Every “Elden Ring” Area Ranked

Out of sheer boredom, I decided to replay “Elden Ring” for the third time. To the surprise of absolutely nobody who’s played that game, it’s just as fun to replay as it is to experience the first time around.

I was most impressed during my replay with how well each area holds up. I want to rank every area in the game (not the DLC – that’ll be a separate list) based on their content, aesthetic, replayability and how generally fun they are.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Top 20 Best Videogame Narratives

EVERY Game I Played In 2024 – Ranked

My Top 20 Favourite Videogame Soundtracks

My Top 25 Favourite Videogames Of All Time

Bad

22 – Lake of Rot

I’m not going against the grain for this ranking – I’ve put the infamous “Lake of Rot” at the bottom of my list. Why on god’s green earth does FromSoft keep putting poison swamps in their games?

It’s just as annoying to traverse the third time as it was the first. It’s a big, boring area which does nothing but give you scarlet rot. There’s hardly any good loot here.

It only gets vaguely interesting right at the end when you get to the bottom of the map … but by then it’s too little too late.

21 – Consecrated Snowfield

The best part of “Consecrated Snowfield” is collecting the secret medallion parts to reveal the passage there, as well as the two further areas it leads to. The actual area itself is just as painful as “Lake of Rot”.

It’s a wide-open, bland-white area with low visibility and some really annoying enemies. That town segment, with the bells and the invisible assassin, was one of my least favourite experiences during my first playthrough.

Meh

20 – Forbidden Lands

I’m surprised people consider “Forbidden Lands” its own area, as I think I spent ten minutes there cumulatively across my three playthroughs.

It’s the barren patch of land between Leyndell and the mountaintops. The only interesting part of it is the Black Blade Kindred fight at the end – but even that wouldn’t make my top fifty bosses in this game.

19 – Mohgwyn Palace

“Mohgwyn Palace”, aside from the boss fight (and the DLC it unlocks), was my biggest let-down of the entire game.

It’s one of the last areas you visit, and it doesn’t live up to the late-game hype at all. You traverse a mundane, bloody series of fields before navigating up some cramped catacombs beneath the boss arena.

18 – Deeproot Depths

Don’t ask me how, but I think I completely missed “Deeproot Depths” on my first playthrough. After completing two more playthroughs since, I now realise that I hadn’t missed much.

It’s an awkward, vertical set of parkour jumps which culminates in an out-of-place 3v1 fight. I like the aesthetic, but the gameplay content is minimal.

17 – Mountaintops of the Giants

I can maybe excuse “Mohgwyn Palace” for being a let-down because it’s an optional area (unless you want to reach the DLC). “Mountaintops of the Giants”, on the other hand, has no excuse – it’s the most lacklustre “main” area of the game by far.

Visually, it’s incredible. The scope is massive and some of the traversal – like along that elongated path with deadly drops either side – is amazing. Other than that, it’s an awkward and oftentimes meandering progression the main plot … and Fire Giant is one of the worst mandatory bosses in the game because of its ridiculous health pool.

Okay

16 – Mt. Gelmir

Is it just me that got absolutely rocked by the Full Grown Fallingstar Beast on my first playthrough?

The climb up “Mt. Gelmir” certainly has its moments, but it’s the area after reaching the summit which makes the ascent worthwhile.

15 – Altus Plateau

I know, I know. “Altus Plateau” is ranked far too low. It’s a gorgeous-looking area and there are some really fun dungeons and areas surrounding it.

But that’s exactly the problem with this area – all of the worthwhile content is in dedicated / separate areas surrounding it (like Leyndell, for example). Still, it serves its purpose as a sort of crossroad.

14 – Subterranean Shunning Grounds

I will never forget the frustration I felt navigating “Subterranean Shunning Grounds” on my first playthrough. This underground labyrinth can be downright evil at times.

It’s not the nicest looking area, either … but at least it serves its purpose as a semi-fun, optional challenge beneath the Royal Capital.

13 – Ainsel River

You might be surprised to see an underground area ranked this low, but ask yourself this – is there really anything interesting to do in “Ainsel River” apart from Nokstella?

The ant enemies really freak me out, and that massive Astel clone can get really annoying with how many projectiles it throws. Still, I have to give all of the underground areas some bonus credit for how surprising and awe-inspiring they are on a first playthrough.

Good

12 – Siofra River

Nothing can ever compare to the first time you descend into “Siofra River”. It was a mind-blowing experience that got me hyped about all the secrets in “Elden Ring” I had yet to uncover.

The area itself is really solid, but nothing crazy. You ride around a large open area and light loads of braziers to unlock an easy boss fight. The visuals and the initial allure are what made this area fun.

11 – Nokron, Eternal City

Yes, I decided to rank both “Eternal Cities” separately from the areas they’re attached to. I ranked lots of other legacy dungeons separately so that only seemed fair.

“Nokron, Eternal City” is the legacy dungeon above “Siofra River”, and it’s ever so slightly my least favourite of the two cities. The city itself is a great albeit short dungeon, but I was a bit disappointed when I had to light the braziers and fight the same boss again.

10 – Nokstella, Eternal City

“Nokstella” has a very similar vibe to “Nokron”, except you don’t have to light those damn braziers yet again. That’s a win in my books.

The only thing holding “Nokstella” back is that it’s not as big of an area as it initially appears. You can either roam around the lower part for minimal loot or ascend the steps towards one specific piece of loot.

Unless I’m misremembering (or unless I missed it somehow), I don’t think there’s a single boss in the whole city. Even the “Dragonskin Soldier of Nokstella” is a part of “Ainsel River”, for some reason.

