Reading every message you come across in Elden Ring is never a bad idea. While some messages may be lying to you, most of the ones you come across that provide hints are truthful. Some messages in the game are actually put in Elden Ring by From Software and provide hints toward secrets. One such message can be found in the Royal Capital Leyndell.

After you manage to defeat Godfrey, you will come to a statue with its arms spread and below it, you will find a message that reads “Regression alone reveals secrets”. Here’s how to solve the Regression Alone Reveals Secrets puzzle in Elden Ring.

How to Solve the Regression Alone Reveals Secrets Puzzle

Elden Ring really enjoys giving their players open-ended puzzles. Just like in Chelona’s Rise, you are given a single line to work with and nothing else. It can be quite difficult to figure out what you need to do when all you are told is “Regression alone reveals secrets”.

Is it telling you that you need to go back alone or maybe you need to do the opposite, so go forward with someone? Luckily the answer is quite simple. If you’re not an Incantation user, you may have a bit of trouble solving the puzzle.

In order to reveal the secret, you will need to use the Law of Regression Incantation. If you don’t have it you can pick it up from any Incantation vendor that you give the Golden Order Principia prayerbook to. Once you have the incantation, you will need 37 Intelligence to equip and use it. If you don’t have the Intelligence, you will either need to respec at Rennala in the Grand Library or level up until you get 37 Intelligence.

With the Law of Regression Incantation equipped, you will need to go back to the statue and simply cast the Incantation in front of it. The reward you will get for solving this riddle is a huge lore revelation. If you were looking for some super-powerful weapon or spell, you will be disappointed. However, if you want to know more about the story of Elden Ring as you play along then you can’t miss this.

How to Get the Golden Order Principia Prayerbook for the Law of Regression Incantion

Players must acquire the Golden Order Principia prayerbook to get the Law of Regression Incantation. Players can find this book by fast-traveling to the Erdtree Sanctuary Site of Grace and reaching the top level.

Once at the Erdtree Sanctuary Site of Grace, go outside to the right of the Site of Grace and walk up the large tree root to get to the balcony. Once your on the balcony, head outside the door and immediately take a left and jump onto the roof of the building. Here you will find an open window, jump through this window, and you’ll find another giant tree root. Walk across this tree root to find the Golden Order Principia Prayerbook on the hanging chair.

While you’re up here, you can also obtain the Erdtree Bow on the balcony directly across the hanging chair!

If you need any more help with Elden Ring, make sure to check out our other Elden Ring guides.

After players of Elden Ring, or the Tarnished, have completed the impossible task of defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, it is time to move forward in your adventure in FromSoftware’s newest game. Though it is completely okay to go and explore at your own pace and dig around for all the secrets that Elden Ring has to offer, players may want to go back on the main path to complete their quest to become the Elden Lord. If you are not sure where to go next, we’ve got you covered. Here is where to go after defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon.

Where to Go After Beating Rennala Queen of the Full Moon

Once you have defeated Rennala in Elden Ring, head towards the Atlus Plateau on the northern side of the map. You can reach it through the Grand Lift of Dectus, which requires both halves of the Dectus Medallion to operate. Fast travel to the Academy Main Gate Site of Grace, then interact with the seal to the north. This will teleport you to Bellum Highway. Once there, just follow the road north to reach the Grand Lift of Dectus. You can also see its location on the map below.

Alternatively, you can make the choice to go through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice dungeon in to reach the Atlus Plateau if you’d rather not search for the Dectus Medallion pieces. To get there, simply follow the river near Bellum Highway as it winds northeast.

Past the ravine, you should see a clearing with a Golden Seed. At the end of it near the cliffs, you can kill a Dung Beetle to obtain the Ash of War: Barbaric Roar. The goal is to climb to the top. From there, you can enter the mines. Mines and tunnels tend to have crystalline or rock-infused mobs. That means blunt weapons will deal more damage to them. Make sure you have an item or spell that can cure poison in case you trigger traps.

Upon exiting the mines, you’ll be at the cliffs once more. Beware of ambushes here from none other than Giant Bats. Once you make it through this area, it’s time for the boss fight against Magma Wyrm Makar.

How to Beat Magma Wyrm Makar

If you have a ranged weapon, like a bow, it is relatively easy to fight this boss. Magma Wyrm Makar does lunges as it runs toward you, and it also spits out lava. While it’s moving around, Makar will leave trails of lava, too. You can use the large pillar in the center to keep it in one particular spot. Run around it and get the boss to do an attack animation, then move back and shoot.

Even in its second phase, moving away and using ranged weaponry is still advised. With enough dodging and shooting, you will beat this boss in no time. After defeating Magma Wyrm Makar, you’ll clear the Ruin-Strewn Precipice in Elden Ring. When you go outside, you’ll see the Abandoned Coffin Site of Grace.

How to Get Rennala’s Full Moon Spell in Elden Ring

After beating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, you will receive her Remembrance. This Remembrance, called “Remembrance of the Full Moon Queen,” can be exchanged at the Finger Reader Enia in the Roundtable Hold. Enia will reward you with Rennala’s Full Moon spell, a powerful sorcery that could be great for a sorcerer build.

Rennala’s Full Moon spell creates a moon projectile that dispels sorceries it hits and temporarily reduces enemies’ magic damage negation. Players can use this against stronger enemies with high resistance against magic, as it will increase the damage output of your other spells when summoned.

My favorite way to use Rennala’s Full Moon spell is by casting it in the area and switching over to Glinstone Pebble as my primary way to attack and deal damage.

Boss weapons are always some of the best weapons in FromSoftware games, and Remembrance weapons are no expectation in Elden Ring. Remembrances are obtained after defeating major bosses in Elden Ring, from Godrick the Grafted to Starscourge Radahn, and each of them can be traded in for two unique weapons or consumed for a large amount of Runes. That’s right, Elden Ring features two weapons for every Remembrance, giving players options if one weapon doesn’t line up with their particular build.

Remembrances can be duplicated at Walking Mausoleums, which can be found all throughout The Lands Between. There are only 7 of these Walking Mausoleums in the entire game, however, so you can’t duplicate every Remembrance that you come across. Not everyone is going to want to use every weapon though, so it all works out. Here are all of the Remembrance weapons and rewards in Elden Ring.

All Remembrance Weapons and Rewards in Elden Ring

How to Use Remembrances

To exchange a Remembrance for a boss weapon, travel to the Roundtable Hold and speak with Enia the Finger Reader. She’s behind a door near the Table of Lost Grace that only opens after you obtain your first Remembrance. Inside are the Two Fingers, but you can ignore those for now. Speak to her and you’ll be given the option to exchange a Remembrance for either of its associated weapons.

If you’d like to get the sum of Runes from a Remembrance instead, then you can just use it like a consumable item and the Runes will be added to your total. You can save them or use them right away, the number of rewarded Runes will not change. These are basically just amped-up versions of Golden Runes if you’re going to use them for this purpose, which is still a nice reward.

How to Duplicate Remembrances

You can obtain a copy of any Remembrance by taking it to a Walking Mausoleum, but there are only 7 of them in the game so you must choose wisely. Duplicating a Remembrance is a good idea if you want to obtain both weapons from a particular boss, but if you want to duplicate one just for the additional Runes, make sure you’re duplicating one that’s fairly valuable instead of a cheaper one like Remembrance of the Naturalborn.

Here are all 7 Walking Mausoleum locations in Elden Ring:

• Weeping Peninsula: Located west past the Church of Pilgrimage
• Liurnia of the Lakes: Found northeast of Raya Lucaria Academy near Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel
• Liurnia of the Lakes: There are two located near the Mausoleum Compound that only duplicate Remembrances from secret bosses.
• Mountaintop of the Giants: Located outside Castle Sol in the northern area
• Mountaintop of Giants: Found northwest of Ordina next to Apostate Derelict Site of Grace
• Deeproot Depths: Located near The Nameless Eternal City Site of Grace

What is the Best Remembrance Weapon in Elden Ring?

The best Remembrance weapon in Elden Ring is the Blasphemous Blade. Not only is the Blasphemous Blade powerful in its base form, but it can be turned into something pretty incredible when leveled up fully. Besides high attack power, this Remembrance blade has a passive buff that heals the user whenever they kill an enemy or deal damage. This is a great way to stay alive longer against hordes of enemies.

