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For a first playthrough of Elden Ring’s base game, start in Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, then progress through Stormveil Castle and Liurnia. Use the level ranges below as flexible difficulty signposts—not mandatory gates—and consider both character level and weapon reinforcement when deciding where to go next. Optional regions and bosses can be tackled in different orders; if a fight stalls your progress, explore, upgrade, and return.
Recommended route and level ranges
This route combines area progression with one guide’s suggested character levels and weapon reinforcement. Standard and Somber weapons use separate reinforcement scales. These are recommendations, not official requirements, and the ranges overlap because the world allows detours and alternate approaches.
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ELDEN RING: Tarnished Edition - Nintendo Switch 2 | $79.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version) | $34.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Bandai Namco Entertainment Elden Ring (PS4) | $47.44 | Buy on Amazon |
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ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition | Digital | Nintendo Switch 2 Digital Code | $79.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| Order | Area | Suggested character level | Suggested weapon reinforcement (Standard / Somber) |
Progression notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Limgrave | 1–10 | +0 to +2 / +0 to +1 | Explore and prepare for Margit. |
| 2 | East Limgrave | 10–20 | +2 to +3 / +1 | Explore and gather early materials. |
| 3 | Weeping Peninsula | 20–30 | +3 to +4 / +1 to +2 | Optional warm-up with dungeons and upgrade materials. |
| 4 | Stormveil Castle | 30–40 | +4 to +6 / +2 to +3 | Margit guards the approach; defeating Godrick opens the way into Liurnia. |
| 5 | Liurnia of the Lakes | 40–50 | +6 to +8 / +3 to +4 | Explore the lake and the Academy approach. |
| 6 | Raya Lucaria Academy | 50–60 | +8 to +10 / +4 | Red Wolf of Radagon and Rennala are the key bosses. |
| 7 | Caria Manor, Ainsel River and Siofra River branches | About 50–60 | Around +8 to +10 / +4 | Optional exploration and quest-related routes. |
| 8 | South Caelid | 60–70 | +10 to +12 / +4 to +5 | Radahn is a major optional shardbearer and route branch. |
| 9 | Altus Plateau | 60–70 in Plarium’s guide | +18 / +7 | An alternate midgame approach to Leyndell; suggested targets vary by guide. |
| 10 | Nokron and Siofra Aqueduct | 70–80 | +12 to +15 / +5 to +6 | Accessible after Radahn’s defeat; notable bosses include Mimic Tear and Valiant Gargoyles. |
| 11 | Deeproot Depths, Nokstella and Lake of Rot | About 80–95 | +15 to +20 / +6 to +8 | Optional underground and quest branches; Astel is tied to a questline. |
| 12 | Mt. Gelmir and Volcano Manor | 90–110 | About +15 to +24 / +6 to +9 | Optional route; Rykard is Volcano Manor’s major boss. |
| 13 | Leyndell, Royal Capital | 100–110 | +20 to +24 / +8 to +9 | Draconic Tree Sentinel, Golden Shade Godfrey and Morgott form a common progression spine. |
| 14 | Forbidden Lands and Mountaintops of the Giants | 110–120 | +24 / +9 | Fire Giant advances the critical route. |
| 15 | Consecrated Snowfield, Mohgwyn Palace and Subterranean Shunning-Grounds | Roughly 110–140 | +24 to +25 / +9 to +10 | Optional late-game branches; Mohg and Mohg, the Omen are separate fights. |
| 16 | Miquella’s Haligtree | 130–150 | +25 / +10 | Optional, high-difficulty branch: Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree, then Malenia. |
| 17 | Crumbling Farum Azula | 120–140 | +25 / +10 | Godskin Duo and Maliketh advance the endgame; Dragonlord Placidusax is optional. |
| 18 | Leyndell, Capital of Ash | 140–150+ | +25 / +10 | Gideon, Godfrey/Hoarah Loux, Radagon and Elden Beast close the base-game story. |
The figures in this table are Plarium’s suggested targets, published January 27, 2026; they are not developer-set thresholds. Dot Esports’ route, updated December 16, 2025, uses broader and sometimes lower targets for some regions, including late-game areas. That disagreement is a reason to treat any particular level as guidance rather than a canonical order. Plarium’s progression guide and Dot Esports’ route and boss order provide the underlying recommendations.
Major boss order for the story route
For the main progression spine, this is a useful order. It is not an exhaustive checklist of every boss, and several substantial fights sit on optional or quest-linked branches.
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#1 Best Overall
- ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition contains the Elden Ring Base Game + Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion + Additional Content (including Torrent Skins, New Armors, and More...)
