Elden Ring's Ranni is the true hero of the game

FromSoftware’s games have never been about heroes. The Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls games have typically starred lowlifes rising up to overcome their fate – or in the case of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a stoic Shinobi just tried to protect his master, all against backdrop of decaying worlds where everyone’s at each other’s throats.

Elden Ring changes that, but not in the way you might think. You’re still very much a nobody; a “Tarnished” out to seek glory by claiming the title of “Elden Lord,” battling your way through horrendous men and monsters alike. Some, like Margit the Fell Omen, outright tell you to “put these foolish ambitions to rest,” while others like Sir Gideon Ofnir stab you in the back to prevent your grand machinations, all viewing you as an unworthy hero.

We have to look beyond the player character for the “hero” of Elden Ring, then. The shoulders that title falls upon belong to none other than Ranni the Witch, the mysterious blue-skinned being with several cohorts residing in a big fancy tower near Caria Manor. Yours and Ranni’s journeys actually begin as mirroring each other: you’re both recruits of the Two Fingers, but Ranni spurns being a pawn for The Fingers – which is where your journey with the Empyrean begins.