Its unique skill, “Taker’s Flames,” deals pure fire damage while healing the wielder with 10% of Max HP + 150 flat HP on hit. This is especially powerful when paired with the Mimic Tear Ashes, considering your Mimic will also be wielding this sword, meaning it will heal itself. This fact makes it the best Remembrance sword against the game’s challenging bosses and enemies.

Elden Ring positions most of its bosses at the end of long gauntlets of enemies designed to wear you down before the fight. However, some of the game’s bosses are hidden behind elaborate puzzles that test your environmental awareness, and few are more elaborate than the one blocking th epath to the Ancestor Spirit.  If you want to take on this majestic stag, you must first light all of the torches hidden across Siofra River.  Read on for our guide to All of Siofra River’s Flame Pillar Locations in Elden Ring!

Elden Ring Ancestor Spirit Boss: All Flame Pillar Locations in Siofra River

The Siofra River is one of the biggest underground areas in Elden Ring, and you’ll need to find and light eight pillars scattered across the region before you can fight the Ancestral Spirit. Once you’ve cleared the network of hallways that leads into the main area, you’ll want to stop by the steps leading up to Hallowhorn Grounds and note the eight torches sitting besides the stairs. As you light the torches around the area, the ones here will light up individually, too. 

The map above highlights the locations of all eight torches in Siofra River. They are laid out in a fairly striaght-forward order, so you can get most of them going in a straight line. Once you’ve found one, just interact with it to set it ablaze. However you will encounter resistance from the barbaric Ancestral Followers, who hit hard and are surprisingly fast. Don’t think you can cheese this by riding on Torrent either, as these enemies like to snipe you off your trusty steed with frustrating accuracy.

Once you’ve lit all the pillars, you’re free to challenge the Ancestral Spirit.  Acscend the steps of the Hallowhorn Grounds and you’ll spot the beast’s remains at the center of the ruins. Examine it, and you’ll be transported to a doorway you can pass through to fight the Ancestral Guardian. This is a reasonably challenging boss, as it can leap across the room, breathes freezing mist, and hits like a truck at early levels. However, I found that sticking the boss’s flanks allows you get a few good hits in before it starts jumping around again. 

Once you defeated the Ancestral Guardian, you’ll get Ancestral Follower Ashes, which allow you to summon the Ancestral Follower wherever you see the Arch icon. If you enjoyed fighting the Ancestral Guardian, you’ll be pleased to know that Nokron, the Eternal City is home to a tougher version of this boss called the Regal Ancestor Spirit.  There’s always a bigger fish, even if this fish lives on land and has antlers that can turn you into an armored kabob.

This concludes our guide to all of Siofra River’s flame pillar Locations in Elden Ring! However, the game is home to many other tough challenges and tricky puzzles, so be sure to check out our other guides if you’re having trouble. If you want to know our thoughts on Elden Ring as a whole, take a look at our review!

When riding across the fields of Limgrave in Elden Ring, you can come across a nobleman named Kenneth Haight who asks you for help in retaking his fort. A Stormveil knight commander has taken control of it, and it’s up to you to go clear it out. When you return, Kenneth will be so impressed with your work that he asks if you’d like to enter his service. It’s a serious question, and many players aren’t sure what the right decision is. Here’s what you need to know about Kenneth Haight in Elden Ring.

Where is Fort Haight?

Kenneth says his fort is to the south beyond the Mistwood, which isn’t too far away. The Mistwood is the giant forest area in the eastern half of Limgrave, and it’s just across the road to the south of Kenneth’s position.

Mount Torrent and ride all the way through the forest. Fort Haight is on the southern side of the woods overlooking the ocean on a hill. The main road that runs through Mistwood will lead you straight to it. You can see the fort’s exact location on the map below.

Once you arrive, you’ll find that the place is overrun with knights just like Kenneth said. There are quite a few of them outside and a particularly tough one waiting at the top of the tower, so I recommend unlocking the Site of Grace to the right of the fort before attempting to retake it.  The outside of the fort has a large group of knights and a giant enemy similar to Mad Pumpkin Head, so be careful.

Inside, there are enemies tossing firebombs attempting to kill you with hidden explosive barrels, so watch out for that. There are rats too, so don’t let them surprise you. At the top of the fort is a lone knight who is much stronger than the rest. He’s the Stormveil knight commander that Kenneth mentioned, so you have to put him down. It’s a tough fight if you’re undergeared or underleveled, but it’s manageable if you’re cautious and calculated. When the fort is cleared, it’s time to return to Kenneth Haight for your reward.

Should You Pledge Your Service to Kenneth in Elden Ring?

When you return to Kenneth Haight with the good news, he will give you the Erdsteel Dagger as a reward. This dagger stands out because it actually has a minimum Intelligence requirement alongside the usual attributes. If you keep talking to Kenneth and exhaust all of his dialogue options, he’ll ask you if you would like to enter his service in the hopes of becoming a knight yourself one day. So, should you pledge your service to Kenneth?

If you do not pledge your service, then nothing happens and you can go along on your way. If you do decide to pledge your service to Kenneth, however, then he will ask you to meet him at Fort Haight for a ceremony. You can fast travel back to the Site of Grace nearby to avoid the Mistwood and get there faster.

Once you arrive, you’ll find it inhabited by a group of demi-humans, at least on the ground floor. You can make quick work of them though, and once you do, you can find Kenneth at the top of the fort where you fought the strong knight. Speak to him and you’ll learn the truth. Kenneth can’t actually make you a knight, at least not right now, so he just used you to get his fort back.

If you kill Kenneth Haight, he drops a Golden Seed that you can use to upgrade your Healing Flask at a Site of Grace. You need two of them in order to afford the upgrade, but you can also grab a Golden Seed at the golden tree in front of Fort Haight.

Finishing the Kenneth Quest in Elden Ring

Ever since the Elden Ring 1.03 patch, there is a final section to Kenneth’s questline. You can now find Kenneth next to the Nepheli at the throne room in Stormveil Castle at the Godrick the Grafted Site of Grace. There are three criteria that need to be met in order to complete Kenneth’s Quest. Here are those three criteria:

• Complete Nepheli Loux’s questline and give her the Stormhawk King.
• Defeat Morgott the Omen King.
• Malekith the Black Blade must still be alive.

If all three of these things are done, you will be able to talk to Kenneth and finish the quest. If Kenneth or Nepheli aren’t appearing where they should, rest at the Site of Grace outside. It is not enough to fast travel to it; you must rest there. After talking with Kenneth and Nepheli, you will receive an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.

And with that, you have completed the Kenneth Haight quest in Elden Ring. If you are having trouble with any other quests in Elden Ring, or just want to upgrade your armor, we’ve got you covered.

When it comes to having proper stances, using the right moves, and not dying in Elden Ring, you have to know the ins and outs of the weapons you use. A popular thing to do is to go two-handed on a weapon or even sheath one of two weapons when dual-wielding. To do so, you’re going to know how to sheath your weapon, so here’s what you need to know about it in Elden Ring.

How to Sheath Your Weapon in Elden Ring

When it comes to performing a weapon sheath, it depends on what weapons you have for each hand. 

For example, if you are dual wielding, you can stow one weapon away while single-handing or double-handing another. This also applies if you are using weapons like shields, bows, magic items, and ballistae. To do this, press and hold your Event Action button. For default controller settings, this is Triangle on PlayStation and Y on Xbox. 

Press your left or right armament button to focus on that weapon specifically. This will then stow away the weapon that you didn’t press. It’ll also put you into a two-handed stance for the weapon you chose. 

However, if you are looking to single-hand wield a weapon while sheathing the other one, you have to make sure there is an empty slot on that hand. You can choose up to three weapons on each hand slot. By leaving at least one empty slot on each hand, you can sheath your weapon.

In terms of your weight class which can affect mobility and stamina consumption, it’s optimal to have at least one empty slot on each hand. This way, you don’t have to hold your Event Action and combine it with your armament buttons. Sometimes, in the heat of battle, you want to swap weapons and sheath another. Scrambling while finding an empty slot can lead to a few unnecessary deaths. 

