How to learn which direction to go for the main story in Elden Ring

Elden Ring is an open-world fantasy RPG that utilizes FromSoftware’s famous mechanics and features found in their previous titles, such as Dark Souls. Rage-inducing bosses and enemies, pages of lore and a massive amount of items are scattered across the open world as players search for the Elden Ring. Searching for the ring might be the center of the main story but, right out of the gate, players can easily miss where to go to advance the central quest.

Like most other FromSoft games, there are no quest markers or easily discernible locations to go to in Elden Ring. You’re simply dropped in the middle of a map and told to explore it. Along your journey, you’ll receive small tutorial messages but, other than that, no guidance is offered. But, one small piece of guidance can be a lifesaver if you can’t find how to progress the main story.

Finding the main story in Elden Ring

While Elden Ring doesn’t offer any quest markers, it doesn’t leave players out to dry. The first Lost Grace site that players will visit, which is ten feet in front of their spawn point, offers some directional guidance for the main quest. If players look at the Lost Grace site, they’ll see a golden streak. This is also known as the guidance of grace.

The guidance of grace gives players a directional clue for the main story. In this case, the starting Lost Grace site points players in the direction of a merchant who has a smithing table beside him. There’s another Lost Grace site at this location, which has another golden streak that keeps players pointed north.

From here, it gets a little confusing. Players can either head to the Gatefront Ruins and the Stormveil Castle or keep venturing around Limgrave. However, as long as players can find a Lost Grace site in the open, they should have a small clue as to where to go to advance the main story. Usually, the streaks lead to bosses that open up more of the map or to NPCs that offer some dialogue.

If you’re new to FromSoftware titles, though, be prepared to run into optional bosses and dungeons that aren’t related to the main story at all. Elden Ring’s world is full of encounters like this, so if you need to, return to your last Lost Grace site and re-follow the golden streak to locate the main story quest.