BOSS RUSH Save File

WHAT IS THIS?
This is a save file for Elden Ring on Windows (Steam) with the world largely looted, all Walking Mausoleums that can be made into Kneeling Mausoleums have been, the vast majority of non-boss/non-soft lock grace stations available, and with a variety of options readily available so you can get to the fun parts of testing builds on bosses!  In this save file, all bosses are alive, and you’re a base level character with no upgraded items but with enough upgrade materials to max out a variety of weapons, shields, and summons!

This save file is mostly meant for those who have already beaten the game and are tired of going through hours of world wandering to collect many things for their builds.

Since this is a save file, it will work offline and online on From’s official servers.  It was tested on game version 1.08.1 and since it’s a save file, is expected to work on future versions as well!

HOW DO I INSTALL & USE IT?
-Ensure Elden Ring is not running on this computer!

-Navigate to %APPDATA%EldenRing in Windows Explorer.  (The path is case insensitive.)

-BACK UP YOUR EXISTING SAVE FILES!  Simply copying whatever’s there into another directory, like one labeled BACKUP, will do.

-Extract the enclosed ZIP file into %APPDATA%EldenRing and overwrite all files.

-Start Elden Ring and play as the one character on this save file. 

-Customize this character at Fia’s mirror, pick your equipment, and enjoy!

ATTRIBUTION
If you use this save file as part of a public work (a YouTube video, a Reddit article, a forum post, or/and something else), mention its name (Elden Ring Boss Rush Mode Save for Steam) and provide a download link to NexusMods.  Thankee!

SOFT LOCK WARNING!

-I am unsure off-hand why these locations are soft locks but others aren’t.

COMPATIBILITY
This save file has been tested and confirmed compatible on 1.08.1 on the PC (Steam) version without item-changing mods like Elden Ring Randomizer.  It may work on other platforms (PlayStation, XBOX…) or/and with mods, but I haven’t tested it this way and don’t plan to test it this way.

If you’ve tested it with item-changing mods or/and another platform and confirmed it working, share your results with the community and with me!

THIRD PARTY PROGRAMS USED IN OFFLINE MODE
–Cheat Engine with This Table: Used to reveal all grace stations, simulate flying Torrent in 1.08.1, phase through walls, escape soft locks, grant invincibility, unlock all co op crucifixes, and edit items/spells/gestures onto this character for the sake of my sanity.

–Elden Ring 1.02-1.03 Trainer +30: Used to multiply items in inventory and guarantee item drops.  Cheat Engine can do this as well, but it was easier for me this way.

While I played much of this game without invincibility, and even found creative ways to beat Vyke in Liurnia via Cuckoo Glintstones, after repeatedly getting 1-shot in various areas, I relied on invincibility and rushing through areas to collect everything I could for the sake of my sanity.  I preferred the challenge of getting as far as I could at minimum level (9 for Samurai) and nothing upgraded without invincibility, but when progress became an unpleasant wall, I turned it on.

Anyone else attempting to loot the world could do so a -lot- faster with invincibility active the entire time!

FRIENDLY NPCS & VENDORS
-All merchants were bought out of all non-infinite items.

-All friendly NPCs are alive except Gostoc who is a thief and only poses as friendly.  Killing him allowed me to buy out his inventory stock sooner.  Since he’s part of Nepheli’s quest and keeping him alive grants an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, I edited that in so players weren’t missing out.

QUESTS
-In general, all quests were progressed as far as possible without killing any bosses, without killing any friendly NPCs, and without going down a one-way branching path.

ALEXANDER: Freed from his hole, he now waits for you to kill Radahn!

(I edited in the Warrior Jar Shard talisman he drops if you fail this quest.  Finish his quest for the better version, the Shard of Alexander!)

BOC: Freed from his tree form, he now waits for you to kill the bosses of the Coastal Cave.

BLACKGUARD THE SEAFOOD SELLER: Quest complete!  Alleluia!  (He’s still dead and his bell bearing is redeemed in Roundtable Hold but we got his Seedbed Curse.)

BLAIDD THE HALF-WOLF: He’s in Castle Redmane with Alexander.  Progressing his quest is optional.  Finish Ranni’s quest and he’ll go hostile outside Ranni’s tower.

BROTHER CORHYN & GOLDMASK: They’re in the Royal Capital.  Get at least 37 INT, prepare the spell Law of Regression, then cast it with any equipped Glintstone Staff in the right spot to progress their quest.

D/GURRANQ: D’s in Roundtable Hold and Gurranq’s in his Beastial Sanctum awaiting Deathroot gained from killing certain bosses.

DIALLOS & JAR BAIRN: Diallos is in Volcano Manor.  Kill Rykard (or otherwise finish Volcano Manor’s quest line) and he’ll move to Jarburg.  Proceed from there.