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Are you someone who wants to make an archer build in Elden Ring? If so, you’re going to want to know the ins and outs of the weapon type and how you can get the most out of it. Also, when using ranged weapons, it can be advantageous to weed out some enemies when it comes to mobbing. However, using arrows will be a bit harsh with inventory management and all. So, here is how to switch arrows in Elden Ring.

How to Switch Arrows in Elden Ring

First off, the arrows you can use while actively in combat depend on which order they are in for your equipment. From left to right, the arrows will be used in that regard. It should also be noted that arrows are different than bolts. Arrows are specifically for bows, bolts are for crossbows, and great bolts are for ballistae. 

With that out of the way, you don’t switch arrows per se. Instead, with two types of arrows, you can alternate between them while firing your weapon. While aiming or locked onto an enemy, you can shoot one of two arrows. Your normal attack will be bound to whichever arrow/bolt is in Slot 1. Your heavy attack will be bound to the arrow or bolt in Slot 2.

If you’re looking to swap quickly either for new bolts and arrows, it’s probably best to find a safe area or use a Site of Grace to be away from combat. Alternatively, you can have one of each type of weapon to rotate. 

If your bow starts running low on ammo, you can swap to a crossbow that uses different types of ammunition and materials. This way, you can still assume the role of an archer or ranged character and not burn through all the certain types of ammunition. 

Of course, since materials can be scarce, you may have to farm some up or buy certain wares from vendors.

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Though there are many dangerous foes to face in Elden Ring, there are also some valuable friends. Blaidd the Half-Wolf is one of these friends, offering his services to the player in a few notable battles. The story behind him isn’t nearly as convoluted as the quests involving demigods and other tarnished warriors, but there are still some notable secrets hidden beneath his friendly demeanor. Fans of Elden Ring and its lore will surely be interested in knowing the truths behind Blaidd and why his questline ends the way it does.

Elden Ring Lore: Who is the Half-Wolf Blaidd?

Constantly referred to as her loyal shadow, Blaidd was a gift to Ranni imparted by the Two Fingers. He befriended both her and Iji from childhood, swearing loyalty to her even when she abandoned her role as an Empyrean. This would, however, lead to deep conflict within Blaidd, as the Greater Will still held influence over his mind. Though he’s able to resist this inner turmoil up until the end of Ranni’s questline, this is the reason why his own questline ends with him attacking the player. It also hints at why the Baleful Shadow that attacks the player during Ranni’s questline looks like him, as it’s an instrument of the Two Fingers defending itself. The Baleful Shadow is likely not Blaidd, but it shows what Blaidd would become with enough time.

When Ranni decided to fight against the Two Fingers, Blaidd swore an oath to stay by her side, imbuing his sword with cold sorcery as proof of his loyalty. He was actually not too fond of the cold, wearing a cape to try and ward it off. Regardless, he would stay by Ranni’s side up until the events of Elden Ring, interacting with a few other characters such as the merchant Kalé and Bloodhound Knight Darriwil. Blaidd’s connection with Darriwil is unknown, but seeing as how he names the latter as a traitor, it can be assumed that Darriwil once served Ranni alongside Blaidd before betraying her in some manner. Blaidd is later imprisoned by Iji in the same Evergaol that Darriwil is trapped in, so the connection isn’t too unlikely.

Many of the encounters with Blaidd are optional. The first time the player can meet him is at the Mistwood Ruins, asking for help to find Darriwil’s Evergaol. He can be summoned to help during this fight, giving the player a taste of his unique moves. The next time he’s found is at Ranni’s Rise, where he states his intentions to visit Siofra River and find Nokron, the Eternal City. Following his lack of success in this mission, he ends up appearing at the Radahn Festival, where he can be summoned to fight the conqueror of the stars. He then states his intentions to visit Nokron, but Iji imprisons him before this can happen out of fear that Blaidd will turn on Ranni.

The next time Blaidd is seen is at the end of Ranni’s questline, having indeed gone mad from his inner turmoil. Notably, corpses of Black Knife Assassins can be found near him. Why they showed up in the first place is a mystery, as they have ties with Ranni thanks to the Night of Black Knives, but their exact allegiances by the time of Elden Ring’s main story are still a mystery. Regardless, following his victory over the assassins, Blaidd will uncontrollably fight the player, forcing them to kill him and ending his questline.

Blaidd is quite powerful, as one can see when he is summoned to fight Darriwil and Radahn. He’ll use many wide, sweeping slashes against the player, making him particularly dangerous to fight up close. Though he’s apparently not fond of cold, it’s a better idea to use Poison, Scarlet Rot, and Fire attacks against him. You can also take advantage of a crippling weakness Blaidd has to backstabs, and you can stagger him with enough strong hits, allowing you to deal a critical attack. Help Blaidd escape his inner turmoil by any means necessary, especially if you want to get your hands on some particularly stylish gear!

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Thanks to the open-ended nature of Elden Ring, players are likely to encounter extremely powerful bosses very early on in their journey. One such boss is Radahn, considered to be among the strongest characters throughout the entire Lands Between. The power of Radahn and his place in the lore of Elden Ring is certainly noteworthy, but there surprisingly isn’t much to him outside of that. Though he bears a title as grand as “conqueror of the stars,” Radahn’s backstory is quite easy to understand. Predictably, it’s his boss fight that’s more likely to cause players a great deal of confusion and frustration.

Elden Ring Lore: Who is Starscourge Radahn?

Radahn is the child of Rennala and Radagon, much like his sister Ranni. Unlike Ranni, he stayed alongside Radagon up until the Shattering, finding himself enamored with the visage of Godfrey and even designing his armor to reflect the first Elden Lord. He also kept around a scrawny steed, but he eventually grew to such a massive size that the steed couldn’t support his weight. Still, Radahn loved his frail horse, studying gravitational magic under the teachings of an Alabaster Lord simply to ensure he wouldn’t crush the poor thing. Knowledge of this magic also gave Radahn the ability to “challenge the stars,” though the exact nature of this isn’t entirely clear.

According to a sword monument found in Caelid, Radahn held back the stars to save Sellia — possibly from a meteor shower. After defeating Radahn, the stars move once more, but they crash into Limgrave rather than Sellia. Why Radahn held back the stars or how he even accomplished such a feat is unknown. Nonetheless, the ordeal led to him gaining the title of Starscourge and becoming established as one of the most powerful demigods in the Lands Between.

During the Shattering, Radahn and his forces took part in numerous battles, facing off against his siblings until eventually battling Malenia. The two of them would fight to a stalemate, though Malenia was the one to land the final blow. Her attack caused the affliction of Scarlet Rot to bloom from her body, covering the region of Caelid in the disease and infecting Radahn directly. The infection would go on to eat away at his mind and body, turning him into nothing more than a mindless beast eating the bodies of fallen soldiers when the player finds his arena. To honor his legacy, the Radahn Festival was created, gathering warriors from the Lands Between to come together in an effort to slay the demigod in battle and end his misery. Interestingly, despite being infected by Scarlet Rot, Radahn still uses his gravity magic to keep himself on his horse, showing how unbreakable their bond truly is.

The battle against Radahn can be extremely difficult, especially for players fighting him to achieve their second or third Great Rune. Luckily, due to the nature of his festival, players can constantly summon groups of NPCs to help them battle the demigod with practically zero downsides. With the summons on your side, it’s a good idea to use Torrent to occasionally move in and hit Radahn a couple of times. If you decide to fight him solo, only use your own steed to close the gap. It’ll take a lot of time to survive his onslaught of arrows at the start, otherwise — and you might not survive his phase transition without it!

As the fight progresses, Radahn will use his powers of gravity to use more dangerous moves. Oftentimes, he will create waves of purple energy in front of himself, forcing players to either jump using Torrent or to simply roll through them. As bad of an idea as it might seem, it’s generally wise to get as close to Radahn as possible. Getting close will help you take advantage of his lore-accurate weakness to Scarlet Rot if you have any weapons or moves that can inflict it. Additionally, many of his attacks are quite telegraphed, and circling around to his rear will cause most of his gravity-based moves — and many of his slashes and forward slams — to completely miss. Use his size to your advantage, and eventually you’ll conquer the Starscourge himself!

