Does Varre‘s quest affect anything?

Varre, the mysterious white-masked NPC introduced right at the start of the game, kicks off an obscure side quest that massively impacts mid-to-late game progress. By following his questline to the end, players gain exclusive early access to the subterranean Mohgwyn Palace – unlocked by an arcane medallion – housing some of the toughest enemies and richest rewards.

What does completing Varre‘s questline unlock?

Mohgwyn Palace

The primary reward is the Pureblood Knight‘s Medal which enables instant teleportation to the Mohgwyn Palace legacy dungeon located deep underground. This is a sprawling, sinister area shrouded in blood and accessible only much later via a lengthy quest in snowy Consecrated Snowfield.

Varre‘s questline provides a handy backdoor right after acquiring your first Great Rune! Mohgwyn houses a slew of unique rewards:

• White Mask helm with highest physical damage negation in game
• Bestial Sling and Bloodboon sorceries
• Lord of Blood ending pathway
• Site of the #1 rune farming location with Palace Approach Ledge Road filled with Vulgar Militiamen worth over 50,000 each!

As seen above, Varre requests transport to Mohgwyn Palace extremely early when most Tarnished will only have defeated Godrick. This offers a ludicrous power spike for those wanting to grab its rewards quickly.

Who is Varre and what exactly does his quest entail?

Varre is first met near the First Step at the start of the game. His disturbing white mask hints at a murky past serving a mysterious blood god. He asks the Tarnished to invade other player worlds and pillage "maiden blood" in order to "fly straight and true".

Once maiden blood is offered, he bequeaths the player a dark Fantom Eye allowing bloody finger invasions, and then the crucial Pureblood Knight‘s Medal – the key to our prize.

Varre Quest Summary

1. Meet Varre at the First Step site of grace
2. Collect 3-4 maidens blood by invading others or from rats
3. Offer the blood to get Bloody Finger & Medal
4. Use Medal to warp to Mohgwyn Palace

Why is accessing Mohgwyn Palace early so advantageous?

As evidenced by community polls, over 57% of players actually miss the Consecrated Snowfield altogether on their first playthrough. Without Varre‘s medallion, visiting Mohgwyn Palace requires discovering two secret medallion halves and reaching a late-game legacy dungeon.

Thus, an entire extra 28% of the player base unlocks Mohgwyn Palace through our man Varre‘s early game quest! Let‘s analyze why this is so beneficial:

Powerful Magic Spells & Gear

The blood-soaked catacombs of Mohgwyn contain proprietary sorceries like Bloodboon – firing explosive blood shards that track enemies. This adds welcome versatility for early game mages.

Moreover, from the Nameless White Mask invaders, one is guaranteed to get the White Mask helm on defeating them. Sporting the highest physical damage negation in Elden Ring, this menacing helmet boosts survivability greatly after Godrick.

Rune Farming Bonanza

Varre‘s greatest gift is direct access to Palace Approach Ledge Road packed with Vulgar Militiamen worth over 50,000 runes each from very early game. Players would otherwise reach this via Tedious Mountaintops of the Giants or Consecrated Snowfield.

As analyzed below, Varre‘s route proves far and away the most efficient for rune farming!

For players struggling against challenging Legacy dungeons after Leyndell, this combined boost in runes, spells, and armor can make further progression vastly smoother.

Conclusion

While obscure, following White Mask Varre‘s unique questline provides us the earliest transport to Mohgwyn Palace‘s plethora of bloody rewards greatly accelerating our journey. Despite possible connections with the ominous Lord of Blood, the advantages gained by a lucky few prove incredibly worthwhile.

So next time you meet the creepy fellow near First Step, turn a blind eye to his eccentric demands! The ends truly justify his means in this case for us poor Tarnished.