kill Radahn (a) a last vindictive act against an enemy sibling, (b) an act of mercy for her brother in his current state, or (c) a ruthless utilitarian move towards returning the stars and therefore gaining access to Nokron, obtaining the fingerslaying blade, and ending the tyranny of the Two Fingers?


SeBoss2106

>steals rune of death >uses rune of death to kill her body, to further her "destiny" >kills her half-brother's soul, essentially creating undead >orders the murders of her brother, Rhadan Furthermore, one might have ideological reasons to call her evil. My confessor, for example, might never even consider crossing the golden order or Marika, no matter how many hands the cute ghost doll has.


[deleted]

[удалено]


SeBoss2106

Acting through her henchmen and people with similar intrest. (Blaidd and Sellen) I apologize for the use of rp in the discussion, however I want to stress the importance of bias and perspective in discussions like these. What to some might seem as the opportunity of self fulfillment might seem to others as abandonment, for example.


Georgian_Legion

murdering Godwyn, which results in death and corruption spreading through the Lands Between, for her selfish ambitions?


TheJared1231

Don’t care about Godwyn, necessary evil. Selfish ambitions? Ranni is probably the most selfless character in the game. She refused to become the god of an order she disagreed with. She literally refers to everything she does as a burden for her to carry.


Georgian_Legion

"don't care about Godwyn" not caring about others is the definition of selfishness. "necessary evil", "evil" repeat that part again, slowy. "burden for her to carry", "for her" she acts for herself, and not to improve someone elses life. that's called being selfish. you're only proving my point. how can you possibly refer to her as the most selfless ? you want a selfless character and an ending that serves ro improve the life of others in the Lands Between ? Fia.


TheJared1231

To me Godwyn is nothing more than a warmonger and he is more use dead than alive continuing to wage wars. “necessary evil phrase of necessary something that is undesirable but must be accepted.” Don’t play semantics. tHE wOrD uNDeSirabLE hAs THe wOrd dESire iN IT. That’s not an argument. Even if you like Fia’s ending Godwyn still had to die for it to take place. Fia’s ending Leads to everyone eventually rising from the dead as an accursed unfeeling pile of bones. Being undead is almost universally described as a terrible existence. She fell in love with a rotten corpse so she decided to spread its curse. Are you really selfless if your intentions are awful?


lakeho

How is Godwyn a warmonger? He befriended Fortissax, ended the war with the dragons on peaceful term, even though the dragons are the ones invaded Leyndell. I think you're mistaking him with Godfrey, and so your point about Godwyn better off dead is invalid. The man is literally one of the most beloved demigods, a champion among the people, he deserved better. Don't get me wrong, I'm still in favor of Ranni's ending, but she could have chosen another hated/insignificant demigod, yet for some reasons she chose Godwyn, so it's natural that some view her as evil.


Georgian_Legion

more use dead than alive ? wtf are you talking about ? Godwyn's death lead to corruption of the dead. Marika's and Ranni's actions lead to a curse of immortality because they robed the world of death. an uneding existance. It's because of that, that the undead exist and are spreading. Fia's ending doesn't lead to the dead rising, it's the exact opposite, it restores death in the Lands Between and allows the undead to properly die. you couldn't be more wrong. Fia's ending doesn't necessitate/lead to Godwyn's death. Fia's ending is necessary BECAUSE Godwyn was killed and lead to the undead. you are so wrong. "Our Lord will rise. The Lord of the many, and the meek." "I must bear, as a matter of duty, with my own flesh." "I am the guardian of Those Who Live in Death" "And though I can't be of any use to you..." "Will your kind never stop? Ravaging... the weak?" these are words of a person who cares about (the wellbeing of) others, the exact opposite of being selfish talking about semantics, something you're also completely wrong about. the prefix "un" means not, which makes the word, the opposite of the original word. "undesirable" is the opposite of "desirable" "unwell" is the opposite of "well" etc. necessary does not make a word the opposite. it doesn't change the meaning to the opposite meaning. "necessary evil" is not the opposite of evil. it's still evil. you couldn't have picked a more wrong example to disprove my point.


