You Should Join Volcano Manor
Daniel Foster The Tarnished can join the blasphemous Volcano Manor in Elden Ring. Even though they seem evil, joining has no downsides and gives players new quests.
While progressing through Liurnia of the Lakes in Elden Ring, the Tarnished will be presented with the opportunity to join Volcano Manor, and it's an invitation they should accept. Elden Ring features a number of branching side quests and missions in its massive open world, the Lands Between, although not every character encountered is necessarily heroic. The denizens of Volcano Manor very much fit into that "not heroic" bracket, as they are directly opposed to the Erdtree and the Fingers and will task the player with assassinating other Tarnished. Players who do not wish to go against the Guidance of Grace may instinctively refuse the invitation to join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring, but, bar being asked to do some questionable acts, there are actually zero downsides to joining.
Founded by Lord Rykard centuries before the main events of Elden Ring, Volcano Manor is home to assassins who hunt fellow Tarnished. In order to gain the favor of the head of the Manor, Lady Tanith, players will have to complete contracts to assassinate fellow Tarnished. This essentially serves as an introduction to the PvP mechanics of Elden Ring, as players are tasked with invading the worlds of NPC Tarnished and killing them. It's grim work, and the fiery backdrop and menacing decor of Volcano Manor may lead some to feel guilty about what they're being asked to do, but ultimately, joining has no downsides in relation to Elden Ring's story and ignoring the quest will mean missing out on some cool extra content - not to mention some unique armor sets.
Volcano Manor is located in the northwestern reaches of Elden Ring's map, and be accessed via two paths. In order to join the Manor, players can either assist Rya when exploring Liurnia of the Lakes or take the long and treacherous path to the Manor itself. Assisting Rya is the easier option, however, as it requires no combat in order to gain the invitation (and introduces a friend who sells some tasty boiled prawns). Once there, the Tarnished will be introduced to Tanith and be given their first assassination contract, located in Limgrave. Completing this will reward the player with Elden Ring's Scaled Armor set, a unique-looking set with good defensive stats.
Elden Ring - There Are No Downsides To Joining Volcano Manor
Although the choice to join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring would appear to be of consequence to its story, players have nothing to lose from joining. They gain access to some unique-looking armor - and eventually, the set worn by the Bloody Wolf class from Elden Ring's network test - as well as more opportunities to fight challenging enemies. Those especially dedicated to roleplay may wish to avoid the questline entirely, should their character be aligned with the Two Fingers, but neither choice has any bearing on any of Elden Ring's multiple endings.
Ultimately, it makes more sense for the Tarnished to join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring than it does to ignore the questline entirely. Doing so will grant further opportunities to acquire some of Elden Ring's elusive armor sets, and interact with more of the charismatic figures who reside in the Lands Between. It may entail some morally questionable acts, but given there are no bad consequences to joining, players can advance the Volcano Manor questline relatively guilt-free.
