Speedrunning Tips#
Elden Ring is an open-world soulslike action RPG, and its speedruns differ most from linear soulslike predecessors in one way: players can parkour around almost everything from all directions. The core of speedrunning isn’t “beating every boss” but judging which bosses must die, which can be skipped, and how to produce damage fast while constrained.
This chapter unfolds across five layers: run categories, main-quest sequence breaks, Remembrance boss quick kills, resource management, and segmented practice.
Run Categories#
| Category | Goal | Estimated time | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any% | Finish with any ending using every sequence-break trick | 25-35 minutes | ★★★★★ |
| Any% Glitchless | Any-ending finish without using glitch skips | 1-2 hours | ★★★★☆ |
| All Remembrances | Kill all Remembrance bosses and collect their Remembrances | 3-5 hours | ★★★★☆ |
| All Bosses | Kill every boss (including hidden and dungeon bosses) | 5-8 hours | ★★★★★ |
| NG+ speedrun | Push through the first playthrough and speedrun straight into NG+ | 30-50 minutes | ★★★★☆ |
Category notes: Elden Ring’s “Remembrance bosses” are fixed bosses that drop a Great Rune or a Remembrance, and their kill progress doesn’t carry through endings; the “All Bosses” category additionally includes the many skippable tree spirits, knights, and lords outside the main storyline, which is why its time span is enormous.
The Any% Core Route#
Any%’s goal is to touch the Elden Ring and reach any ending as fast as possible. The route’s core idea is replacing the main-axis map traversal with a few “big detours”, leaving large regions for later horseback sprinting. The typical macro chain goes:
- Limgrave start: from the spawn point, head straight for the Gatefront and grab the Spectral Steed Whistle first — the foundation of global pace.
- Dragon-Burnt Ruins trap teleport: open the specific chest at the Dragon-Burnt Ruins in Limgrave to trigger a teleport trap straight into Caelid, skipping the long overland trek across the far regions.
- Stormveil or the castle skip: depending on version and branch, the main quest can enter Stormveil Castle head-on, or try jump points to skirt the elites and corridors guarding Godrick the Grafted inside the castle.
- The academy in Liurnia and the capital: after reaching the Altus Plateau, enter Leyndell, the royal capital; en route, whether to clear Volcano Manor depends on taking the Rykard branch.
- Preparation before the final boss: before defeating Radagon and the Elden Beast, prepare the conditions for your chosen ending.
Key Main-Quest Jump Points#
| Sequence break | How to perform | Time saved |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon-Burnt Ruins chest trap | Open the teleport chest to reach a Caelid mine area directly | About 30 minutes |
| Side jump into the capital | Use walls and tree canopies near a Site of Grace to bypass the front-gate guards | About 10 minutes |
| Volcano Manor branch | Use the branch to reach Rykard’s area directly | About 20 minutes |
| Tree jumps and wall clipping | Use terrain collision detection to reach platforms you shouldn’t reach | About 5 minutes |
| Final boss jump point | Avoid part of the pre-fight setup at a specific position | About 3 minutes |
Version warning: jump points depend on version-specific physics and collision detection; patches may fix or change their viability. Always confirm the current version before a run — a failed route wastes several minutes for nothing.
Quick-Kill Logic for Remembrance Bosses (Any% Minimal-Kill)#
Not many bosses truly cannot be skipped in Any%, so never linger on anything skippable and invest efficient output only in the fights that are mandatory. Below are the quick-kill judgments for common mandatory bosses.
| Boss | Mandatory? | Quick-kill approach | Risk points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margit, the Fell Omen | Main-quest gate | Use a strike-type weapon to stagger quickly into a critical hit | Fast melee startup, low margin for error |
| Godrick the Grafted | Depends on route | Let summons pull aggro first, then hit damage windows | Phase-two area attacks |
| Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon | Depends on ending branch | Her hit-stun is pronounced; her wind-ups can be baited | The summon phase wastes time |
| Morgott, the Omen King | Capital gate | Time his thrusts and sweeps’ recoveries | Cursed-sword attacks cover a wide range |
| Fire Giant | Gate to the final region | Focus damage on the ankle weak point | Phase-two rolling boulders |
| Radagon and the Elden Beast | Final boss | Stay glued at close range to shorten transitions; chase the Elden Beast relentlessly | The longest fight overall |
Rule: while speedrunning, don’t spend whetstones and flasks on non-essential elites. What really eats time usually isn’t the boss itself, but getting lost and re-running the map.