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Trying to make sense of Elden Ring‘s lore can be particularly challenging. Much information in the game is only told through item descriptions, and even major characters don’t know the extent of their backstory. This is the case for many events and people involved with Malenia, a secret boss that’s arguably tougher than any other. Even though she’s seen in the game’s intro, her connections to other characters and her own motivations are arguably a mystery. Fans of Elden Ring and its lore will need to dive deep to understand Malenia as well as the affliction of rot she carries.

Elden Ring Lore: Who is Malenia the Severed?

Malenia is the child of Queen Marika and Radagon, the second Elden Lord. She and Miquella were born as twins, leading to her becoming extremely attached to him above all the other demigods. However, because of the existing connection between Radagon and Marika, both twins were born with a curse. Malenia was afflicted with the deadly Scarlet Rot disease, which would eat away at her body and eventually take her eyes and right arm. Scarlet Rot affects both the body and mind, likely being a reason as to why Malenia is so quick to attack the player when entering her arena.

Before the Shattering, Miquella crafted a needle to help keep Malenia’s rot at bay. This needle defends against the influence of outer gods, referencing the fact that Scarlet Rot is sourced from such a god. Likewise, Malenia would defend Miquella to the best of her ability, staying by his Haligtree up until the war of the Shattering began. She would go on to battle against Godrick the Grafted, humiliating him in battle before eventually going on to face Radahn in a final duel. This duel would lead to no victor, with Malenia triggering the Scarlet Rot within her to create a massive, blooming flower that covered all of Caelid — especially Radahn — in her affliction. She only managed to survive thanks to the efforts of a loyal Cleanrot Knight carrying her comatose body back to the Haligtree, where she would await Miquella’s return fruitlessly.

Interestingly, the NPC Millicent is said to share her blood with Malenia, but the extent of her relationship is not known. Additionally, it is stated in the description of Malenia’s Scarlet Aeonia spell that she will become a goddess when she “blooms” a third time. She uses the spell multiple times throughout the fight and is even titled as “Goddess of Rot,” but the message that appears after defeating her is simply “Demigod Slain.” Each of her two blooms seem to occur during her fight with Radahn and during her fight with the player. In other words, Malenia never manages to reach her true potential by the time players manage to defeat her.

How to Fight Malenia

While players can simply cheese Malenia with frostbite and blood loss, learning most of her attacks will make the fight incredibly simple. Malenia has deceptively good range thanks to her long sword. Many of her swipes will hit the player if they choose to dodge backwards, especially when she does attacks like her quick 4-swipe combo and her leaping thrust. It’s better to dodge diagonally towards her, moving into her side so her wider slashes will miss you entirely. This will set you up to deal some big damage with charged attacks and weapon skills without a need to worry about repercussions.

Malenia’s deadliest attack is her Waterfowl Dance, which will easily destroy any player unprepared for it. Trying to dodge it while too close to her will simply lead to your death. Instead, prepare yourself for when her health is around 75% and try to stay as far away from her as possible. Then, run away from her first volley of slashes and use rolls to avoid the second and third volleys. Alternatively, you can use items like Freezing Pots or equipment like shields with 100% physical blocking ability. The former will knock her out of the attack before she can even use it while the latter will help you avoid any damage at the cost of your stamina and some of her health being restored.

In phase 2, Malenia will use new attacks that might not be so easy to predict. Her Scarlet Aeonia will have her try to slam into the player before blooming a deadly flower of rot. You’ll want to dodge her slam and run away as fast as possible. Even just a petal could tear through your health in seconds! She’ll also add a jumping slam to some of her combos, creating an explosion of Scarlet Rot that leaves her surprisingly open to retaliation. She can also use a long, jumping sweep that ends in a thrust. On occasion, she’ll combine this with flowery apparitions of herself, unleashing a volley of slices at the player. You can avoid this fairly well by timing your rolls, but you can also block the apparitions to avoid damage with practically no drawbacks.

Even if many of Malenia’s attacks can be blocked and even parried, you shouldn’t rely on your shield too much. Each attack she lands will heal her even if it only hits a shield. You’ll have to be just as aggressive as her, especially considering how easy it is to stagger her. Jumping attacks will commonly leave her open for a quick light attack follow-up. You’ll also be able to eventually break her stance and deal a critical hit, but she’ll regain her posture fairly quickly. Keep an eye out for when she kneels to the ground!

Fire and Lighting are particularly effective against Malenia. They’ll be the strongest sources of elemental damage even when taking the water in her arena into account. If you’re having trouble with her second phase, consider taking along items or spells that can remove Scarlet Rot. This will prevent her from outlasting you as long as you can consistently dish out damage while avoiding her attacks. In terms of lore, Malenia might be the strongest boss in all of Elden Ring. But in terms of gameplay, enough skill and patience is all it’ll take for you to overcome her!

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Elden Ring‘s characters are shrouded in mystery, with many of them requiring a deep understanding of the game itself to figure out the lore surrounding them. Shockingly, the snow witch Ranni is one of the easier characters to understand, mostly thanks to her questline outright telling the player her story and motivations. There are still quite a few mysteries about her to uncover, though, partially due to her ties with multiple questlines and other characters throughout the game. The lore behind Ranni in Elden Ring might not be hard to understand, but its vastness is arguably unmatched when compared to the lore surrounding any other character.

Elden Ring Lore: Who is Lunar Princess Ranni?

Ranni was born as a child of Radagon and Rennala, making her one of the demigods. She was born as an Empyrean, making her a potential successor to Queen Marika as ruler of the Lands Between. In celebration of this, the Two Fingers gifted her with a faithful follower known as Blaidd, whom she became close friends with as a kid alongside the blacksmith Iji. She also met a strange witch and learned about the dark moon, with Ranni becoming the witch’s pupil as a result. The demigod would go on to model her doll body in the visage of this witch, meaning the form Ranni takes in Elden Ring does not even resemble her true appearance.

As she grew older, Ranni found herself wishing to escape the influence of the Greater Will, granting humanity the chance to live life without being controlled by gods. To achieve this, she conspired with assassins that would come to be known as the Black Knives, imbuing their blades with traces a stolen Great Rune that would allow them to kill demigods. She also gave traces of this rune to her brother Rykard, as mentioned in the Blasphemous Claw item‘s description. While these assassins killed Godwyn, Ranni sacrificed herself at the Divine Tower of Liurnia, killing her flesh and creating a Cursemark of Death. This event freed her from her duties as an Empyrean, but it also led to Marika shattering the Elden Ring and basically set the entire game into motion.

By the events of Elden Ring, Ranni has employed the services of Seluvis alongside Blaidd and Iji to help her further her goals. At some point, she also met Torrent’s former master, which is what leads to her granting the player a Spirit Calling Bell. It’s unknown how she and Seluvis first met, but one can guess that their connections come from Rennala and the Carians found throughout Liurnia. Notably, she seems to take over the second phase of Rennala’s boss fight, but this has little bearing on her questline or attitude towards the player.

Before meeting Ranni in her tower, she uses the name Renna. The importance of this alternate name is questionable, though it’s implied that this is more than an alternate name due to the existence of Renna’s rise. The player might find Ranni on their own or be directed to her through Fia’s questline, due to her part in the events that led to Godwyn’s death. When the player starts Ranni’s questline, she tasks them with finding the Fingerslayer Blade. She doesn’t seem to have any connection with it, the city of Nokron where it lies, or Radahn, whom the player must defeat to reach it. She also doesn’t seem to have any connection with Nokstella, which is where she heads after receiving the blade.

With the blade in hand, Ranni sets out to kill a special variant of the Two Fingers. They seem to be personal overseers of Ranni, separate from the ones found in the Roundtable Hold. However, Ranni is prevented from killing them by the appearance of a Baleful Shadow, which she tasks the player with slaying. After doing so, nothing stops Ranni from achieving her goal and killing the Fingers, leading to her simply resting on their corpse. Should the player go after her by retrieving the Dark Moon Ring and killing Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, they will become her consort, allowing them to trigger the Age of Stars ending. This ushers in Ranni’s wish for an age without the influence of gods, taking the player with her to embrace the stars and end humanity’s dependence on the Elden Ring.

