Elden Ring is full of questlines to complete and choices you need to make, but what most people are curious about is if it is bad to pledge yourself to different things. When you have a choice placed in front of you like that, it is difficult to decide whether it is worth it. The Volcano Manor is a place that gives you one of those choices, but is it worth joining?
Yes, you should join Volcano Manor. Not only does it allow you to invade a bunch of random NPCs, but it also gives you access to one of the Shardbearer boss fights. It is a very important quest line that can be bypassed, but going through the quest will get you to the boss quicker than if you didn’t do it.
When joining a group in these games, you might be a little confused about why there are soo many. It isn’t something that you will be stuck with the entire game, rather, it is a choice you have to accept the questline or not. Don’t think of it as a choice that matters. It is the only way to start each questline.
Should you join Volcano Manor?
When it comes to negative or positive consequences, the positive ones outnumber the negative. There isn’t a bad reason to start this questline other than the long quest that Tanith has as you go on. The questline is not difficult at all, but getting to each part of the quest can take a bit longer if you haven’t gone through the Capital yet.
The questline is a pretty fun one because all you have to do is hunt down 3 different people and defeat them. We will get into how to complete each part of the quest later on in this article, but for now, we will focus on the Pros and Cons of starting up this questline.
Pros
There are a ton of pros that go along with starting this quest. Not only does it have you go around a defeat a bunch of Tarnished around the world, but it also lets you access the Rykard fight a lot quicker than if you just explored the open area of Volcano Manor. Yes, you can find a way into the open area without starting the quest, but you will miss out on the full quest line if you do.
The Rykard fight is worth it in the end. We will go over exactly how you get to the fight through the questline later on, but if you don’t accept the quest, you will have to find the boss arena on your own. It is not easy to find the arena, but going through the quest line will teleport you right to the entrance.
Cons
There aren’t any cons to starting the questline. You must join Volcano Manor to get the key to the NPC room. Once you join, the only bad thing is that Bernahl won’t be happy with you. He won’t like it that you need to hunt down other Tarnished, but there really are no negative consequences with that.
If you found Volcano Manor and you have been putting off joining it, go ahead. There are really no bad reasons to start this questline, and you also get easy access to a bunch of really cool fights. Don’t worry about any long-term choices, either. Once you beat Rykard, you can get his Great Rune.
How to complete the Volcano Manor questline?
The questline is pretty short as long as you have most of the world explored. Before you can start the quest, you will need to find Volcano Manor. Once you do, make your way inside. You will then want to talk to Tanith, the lady sitting in the chair. Talk to her and join the Volcano Manor. You will get a key that will open the hallway doors.
Go to the second door on your left and open the door. Go inside and talk to all the NPCs who are inside the room. You are then going to want to grab the Letter from the table. This is your first mission. Look on your map and you will see a marker telling you to go to the North section of Limgrave. This is where the first part of your quest begins.
1. Invade Old Knight Istvan
The first target that Volcano Manor has you search out is Old Knight Istvan. He is found by going to the far North of Limgrave and finding his Invasion sign on the ground. If you are having trouble finding the area, look at your map and there will be a red marker in the general area where the marker is. Once you get to the area, invade his world.
Once you are in his world, you need to defeat him. He is not super difficult because he wields a sword. Keep in mind that his attacks are very quick and sometimes very hard to dodge.
Try to stay back and hit him when there is an opening. Overall, he is the easiest person to defeat in this quest. He also gives you a very good armor set when you defeat him.
2. Invade Rileigh, the Idle
Once you have defeated Istvan, head back to the Manor. Go into the NPC room again and grab the second letter. This will give you a new target to locate and defeat. We have no idea why these people need to be defeated, but that is just part of the quest. To find Rileigh, you will need to head to Altus Plateau.
He is in the middle section of the area and his summon sign can be found between 2 cliff faces. Same as before, if you are having trouble finding it, just look at your map. A red marker will show you where you need to go.
Once you find the sign, summon him and defeat him. He is harder than the previous person, but still not too difficult. He wields a Scarlet Rot Dagger and a Crossbow so no matter where you are, he can still do damage to you. Once you defeat him, head back to the Manor for your next target.
3. Invade Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood
Once you make it back to the Manor, talk to Tanith and she will tell you that you are doing a great job. Head to the NPC room once again and you will find a new letter on the table. It will be the Red Letter and your final challenge before you can face off against Rykard. This person is a lot harder to find because you must go to the Mountaintop of the Giants to find them.
Make sure to check your map for the new marker, as this one is a bit more confusing to find than the other two. You must go to the giant ice canyon in the middle of the Mountain top area and head West. Follow the walls until you reach a small cabin at the edge of the cliff. You will then see the invasion sign on the ground.
This enemy is the hardest one to fight because he has a whip. It has some serious speed and damage, and it also has insane reach as well. It is fast and hard to dodge. Many people have complained about how hard he is, but for most people, it is not too difficult. You get a good armor set and the whip once you defeat him as well.
4. Defeat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
Once you defeated all 3 of the people for Tanith, you can now talk to her about seeing Rykard. She will then ask you if you are ready to meet him and you will be teleported to a small room with a golden Mist door in front of you. This is Rykard’s arena. Once you walk in, grab the Serpent Hunter weapon on your left.
Equip the weapon and use it to defeat the giant Serpent in the middle of the massive boss arena. After you drain the health bar of the Serpent, the real boss fight shows its ugly head. You will then have to go through another health bar, but this time, it is Rykard himself. He was the Serpent this whole time.
Once you defeat his second phase, you then will receive his Great Rune, and you will get a bunch of Runes to upgrade yourself. Once you activate the Site of Grace, make sure to rest at it and see Tanith eating from the head of Rykard.
Talk to her, and the quest is fully completed. It is a very odd quest but leads to a dramatic ending boss fight.