Do you only need two Great Runes to beat Elden Ring?

Elden Ring is the latest action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware. It takes place in the Lands Between and features an open world full of dangerous enemies. To make progress and take on the demigod bosses, players need to collect Great Runes. But some wonder – do you really need to find all the Great Runes in order to beat the game?

What are Great Runes in Elden Ring?

Great Runes are special items that you can acquire in Elden Ring by defeating demigod bosses. Each demigod in the game holds one Great Rune. There are six Great Runes total:

  • Rune of the Unborn – Obtained by defeating Starscourge Radahn
  • Golden Order Rune – Obtained by defeating Godrick the Grafted
  • Fell Curse’s Twinblade – Obtained by defeating Valiant Gargoyles
  • Mending Rune of the Death Prince – Obtained by defeating Mohg, Lord of Blood
  • Mending Rune of Perfect Order – Obtained by defeating Morgott, the Omen King
  • Rune of Death Prince – Obtained by defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade

When you defeat a demigod boss, you’ll get their Great Rune. You can take these runes to sites of grace in order to equip them. Equipping a Great Rune will grant you a powerful buff, giving you abilities like health regeneration or damage negation.

Do you need all six Great Runes to beat the game?

The short answer is no, you do not need to collect all six Great Runes in order to beat Elden Ring. You only technically need two of them:

  • Mending Rune of the Death Prince
  • Mending Rune of Perfect Order

These two Great Runes are required to unlock access to the Erdtree and reach the final bosses. The other four Great Runes are optional.

However, even though you only need two Great Runes, collecting some of the other runes can make your journey easier. Here’s an overview of which extra runes may be worth grabbing:

Rune of the Unborn

Radahn’s Great Rune boosts all attributes. This can be helpful to make your character more well-rounded and durable.

Golden Order Rune

Godrick’s Great Rune increases your health, stamina, and equipment load. Excellent for tank builds.

Fell Curse’s Twinblade

The Valiant Gargoyles rune boosts your dexterity and arcane attributes. Useful for builds focused on bleed or occult damage.

Rune of Death Prince

Maliketh’s Great Rune boosts attack power. Helpful for increasing damage output with strength/dexterity builds.

Can you beat the game with just two Great Runes?

It’s absolutely possible to beat Elden Ring with just the two required Great Runes. Many players have completed the game without ever collecting the optional runes.

However, collecting some extra runes can provide a nice boost. Radahn and Godrick’s runes, in particular, are very useful. The game also gets quite difficult in the late stages, so the extra buffs can really help.

Overall, while it’s not mandatory, grabbing 1-2 extra Great Runes beyond the initial two can be beneficial. But skilled players can certainly triumph over the Elden Ring bosses with just the bare minimum runes equipped.

What are the pros and cons of only using two Great Runes?

Pros:

  • Don’t have to fight as many tough demigod bosses
  • Can progress through the game more quickly
  • Less rune farming needed to activate Great Runes

Cons:

  • Won’t get additional attribute boosts from other Great Runes
  • May struggle against late-game bosses without extra buffs
  • Less build flexibility without full Great Rune collection

What order should you take on the Great Rune bosses?

Here is a recommended order for fighting the demigod bosses to get two Great Runes efficiently:

  1. Starscourge Radahn – Get the Rune of the Unborn for an all-around stat boost
  2. Morgott, the Omen King – Get the Mending Rune of Perfect Order, required for the Erdtree
  3. Optional – Godrick the Grafted for the Golden Order Rune’s big HP/stamina boost
  4. Mohg, Lord of Blood – Get the Mending Rune of the Death Prince, required for the Erdtree
  5. Maliketh, the Black Blade – Optionally get the Rune of Death Prince for more damage

This order lets you take on Radahn and Godrick first to get strong early-game rune effects. Then you can tackle Morgott and Mohg for the key story runes you need. Maliketh can be saved for later since his Rune of Death Prince is optional.

What are the two required Great Runes?

Again, the two Great Runes required to finish Elden Ring are:

  • Mending Rune of the Death Prince – Obtained from Mohg, Lord of Blood
  • Mending Rune of Perfect Order – Obtained from Morgott, the Omen King

You cannot enter Leyndell, Royal Capital without these two Great Runes. Activating them at a site of grace will unlock the way forward to the Erdtree and the final string of bosses.

Can you beat the final boss with just two Great Runes?

Yes, it’s completely possible to defeat the final boss of Elden Ring, Radagon of the Golden Order/Elden Beast, with just two Great Runes equipped.

The final boss is undoubtedly a challenge. But with skillful play, knowledge of the movesets, and a well-built character, players have proven it’s possible to emerge victorious with just the bare minimum runes.

The Mending Rune of Perfect Order and Mending Rune of the Death Prince provide useful buffs on their own. Their boosts to health, stamina, immunity building, and damage negation can get you through the final encounters.

Of course, having all six Great Runes equipped would make the final boss easier. But it’s not at all required. Focus on learning Radagon and Elden Beast’s patterns and telltale moves. With patience and persistence, the Elden Ring endboss can be felled with just two Great Runes.

Conclusion

While there are six Great Runes in Elden Ring, you only need two of them – the Mending Rune of the Death Prince and the Mending Rune of Perfect Order – to reach and beat the final boss. The other four Great Runes offer helpful stat boosts but are optional.

Collecting extra runes beyond the initial two can make the journey more manageable. We recommend picking up Radahn and Godrick’s runes early on. But skilled players have proven it’s possible to win with just the necessary runes.

The endboss Radagon and Elden Beast is undoubtedly a difficult fight. But by learning their movesets and fighting strategically, they can be defeated with just two Great Runes equipped. So don’t worry about scouring the entire map for runes. Just focus on the key ones and you’ll be ready for the final showdown.

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