Overall, Ranni has some of the deepest and most intricate lore of any character in Elden Ring. Though she isn’t fought in a boss battle, she still requires the player to overcome many challenging obstacles. She is tied to her own special questline as well as Fia’s questline, the questlines of her followers, and even the main conflict that triggered the events of Elden Ring. Completing her goal might not lead to many enticing rewards for players that don’t use magic, but those invested in the game’s story will almost certainly enjoy discovering Ranni’s influence throughout their travels.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

When it comes to inventory management in Elden Ring, your bag will be cluttered with all these different weapons, incantations, materials, and weapons to a point where things will be hard to follow. Whatever the case may be, you may want to get rid of some things for your own sake like certain duplicates. Perhaps you want to do weapon trades and other things, so we can help you how to drop weapons in Elden Ring.

How to Drop Weapons in Elden Ring

To perform this, you simply have to do the following:

• Press options/pause.
• Select Inventory.
• Press X or A or the confirm button to whichever key it’s bound to on PC.
• Hit “Leave” or “Leave Selected Number”.
• Confirm the item you’re leaving.

The only major reasons why you’re dropping weapons are either because you have duplicates or if you’re performing a trade with someone. Though your inventory has no cap, it does significantly create clutter especially if you go for New Game+ runs, collecting things you have already obtained. 

So, you’re probably doing this for trading or helping other players out. If you have a friend who wasn’t able to collect all the legendary armaments or talismans, you can help them out by temporarily letting them borrow those that they missed. This method actually works if you let a player borrow the items they’re missing for the achievement/trophy they missed.

You could also just use dropping weapons as a trading method. Say you ran out of Somber Smithing Stones and you can’t level them up anymore because you don’t have enough runes; someone can do that for you by leveling the item you relinquished to them. Of course, there are some limitations to how much you can level them and give them back based on the player’s current plus level for items.

PSA: If you are dropping weapons for another player in a cooperative session, make sure to do it fast so you won’t get invaded and possibly lose these items.

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Exploring the Lands Between in Elden Ring is a daunting task, especially for those looking to obtain every item in the game. Devoted players need to keep track of important items, bosses, and especially NPCs. One such NPC, Millicent, is the subject of a difficult yet rewarding questline that leads to some powerful items. No matter which ending players go for, anyone making their way through Elden Ring should find Millicent and complete her questline.

Elden Ring — Millicent Questline: All Steps, Paths, and Rewards

Millicent’s quest can only be started once you reach Caelid. Going to its southern area — specifically, just south of Sellia, Town of Sorcery — will lead you to an NPC known as Gowry. He’ll ask you to find a special golden needle guarded by a boss within the nearby rotten swamp. There’s actually a chance you’ll encounter Millicent as an NPC invader in the swamp, but it’s not a requirement and defeating her won’t alter the questline at all. Once you obtain the needle, Gowry will share his knowledge regarding Sellia’s secrets. Re-obtain the needle from him after reloading the area and follow his words to eventually reach the Sellia Backstreets, and follow the path to a nearby church to finally meet Millicent in person.

When you meet Millicent, you’ll have to give her the needle and rest at the nearby Site of Grace. She’ll give you the Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom as thanks for your assistance. Once you’ve depleted her dialogue, return to Gowry’s abode to gain some additional dialogue with both Millicent and Gowry after an area reload or two. You should also be able to purchase some spells from Gowry at this point, as well. This will mostly end your time in Caelid from here, but Millicent will appear in a few more places afterwards. You can summon her for the fight against Magma Wyrm Makar, but the next time you’ll meet her in person is at the Erdtree-Grazing Hill Site of Grace in Altus Plateau.

When you reach her new location, she’ll talk about how she wishes to follow Malenia’s path. At this point, you can head to the Shaded Castle just up north in search of the Valkyrie’s Prosthesis. Giving this item to Millicent will allow her to be summoned for a boss fight in Dominula, Windmill Village, the same place where you can find Celebrant weapons. If you’ve already beaten the boss, this won’t affect the questline negatively. Just rest at the nearby Site of Grace it leaves behind and you’ll find Millicent nearby, allowing you to speak to her once more to advance her questline.

As a side note, you can choose to return to Gowry to purchase a new spell from him at this point. Doing so will even earn you an extra gesture for being thorough!

The Split Path in Millicent’s Questline

Your next meeting with Millicent will likely be in the Ancient Snow Valley Ruins in the Mountaintops of the Giants. Afterwards, you’ll be able to speak to her at the Prayer Room in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. From here, you’ll have to defeat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit found near the Drainage Channel in Elphael. Doing so will allow you to choose between a split path.

• Invading Millicent’s world will pit you against her in a duel to the death. If you win, you’ll get Millicent’s Prosthesis, a particularly strong Talisman for fans of Dexterity weapons.
• Assisting Millicent will have you fight alongside her against her sisters. This will give you the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Talisman as well as the Unalloyed Gold Needle, which can be used on the flower that appears after defeating Malenia to create Miquella’s Needle and reward you with a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. Miquella’s Needle is required to reverse the Frenzied Flame ending.

Either way, you can return to Gowry’s shack at this point and either kill him or loot his corpse to obtain the Flock’s Canvas Talisman. By the end of this quest, if you’ve done everything you can, you’ll obtain three Talismans, a gesture, four spells, and — optionally — a key item that can reverse a game-changing choice you might have made. Because of the decision at the end, you won’t be able to get every Talisman in one go, so consider starting a new journey and choosing the alternate route next time!

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Despite what the elitists say about magic users in Elden Ring, don’t let them stop you. Use your magic and conquer The Lands Between by any means necessary. If you are a person who is invested in a magic build in Elden Ring, you’re definitely going to want to know where you can get Rock Sling.

Where to Get Rock Sling in Elden Ring

This sorcery spell can be found at the Street of Sages Ruins in Caelid. The closest Site of Grace lies just before the ruins. It is called the Aeonia Swamp Shore. It’s a safe idea to rest up there before approaching the ruins, depending on how far you have gotten in the game.

At this point in the game, you will have access to your trusty steed, Torrent. Stepping on this dark red mud will cause Scarlet Rot to build up on your character. If you are on your horse, you won’t be affected by the status effect.

When fully inflicted with it, you’ll take damage over time. There are also a bunch of Servant of Rot enemies in this area. They are able to inflict Poison with their magic staffs. On top of the damage you receive from projectiles and two status effects, you can find yourself succumbing to all of the passive damage, so be wary of that.

Fighting through all the status effects will be worth it once you’re at the actual ruins here. Just clear the area and follow the staircase that leads underground. The spell will be inside the chest. 

This only uses one slot and requires an Intelligence level of 18. It’s a good substitute or another ranged spell similar to Glintstone Pebble for your staff. There is some startup time when casting it, so make sure you aren’t just casting it as an enemy goes on the offensive.

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Getting through Leyndell is quite difficult. There are a bunch of tough enemies to fight along the way, with a few normal bosses becoming field bosses. Seeing a Site of Grace is such a good feeling, especially when running out of flasks. When you’re coming up to the higher parts of the capital, how does one get to the Queen’s Bedchamber in Elden Ring? Here’s how to do that.

How to Get to the Queen’s Bedchamber in Elden Ring

This Site of Grace is located shortly after defeating Godfrey, First Elden Lord. This is the fight where he appears as a golden shade, wielding a huge, two-handed ax. What might stop you from getting to the Queen’s Bedchamber easily is this fight. 

Unlike many other boss battles, this version of Godfrey is heavily resistant to status effects like Frostbite and Bleed. These status effects are known to be some of the strongest in the game, even after some nerfs. Don’t expect these status effects to cheese through his health so easily. It makes sense as to why a projection of a being cannot bleed. 

In any case, now that you know how to get to the Bedchamber, it’s a matter of being skilled or leveled high enough to take this unskippable boss down. What you’ll want to do is use lightning attacks if your build allows you to. He’s more susceptible to that damage type. 

Also, if you play more on the offensive side, being more consistent with attacks and using jumping-heavy attacks, you can break his poise. Most bosses in Elden Ring can make mincemeat of you in a matter of seconds, but Godfrey is quite agile and mostly attacks in triple combos. 

Once you’re able to telegraph his moves and use the proper element to wither his health down more, you’ll be able to not only unlock the Queen’s Bedchamber, but also the Erdtree Sanctuary Site of Grace!

