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Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree: “A great rune has broken” meaningHere’s an explanation of Miquella’s Great Rune and “A great rune has broken”
Here’s an explanation of Miquella’s Great Rune and “A great rune has broken”
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
What does it mean when you see “Somewhere, a great rune has broken” in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree?If you’ve playedElden Ring(or any of From Software’s games), you’ll know that mystery and opaqueness are very common. But few moments are more baffling and unexpected as when you progress a certain point through theShadow Of The ErdtreeDLC, and see the words “Somewhere, a great rune has broken” appear on-screen.
If you’ve just had this happen to you and you’re wondering what the message means, you’ll find the answer below. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to prompt the"a great rune has broken"message, what it means, and what to do once you see it.
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Elden Ring: “A great rune has broken” meaning
In Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree, the moment you progress beyond the western Scadu Altus region for the first time, you’ll hear a shattering sound and the words “Somewhere, a great rune has broken…” will appear on-screen. Once you press okay, another message will appear: “And so too has a powerful charm.”
There are three ways to receive this message:
This message can appear for you in various different locations beyond Scadu Altus. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Receiving this message is a mandatory step in the story of Shadow Of The Erdtree, because you can’t reach the end of the DLC without doing one of these three things. But what does it mean, and whose Great Rune has been broken?
If you see “Somewhere, a great rune has broken”, it means that Miquella has abandoned his Great Runeas part of his quest to divest himself of all his power in order to ascend to godhood. Whenever you interact with a Miquella’s Cross in the DLC, it will tell you that Miquella is abandoning parts of himself - his flesh, his heart, his power - in order to follow in his mother Marika’s footsteps to become the next god of the Lands Between.
The moment Miquella abandons his Great Rune has several immediate effects upon the Land Of Shadow. Here are the two things that happen as a result of Miquella’s Great Rune being broken:
If you care about side quests, once you receive that “A great rune has broken” message, go and talk to the following NPCs, because they will all have new dialogue based on Miquella’s charm being lifted:
Pretty much every NPC except for Dane, Ymir, and the Hornsent Grandam has new dialogue after the breaking of Miquella’s Great Rune. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Ledawill remain loyal to Miquella despite the lifting of his charm, but she begins to feel paranoid about whether the others in her band will feel the same way after essentially being brainwashed. Thus, she begins her quest to start weeding out the unworthy among her group. Consult ourLeda questline guidefor more details.
The Hornsent, whilenot loyal to the same extent as Leda, still believes Miquella’s goal to align with his own needs. Mostly, he just wants revenge upon Marika and Messmer for the war they waged against the Hornsent’s kind. To this end, he sets off to the Shadow Keep to kill Messmer.
Thiollierbegins to be plagued with dreams and thoughts of St. Trina, the goddess of sleep and an alter-ego of Miquella’s (of sorts). After a while, he sets off down to the Stone Coffin Fissure in search of St. Trina. For full details check out ourThiollier questline guide.
Moorefeels lost after the lifting of Miquella’s charm, and asks the player what to do; whether to put it behind him or remain sad forever. You can learn more about the consequences of this choice in ourMoore questline guide.
Freyjadecides to strike out on her own, though she says she bears Miquella and Leda’s band no ill will. She has decided that there is something more important to her at the moment. You later see her in the Shadow Keep Specimen Storehouse, attempting to find out the nature of the deal between Miquella and Radahn, Freyja’s former leader. OurFreyja questline guidehas more details.
Now that Miquella’s Great Rune has been broken, you are also free to enter theStone Coffin Fissure, a sub-region which is home to a Remembrance boss, a key character, and much of Thiollier’s side quest. If you’re not sure where to go, check out our guide onhow to get to the Stone Coffin Fissure in Shadow Of The Erdtree.
Where is Miquella’s Great Rune?
Miquella’s Great Rune can still be found in Shadow Of The Erdtree, and this is the boss that’s guarding it… |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Despite the news that Miquella’s Great Rune has been broken, you can still find the Great Rune in the Land Of Shadow. To obtain Miquella’s Great Rune, you must defeat the Scadutree Avatar at the Scadutree Base, an area which is only accessible via a passage in the Shadow KeepChurch District. To get there, you must first enter the Church District via eastern Scadu Altus, then hop across the rooftops until you reach a wheel you can turn which drains the district of water.
After the Church District is drained, you can drop down inside the church itself and open the door at the very end to reveal the Tree-Worship Passage which eventually leads to the Scadutree Avatar. This powerful Remembrance boss has three “lives”, after which it will die permanently and you’ll receive Miquella’s Great Rune.
