Should You Let the Sinister Dung Eater Live in Elden Ring?

In FromSoftware‘s epic dark fantasy Elden Ring, few characters inspire disgust quite like the notorious Dung Eater. With his proclivity for defiling corpses and cursing innocents, he presents players with a twisted moral dilemma: to let him live and further his vile plans, or kill him where he stands? In this guide, we‘ll analyze the pros, cons and ethics around letting this sinister figure survive.

Who is the Dung Eater?

Encountered imprisoned in the hidden underground sewer of Leyndell‘s Royal Capital, the Dung Eater‘s background is clouded in mystery. His armor description refers to him as a ‘repulsive curse-bearer‘ who has ‘violated corpse after corpse‘, spreading seeds of disaster known as Seedbed Curses across the Lands Between.

His motives seem to be to defile and degrade all living beings through curses, dooming their souls and bodies even after death. It‘s a fate perhaps worse than death itself. Understandably he is reviled; his class is even designated as ‘Omen‘, a kind of mutant marked by horns for bad omens. Letting such a toxic figure live naturally comes with ethical risks.

Pros of Letting the Dung Eater Live

However, should Tarnished choose to free this depraved soul from his cell and continue his questline, certain gameplay rewards present themselves:

• Mending Rune of the Fell Curse – Unique key item needed for Elden Ring‘s climactic ‘Frenzied Flame‘ ending, which burns the Erdtree. Around 13.4% of players unlock this ending.
• Dung Eater Puppet Spirit – Strong melee summon with wide-reaching attacks and high bleed build up. Useful particularly as a tank.
• Omen Armor Set – Obtain his Dung Eater‘s Ragged armor, providing heavy defense at the cost of weight.

These tantalizing rewards motivate a subset of players to progress his questline. Letting irredeemably evil characters live often leads to substantive boons in these games. However, ethical considerations give one pause.

Cons of Letting the Dung Eater Live

The Dung Eater‘s actions upon being freed are telling. He immediately savagely murders the friendly merchant Boggart, who helped facilitate his release. This gives players a visceral glimpse into the cruelty his survival would enable:

• Murders innocent NPCs – Boggart dies as soon as you free him, showing his bloodlust
• Spreads suffering – Defiling corpses and seeding curses contradicts moral principles
• Enables worst ending – Frenzied Flame is considered the most despairing conclusion thematically

These cons illustrate why so many players kill him on sight or avoid his quest entirely. Only around 13% of players choose the Frenzied Flame ending associated with his questline – the majority favor more optimistic endings like Age of the Stars or Elden Lord.

Letting irredeemably evil characters like the Dung Eater live can provide power and loot, but comes at a terrible ethical and social cost. It calls into question the moral constitution of one‘s Tarnished hero.

Analysis of Ending Impact

Elden Ring‘s ending choice is deeply rooted in roleplaying one‘s character morality. The Frenzied Flame finale embraces chaos and destruction, channeling outer god Shabriri and burning the Erdtree. While visually striking, with colorful flame effects suggesting a scorched earth, it also implies apocalyptic outcomes for the broader world.

In contrast, endings like Age of Stars have more subtle but optimistic impacts, subtly altering the order of the world through spiritual journeying with Ranni the Witch. The final cutscene visuals feel peaceful and ruminative. Elden Lord also sees the Tarnished hero cooperating with figures like the Two Fingers to become a champion who leads the Lands Between into a lordly golden age.

As a hardcore RPG fan, for me the Dung Eater‘s ending goes too far into nihilistic territory, making it hard to justify from a roleplaying perspective. But reasonable minds can disagree depending on one‘s tastes for transgressive characters and stories.

Conclusion

In closing, while the Dung Eater‘s questline offers unique gameplay rewards for those who stomach his wicked presence, enabling his plans requires one to ignore conventional morality around mitigating suffering. It may simply come down to a question of whether the ends justify the means with this particularly vile NPC.

For roleplayers and achievement hunters who can compartmentalize his malevolence, pursuing his questline can be rewarding and intensely memorable due to its dark narrative elements. But for players who prefer upholding ethical standards for their Tarnished champion, granting the Dung Eater‘s death wish may be the righteous thing to do.

What do you think – to defile or not defile? Share your perspectives on this controversial figure in the comments below!