Common Any% Builds and Resource Management#
With short runs and low levels, builds must pay off immediately at extremely low stat investment. Ranked below by “the sooner the better”.
| Build idea | Key weapon/item | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dual bleed | Bleed-affinity weapons stack status fast | High output against most bosses | Needs some Arcane investment |
| Ranged mage | Meteorite Staff and Rock Sling | Can take down targets from a distance without engaging | Cast startup suffers up close |
| Strength jump-attack | Greatsword with the Lion’s Claw Ash of War | High poise damage, staggers fast | Slow swings; must punish recoveries |
High-Priority Early Items#
| Item | When to get | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Spectral Steed Whistle | Opening minutes | Foundation of all travel; overland without a horse slows you down massively |
| Stonesword Key | Ruins and dungeons near the spawn | Opens sealed doors leading to key shortcuts |
| Spirit Calling Bell and Ashes | Early game | Summon the Mimic Tear and other spirits to pull aggro, hugely raising boss-fight safety |
| Pureblood Knight’s Medal | After finishing Varré’s dialogue | Teleport quickly to the Mohgwyn Palace area |
Resource criteria: the Spectral Steed Whistle takes priority over all gear as a principle; save flasks and spirit ashes for bosses you must fight; use Stonesword Keys only on key shortcuts, never on skippable sealed doors.
Segmented Practice and Criteria#
Speedrunners usually split the run into “segments”, timed and reviewed separately. Segments are divided not by region but by cost of failure — that is, how far you must re-run after a mistake in that segment.
| Segment | Cost of failure | Practice focus |
|---|---|---|
| Start to Spectral Steed Whistle | Low, can restart instantly | A locked-in opening routine |
| Dragon-Burnt Ruins teleport | Low, but a misclick enters the wrong region | Chest location and opening motion |
| Continuous map run before the capital | High, one long stretch with no save | Route memory and dodging elites |
| Mandatory boss chain | Highest, huge re-run cost | Each boss’s opening and recovery rhythm |
| Final boss | High, with a long lead-in | Radagon/Elden Beast transition and chase |
Practice criteria:
- Repeat the same segment on a fixed route until three consecutive mistake-free runs, then move to the next segment.
- Once each segment passes, start linking them; during linking, watch the handoff points between segments (turns during traversal, mounting up, chest-opening camera shifts).
- Log the location of every death and traversal mistake, and fix them one by one, prioritizing “the same mistake recurring”.
Common Speedrun Mistakes and How to Avoid Them#
| Mistake | Consequence | Avoidance |
|---|---|---|
| Not grabbing the horse in time | Severe slowdown overland in the second half | Make the whistle the fixed first task of the run |
| Teleported into the wrong region | A long stretch must be re-run | Confirm the exact position you stand on before opening a chest |
| Runes lost on death | Wasted time re-collecting | Avoid pointless deaths during a run |
| Missing Grace sites en route | Can’t fast-travel back for checks | Touch Graces along the way as you pass |
| Wasting flasks on optional bosses | Short on resources for key fights | Follow the “must-kill list” strictly |
| Outdated patch version | Routes run wasted for nothing | Confirm the current version before starting |
FAQ#
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Roughly how fast is a finished run | A no-mistake Any% typically lands in the 25-35 minute range |
| Do speedruns include DLC content | Usually not; the DLC area has no mandatory tie to main-story progression |
| Must glitches be used to count as speedrunning | No; Glitchless remains one of the mainstream categories |
| Which segment tests skill the most | The continuous map run before the capital and the final boss chain |
| Which version should I start practicing on | In principle the latest current version, since jump points may change with patches |
Summary#
Elden Ring speedrunning is, at heart, a contest of resources and routes: skip whatever can be skipped, and kill fast whatever must die. The freedom it grants players is the greatest joy that sets it apart from linear soulslike speedruns — your job isn’t to fight every boss to the end, but to judge which battles truly deserve your sword and your flasks.