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

There are so many weapons to collect and play around with within Elden Ring. It’s quite overwhelming to get one of every type, but it does add to replayability using different builds. It also appeals to all the typical niches in these types of games. Some people want to use magic, go for fast hits like a samurai with katanas, and some people want to deal big damage with slow, heavy hits. Strength is just the stat for big damage, so here are some of the best weapons to use for that stat in Elden Ring.

Best Strength Weapons in Elden Ring

Colossal Swords

Ruins Greatsword

Of all the Colossal Swords in the game, the Ruins Greatsword takes the cake. It has the most damage in terms of raw numbers. There’s no gimmick to it other than having some magic damage, plus it scales extremely well with Strength. Once you upgrade it to +10 with Somber Smithing Stones, it’s graded with an S, meaning it’ll heavily get boosted by the stat. You need minimal intelligence (16) to get the most out of it.

You can earn this weapon by defeating the Misbegotten Warrior and Crucible Knight double battle at Redmane Castle.

Other alternatives for weapons of this category are:

• Starscourge Greatsword (Traded for the Remembrance of the Starscourge)
• Grafted Blade Greatsword (Rewarded for defeating Leonine Misbegotten at Castle Morne)

Greatswords

Flamberge (Heavy Ash of War)

The Flamberge is a rather versatile Greatsword that deals decent physical damage and has Blood Loss as a passive ability. If you want to get the most physical damage out of it for a strength build, equip a Heavy Ash of War on it (Lion’s Claw, Upward Cut, etc.). When you do so, the weapon will only scale with Strength at level B and maintain its blood loss passive. You can deal even more, and lethal damage to even the toughest foes with this.

To obtain the Flamberge, you have to find it at Redmane Castle. It’s by a Pumpkin Head enemy.

Curved Greatswords

Beastman’s Cleaver

Most Curved Greatswords have some kind of gimmick or primary damage stat to scale off of since most of them deal Blood Loss. However, if you like their playstyle and want that raw damage, the Beastman’s Cleaver can do just that. You can either keep it as is or put in a Heavy Ash of War to make it scale even more with Strength.

To get this weapon, you have to farm Azula Beastmen in hopes that they’ll drop it. They are only found in the Crumbling Farum Azula area of the game. It can either be accessed through the Four Belfries portal or by late-game story progression.

Great Axes

Great Omenkiller Cleaver

This is one of the few Great Axes that has passive Blood Loss in it. It’s also a strength-based weapon, meaning that you can dish out big chunks of damage with occasional bigger damage thanks to the bleed buildup. You can also put Strength Ashes of War to further tune it to scale with Strength.

This weapon can be obtained by either Omenkiller you encounter. They are fought at Volcano manor or Perfumer’s Grotto.

Other alternatives for weapons of this category are:

• Rusted Anchor (Obtained after defeating Scaly Misbegotten at Morne Tunnel)
• Gargoyle’s Great Axe (Obtained after defeating the Valiant Gargoyle in Leyndell)

Great Hammers

Brick Hammer

The Brick Hammer is an extremely strong Strength weapon because of its high base damage and its capability to stagger enemies. It can even break the poise of the toughest bosses, giving you a free hit for a finisher move. You can upgrade its physical damage capabilities further by putting a Strength Ash of War on it so it can scale with an S for Strength.

This weapon is obtained in Stormveil Castle in the Wine Cellar.

Other alternatives for weapons of this category are:

• Battle Hammer (Obtained by defeating the Grave Warden Duelist)
• Rotten Battle Hammer (Obtained by defeating the Rotten Duelist by the Consecrated Snowfield Site of Grace)
• Great Stars (Obtained from a chest on a wagon in Altus Plateau)

Colossal Weapons

Prelate’s Inferno Crozier

This Colossal hammer has an extremely cool design, but it also hits like a truck. If you give it an Ash of War to prioritize Strength, this can stagger enemies and put them in a finishing position in no time. Not to mention its ability, Prelate’s Charge, is good for crowd-controlling mobs.

The Prelate’s Inferno Crozier is obtained by defeating the Fire Monk prelate enemy inside of Fort Laeidd, west of Volcano Manor.

Other alternatives for weapons of this category are:

• Rotten Greataxe (Obtained by defeating the Rotten Duelist near Ordina, Liturgical Town)

Great Spears

Serpent-Hunter

The spear to defeat the Lord of Blasphemy is perhaps the only good Great Spear weapon that scales excellently with Strength. It has good range and has pierce damage, which works well against armored enemies.

To get this weapon, you just have to complete the Volcano Manor questline and reach the Audience Pathway. The spear will be readily available as a drop inside Rykard’s arena.

There are many other strength weapons in Elden Ring that can be considered the best, but that would usually mean that you would have to dip into another stat and get secondary effects. Ashes of War can also make non-colossal weapons scale extremely well with the stat.

Elden Ring is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

Whether you are just getting into Elden Ring or are trying a new Faith build, the first thing you need to know about Incantations is how to use them. Like many things in Elden Ring, it isn’t made abundantly clear how to use Incantations which can be frustrating. Luckily, you have us. Here is how to use Incantations in Elden Ring.

How to Use Incantations in Elden Ring

To perform an Incantation, you need to have a Sacred Seal. Think of it like this: the Incantation is the bullet and the Sacred Seal is the gun. Sacred Seals are used exactly like staffs and wands but they are used only for Incantations. Staffs and wands are for Intelligence and Arcane builds and Sacred Seals are for Faith builds.

While the game gives you plenty of options when it comes to wands and staffs for Intelligence builds, Sacred Seals can be hard to come by. To get a Sacred Seal quickly in Elden Ring, visit the Roundtable Hold and buy one from the Twin Maiden Husks. This is the fastest way to get a Sacred Seal and start casting Incantations in Elden Ring.

While it isn’t as important to level up your Sacred Seal as it is to upgrade your main weapons, you’ll want to prioritize increasing your Faith and your Mind stats to cast Incantations. Incantations are no different than other spells in Elden Ring in that they require a specific threshold of Faith and a specific FP to cast. The Faith threshold is directly influenced by your Faith stat and your FP, or mana, is directly increased by increasing your Mind stat.

Once you have a Sacred Seal, you’ll need to decide if it is worth upgrading. Now that you know how to use Incantations, you can look to see which Incantations are the best to maximize your specific build. You can focus on getting the Swarm of Flies Incantation and go from there.

Elden Ring is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

Elden Ring always has players walking up to its soul-trembling doors and many of those adventurers may be wondering if the game has any cross-platform and cross-gen availability. Of course, before you start thinking about any of that, you may simply be trying to find out where Blaidd actually is in the game, there are a lot of characters and enemies to try and find the locations of and that will likely be a foremost thought for you when playing. Nonetheless, this article will take you through if Elden Ring is cross-platform and if it has any cross-gen support.

Elden Ring Cross Platform Details

Unfortunately, Elden Ring does not feature cross-platform multiplayer. You will only be able to play with people on the same console brand as you. PlayStation will only matchmake with PlayStation and so forth. In a time where many games support crossplay, it seems like a missed opportunity here.

Is There Cross-Gen Multiplayer For Elden Ring?

Luckily, there will be support for cross-generation play for Elden Ring. At least people who have been separated from the transitioning to the 9th generation of consoles will still be able to pair up with people in the last generation.

Despite the game running better on newer hardware, there won’t be any limitations either. The only differences will be loading times, frame rates, and the choices to alter graphical optimizations.

Is there a next-gen upgrade for Elden Ring?

To many other peoples’ delight, Elden Ring has a free next-gen upgrade. If you are planning on playing the game on a PS4, you can get an upgrade to the PS5 version at no additional cost. The same goes for Xbox and its smart delivery program.

Thankfully, this means that you won’t have to worry about what platform you choose to play Elden Ring on at first. Then you can begin wondering about other things such as if you should join Volcano Manor in the game.

Elden Ring is available at this very moment for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

Elden Ring is a massive game with seemingly endless areas to explore and countless cryptic NPCs to meet. Sometimes these characters will ask you to complete a quest for them, but other times, they ask you questions that require a larger chunk of commitment. When exploring Mt. Gelmir in the latter half of Elden Ring, you’ll come across an NPC that asks you to join Volcano Manor. The manor itself is a strange place, but this optional commitment can open up some exciting new gameplay elements in your Elden Ring adventure. Here are the pros and cons of joining Volcano Manor in Elden Ring.

