Elden Ring: How To Fast Travel

Elden Ring fast travel
Elden Ring fast travel

Fast travel is a staple of most open world games, but how to unlock it and when it becomes available are sometimes left unclear. Though Elden Ring offers players the ability to fast travel from their very first Site of Grace, how it operates might confuse some, particularly Soulsborne veterans.

Often in previous Soulsborne titles, fast travel had to be explicitly unlocked by reaching a particular milestone. It was also often gated to only certain areas, some of which would be locked out at a certain point. Elden Ring takes the exact opposite approach, opting for a system most similar to Dark Souls II, if anything.

Elden Ring fast travel
Elden Ring fast travel

The trick that might mix you up, especially if you’re the “tap x through the tutorial screens” type, is that you don’t fast travel from safe zones in Elden Ring. It’s not a choice from your Site of Grace menu like usual, so where is it?

Well, when it comes to fast travel in Elden Ring, you’ll actually be doing so through a screen that hasn’t really existed in previous Soulsborne titles: the map screen. Sites of Grace show up as golden markers on your map, and simply selecting one will let you fast travel there instantly.

If you hit the map button and it refuses to pop up, you’ll hear a sound indicating an error or lapse of some kind. This means enemies are targeting you, you’re in an area too dangerous for fast travel, or you’re in a multiplayer or invasion setting. In these cases, you won’t be able to access the map screen for fast travel at all until you’ve resolved whatever is locking you out.

Elden Ring fast travel
Elden Ring fast travel

Though Stakes of Marika (statues that let you start closer to a boss, critical area, or battle) also unlock throughout Elden Ring, you can’t fast travel to these locations. They only work when you’re in the direct vicinity of them, and, even then, you’ll be given the option of starting at them or returning to your last Site of Grace.

Either way, with the mysteries of fast travel dissipated for you, you can take advantage of Elden Ring’s globe-hopping potential right from the jump and skip the part where you’re left scrolling through menus and scratching your head.

Elden Ring is available on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X & S, and Xbox One.

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