When you first encounter Melina, she asks you if you’ve heard of the Finger Maidens. Then, she notices you’re “maidenless“. But what does that mean exactly? Let’s find out!
What does “maidenless” mean in Elden Ring?
Being maidenless means that you haven’t teamed up with a Finger Maiden yet. Finger Maidens are priestesses that can help the Tarnished become more powerful. They can help you level up your character and become strong enough to take on powerful bosses.
If you don’t want to be maidenless, you need to accept Melina’s accord. She can play the role of Maiden for you and become your guide in The Lands Between.
After teaming up with a Maiden, you can convert Runes into Strength and improve your stats, summon Torrent, and access additional options to quickly level up your character.
The description of the Finger Maiden Therolina puppet indicates she was your assigned Finger Maiden.
Unfortunately, Seluvius killed her and turned her into a puppet. That’s why you never meet her.
As a quick reminder, not all Tarnished have Maidens. Some of them lost them along their quests.
Can you beat Elden Ring maidenless?
It is impossible to beat Elden Ring maidenless if you want to follow the standard game path. If you don’t accept Melina’s help, you can’t enter Leyndell. To go to Leyndell, you need to speak to Finger Reader Enia.
But you can’t do that unless you accept Melina as your guide.
However, you can take advantage of the wrong warp glitches to proceed past Leyndell maidenless.
To do a maidenless run in Elden Ring, you need to Wrong Warp into Crumbling Farum Azula.
But if you don’t like the idea of using the wrong warp glitches to beat Elden Ring without a Maiden, you can simply accept Melina’s help.
At the same time, you also learn interesting lore by talking to her.
What happens if you don’t choose a maiden in Elden Ring?
Not choosing a maiden in Elden Ring will stop your progress in the game. To continue moving forward, you need to accept Melina’s help. She’ll help you level up your character, which is crucial for getting stronger in the game.
Melina is the one who gives you the Spectral Steed Whistle that you can use to summon Torrent.
And now you know.
Want to learn more about Melina?
Updated in June 2023.