Four years later, Elden Ring players are still looking for a way to save Melina without consequences

The Elden Ring community has circled back to one of the game most uncomfortable choices, debating whether the Frenzied Flame workaround actually saves Melina or just makes things worse for her.

The trick involves the Tarnished burning the Erdtree themselves, then getting rid of the flame they picked up and going for any other ending afterward.

Here is how the route works:

• accept the Frenzied Flame from the Three Fingers deep beneath Leyndell

• burn the Erdtree without Melina involvement

• complete the Millicent questline and return the needle to Malenia flower

• use Miquella Needle at Placidusax arena in Crumbling Farum Azula

• pick the Age of Stars, Age of Order, or any other ending

Fighting the dragon is not required, just standing on his arena does the job. Burn scars stay on the character body after using the needle, and there is no way to put the flame back once it is gone.

Not everyone buys it, though. Some fans push back, pointing out that Melina chose her fate herself. At Mt. Gelmir she tells the Tarnished flat out that her heart is set and there is nothing to worry about, calling her decision to become kindling her own will rather than something her mother ordered. She steps in twice when the flame gets too close to the Tarnished – once in the sewers, once later on the peaks.

The second argument is about consequences. Melina leaves in anger, promising to bring the Tarnished the death owed to them, and never learns about the needle cure since her scene simply does not play out on that branch. She has no body left, which means "saving" her just turns her into a wandering spirit with no purpose and no rest.

There is also a case built on the item literal description. The needle can subdue the flame received and lets the Tarnished cheat fate by avoiding becoming Lord of Frenzied Flame, but it stays incomplete and only works at the heart of the timeless storm.

People read the word "subdue" differently. Some treat it as a temporary delay, similar to how Malenia and Millicent needles work, while others argue that using it outside the flow of time is exactly what makes the effect permanent.

Vyke gets brought up too – he refused to let go of his Finger Maiden and went down to the Three Fingers himself, only to break under what he saw there. The DLC then introduced Midra, who turned into a vessel of madness without any help from the Three Fingers at all, suggesting that removing one specific conduit does not get rid of the outer god influence.

The other side of the argument leans on the Tarnished having their own will too. Refusing to take part in someone else self-immolation does not take anything away from Melina, since she is free to make her own choices without outside help, and the needle gets picked up before the flame is even accepted – turning the whole plan into a deliberate choice rather than a gamble.

All of this ties back to an older complaint about the character herself. Melina shows up rarely and mostly just to deliver information, and players keep the ability to level up even after parting ways with her in Leyndell. By comparison, in FromSoftware earlier games, the maiden in charge of leveling stayed in one fixed location players had to keep coming back to, making her part of the regular routine.

There is a third option too – let Melina burn the Erdtree herself, then accept the Frenzied Flame anyway. In that case, her appearance in the ending simply gets cut.