Blaidd the Half-Wolf is one of the most popular characters in the community of Elden Ring. But why is that? MeinMMO introduces him to you and shows what makes him so appealing to fans.
At first glance, Elden Ring is full of unsympathetic characters who only give you cryptic answers or, in the worst case, want to get at you. One of the worst is Gostoc, who laughs in your face but wants to steal runes behind your back.
However, there are some NPCs that are very popular among fans. Blaidd the Half-Wolf is probably one of the most popular. He is merely a side character who has a supporting role in a side quest.
But how did Blaidd manage to capture the hearts of his fans? We summarize the story of the sympathetic Half-Wolf for you and gather the reasons fans state for why they like him so much.
Note: This article contains possible spoilers regarding Blaidd, as he is associated with an important quest. We won’t go into detail, but his role is crucial to why he is so beloved. Therefore, you should not read further if you don’t want to learn anything about the story.
Blaidd is the loyal companion of Ranni, the Moon Witch
Who is Blaidd? Blaidd is referred to in the game as “Blaidd the Half-Wolf”. Depending on how you progress through the game, you can meet him in various locations. He is the loyal servant of the witch Ranni and you will encounter him multiple times. You can find out where exactly and what steps are needed in detail in our guide to Ranni’s quest. An overview is also in the works.
During the quest, you learn that Blaidd is something like a brother to Ranni and that he follows her unconditionally. He initially reacts skeptically to the players but becomes friendly as they progress. Those who serve his mistress are also his friends.
He throws himself into every fight for Ranni and also fights alongside you against General Radahn, one of the major bosses in Elden Ring. He goes to great lengths and does not shy away from death.
However, it seems Blaidd is TOO devoted. What exactly that means is something we initially do not know. But this is indicated by the weapon master Iji, who is also a servant of the witch. He is somewhat like Blaidd’s older brother and looks after the naive Half-Wolf. In fact, he even locks Blaidd up, as he may pose a danger to his mistress.
This becomes evident throughout the quest, and his story ends quite tragically; you must even take Blaidd down yourself at the end. Ranni disappears upon completing her mission, and Blaidd subsequently loses his mind.
So much for the few sympathetic NPCs that Elden Ring has. Those that exist often have to be killed because they go mad or meet a tragic fate.
That being said, overall, the Half-Wolf plays only a supporting role in the quest, yet he has evidently remained in the memories of many players. Because when you look around the community, Blaidd has gained a lot of fans.
Fans celebrate Blaidd as a “living legend”
Just recently, a post in the general gaming subreddit went viral, celebrating Blaidd by the community. The post has (as of April 14, 3:30 PM) over 35,000 upvotes and more than 1,700 comments.
It started with a picture from user kalamit889:
This describes why Blaidd has become a “living legend” in his eyes:
- He appears every few hours during a playthrough
- He speaks only a few moderate sentences and has few animations
- “Simps” so hard that it has become his life’s purpose
- Is a large amount of fur
- Instantly became a community favorite among NPCs.
What does “Simp” mean? Simp comes from internet slang and refers to someone who shows excessive sympathy and attention to another person without it being reciprocated.
HawkeyeP1 describes it like this: “He is a damn werewolf-gentleman-swordsman. That’s damn cool. Don’t slander the homie.”
In the comments, there are further reasons. Nadordan writes, for instance: “He is very friendly and has a sense of humor.” Many also praise the voice actor, who they believe did an “excellent job”.
Blaidd has even influenced the choice of endings in Elden Ring for some players: “I chose Ranni’s ending in my first playthrough. Blaidd is such a good boy.” – LtColShinySides
He also sees a parallel to other community favorites from games like Dark Souls. Generally, it is the nice characters who are celebrated by people. This is not particularly surprising, but there is a prominent example: Solaire of Astora.
This knight should be known to anyone, at least by appearance, who has been informed about gaming in recent years.
Blaidd’s popularity reminds of Solaire from Dark Souls
Who even is that? Solaire of Astora is a legend and a meme in the Souls community. The knight made his first and only real appearance in Dark Souls 1.
There, he introduces himself as a sympathetic optimist who wants to help others and is on a quest for “his own sun.” The term “jolly cooperation” comes from him and symbolizes the part of the community that helps others through the game.
His sun symbol is also the emblem for each of the co-op factions in the Dark Souls games.
Solaire has remained in the minds of many players as a friendly sun knight, but like Blaidd, he met a rather unfortunate end as the victim of his goal and slave to his “new sun.”
While Blaidd does not share this co-op connection, like him, Solaire is one of the few friendly NPCs. The onion knight Siegmeyer is also one of the most beloved NPCs and stands out with his sympathetic nature among the grim figures.
Fun fact on the side: All characters related to Ranni’s quest have Welsh names and speak with a Welsh accent.
Fans have now noticed this, and Salted-Kipper6969 finds it quite annoying: “As someone living in Wales, this is damn irritating because I can’t unhear it; I’m supposed to wander through this mythical land, but everyone sounds like they’re from here.”
How about you? Which NPCs from Elden Ring or other FromSoftware games did you find particularly good or interesting?
If you want to know more about the boss characters and their backstories, we have summarized their story for you here: Elden Ring Lore – The complex story explained briefly
