How to Get the Moonlight Greatsword in Elden Ring (Ranni Questline)

One of the biggest questlines in Elden Ring is the series of tasks you perform for Ranni the Witch. This stuff is so crucial, not only do other quests and big rewards branch off it, finishing the whole thing can lead to a whole alternate ending. You can also get the Moonlight Greatsword, which is a devastating weapon if it fits your build.

This guide assumes you’ve obtained the Dark Moon Ring and beaten the Baleful Shadow, if only because we have guides for those parts already! Once you have this item, you get to go to the Lake of Rot, which is behind our Baleful Shadow friend. You could access it before, but it’s the part after you need the ring for. To navigate the Lake of Rot you need to hug the wall to the right of the Site of Grace, then book it across the Rot to the next platform.

Related: Where to Find the Dark Moon Ring in Elden Ring

If you get to each platform with a pillar, there’s a switch you can hit to raise more platforms. These will let you get to a Dragonkin boss hanging out in the lake, which you can fight if you want. One of the switches takes you to a higher level, where another optional boss is hanging out. But your primary goal is to get all the way across the lake to the next area, the Grand Cloister.

Related: Elden Ring: Where to Find Baleful Shadow

Unless you’re overpowered, you’re gonna need to exercise lots of caution here. It’s a simple area, but one that’s patrolled by those horrid, prawn-like Kins of Rot that shoot clusters of high-damage projectiles at you. If you get in close they’ll switch to their spears, which are totally vulnerable to guard counters.

There’s a larger one over in the top-left corner of the area, where the channel leads to a waterfall. It’s a similar fight, with a beefier shrimp demon. There are also some items in front of the waterfall, but be ready because an Ulcerated Tree Spirit will ambush you. You probably don’t want to deal with that yet, but I can’t stop you!

If you go all the way to the end of the area you’ll find a weapon in a chest, but you need to go towards the second waterfall to progress. There’s a coffin here, and resting in it will take you to the boss fight. You get to face off against Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, who is kind of a weird but totally manageable fight. Use a summon, don’t get greedy and make sure to learn the dodge timings on its magic attacks. The most annoying part is the camera, which doesn’t keep up with Astel’s head very well.

Beating Astel rewards you with yet another new location, the Moonlight Altar. Take the lift behind Astel and you’ll end up on top of that huge mass above the Village of the Albinaurics. This guide is getting a bit long in the tooth, but guess what? Now you get to fight a dragon! Glintstone Dragon Adula is a real jerk, with answers to just about any approach you’ll have. Stay alert and don’t go for more than one or two hits at a time if you’re melee. Mimic Tear is a huge help here to divide Adula’s attention and can survive the whole fight.

Finally, finally you have reached the end of the questline. There’s more you can do, such as returning to Ranni’s Rise for some other loose ends, but for now you can breathe and enter the Cathedral of Manus Celes. There aren’t any threats here, just some items and a hole leading to… A Lot of Things to Process. You’ll get the Moonlight Greatsword down there after the story plays out. Wrapping things up here also entitles you to an alternate ending, which you can choose when the time comes.