Despite the vagueness of its story, Elden Ring’s plot is actually the most cohesive and most expository out of all the Soulsborne games. Fans likely have George R.R. Martin to thank for that; gone are the days when Souls games whipped out the “time is convoluted” excuse to explain questionable story details. With that said, Elden Ring is still unapologetically ambiguous when it comes to explanations.
A lot of things are left to speculation and are intentionally left inconclusive. In the spirit of all Soulsborne games, Elden Ringwill also leave many players scratching their heads long after witnessing any of the six endings. In fact, even the endings still leave more questions than answers. That’s probably a good thing; that only means more open-ended stuff to consider for DLCs. But in any case, these questions are some of the biggest contenders that need a solid answer.
8 What Are Those Colosseums?
Throughout the civilized areas in the Lands Between, there are about three huge colosseums that stand tall and wide. One is due north of Stormhill; one is on a cliff in Caelid; and one is dedicated to a hill in Leyndell, Royal Capital. All three of them are closed no matter what the players do.
But even so, there are some hints (particularly for the colosseum in Stormhill) such as a ghost waiting for the doors to open. It could be DLC content (for PvP) or probably cut content but so far, there’s no definitive evidence regarding their purpose. Regardless, players will have to wait and see what the developers want to do with these structures.
7 What Happened To Miquella?
Miquella is one of the Empyreans in Elden Ring— another candidate chosen by the Greater Will to replace Marika. It’s understandable why his brother, Mohg, kidnapped him. The problem was, that he was practically a vegetable when Mohg took him. Miquella remained inactive no matter what activities (twisted or otherwise) Mohg performed on him.
Even when players defeated Mohg and somewhat “freed” Miquella, the demigod still didn’t budge. The game also didn’t clarify Miquella’s state of health. He’s just there in his cracked cocoon, apparently. Whatever the case, he’s probably not dead, and this means there’s still a demigod candidate available that could challenge the players. This is another contender for DLC material.
6 Who & What Was Melina?
Speaking of some obscure and weird familial bonds, Melina kept mentioning her mother during her occasional late-night Grace talks with the players. Again, the game didn’t spill the beans on who’s Melina’s mother. One theory is that she’s Marika’s offspring since she mentioned being within the Erdtree and discussing her purpose in that place with her mother.
Other candidates for Melina’s mother are Ranni and Rennala due to the tattoo on her eye as well as the color of her hair. However, there are plenty of counterarguments for those theories such as Melina being the offshoot or clone of Ranni and the fact that her hair changes color during one of the endings.
5 Who Really Killed Godwyn The Golden?
Godwyn the Golden’s death is the catalyst that set off the events in Elden Ring but he was assassinated so there’s a bigger culprit to the Shattering and the power vacuum that it created afterward. At first glance, evidence points to Ranni orchestrating the assassination thanks to Rogier’s speculation but even that isn’t an airtight theory.
While Ranni might have created the knife that can kill gods, it seems her primary use for it was to kill her physical body, thereby freeing herself from the Erdtree’s grasp. It was the Black Knife assassins who use the knife to kill Godwyn; the shocking part is that these assassins are Numen, a race of warrior women who have a very close and presumably loyal connection with Marika. So there’s also evidence against Godwyn’s own mother planning her son’s assassination. In any case, the mastermind remains at large.
4 Why Is Godwyn’s Severed Head Located In Stormveil Castle?
Speaking of Godwyn’s death, players can see his corpse in full display in the main boss area of the Deeproot Depths. It’s a giant rotting caricature of Godwyn— a far cry from the golden demigod. For some reason, however, the same corpse is also present underneath Stormveil Castle. Rogier even explicitly states that it’s Godwyn.
The odd part is that all evidence (item text) points to Godwyn’s body being buried under the capital, Leyndell. So his true and official location is the one in Deeproot Depths. How and why an exact copy of his severed head ended up in Stormveil is something that demands a statement from the lore. Sadly, it seems no clear answer is in sight.
3 What’s The Connection Between The Two Fingers & The Three Fingers?
It’s clear that there are other Outer Gods vying for power in the Lands Between. But apparently, only two of them have an envoy or messenger implanted in the continent. That would be the Two Fingers which are agents of the Greater Will/Erdtree and the Three Fingers—an agent of the Frenzied Flame.
Put these digit monsters together and voila! A complete hand. It’s even more poetic that the Two Fingers represent order and the Three Fingers represent chaos. Beyond that assumption, the game doesn’t draw a concrete connection between these fingers. Were they merely part of the same hand that split due to conflicting ideals? Also, do the other Outer Gods have their own finger envoys?
2 What’s That In The Middle Of The Divine Tower Circle?
Elden Ring’s huge map can often be a sign of what might come ahead as DLCs or expansions. Apart from the three colosseums, there’s also another area that has been keeping players up at night. That would be the mysterious and peculiar cloud cluster smack dab in the middle of the map.
There’s a chance it could be nothing more than an artistic touch from whoever drew the map. But there’s also a chance that the developers are hiding something there since the location is too symmetrically perfect to be a coincidence. And no, that’s not where players can find the Elden Ring.
1 Did Dung Eater Really…?
As a bonus, here’s a big one that players have probably been asking themselves ever since the intro cinematic. Dung Eater was a key figure in one of the endings; one possible explanation regarding his moniker is that during his lynching (as shown in the intro), the angry mob threw feces at him as part of the spectacle. Hence, he was named “Dung Eater.”
But if that was the case, then he would’ve had another name prior to that which the game or he himself could have revealed. Other theories point to Dung Eater being such a heinous psychopath that there was no other more fitting nickname for him. And of course, the most obvious theory: he really ate dung for leisure. Turns out defiling corpses has its perks. Anyway, the game most likely won’t answer this stinky question.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