Should You Join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring?

You should absolutely join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring. Joining Volcano Manor will unlock an entirely new questline that leads to unique boss fights, NPC encounters, and items that you wouldn’t have access to otherwise. It’s also one of the best quests in all of Elden Ring, too. If you’d rather not join Volcano Manor, then declining the offer doesn’t have any negative repercussions either. If you want more content, however, then you should join.

Volcano Manor also holds the key to PVP in Elden Ring. Joining Volcano Manor will allow you to obtain the Recusant Finger item, which allows for unlimited PVP invasions similar to the Bloody Finger that you can earn from White Mask Varre.

If you do join Volcano Manor, you will receive a key that will unlock access to a new room called the Drawing Room. There are multiple new NPCs to meet in the Drawing Room of Volcano Manor, including a character who will sell you new Ashes of War for your weapons. Here’s where you can find the Recusant Finger as well.

After collecting the Recusant Finger in the Drawing Room, you can pick up the “Letter From Volcano Manor” item on the table which will give you the name and location of a Tarnished NPC that you must invade and defeat. These assassination contracts are a core part of the Volcano Manor questline, and killing these targets will eventually lead you to a secret boss that cannot be fought via any other means.

After reading the leader in your inventory, the target’s location will be marked on your map with a red icon. The first NPC that you’re sent after is named Old Knight Istvan, and he can be found in Limgrave. Heading out to the quest area, you will find a red summoning sign on the ground. Use this to invade Old Knight Istvan’s world. If you defeat him, you will get the Scaled Armor SetElden Ring Armor: The 10 Best Armor Sets & How to Get Them as a reward.  You can then head back to the Volcano Manor after completing this task to the Magma Shot.

Once Old Knight Istvan is defeated, you can keep collecting letters from the Drawing Room in Volcano Manor to learn the locations of additional assassination targets. Finding and defeating these Tarnished targets will progress the Volcano Manor storyline, allowing you to learn more about the characters found within the Manor and their fight against the Erdtree.

Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Ranni the Witch is one of the strangest characters in all of Elden Ring, and every Tarnished who comes across her at Ranni’s Rise has second thoughts about serving her. Pledging yourself to a character is a serious commitment in Elden Ring and other From Software games, potentially locking you out of certain questlines or even certain endings in some circumstances. However, Ranni and her companions — Blaidd the wolfman and Seluvis the sorcerer — could be key allies on your quest to become Elden Lord. So, should you serve Ranni the Witch in Elden Ring?

Should You Serve Ranni the Witch in Elden Ring?

Yes, you should choose to serve Ranni in Elden Ring. While there aren’t any downsides to not serving Ranni, your game can go in a radically different direction if you do choose to serve her. Not serving Ranni allows you to continue your journey like nothing ever happened, chasing after the Erdtree as you were before.

However, if you enter Ranni’s service, you open up one of the game’s largest and most complex questlines with a cast of interesting characters to meet. You can always come back later and choose to serve Ranni at another time if you don’t want to commit immediately.

If you decide to serve Ranni, then you’ll be sent to extraordinary optional areas that you never would have seen otherwise. Of course, you can always stumble upon these areas naturally without ever speaking to Ranni, but a bit of direction is nice sometimes. Serving Ranni also opens up the door for a potentially different ending based on some choices you can make later in the game. You aren’t locked into anything at this point in the story, it’s just another potential route you can take later on.

However, there are some instances where Ranni will not let you serve her even if you want to. There are prerequisites that you must meet in order to enter her service, namely defeating Starscourge Radahn in Caelid or Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon at the Raya Lucaria Academy first.

Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

While builds are an integral part of a game like Elden Ring, weapons are important as well. It’s not impossible to beat the game without weapons as several users have already demonstrated. But doing so is a painful task, and might take a considerable amount of time because you’ll be heading into fights with a considerable disadvantage by your side.

The sheer number of weapons that the game has to offer can be intimidating at times. And it might be difficult to distinguish which weapon is good and which isn’t. Keeping that in mind, here’s our list of weapons, ranked in order of their efficiency in Elden Ring.

Ranking All the Weapons in Elden Ring

The only tier that needs an explanation on this list is the Meme-Tier. We’ve come up with this tier just to give these weapons a position on this list. If you’re streaming the game and you’re up for a quirky challenge, use the weapons from this tier!

That said, here are the weapons:

That concludes our tier list for all the weapons in Elden Ring. Now that you know how the weapons fare against each other, here’s a quick guide on how scaling works in the game. If you’re planning on playing this title on the Steam Deck, here are the best settings for it. Also, here’s how you sprint in the game.

Elden Ring has just received its latest update, granting players access to the three colosseums found throughout the Lands Between. These colosseums offer a new way to play online with friends and foes alike, with duels and team battles being among the options players can discover in these arenas. Players can visit these locations by searching for them on the map, though one in particular might be difficult to reach. The colosseum in Leyndell, Royal Capital isn’t too difficult to reach for players traversing the area normally. But for those that hit a certain point of no return, the normal path can seem almost insurmountable. It’s still possible to access the Leyndell colosseum after the area becomes the Ashen Capital, but the route might not be so clear at first.

How to Access the Royal Capital’s Colosseum After it Becomes Leyndell, Ashen Capital in Elden Ring

Following the events that trigger Elden Ring’s finale, Leyndell will become covered in ash. This blocks off most routes to and from important points within the capital. At first, it appears as though this includes the colosseum, but this actually isn’t the case. After traveling to the Leyndell, Capital of Ash Site of Grace, head to the massive dragon corpse. You might have climbed onto its wing during your first visit to Leyndell, but this time you’ll want to go under its wing and walk along the nearby building’s wall. Before long, you’ll see some rubble that you can jump onto, granting access to a part of the capital that’s otherwise unreachable. From there, look for a ladder and climb up it, and the path to the colosseum should be incredibly straightforward!

You can also jump down onto this path from above. The Erdtree Sanctuary Site of Grace leads to an elevator and a set of stairs. Jumping on the banister will let you jump to the nearby building’s roof, but this requires some very careful precision. No matter which path you take, opening door to the colosseum and stepping inside will unlock it for online matches. If you’ve already visited the colosseum before reaching the point of no return, there’s no need to re-unlock it. Though most of Leyndell becomes inaccessible after it becomes the Ashen Capital, rest assured that you won’t need to start a new journey to check out the colosseum!

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Players returning to Limgrave for another exciting Elden Ring adventure were over the moon at the release of Update 1.07. Not only did it bring some much-needed balance to some of the encounters that players would strive to live through, but it also brought many other changes to the magnum opus that FromSoftware put out earlier this year.

While players may be eager to learn what Update 1.07.1 brings to the table, it’s nowhere near as meaty as the previous patch. However, there is a specific change that may bring joy to players, so let’s strap on our best gear and head deep into the world of Elden Ring to see what was fixed up with the newest update to the game!

Elden Ring Version 1.07.1 Patch Notes

Ash of War – Endure

• Shortened effect duration. Adjustments made in patch 1.07 had a greater impact on the game balance than expected.

Incantation – Inescapable Frenzy

• Fixed a bug where the FP consumption was not properly reduced in patch 1.07.

Additional information

• The version number of this update shown at the lower right corner of the Title Screen will be as follows:
  • App Ver. 1.07
  • Regulation Ver. 1.07.1
• The incantation Flame of the Fell God and Gurranq’s Beast Claw cannot be charged; patch notes were edited accordingly.
•  The incantation Black Blade is currently missing its follow-up attack when cast from the left hand. This issue will be corrected in a future update.
•  We will continue to provide game balance updates in the future to improve your ELDEN RING experience.

While it may not be as substantial, you’ll still find a few things to get excited about with this new update. As we continue our journies through the lands that never end, you’ll need all of the help you can get on your adventure. These updates may be small, but their impact will be felt by plenty of gamers across the globe.

Make sure you’re studying up on our Elden Ring Guide Section, where you’ll be able to learn if there is any DLC or Expansions on the way, the best settings to enjoy Elden Ring on your Steam Deck, and the best Ring Incantations and Sorceries in the game!

