Elden Ring: What Is The Scarlet Rot?

As any fan of the Darkish Souls sequence can let you know, the sequence is thought for its problem, marvelous boss fights, and lots of poison swamps. Elden Ring isn’t any stranger to those swamps, however pushes it a step additional by introducing the Scarlet Rot, a illness much more potent than any poison within the sequence.

The factor concerning the Scarlet Rot, nonetheless, is that it isn’t a mere illness, however a kind of entity that permeates your complete Lands Between. So what precisely is the Scarlet Rot, why is it so potent, and why can we discover it in so many various and distant corners of the world?

What Is The Scarlet Rot?

Within the recreation, the Scarlet Rot is a pink liquid or smoke that inflicts a robust situation, making you lose well being each second till it kills you. After all, there are objects and spells gamers can use to rid themselves of the affliction, however these don’t appear to be an choice for sure NPCs.

The supply of the Scarlet Rot is an Outer God, an entity that influences the Lands Between from afar. In that means, the Scarlet Rot is similar to the Flame of Frenzy, having followers, fight functions, and a deity related to it.

The Objective Of The Outer God Of Rot

The aim of the Scarlet Rot appears to be the decay of all issues, making them die so one thing new may be born from their corpses. The fungi and flowers that bloom in areas closely contaminated with the Rot appear to be the final word lifeform for this entity, wanting your complete Lands Between to be lined by the Rot.

The Rot appears to additionally create the Pests, servants of the Rot that appear to be sentient centipedes. It isn’t clear if they’re utterly created by the Rot, just like the flowers are, or if they rise from the corpses of individuals troubled by the Rot, born once more to worship the Outer God.

The Blind Swordsman

The Outer Gods are unbelievably highly effective, however their affect on the Lands Between is restricted, so in case you handle to chop them from their aspect of worship, they lose an excessive amount of energy. We are able to see this occur to the Hearth Giants (as there is just one left) and the Flame of Frenzy (locked and hidden away under Leyndell).

The Scarlet Rot was defeated in a lot the identical means by a legendary hero often called the Blind Swordsman. Not a lot is thought about this man, however we do know that he defeated the Scarlet Rot, utilizing his strategy of Flowing Water.

Stated approach might imply two issues, considered one of which is utilizing cautious swordplay like Flowing Water to keep away from getting contaminated by Rot whereas combating enemies made from it. One other which means might be that the Swordsman actually used flowing water to seal the advance of the Rot, trapping it someplace.

That somewhere is likely the Lake of Rot, a cave deep underground crammed not solely with Scarlet Rot, however with historical temples constructed by the Pests to worship the Outer God. The rivers that circulate underground might need been the work of the Blind Swordsman, trapping the Rot underground the place it might probably’t harm anybody else… or so he thought.

Malenia, Goddess Of Rot

Malenia is without doubt one of the most well-known bosses of Elden Ring, famed as the toughest struggle you may have within the recreation. Mechanically talking, she’s proof against the Scarlet Rot, however solely as a result of she has been affected by it since she was younger.

Plainly the Outer God of Rot selected her as its avatar, however how Malenia was first contaminated isn’t clear. This an infection runs by way of her entire physique, and it rotted her legs and proper arm to such a level that they wanted to be amputated.

To struggle off the Rot, Malenia’s brother Miquella developed artifacts of unalloyed gold, able to keeping off the affect of the Outer Gods. These artifacts have been Malenia’s prosthetic limbs, and a needle positioned deep inside her to cease the Rot from spreading.

Malenia additionally meets the Blind Swordsman throughout this time, who teaches her his Flowing Water swordplay approach that she’s so well-known for.

The Rot In Caelid

Malenia lived with Miquella within the Haligtree (situated northeast on the map of the Lands Between), hidden away from the affect of the Golden Order. In some unspecified time in the future, Malenia traveled south along with her knights in direction of Caelid, however precisely why she did that is unknown.

She might need wanted Radhan’s Nice Rune, or maybe she or Miquella wanted the celebrities to begin transferring once more, however whatever the cause, she and Radhan had a wonderful battle. Malenia was about to lose, however in a final act of desperation, she breaks the needle inside her and explodes in a Scarlet Bloom.

That is how the Scarlet Rot received into Caelid, corrupting the land, its chief, and lots of of its denizens. Radhan’s forces nonetheless struggle in opposition to the Rot, utilizing tanks and firebombs to burn away the an infection as finest as they’ll, however it’s a dropping battle.