- MASSIVE OPEN WORLD
- DEEP, CUSTOMIZABLE COMBAT
- NEW STARTING CLASSES
- NEW PLAYER-FRIENDLY ENHANCEMENTS
- Margit, the Fell Omen
- Godrick the Grafted
- Red Wolf of Radagon
- Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
- Draconic Tree Sentinel
- Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade)
- Morgott, the Omen King
- Fire Giant
- Godskin Duo
- Maliketh, the Black Blade
- Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing
- Godfrey, First Elden Lord / Hoarah Loux, Warrior
- Radagon of the Golden Order
- Elden Beast
Optional bosses and route branches
There is no need to clear every branch before advancing the main route. Choose these detours based on exploration and quest progress, and expect their order to vary between playthroughs.
- Caria Manor: Royal Knight Loretta is an optional regional boss.
- Caelid and Nokron: Starscourge Radahn is an optional major shardbearer. Defeating him opens the way to Nokron, where Mimic Tear and Valiant Gargoyles are notable optional fights.
- Volcano Manor: Rykard is the area’s major boss and an optional route branch.
- Underground quest routes: Ranni’s quest leads through underground areas and quest-linked bosses; Astel is tied to a questline, and Fortissax is among the meaningful optional or quest-linked fights.
- Late-game branches: Mohg, Lord of Blood; Mohg, the Omen; Dragonlord Placidusax; and Malenia are not all required to finish the base-game story. Malenia lies at the end of the challenging Haligtree branch.
Dot Esports’ boss-order guide interweaves optional bosses with progression, so a long list should not be read as meaning every listed fight is mandatory.
Rank #2
- Collaborating with George R.R. Martin to create the ELDEN RING mythos has been a genuinely delightful experience and a source of wonderful inspiration. The team is working hard to ensure that the world of ELDEN RING will be a fascinating place for players to explore, filled with peril and wonder from its furthest reaches to its lowest depths. This is a FromSoftware title through and through, rich in fantasy and RPG action. We sincerely hope you look forward to it.
- Building the world of ELDEN RING with Miyazaki-san and his team was a treat! The graphics, mythos, and action-RPG gameplay will deliver an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait for people to see what ELDEN RING has in store for them.” Said George R.R. Martin.
How to use levels and weapon upgrades
Consider both numbers
Character level is only part of preparation. Weapon reinforcement rises alongside it, and the recommended ranges differ for Standard and Somber weapons. If your character is within an area’s suggested level range but your weapon is far behind its suggested reinforcement, upgrading may help more than gaining another few levels.
Treat difficult fights as a signal to detour
The open world permits exploration away from the critical route. If a boss is consistently stopping you, leave the fight, explore nearby regions or dungeons, gather upgrade materials, and return with stronger equipment and more levels. The suggested ranges are signposts for judging readiness, not a test you must pass before entering an area.
Rank #3
- A New Fantasy World – Journey through the Lands Between, a new fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the influential Dark Souls video game series, and George R. R. Martin, author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Unravel the mysteries of the Elden Ring’s power. Encounter adversaries with profound backgrounds, characters with their own unique motivations for helping or hindering your progress, and fearsome creatures
- World Exploration in the Lands Between – Elden Ring features vast fantastical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly. Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, foreboding castles and other sites of grandeur on a scale never seen before in a FromSoftware title
- Genre-Defining Gameplay – Create your character in FromSoftware’s refined action-RPG and define your playstyle by experimenting with a wide variety of weapons, magical abilities, and skills found throughout the world. Charge into battle, pick off enemies one-by-one using stealth, or even call upon allies for aid. Many options are at your disposal as you decide how to approach exploration and combat
Expect reasonable guides to differ
Published route guides do not agree on every midgame or endgame target. Plarium, for example, places Leyndell at level 100–110 and the late Mountaintops at 110–120, while Dot Esports uses broader or sometimes lower suggested thresholds in parts of its route. Different routes also account for optional bosses and detours differently. Compare required story progress, character level and weapon reinforcement, quest prerequisites, and whether a recommendation is for the base game or DLC rather than treating one list as the game’s official sequence.
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These recommendations cover the base game. Do not carry their rune-level targets over as a complete preparation plan for Shadow of the Erdtree: Plarium specifically notes that Scadutree Fragments matter more for DLC progression. The base-game table is not a DLC route.
Rank #4
- ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition
Sources and scope
The area-by-area level and weapon targets above come from Plarium’s guide, dated January 27, 2026. The alternate route and major-boss ordering are informed by Dot Esports’ guide, updated December 16, 2025. These are editorial recommendations from guides, not official FromSoftware level requirements.
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