Elden Ring: All Outer Gods, Ranked

Summary

• Outer Gods in Elden Ring are enigmatic entities that influence the land through avatars, offering destructive powers to those who accept their gifts.
• Demigods like Messmer and Rykard are connected to snake-like beings, possibly Outer Gods, adding mystery and depth to the game's lore.
• The Scarlet Rot is not just a disease, but the influence of an Outer God aiming to rot the Lands and create new life, with demigod Malenia as its avatar.

Elden Ring is filled with divine entities that fight for control of the Lands Between, but few are as enigmatic as the Outer Gods. The demigods are all children of Marika, while Marika herself is a god, but the Outer Gods have little to do with the game’s main family tree.

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They represent the madness of the unknown, or rather, the unknowable, able to influence the land only through their avatars. They can be highly destructive, but if you accept their gifts, you can become mighty indeed, unless you are the player, in which case, you can use all their spells free of charge.

8 Messmer And Rykard’s Snakes

It Can’t Be A Coincidence

Messmer and Rykard are two demigods that end up being related to snakes and fire, but their motivations differ greatly. Rykard seeks out the God-Devouring Serpent (much like Ranni seeks her Moon), while Messmer has been plagued by his Abyssal Serpent since birth (just like Malenia and Scarlet Rot).

The imagery and design of these creatures make players want to know more, but sadly, all we know is that they exist. They have to be some form of Outer God, since they act similar to one, but we are left to wonder if these snakes are connected at all, or if there are two different snake-like Gods slithering through the cosmos.

7 Outer God Of Deathbirds

Death In Many Forms

The best part of this Outer God is that we know it exists, thanks to the Twinbird Kite Shield: it states that the Twinbird (not a creature you can find in the game) was the mother of the Deathbirds and envoy of an Outer God.

Those Who Live In Death tend to be associated with this Outer God, but they aren’t actually related. It is like comparing zombies to ghosts; same theme, different beings.

That’s basically all we know since the Ghostflame associated with this Outer God was used to burn corpses before the Erdtree existed, and now people are cycled through the roots of the tree instead of being burned. With its close relationship with fire and opposed beliefs to the Erdtree, the Gloam-Eyed Queen might have been an avatar of this Outer God, but we will never know.

6 The Fell God

A Gigantic Flame

The Fell God has a lot of wasted potential since it is very important for the story of the Erdtree (and how the player ends up burning it), but you are told very little about it. FromSoftware games are known for being vague and cryptic, but nearly all other areas of Elden Ring have a more explicit purpose.

We are considering the Fell God an Outer God since, like all other Outer Gods, it influences mortal entities from beyond the Lands Between.

You see, the Flame of Ruin was prophesied to burn the Erdtree, which is why Marika went to war with the Giants and sealed their Flame. But unless you are reading every single spell description, you’ll be left wondering why you are going to the mountaintops and why the Erdtree is suddenly burning.

5 The Formless Mother

Outer God Of Blood

In concept, the Formless Mother is a very dark and interesting Outer God. The few that worship her are tainted by her blood, in which they bathe rather literally, stabbing her with special incantations and setting the area on fire thanks to said blood.

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In practice, the Formless Mother got the short end of the Outer Godly stick, since compared to her peers she achieves very little. Her main representative, Mohg, ends up being manipulated by Miquella and dies, never being able to start his promised dynasty.

4 The Moons

Too Powerful To Just Be A Natural Satellite

The Moons are initially presented as simple celestial bodies being channeled through incantations, but there is more than meets the eye. After all, Ranni is able to bring forth a new age thanks to her Dark Moon, showing it to be equal in power to an Outer God.

In Shadow of the Erdtree, you can meet Count Ymir, who once studied sorceries and the stars. He claims that the Moon is simply the closest celestial body, and that nothing is special about it beyond that, so we are left to wonder how Ranni can use the power of the Moon for her ending; she might be creating an Outer God right then and there.

3 The Greater Will

To Some, The Main Antagonist Of The Game

The Greater Will is never described as an Outer God, but it certainly works like one: it influences the Lands Between without being there, sends forth envoys in the form of the Elden Beast and Metyr, and has a godly avatar, Marika.

Placidusax is said to have been Elden Lord but was abandoned by his God. This God might have been the Greater Will since, at least according to Ymir, when Marika arrives, the Will is already gone.

If it isn’t an Outer God, then it might be something even more unknowable. After all, the Greater Will left the Lands Between behind while all other Outer Gods were fighting for dominance over the realm, almost like carrion birds eating the carcass that a lion left behind.

2 The Scarlet Rot

Sealed But Not Defeated

It is thanks to the lore of the Scarlet Rot that we get to know so much about the Outer Gods and how they work. The Scarlet Rot is not a mere affliction, but the influence of an Outer God that wants to rot the Lands so they can be reborn, creating new life from the Scarlet Blooms.

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To achieve its goals, it needs an avatar, and the demigod Malenia was the one chosen. This also teaches us about the influence of these Gods, letting us use these patterns to understand many other parts of the lore, which in an odd way makes us grateful the Scarlet Rot exists.

1 The Flame Of Frenzy

The Only One That Targets You

The best Outer God by far has to be the Flame of Frenzy, solely due to its involvement with the player. All other Outer Gods (and most characters, for that matter) treat the player as a non-entity, at best ignoring them and at worst underestimating their might.

The Flame of Frenzy seeks you out, offering you a way to save your companion Melina for the low, low price of dooming everyone to a fiery death. This ties back to what we know of the Scarlet Rot, seeking the way Malenia warded off that influence to get rid of it yourself.

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