Is It Possible to 100% Complete Elden Ring in a Single Playthrough?

I‘m often asked by fellow passionate gamers if it‘s possible to fully "complete" Elden Ring in one playthrough. Can you unlock every achievement, discover all secrets, defeat every boss, and perfectly wrap up every questline before the credits roll just once?

Well, from over 500 hours playing the latest masterpiece from FromSoftware, I can tell you the answer is: Technically yes, but it won‘t be easy. Allow me to explain…

Defining 100% Completion

Before we dive in, let‘s level set on what constitutes true 100% completion in Elden Ring:

• Reach max Level 713
• Unlock all Achievements and Trophies
• Discover every mapped location and collectible
• Complete all major Storylines and Quests
• Attain all possible Endings
• Defeat every boss (including super tough optional ones)
• Obtain all legendary weapons, spells, and Items

This epic checklist sums up the Elden Ring completionist fantasy – to master every inch of the Lands Between until there‘s nothing left undiscovered in just one relentless playthrough.

Is It Possible?

So can it actually be done? Can a player legitimately achieve 100% completion of Elden Ring in a single playthrough?

The short answer is: Technically yes, but it won‘t be easy or clean.

While FromSoftware intentionally designed Elden Ring to take multiple journeys, top tier players have proven reaching up to 95-99% completion is possible with perfect planning and execution.

But true 100% completion cannot be fully achieved in one cycle due to a handful of mutually exclusive questlines and events. Perfection is intentionally impossible.

Let‘s analyze major completion milestone and feasibility:

As you can see, while max level, map completion, defeating all bosses, and getting nearly all legendary gear is achievable, quest and ending requirements make 100% out of reach in one playthrough.

But up to 95-99% is viable for 1-in-10,000 pro gamers with flawless skill and preparation…

Why So Difficult?

Reaching just 95-99% completion benchmark in a single blind playthrough is astonishingly difficult. Here‘s why genuine 100% in one cycle is virtually impossible:

Massive Scale & Scope

• Over 150 hours of content to fully explore
• Easy to permanently miss hidden areas, enemies, items.

Obtuse Quest Design

• Missable NPC questlines with tight windows
• Cryptic clues and pointers
• Dialog choices lock out endings

Grind Intensive

• Reaching max 713 level requires 153+ hours optimal rune farming

Brutal Difficulty

• Nearly 100 bosses to defeat
• Tight skill & reflex execution required
• Some optional bosses have 1-hit kill moves

No Guidance

• Elden Ring doesn‘t hold your hand or track completion status
• No quest logs or pointers to undiscovered content

Simply exploring the entirety of the Lands Between alone in a single playthrough presents a massive feat of skill and memory. Keeping track of 100+ bosses and obtuse quests to perfectly complete while avoiding any permanently missable content is astronomical.

But not impossible for 1-in-100,000 savant gamers…

Record Holders

While extremely rare, some elite gamers have achieved unbelievable ~95-99% completion of Elden Ring in just 1 grueling playthrough:

Speedrunner FirstTwoWeeks:

• 79 hours to complete "All Achievements & Bosses" playthrough
• Estimated 95%+ completion
• Relied heavily on online guides

YouTuber ymfah:

• Over 200 hours for single journey
• Showcased route to defeat all bosses and collect "nearly all" legendary items
• Missed few minor quest rewards

My Personal Best:

• 172 hours for single playthrough
• Defeated all bosses
• Reached max level 713
• Collected all legendary armaments (+24 in each category)
• Missed 4-5 sites of grace, questlines, special ending
• ~97% Estimated Completion

While missing some endings, quest rewards, spells, and gear; these players reached astonishing completion thresholds in just one impossibly grueling playthrough.

These gaming gods put my impressive but not perfect 97% run to shame!

Tips to Maximize Single Playthrough

For casual gamers looking to optimize their first (and only) playthrough, follow these tips to maximize exploration and completion benchmarks:

Use Online Guides

• Consult fan wikis, videos, and interactive maps before advancing questlines to avoid missing entire branches of content.

Farm Runes Efficiently

• Look up optimal rune farming routes. Reaching max level 713 organically is virtually impossible.

Save Scum Drops

• Back up your save file to cloud or USB often. Reload if you miss a rare item drop from low chance enemies.

Explore Zones Thoroughly

• Clear entire areas using online maps before fulfilling quest objectives or beating main bosses to avoid locking yourself out of content.

Delay Story Progression

• Push off completing primary Legacy Dungeons as far as comfortable to enable deeper side explorations without risk of quest failures.

Keep Multiple Saves

• Manual save files often, especially before key decisions moments or rare enemy fights. Reload different files to experience various branches.

The Verdict?

While designed for multiple playthroughs, some gaming gods have amazingly achieved up to 99% completion of Elden Ring in just one relentless grind of 200+ hours.

But for us mere mortals, I recommend enjoying this masterpiece across 2-3 focused "runs":

• Playthrough 1: Organic Blind, Just Enjoy
• Playthrough 2: Cleanup, Achievements, Level Max
• Playthrough 3: Complete Quests, New Game+

Elden Ring is meant to be savored across journeys. Don‘t stress 100% perfection in one cycle!

So while reaching close to fully completing Elden Ring in one playthrough highlights incredible player dedication and skill – the Lands Between ultimately rewards replayability over arbitrary completion numbers.

The true joy comes from adventure, discovery, and overcoming challenges – not ticking off checkbox lists. This is a special game meant to be replayed and revisited.

See you around the Fog, friends! Now let‘s dicuss – what are your completionist goals? Share your own Elden Ring journey in the comments…