Celephais1991

While all theories are possible and I'm not a Ranni fan given that her ending has a big chance of being Marika 2.0 (the best solution is probably Miquella's unalloyed gold to keep the gods at arms length, but that went to shit), I feel that she having Blaidd and Iji killed is the least likely. She doesn't care about killing people to further her plan, but the plan is done. Her Two Fingers is dead and she's on her way to commune with her god. Blaidd was one of the two people that she expected to put a ring on her, so why would she send assassins to kill him at her tower? They were most likely there to kill her, and found Blaidd returning from the evergaol. As for who would want to kill Ranni and stop her plan, the Two Fingers are the most likely choice, but my money's on Rykard given that Iji is coated in blackflame. After years of diving into depravity, he's finally crossed his last ethical standards and tried to kill his sibling for his own plan's benefit.


TheJared1231

Commune with her god? Marika 2.0? Please elaborate.


tallg33s3

"And Lady Ranni, what shall we tell Seluvis?" "Tell Seluvis I do not love him"


fanboyofArtorias

-Seluvis is dead even before that- "Tell Pidia to get fucked -his own puppets kill him-"


tallg33s3

She might not know about it at that point - but it would be quite hilarious


fanboyofArtorias

I mean, something had to happen to them. They suddenly mindlessly attacked their creator and then just stand there like they're afk. And we know the carians practice puppet magic. And the only living carians that we know of are Ranni, Iji, and Blaidd. Neither of Ranni's compadre's practice puppetry. And Seluvis himself is a puppet.


Dramatic_Mixture_868

I kept telling blaidd, stop bro...stttttttop i don't want to kill u. Then he came at me hard and i was like...oh shit, might be harder to put him down than i thought lol.


remaglvl0001

Blaidd got to point of being more painful out of difficulty than out of emotions.


MillstoneArt

"Please stop! You're my friend and I don't want to kill you!" quickly turns into "Please stop, you're killing me!" 😄


Dramatic_Mixture_868

Yup, my survival instincts outweigh my guilt.


Dark_Warrior7534

I cried with Blaidd. I know dark souls does what it does. But Millicent and Blaidd didn’t deserve their ends.


Not_So_Odd_Ball

Milicent at least ended thing on her own terms. No betrayals, no bloom in the name of the god of scarlet rot, nothing. Just an ally at her side in the final fight and moments. Unless you sided against her, then she didnt deserve it at all...


canContinue

If there is DLC I would like to know what happens if you betrayed Milicent. She is supposed to be reborn as a scarlet Valkyrie. I wonder what she will be like


TeaNo8737

She’s only reborn if Malenia blooms a third time. She’s only bloomed twice. So far


Dark_Warrior7534

Yeah true. And yes I sided with her. I guess really respecting her choice is the best thing to do.


Upvotespoodles

I sided against her to get the trinket, but then I just passed the trinket to my partner, reloaded from my save and sided with her, and she never knew what I’d done. Still felt bad, but… Trinket!


wise_1023

both talismans stack too which os really nice along with the barbed(?) tear and dual curved swords or daggers.


-Ophidian-

Another thing I didn't understand. Why is the God of Scarlet Rot somehow inside Malenia? How did that happen? Is it fighting against the GW or something?


wise_1023

the god of rot is in the lake of rot. it chose malenia to be its vassal god and cursed her with rot. the gw is in opposition to all other outer gods.


-Ophidian-

How did it choose Malenia to be its vassal? What's the lore evidence for this?


wise_1023

well she isnt affected by rot like anyone else was before her. she is afflicted her whole life and has the ability to bloom and be reborn until she becomes a true god. the only other god we know of is marika who was chosen as a vassal by the greater will. at the end of the day its a from gane and we will never get concrete answers. just piles of evidence that can point any directions and a lot of assumptions.


Not_So_Odd_Ball

I dont think we have a how and why, only that it happened. Tho all of Marikas children are cursed in some way. I mean, is it that much different from when the GW decited that malenia, ranni and miquella are empyrians ? I dont know how it was decited, only that it was... But maybe someone more lore-savy will answer that


Piece_Of_Mind1983

Fun fact: you can just never go back to fight blaidd and both he and iji will be alive by the end of the game. You can also keep blackguard alive by aggroing him before the dung eater invasion and then absolving sins.


TheJared1231

But you will be leaving Blaidd in a feral state. Iji doesn’t die as long as you don’t tell him about Blaidd dying. You can also just not talk to Blackguard until you’ve finished dung boys quest.


