One does not simply just “beat the game” to become Elden Lord. Elden Ring players have found a multitude of different ways to complete their journey in the Lands Between. Despite the fact that the game is designed to be difficult, many Tarnished have succeeded in finishing their playthroughs in ways that the normal player would not attempt.

Related: Elden Ring: Best Builds For Challenge Runs

However, most players know that it’s the perfect foundation for either making the game easy with an overpowered one-shot build or more so than often, creating their hardcore mode. From no walking runs to the original speedrun, these players have accomplished taking the intensity of the Soulsborne game to the max.

8 No Death Speedrun

Bloodborne you Died screen upon game over

The No Death run has always been an awesome accomplishment regarding all Soulsborne games. Elden Ring is no exception, as death follows you all over the Lands Between. One screen displays the words “YOU DIED” and it’s back to the beginning.

A YouTube creator by the name of Niko Bellic would be the first to officially hold the record for the fastest No Death run at two hours 35 minutes. This playthrough is one of few to not use any sort of glitches or overpowered weapons, making it one of the most authentic runs ever.

7 Consumable Only Run

Uplifting Aromatic Consumable in Elden Ring

There are plenty of different consumables in the game; however, picking the ones you want to carry throughout the game can be troublesome. Out of the vast amount of items you can use, there are surprisingly lots of items that synergize well enough to let your character power through all 165 bosses.

GinoMachino, a well-known name in the Souls community, made sure to give this challenge a go. The results were not only entertaining but also showed how powerful consumables can be when used correctly.

6 Level 1 Run

Elden Ring Wretch Class

Running through the early game in Elden Ring is pretty rough. Now imagine that difficulty haunting you throughout your entire run. That’s how Level 1 Runs work, as your character stays stagnant in power while the enemies get harder and harder. Rather than depending on your character’s build to carry you through the game, your playthrough becomes a lot more reliant on other forms of dealing damage.

Related: Elden Ring: Best Throwing Items

Iron Pineapple from YouTube was able to showcase how he was able to handle his Level 1 run utilizing strong Ashes of War of specific weapons along with upgrading them to their max. Other ways to improve the build stats included wearing certain equipment and using consumables.

5 No Talking Run

Elden Ring Best Missable NPC Quests: Rodewrika looks at the Tarnished in the Roundtable Hold

When you first spawn into the Lands Between, there are already several NPCs waiting for your arrival eager to talk to you. Of course, your character is also able to somewhat beat the game by being anti-social.

Not talking blocks you from using Torrent, speaking with Melina or Ranni in general, and even more. YouTuber ymfah is a veteran when it comes to all Soulsborne-type runs, and this was one of his greatest challenges. By rejecting Melina’s every call and slaying NPCS, they were able to pull this run off easily.

4 No Hit Run

Malenia, Blade of Miquella's Waterfowl Dance in Elden Ring

The No-Hit run is a classic among the Souls community. It requires extreme planning and strategizing to navigate the world properly enough to avoid getting hit by literally anything. One throwing knife or misstep into a trap can cause a restart for the entire run.

GinoMachino, the same legend who completed the Consumable Only run, was able to defeat all 165 bosses in Elden Ring without being hit a single time. Until seeing the run for yourself, it sounds almost impossible. Yet, this Tarnished was able to get through the entire run in around ten hours.

3 “Soulsbornekiroring” No Hit God Run

Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Bloodborne.

A playthrough that includes all entries of the Soulsborne series is that of the “Soulsborne-“ runs that require you to finish all the Dark Souls games back to back. With the release of Sekiro, the game was added to list, leading Elden Ring to also be eventually added as well.

Related: Every FromSoftware Souls Game, Ranked

A gamer by the name of dinossindgeil spent hours on hours being the first one to ever complete all the games back-to-back. Starting at Elden Ring and Sekiro, he followed through with the God run up until the ending of Dark Souls 3. The final moments were beautiful, as the Soul of Cinder makes for the best final boss of the series.

2 No Walking Run

Elden Ring Sun Torrent Jump

Another method of playing the game that sounds impossible is that of the No Walking run created by ymfah on YouTube. By using different methods to move their character forward, you can maneuver your way around well enough until finally being able to access Torrent. Torrent allows for traversing the Lands Between much faster, yet still doesn’t help when it comes to navigating boss fights and hordes of enemies.

Using the light attack with a light load on your character is shown to be the best way to handle moving around until you can access Dragon Incantations and Aspects of the Crucible attacks.

1 Fastest Speedrun

Elden Ring Speed

Getting to the top of the speedrun leaderboards can be pretty daunting upon seeing players clock in at absurdly fast times. However, the gameplay shows how record holders are able to exploit the game enough to speed through their progress.

The gamer Distortion2 has multiple records up on the board, all at ridiculous speeds. He utilized several glitches to skip bosses and fast travel but still completed the game every time. By making use of the game's technical mechanics, any player can manage to manipulate their playthrough and come out on top as one of the fastest Tarnished to speedrun Elden Ring.

Next: Fastest Speedruns Of All Time