The Rot In The Haligtree

Malenia manages to return to the Hailigtree, however her mere presence there spreads the Scarlet Rot by way of the realm, infecting the tree and making the long-lasting mushrooms and flowers develop in all places. She stays on the root of the now lifeless tree, ready for the return of her pricey Miquella.

It isn’t clear if Miquella was already lacking when Malenia left for Caelid, or if he disappeared throughout her travels.

That is the place gamers can discover Malenia, the never-defeated Blade of Miquella, however in case you achieve taking her down, she blooms like she did in opposition to Radhan. This kind is named the Goddess of Rot, making Malenia the unwilling avatar of the Outer God within the Lands Between, and since that deity is all about decay and rebirth, it won’t be the final time we see Malenia.

The 5 Buds

There are 5 NPCs you may encounter that closely resemble Malenia, each of their relationship with Rot and the lack of limbs. They’re Millicent, Polyanna, Maureen, Amy, and Mary — though you can only interact with Millicent.

They appear to be descendants of Malenia, however she isn’t recognized for having any sort of offspring or lineage. In actuality, they have been doubtless born from Rot, sprouting from the Rot flowers and, because it appears, they’re meant to be the Valkyries (or Angels) that may ascend with Malenia as soon as she reaches godhood.

If the 5 sisters got here from flowers, then they got here out of them already absolutely grown.

We are able to comply with the story of Millicent, discovered inside the rotten lands of Caelid. We’re guided by a mysterious NPC referred to as Gowry, who desires us to discover a needle and repair it, so the Rot in Millicent may be saved at bay, permitting her to embark on a journey in direction of the Haligtree.

Gowry is without doubt one of the Pests, and he needs us to assist Millicent attain the Haligtree and earn her belief, solely to kill her as soon as we make it there. It is because, if Millicent dies attributable to a betrayal, her rebirth can be as grand as it might probably ever be, not less than in accordance with Gowry himself.

But even in case you resolve to by no means betray Millicent, she dies both means, since she takes the needle protecting the Rot at bay. She decides to die as she is, letting the rot take her and accepting her destiny, by no means to be reborn once more and escaping her destiny as a Valkyrie of the Rot.

The Needle

A key merchandise in all of that is the damaged needle made from unalloyed gold, present in Caelid due to Gowry’s steering. This needle appears to be the identical one Malenia broke throughout her struggle with Radhan, so as soon as fastened, it’s comprehensible that it might probably maintain the Rot at bay, because it was made by the succesful arms of Miquella.

But the needle is solely a short lived measure, and the longer somebody retains it in, the extra the Rot builds up within them. That is why the Scarlet Aeonia solid by Malenia in opposition to Radhan was so mighty; it had been build up for many years, if not tons of of years.

For the reason that needle is used to keep off the affect of the Outer Gods, gamers can use it to rid themselves of the Frenzied Flame (it’s the solely Outer God that may infect/work together with gamers instantly). However to take action, a participant must be someplace outdoors of time, just like the boss enviornment of Dragonlord Placidusax.

As soon as the participant makes use of the needle that means, it might probably’t be undone, and the affect of the Flame of Frenzy can’t have an effect on the participant ever once more (not less than till New Sport +). It isn’t recognized if this everlasting remedy would have labored for Malenia, or if Miquella even knew {that a} remedy might be everlasting; in spite of everything, gamers solely discover out about it by way of an merchandise description, so nothing within the lore tells us about it.

The Shaded Fort

The Scarlet Rot and Malenia each have their very own followers, and whereas they could appear one and the identical, the 2 teams couldn’t be additional aside. The followers of the Scarlet Rot, largely composed of Pests, see Malenia as their Goddess, however she clearly desires nothing to do with them.

In the meantime, the Cleanrot Knights comply with Malenia regardless of her situation, following her and Miquella wherever they could go. The one one which appears to comply with Malenia attributable to her situation, however isn’t affiliated with the Scarlet Rot, is Maleigh Marais.

Maleigh is a nobleman of Home Marais, and his house is the Shaded Fort, a fortress nearly hidden away within the Altus Plateau. Most gamers won’t even know the true story of the Shaded Fort, because it looks as if simply one other fortress deep in a swamp, its most infamous characteristic being the boss Elemer of the Briar.

Elemer is unrelated to Malenia or the Marais household, he was merely captured by them. He killed practically everybody within the fortress and took it as his personal.

However the hints are there, for the reason that throne room that used to belong to Maleigh is stuffed with prosthetic arms and a portrait of Malenia. Maleigh had additionally been a sickly little one since delivery, and he admired Malenia’s prowess in battle though she was troubled by a lethal situation.