9 – Crumbling Farum Azula

The penultimate area of the main story (and the last completely unique one), “Crumbling Farum Azula” is by far one of the coolest areas I’ve seen in any game.

It’s an ancient, floating civilization which surrounds a furious hurricane, and there are all sorts of dragons and hidden temples to stumble across. The final boss in particular was a highlight of the whole game.

So why does it barely crack my top ten? It’s a deceptively linear dungeon, for a start, and I don’t think there are enough rewards for exploration. Oh, and the Godskin Duo can suck my nuts. Horrible boss.

8 – Caelid

I’ve never been to Australia, but I imagine it’s a lot like “Caelid”.

One of my favourite things about this area is how optional a lot of it is (apart from Radahn and the Dectus Medallion piece … but you don’t need either of those to beat the game). Chances are you’ll stumble into “Caelid” near the beginning of your journey and regret the difficulty spike immediately.

While I do like how open it is, I don’t think there’s enough content to do in it. There are some great bosses spread out here and there, the Caelid tower is a fun mini dungeon, and the town near the swamp is another decent mini adventure.

That’s the problem with “Caelid” – there are too many small things to do rather than enormous, memorable set-pieces (with, again, Radahn being the main exception … but he’s not my favourite boss to begin with).

Great

7 – Limgrave

The first area in “Elden Ring” is one of the most enticing first areas I’ve experienced in all of gaming.

You emerge from a dank crypt and into a gorgeous open world – a first for a FromSoft game – and there are immediately dozens of things to do. Want to go straight to “Stormveil Castle” and get your shit rocked? Go for it! Want to go straight to “Caelid” and get your ass handed to you on a silver platter? The world is your oyster!

But if you choose to hang around the starter area you’ll find a peninsula to the south, or a forest full of enormous Runebears, or a dragon in a lake, or a large, talking pot. “Limgrave” is where the “Elden Ring” journey begins, and the designers couldn’t have made a more beginner-friendly, enchanting first impression.

6 – Stormveil Castle

And to cap off a great starter area was a daunting yet feasible first major dungeon, “Stormveil Castle”. If you can get past Margott, that is.

It’s the clear highlight of the “Limgrave” region, and it’s the most imposing and breath-taking architecture you’ve come across by this point of the game. I love how there are multiple pathways (i.e. it’s highly replayable), and the Godrick boss at the end was cool as hell.

It’s crazy to think a quality area such as “Stormveil Castle” only made my top five dungeons, and barely missed out on the overall top five areas.

5 – Liurnia of the Lakes

The open world areas have an inherent disadvantage against the more constrained “legacy dungeons”, as they’re less tailored, less focused experiences.

Of all the purely open world areas, “Liurnia of the Lakes” was my favourite. I thought the first peek at “Limgrave” was breath-taking, but when you crest over the hill beside Stormveil and look at the misty valley beneath you – as well as the mystical magical academy hanging above the clouds – you just want to dive straight in.

There’s also lots of open-world content, like Ranni’s tower, the inverted tower and the Four Belfries. If there was one single region I had the most consistently fun time in, it was Liurnia.

Amazing

4 – Volcano Manor

My top four areas in “Elden Ring” are all what the fanbase would call “legacy dungeons”, which are closed-off zones filled to the brim with enemies and loot. The all have a natural progression with seamless exploration, and they all end with an amazing boss fight.

“Volcano Manor” comes as such a pleasant surprise after you climb “Mt. Gelmir”. It’s a large structure which is – you guessed it – integrated with a lava-y climate, and it couldn’t look cooler.

The only two things holding it back from the top three is that it’s perhaps not as large / in-depth as it seems, and the Rykard boss at the end is a bit gimmick-y. Otherwise, this is an amazing, optional set-piece.

3 – Academy of Raya Lucaria

I mean, who doesn’t love a magical academy? It’s one of the coolest tropes our human minds have concocted.

You’re immediately drawn to the “Academy of Raya Lucaria” when you see it poke through Liurnia’s misty skyline, and it delivers on the hype. You can fully believe that this is the premier place for magic in the Lands Between (especially since all the annoying mage enemies seem to live here …).

There are lots of great secrets to uncover, like hidden walls and underground zones, and it’s also the place where you can use Larval Tears to respec your builds.

All-Time Great

2 – Miquella’s Haligtree

The Miquella boss alone would’ve made the Haligtree rank highly, but the city of Elphael is one of the most visually stunning locations I’ve explored in any game.

I love how you start on one of the many tree branches and have to fight your way to the city, and then once I reached Elphael I was blown away. I mean, c’mon – it’s an ancient city built against a massive tree. The verticality is awesome!

All in all, it’s ridiculous how this is an entirely optional area.

1 – Leyndell, Royal Capital

Could it really be any other area at the number one spot?

You spend most of “Elden Ring’s” runtime fighting towards the Erdtree, and once you get there it not only meets expectations but blows them out of the water. The sheer scale of the tree’s surrounding city – with almost every inch being explorable – is ridiculous. You can even climb the petrified dragon. How cool is that?!?

When (spoiler alert) it becomes the Ashen Capital in the lategame, I was actually quite sad. It felt like we, the players, had buried a legendary place under tonnes of ash, its lore lost forever. It’s a testament to the world and level design that I mourned “Leyndell” as if it was a real place.

Aaaand that’s my list! If you liked this post and want to support me, please consider giving me a one-time donation. Even a few pence (or whatever currency you use) is fantastic! I’ve never monetized this blog before, but it would be great if I could do this comfortably and not have to worry about the yearly website domain costs. Thank you so much!