DUNG EATER: Invaded the outer moat and killed Blackguard.  Can be summoned to fight Sewer Mohg or killed in the outer moat to return to his cell.  We have 5 Seedbed Curses for his ending should you wish to give him them.

IRENA (CASTLE MOURNE GIRL) & EDGAR (CASTLE MOURNE GUARD): Kill the Castle Mourne boss (Leonine Misbegotten) to progress their quest.

GIDEON OFNIR THE “ALL-KNOWING”: Kill any shardbearer to progress his quest.

Note that by killing Malenia then talking with Gideon, he’ll give you Lord’s Divine Fortification; killing Blood Lord Mohg has him give you Law of Causality; and visiting the Haligree has him give you Black Flame’s Protection.

Of course, killing Maliketh puts all his quest rewards in the Roundtable Hold Twin Maiden Husk shop.

GREAT JAR & CAELID COLISEUM: All 3 NPC invasions are there, ready for you to fight.  All coliseums have been visited.

HYETTA (FRENZIED FLAME GIRL): Finish Castle Mourne, beat the invader at the Revenger’s Shack, then give Hyetta a Shabriri Grape by Bellum Church to progress her quest.  (Vyke was already killed.  Cuckoo Glintstone spam for VIP against him!  Alleluia!)

LATENNA THE SNIPER ALBINAURIC: Quest complete.  Alleluia!

LORD HAIGHT: He’s monologing on his ruin as usual.  To proceed, kill Godrick and progress Nepheli’s quest.  (The Bloody Slash knight is dead.)

MILLICENT & GOWRY: She’s writing in agony at the start of her quest, as usual.  Kill Commander O’Neil then visit Gowry, exhaust his dialog, then reload the area to progress the quest.  (Save & quit the game then continue.)  Talk to Millicent in the Church of the Plague to continue.

(I edited in the talisman she drops if you ‘fail’ this quest.  Finish her quest and save her from her sisters for her final rewards – a Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Miquella’s Needle, and a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone!)

NEPHELI LOUX: She’s in Roundtable Hold.  To proceed, Kill Godrick as normal.

PAINTINGS: All paintings found and rewards obtained.

RANNI AKA RENNA: Her Fingerslayer Blade is in Nokron in its open but unlooted chest.  FINISH SNAPE’S QUEST FIRST IF YOU WANT HIS REWARDS!

Otherwise, continue Ranni’s quest as normal:  Talk to Ranni with the Fingerslayer Blade enough times, and eventually rest at Ainsel River Main then talk to her doll 3 times.  (You may need to visit Ainsel River Main and pick up the Miniature Ranni item.)

WARNING: Warping to the Moonlight Altar and talking with her true form under the Cathedral of Manes Celes will END this quest, preventing you from doing any unfinished steps before this point!

RODERIKA: She’s happy to tune your spirits in Roundtable Hold.

ROGIER & FIA: Kill Godrick and Rogier will head to Roundtable Hold.  Fia’s in her default state in Roundtable Hold.  (We already have the Cursemark of Death and bought him out at the Stormveil Castle cathedral.)

SELLEN: To progress her quest, kill Radahn, talk to Witch-Hunter Jerren in the Castle Redmane throne room & exhaust his dialog, kill the Mad Pumpkin Head in the Waypoint Ruins basement, talk to Sellen in the Waypoint Ruins, then talk with Jerren in the Witchbane Ruins & exhaust his dialog.  Visit Sellen in Snape’s puppet room and return her soulstone to her.  Then you can otherwise progress the quest as normal.

(I purposely edited in all the main rewards from his quest – an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, Jerren’s Eccentric set, Sellen’s Witch’s Glintstone Crown, and the Shard Spiral spell – so you can make a roleplaying choice as to how to progress.)

SHABRIRI/YURA: By the Zamor Ruins grace station as Shabriri this time.  We still have Yura’s Nagakiba, Raptor of the Mists Ash of War, and rewards from killing Bloody Finger Nerijus & Bloody Finger Eleonora.

SNAPE: We have his potion.  We can immediately give it to Nepheli in Roundtable Hold and end her quest OR kill a shardbearer to have Gideon talk to us and dump the potion OR beat Dung Eater in the Outer Moat and feed him the potion in his sewer cell.

(I purposely edited in all the main rewards from his quest – Magic Scorpion Charm and the Nepheli/Dung Eater summons – so you can make a roleplaying choice as to how to progress.)

THOPS: Quest complete.  Alleluia!

VARRE (WHITE MASK): Kill a shardbearer, talk to the Two Fingers in Roundtable Hold, then talk to Varre outside Liurnia’s Rose Church to progress his quest.

