No, Joining Volcano Manor in Elden Ring is Not Detrimental

As a passionate Elden Ring fan and content creator, one of the most common questions I see is: "Is joining Volcano Manor bad or will it lock me out of stuff?"

The short answer? No, there are no negatives to joining Volcano Manor. Let‘s dive deeper…

What is Volcano Manor?

Volcano Manor is a secret society based inside Mt. Gelmir, founded by Rykard, an infamous blasphemer. He denounced the Golden Order and Erdtree, seeking power through heretical means like devouring gods.

Volcano Manor operates by hunting down Tarnished who still yearn to become Elden Lord – you join them as a "Recusant", carrying out assassination requests handed down by Tanith, Rykard‘s consort.

These contracts have you invade and slay key figures across the Lands Between – like heroic champions, scholars, and even an artist. To most, this probably sounds questionable at best…

But let‘s discuss why accepting those blood-soaked letters is 100% worth it.

Benefits of Joining Volcano Manor

Here are the excellent rewards you unlock by joining Volcano Manor as a Recusant:

• Recusant Finger – Invade infinite worlds as a bloody spirit
• Special armor sets like Raging Wolf Set, Hoslow‘s Set, etc.
• Fight the Magma Wyrm Makar hidden boss
• Complete Patches, Knight Bernahl, and Rya NPC questlines
• Access chaotic PvP hotspot – Rykard boss fight
• Taker‘s Cameo talisman from Rykard remembrance
• And more secrets…

If you‘re craving PvP, rare loot, and battle, it‘s a juicy opportunity.

What‘s the Downside?

Frankly, I couldn‘t find any downsides to joining Volcano Manor during my journey to become Elden Lord.

You‘d think conducting hitjobs to appease faction of heretical bloodlickers would have consequences. But nope – it does not lock you out of anything or ruin other questlines. Shocking!

The only way to lose access to content is killing Rykard before finishing Volcano Manor‘s own assassination requests for Tanith.

So as long you pace yourself, you can get every reward Volcano Manor and Mount Gelmir have to offer without compromise.

Optimal Volcano Manor Quest Order

To fully experience Volcano Manor and Rykard while keeping all options open, here is the best order:

1. Join Volcano Manor
2. Progress Rya‘s initial side quest
3. Complete all 3 assassination requests
4. Fight Rykard as the last Volcano Manor contract
5. Finish Rya and Patches questlines afterward

I‘ve outlined specifics under each step below:

1. Join Volcano Manor

Accept Tanith‘s letter at the main gate grace. Receive the key item to start invasions.

2. Progress Rya‘s Quest

Explore manor and find Rya after the first assassination. She asks to leave the manor.

3. Complete All Assassination Contracts

Take on all 3 letters from Tanith. Recommended order:

1. Knight of the Great Jar in Liurnia
2. Millicent Progenitor in Altus Plateau
3. Edgar the Revenger on Mt. Gelmir

This completes Volcano Manor‘s core objective – slaying Tarnished heroes.

4. Defeat Rykard

With contracts finished, Tanith will transport you underneath the manor to challenge Rykard. Defeating this intense, creepy battle lets you claim the Rune of Blasphemy and Taker‘s Cameo talisman.

You cannot finish Rya or Patches quests after this fight. So ideally do this last.

5. Wrap Up Any Extra Quests After

If you didn‘t already find Rya in Liurnia near Church of Inhibition grace, do so now to continue her quest. Also finish Patches and Sir Bernahl chains.

And that covers the essential Volcano Manor order and endings! Pretty twisted stuff…

But from a pure rewards standpoint, it‘s an awesome side journey any Tarnished should be excited to unravel.

Morality & Roleplaying – Godwyn Killing Club?

Look, I‘m not here to judge. The Volcano Manor clearly has a ruthless, "ends justify means" type of creed. They outwardly reject the Erdtree‘s sacred order and hunt down anyone seeking lordship.

While their motivations of rebelling against the Greater Will make sense…going around slaying noble warriors in order to appease the world‘s most horrifying snake monster seems questionable at best.

At the same time – ambition requires sacrifice in this dying world. Who are we to judge methods when survival stands at stake? All has fallen into disarray anyway.

In the end, it just depends how morbid your Tarnished is willing to become in their quest for power. If you don‘t mind getting your hands ultra filthy to claim every tool possible, Volcano Manor has goodies.

Most Tarnished won‘t even question the blood on their hands after emerging from Stormvale Castle. So why not dive deeper? The serpent welcomes all!

Adding Volcano Spice to Your Build

While the rewards themselves have niche uses, Volcano Manor offers fantastic flavor to melee & hybrid builds. Here‘s how I‘d incorporate it:

• Quality builds benefit greatly from Taker‘s Cameo +3 HP regeneration
• PvP focused builds can use Recusant Finger to enable invasions
• The Raging Wolf Armor works very well on mid-rolling Strength/Dex/Int hybrids who want decent poise

Here‘s an idea of popular community builds that synergize well with Volcano Manor:

As you can see, Volcano Manor adds nice tools for some of the most played styles.

And I expect these percentages to rise over time as more Tarnished awaken Rykard from his slumber!

So in summary – join up and let the blasphemy begin! Fear not the moral quandary. This is the age where honor has no inherent value, only leveling vigor matters now…

Final Verdict: Join Up and Slay!

While sinister practices lurk below the surface, joining Volcano Manor has no detrimental impacts – and unlocks incredibly useful and unique rewards.

Optimizing the quest order allows you to complete both Volcano Manor content AND other quests without conflict.

Hopefully this guide gave you some fiery inspiration! Now if you‘ll excuse me, I must silence a legendary hero…

Let me know your Volcano Manor experiences on my blog! And praise the immortal Lord Rykard – those without blasphemy remain nameless.

• Rick, Elden Lord Contender