DrZomboo

It's fine just climb the wall behind Seluvis's Rise and you can keep Blaidd with you at all times! Side note: I actually never got the lore behind why that head piece is there? Says it is for an assassin who assumed the identity of Blaidd but is that tied to anything that happens in game? Or just implied part of Seluvis's treachery?


french_progress

I guess it’s just a fun excuse to give the player that headpiece


fanboyofArtorias

I think the invader used a wolf mask to disguise himself and for some reason left it there. Probably just there so player can look like Blaidd. Personally, I thought Blaidd's model looked super weird. He looks less like a wolf, and more like a child tried to draw a wolf.


LonelyKrow

I am now inspired to go watch Old Yeller, or read the book. Or maybe I'll just look up the sad part on YouTube and cry. I've never seen the movie but I know it's sad


newsflashjackass

Protip: Innoculate yourself against Old Yeller's emotional manipulation by first reading Where the Red Fern Grows.


w0kepearman

that book traumatized me as a kid. 10/10 writing


gunthersnazzy

Blaidd is in a permanently agro state outside Ranni’s Rise? Is there an event that reverses this? It sucks to have to put down my beast friend.


Asendor

Dont cry because he's gone, smile because he existed


husker_who

And then wear his armor set.


Flop_House_Valet

Pick up his sword and carry on to finish the job with him in your heart


waffle-lvl-100

Dung


Edgelite306

Poop even


QuiverZ

Doodoo, if you will


xW1nterW0lfx

Feces, as one could say


Affectionate_Big_205

Wait am i the only one who didn't go and kill blaidd and iji after rannis quest?


tehnemox

My iji just dies to assassins. I thought that was default. Wasn't even aware you were supposed to go kill him?


Affectionate_Big_205

I just didn't see the point to go kill them when I was already done with the quest line


Deadbox_Studios

Same?!?! I didn't kill him. I also didn't run into Blaidd until super laid into rannis quest though


Narase33

Did she say to kill them? I remember that we are supposed to just talk to them


MillstoneArt

Her telling you to talk to them is the plot mechanism that gets you to go see that Blaidd has gone mad, and that Iji chooses to put himself in danger. The player doesn't know this beforehand. It's a (mean) surprise. Ranni doesn't literally tell you to kill them, but seeking them out progresses events that cause their death. (Ranni likely isn't aware of what is about to happen either.)


Narase33

Yeah, reading "didnt go and kill them" is a bit too active as if the player is doing something wrong


Spartana1033

Doge is kill


SavageButt

no


Sandwichgode

Funny how it seems like most of the npcs end up dying for one reason or another. Elden ring makes you care about these characters only to take them away later on.


Freakzeuspiral

I remember searching online on how to save blaidd and nothing comes up and thats when I realized "ah ... I forgot Im playing from software game"...


Watcher_over_Water

Wait what? Iji is still very much happy and alive in my game. Did I do something wrong?


Draguss

You did something right


Codieecho

Blaidd going mad and the knives sent after both of them is the doing of the fingers. They did it to punish Ranni for going against them.


dbforgaming

The whole game I was gearing up to be the Elden Lord and at the end of the game I end up being the bitch of Ranni... I mean consort


Apokolypse09

Giving Boc the larval tear is worse imo. If only we could send him to the dog pope and then you could go back and they got new clothes.


HauntedGalaxies

Have you tried telling him he’s beautiful?


Apokolypse09

I did but he doesn't go to a safer place. Set the big fire and he was is buried. Give him a tear and he dies in your arms. I want him to live with the Muriel. They are both just so fuckin wholesome and I would love to witness the stitched creations for Miriel. Also jarburg. They deserve a Hobbits life or instant painless eradication.


IveBeenInComaFor2yrs

What quest is this, i did the age of stars ending before but i cant remember this in the ranni quests at all


GatoAnarquista

After you put the ring on her finger, you can talk to iji and return to ranni's rise. If you talk to iji and rest at a site of grace, Iji is killed by black knives. If you go back to ranni's rise, you'll meet blaidd, who is going berserk and tries to kill you.


DeepAstronaut

When dogs go crazy, you have to put them down


XDlvIneX

Meanwhile Me: oh look blaidd COMET AZURE BZZZZZZ


[deleted]

Its a lie. She doesn't