VOLCANO MANOR NPCs (BERNAHL, DIALLOS, PATCHES, RYA, TANITH): To proceed, complete all contracts for Volcano Manor BEFORE killing Rykard if you want maximum benefits!

Patches is alive, crouching in his usual spot in Volcano Manor.

Rya is also alive and in her starting location in Volcano Manor with her necklace.

FAQ
How much of the world is accessible without using Cheat Engine?
Using downpatching – that is, applying a less patched version of the game (1.02.1) – and a combination of zips, wrong warps, and flying Torrent, the entire world is accessible without killing any bosses!  (The notable exceptions are doors and chests blocked by boss fog or the Sellia Sealbreaker, like Sellen in the Waypoint Ruins or Lusat’s Staff in a chest in Sellia.  It’s theoretically possible to skip Margit with zips!)

Without flying Torrent, wrong warps and zips are still possible in 1.08.1, but make the process -far- less convenient!  It might be possible to zip to Deeproot Depths, but until I have further proof, that’s the only major area inaccessible without killing any bosses.

How did you determine what items to multiply/dupe/edit in?
-I edited in any Ash of War, gesture, talisman, or spell that didn’t explicitly require killing a boss to get that I didn’t already find.  (Items or spells that could be gained from boss rooms afterwards, like Lusat’s Staff, I used Cheat Engine to get via ‘warping’ through the wall; that is, editing the character’s X/Y local coordinates.  I did occasionally have the character fall through the world because not everything is as solid as it looks!  Don’t worry about the falls:  We’re better now.)

I also warped to the Ashen Capital (unintentionally, actually) and looted the few items that were available without killing or triggering any bosses.  (Remember:  Maliketh lives, meaning the Royal Capital is still fully accessible!)

-I edited in quest rewards from branching paths (Snape’s & Sellen’s) so people can make roleplaying choices as to how they want their story to tend.

-I multiplied most crafting materials and consumables because generally they’re too weak to care about or/and too inconvenient or too precious to use.  I was initially concerned about multiplying Starlight Shards since they’re very finite, but PvPers have been duping them for PvP for months now.  On the upside, Starlight Shards and Rune Arcs are more usable now that you’re very unlikely to run out!

-I purposely avoided multiplying rune items and upgrade materials because people actually care about those.  You have enough upgrade materials to max out a variety of armaments and spirit summons.  You have enough spare runes to reach level 70+ without killing anything.

I was also curious to know how many of these were available in the world and vendors, and now we have an approximate count.  (Some foes still dropped their runes or stones or flowers which added to this count.)

Why are there so many items in storage?
Some of them are lesser versions of talismans collected, like Boltdrake +0 & +1.  Many are just duplicates of items gotten by killing foes.  (Imps and brass shield soldiers are some of the most common enemies in this game!)

Do what you want with them:  Sell ‘em, donate ‘em, use ‘em, trash ‘em, or ignore ‘em.

Why not start as a Wretch for maximum customizability?
I wanted to be able to enjoy the journey.  Samurai starts with higher physical stats and a guaranteed uchigatana and longbow, making various areas easier or even possible for me.  Any class could use these with the right levels, yes, but being at minimum level for about 70 hours with no upgrades was difficult enough!

Besides, double katanas!

This character also starts with enough runes to level to 70+, meaning your starting class's stats don't matter much.

What are some important things you learned by making this Boss Rush save?
-The game is very intentionally very open.  It normally won’t crash if you do something unexpected.

-Altering some armor items slightly changes their stats.

-The Winged Physick tear is very useful for easily wearing the heaviest armors, especially at low levels!  Wearing the heaviest armor I could let this character sometimes survive an extra hit!

-Uplifting Aromatics provide a 1 hit bubble just like the Opaline Bubbletear.

-Cuckoo Glintstones are useful on some NPC invaders.

-Some NPC invaders will rush off cliffs, especially if you lead them off cliffs and also fall.

-At low physical stats, Radagon’s Soreseal is THE MVP talisman!  Its -15% to all damage resistances is much less than the bonus to all damage resistances gained by wearing it in addition to having more HP!

-I better understand now why people have loved playing melee characters in this game – status effects, backstabs, poise breaks, and big ‘wham’ attacks.

-Sleep pots work on MANY creatures and not just the Godskins!

-The Frenzied Flame vertical platforming section woulda been a bit easier if, in-universe, someone didn’t take away one of the platforms and turn it into a shield

How can I tip you?
All gratuity graciously accepted.  Gracias!

CREDITS
-Elden Lord Jesus Christ.  Alleluia!  (From’s Souls games have many Bible references.  That’s a topic for another place.)

-Many online Elden Ring players & video makers.  Most aspects of the game are covered in guides and some in gimmick characters.

VERSIONS
1.0 – March 7, 2023: Initial public release.