Elden Ring player proves how small the map really is when you cut optional content

Elden Ring gameplay
(Image credit: FromSoftware / Bandi Namco)

An Elden Ring player has illustrated the minimum amount of the map that you need to explore to finish the game.

Elden Ring is by far From Software’s biggest game to date. You can literally spend hundreds of hours wandering around the Lands Between, exploring dungeons, battling enemies, completing quests for NPCs or simply admiring the scenery from atop your trusty steed Torrent.

Unlike Dark Souls, From Software has added a map this time around, and while it doesn’t provide a ton of information, it certainly helps you get your bearings in Elden Ring’s enormous open world. But just how much of this sprawling land do you actually need to explore if your only goal is seeing the game’s ending credits? Well, wonder no more, as one Elden Ring player has answered that very question. So if you’re not one for spoilers, avert your peepers now.  

As evidenced by this image from Spicy_Slice, shared on the Elden Ring subreddit, you actually need to explore very little of the Lands Between to beat the game. Surprisingly, it’s little more than a straight walk through the middle of the map to the handful of bosses that you need to beat to reach the end of the story, and you can even use some teleport shortcuts to cut the journey even further. 

the_minimum_possible_amount_of_the_map_that_you from r/Eldenring

Not that we would recommend this hasty approach, mind you, as hightailing it to the end means that you'd not only miss out on loot, memorable optional bosses, and basically, the majority of one of the year’s best games, but you might find yourself rather underleveled for Elden Ring’s tough final stretch. But it is nonetheless interesting to visualize just how small the game's critical path really is.

Since the game’s release, Tarnished have been flocking to the Lands Between in record numbers, making Elden Ring easily From Software’s best-selling game ever

With Elden Ring doing so well, we wonder will any other 2022 release be as dominant as Elden Ring?

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

Read more
Red Dead Redemption screenshot of protagonist John Marston aiming a pistol
Ex GTA 6 dev says free and live service games are "eating everyone's time," and combined with "open world fatigue," it's getting harder to make players explore
Skyrim
RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says Skyrim is the perfect example of why it doesn't matter if players finish games because "a lot of people never finish the crit path," but "they love it"
Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree
"A lot of the joy is in the difficulty": After spending 400+ hours dying 15,000 times in a painful Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree run, streamer admits challenges have "ruined normal gaming" for him
Skyrim
Fallout and RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says most players don't want games "6 times bigger than Skyrim or 8 times bigger than The Witcher 3"
Elden Ring
Elden Ring streamer puts us all to shame and beats every boss - including the DLC fights - in a single hit in 54 hours, which is less than your average playthrough
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree final boss Radahn stares into the camera, holding a sword in each hand.
After 423 hours and over 15,000 total deaths, Elden Ring player finally beats Shadow of the Erdtree without the upgrades FromSoftware urged everyone to use: "Never give up"
Latest in Action Rpg
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
The First Berserker: Khazan isn't even out yet, but the new Soulslike RPG already has over 1,300 94% positive reviews on Steam from early buyers
Lies of P art showing P walking in a snowy forest
Lies of P director loves FromSoftware and respects the Soulslike tag, but says "I'm really serious, I'm not lying, I'm very truthful, our focus is to create our own style of game"
Lies of P Overture art of P
Lies of P director says Overture DLC is at least 15 to 20 hours long for "experienced" players, packing tons of bosses and ideas the devs couldn't fit at launch
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot showing a hunter battling a congalala
If you missed the last one, the new Monster Hunter Wilds event quest is another way to stock up on rare ingredients before the big update drops next week
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' first major update rights its greatest wrong by adding a proper Palico cooking animation, and it's letting you change Alma's glasses
Latest in News
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
The First Berserker: Khazan isn't even out yet, but the new Soulslike RPG already has over 1,300 94% positive reviews on Steam from early buyers
fool me once
Harlan Coben’s new novel is set to be "more of a sequel" to the hit Netflix series Fool Me Once: "I don’t know any time that’s ever happened"