What Does “Somewhere a Great Rune Has Broken” Mean in Elden Ring?

If you have seen a message in Elden Ring that says, “Somewhere a great rune has broken,” you’re not alone. This is what it means when you get the notification “Somewhere a great rune has broken” in Elden Ring.

What Does “Somewhere, a Great Rune Has Broken” Do in Elden Ring

Please be advised that some pretty big spoilers will be lurking ahead.

This is not the complete phrase that you will see in Elden Ring, which is “Somewhere a great rune has broken, and so too has a powerful charm.” This message will pop up on the screen when you are getting close to the Shadow Keep in the Scadu Altus section of the map. You will also hear a great cracking gong, along with golden sparks falling from the sky.

This is basically a change in the game state, as will often happen in FromSoftware games. It is not quite the “before and after” vibe of something like Anor Londo in Dark Souls, but it’s important. The broken great rune was Miquella’s, and you can now enter an area that he had been protecting. If you had previously visited the Stone Coffin Fissure, an area necessary for Thiollier’s quest, you would have been unable to get inside. Now, you can return, explore the area properly.

Before you do, you should also speak with all the NPCs that you have already met at this point. They are marked on the map (at least, most of the time), which makes them very easy to find. Leda will tell you that the spell has been broken, but that doesn’t affect her, as she wasn’t grooving with Miquella because of the magic; she had true faith. She does wonder what the rest will do, and for good reason. She decides to root out anyone who might not be perfectly aligned with her own stance. Hornsent doesn’t really care; he just wants Messmer blood, so he will align with Miquella for as long as that remains likely.

Ansback is the one to watch once the great rune is broken in Elden Ring. The man who told you he worked with Mohg is terrible at keeping secrets, and he is mad at you for killing Mohg and mad at Miquella for making off with his corpse. You will need to keep tracking down these characters to see what they are up to, and help them all with their own quests.

Now is also absolutely the time to start the Hornsent’s quest, if you haven’t already, as events may lock him out in the future.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is available now.