Elden Ring is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

Elden Ring has managed to retain a considerable player base. The game launched in February 2022 and is still one of the Steam games with the largest player base, with more than 20 thousand players on its servers at all times. The game made by From Software is everything but slim when it comes to content. Though many players are still enjoying this game months after its release, and some of them are starting to wonder if there is going to be an Elden Ring DLC or expansion.

Will There Be Elden Ring DLC or Expansion?

According to recent discoveries, Elden Ring fans may be getting a DLC or expansion. On October 13, Twitter users Lance McDonald and Sennoutantei shared some information found in Elden Ring’s update 1.10. According to the leak, the users found a couple of maps called “M20” and “M45” alongside some code strings relating to Ray Tracing. Since Elden Ring’s release, the developers have not made a single announcement regarding a DLC or expansion for the game, and with this new leak, there is a meaningful possibility of this happening.

On Twitter, the feedback has been tame, and the same can be said when it comes to Elden Ring’s subreddit. The tweet has not gotten much attention yet, so it is a matter of time until fans of the game find it. In the past players on Reddit have made dozens of posts exploring the idea of a DLC that expands the game’s lore, weapons, and more. So is safe to say that the Elden Ring community will be more than happy with a leak like this.

Many From Software titles have gotten DLCs after their releases, so the idea of having an Elden Ring DLC is not out of the question. Maybe with a leak like this, From Software decides to open up about their plans with Elden Ring. All players can do right now is wait until the game’s developers release an official statement about the recent leaks.

Elden Ring gathered a lot of positive reviews when it came out, and the number of players that are still playing the game is the true testimony of the remarkable experience created by From Software. So if you have not given Elden Ring a chance, make sure you read any of the Elden Ring reviews around the web.

Elden Ring is available now on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Series X|S. For more information about the game, players can go to Elden Ring’s official Twitter page.

Patch 1.07 for Elden Ring will arguably set the groundwork for the game’s capability of creating different experiences for its separate audiences. Elden Ring, shares a common trend with the Souls series and Bloodborne in that its active online player count is sustained by players that engage in the cooperative or PvP experience the game has to offer. PvP in particular has led to fighting hotspots before the gates of major story bosses, where people wage combat and test out new builds, leading to regular balance patches. Patch 1.07 looks to differentiate the PvP and PvE player experience as a result.

Significant Changes for patch 1.07 of Elden Ring

Simply put, the game will separate the damage scaling on weapons, skills, spells, and incantations for PvP and PvE from patch 1.07 onward. Making it so players using the same build will be at different power levels depending on whether or not they are engaging another hostile player in combat, or if they are fighting against a boss by themselves or with a friend. This feature will likely allow developers to tweak parameters without making it difficult for players dealing with tough boss battles using tailored or overpowered builds in single or coop play.

Arguably, this should come as a beneficial change overall as this will diversify Player/AI difficulty for experienced veterans active in Elden Ring, and keep difficulty consistent for newcomers and returning players who might have struggled as a result of the numerous balance patches that have maintained power balance for the PvP sphere, at the potential expense of PvE cheese and voiding existing boss fight strategies.

Other changes of interest that apply to the general environment include buffs to colossal weapon attack speeds while nerfing crouch poke and rolling recovery attacks. Accompanying that is a general increase in the poise value that most armor pieces will provide to players, which might not lead to hyper armor, but helps to provide more value to heavy armor sets that exist in-game.

It is interesting to note that the majority of spells and incantations seen in the balance list are seeing buffs, with only a select few receiving rebalances or nerfs. The same can be said for Weapon Skills and Ashes of War.

Hopefully, these changes will lead to more build diversity across the board for PvE and PvP players, and fewer community disagreements regarding how the balancing of the game should be handled and whether the game should cater to player duelists or RPG enthusiasts.

Players should check the official patch notes for a detailed list of the changes implemented.

Elden Ring is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

To this day, Elden Ring stands as one of the most beloved games of all time. The massive world it offers is nothing short of impressive. What’s perhaps even more impressive is the fact that it runs on so many platforms, from gaming PCs and next-gen consoles to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The most surprising console it’s able to run on is the Steam Deck, Valve’s handheld gaming device. It’s been preconfigured from launch to work perfectly with the Deck, though a massive game like this might still have some performance issues — especially for those looking to squeeze battery life out of their device. Players should be aware of the best settings for Elden Ring on the Steam Deck both inside and outside of the game itself.

Which Settings to Change for Elden Ring on Steam Deck

Rather than changing Elden Ring’s in-game settings, you should access the Performance tab on your Steam Deck to change settings related to the device. This can be accessed by pressing the button with the three dots on the right face of your Deck. From there, scroll down to the Battery icon to access Performance options. You’ll be given not much more than the Performance Overlay Level at first, but if you hit the Advanced View button, you’ll gain access to a plethora of options. Here are the most relevant options for Elden Ring:

• Use per-game profile: Allows you to affix these changes only to Elden Ring.
• Framerate Limit: Lets you change the target framerate that Elden Ring should run at. Since it’s such a massive game, you might consider turning the setting down to 30 to have a more stable experience. If you decide to alter Refresh Rate, you might prefer to bring it down to 40 or even 50 instead, especially if you use other settings to bring out the most performance you can.
• Scaling Filter: Allows you to change various scaling options. FSR is the one you’ll want to use, as it provides the greatest performance increase at the cost of overall visual quality.

These are the most useful settings to change on the Steam Deck itself. These alterations can be very impactful to performance without risking stability of the system. Of course, following the best settings for Elden Ring on PC will also help performance, but you should maximize the Deck’s Performance Overlay Level before you start messing with that. This will give you a real-time display of both the game’s performance and the Deck’s stability as you change settings. Quality settings will hit Elden Ring the hardest due to its massive level of detail, but if you’re willing to sacrifice it for performance, you might even be able to reach a stable 60 FPS!

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The Steam Version of Elden Ring is Steam Deck Verified.

Best Elden Ring Incantations and Sorceries

We have gone ahead and separated the lists of Incantations and Sorceries in Elden Ring, each featuring a mixture of prominent abilities used either in PvP or PvE.  The entries are listed based on how well they can fit either of these purposes and due to the nature of their uses being mixed, they will not be ranked above or below each other.  Read on for our lists below:

Elden Ring | Best Incantations

Below are some of the best incantations in Elden Ring, with a variety of uses and combat styles accommodated:

Black Blade

Aside from a killer name, Black Blade is a powerful one with a worthwhile use on the battlefield. This grants you a powerful blade with which you spin through the air, dealing 100% holy damage to enemies, sapping their health, and reducing their maximum HP by 10% for 15 seconds. This is stackable with Destined Death and can be immensely helpful against bulky late-game bosses, and is an all-around handy ability to have if you’re looking to break down your opponent and reduce their defensive advantage.

Aspect of the Crucible: Tail

This incantation is dropped by the Crucible Knight as he appears at the Stormhill Evergaol. It is a dragon-based incantation, summoning a large tail with which you can whip your opponents to the point of causing knockback when fully charged, giving you control over the flow of battle.

Golden Vow

Golden Vow is a valuable asset for any Faith-based player’s loadout, not only because it can boost your attack and defense, but also that of your allies if you’re preparing to fight a tough boss or invader. Make sure to incorporate some Dexterity into your build so that if you need to recast and keep this buff up, you aren’t waiting too long. In many ways, for any player using incantations in Elden Ring, this might simply be the best one available by just how helpful it is, but others deal more immediate damage.

Swarm of Flies

An asset in PvE, the Swarm of Flies incantation is deadly for inflicting the invaluable status ailment of Blood Loss. It can take down mighty foes once it stacks enough, and despite its projectile being slow on the approach, there’s no way to deny the awesome feeling when the bleed kicks in and the enemy’s HP loses a huge chunk. This has even been deployed as an easy way to chip away at Malenia, one of the most famous and hardest bosses in the game.

Beast Claw

A fantastic incantation acquired by completing Gurranq’s questline, the Beast Claw is immensely powerful, can have its range and power adjusted by charging the incantation longer, and can break down the defenses of those it is used against. It’s an asset to use, has a quick wind-up, and is deadly to your foes. Beastly indeed.

Elden Ring | Best Sorceries

For those using their trusty glintstone staff instead of a seal, sorceries are a powerful offensive asset and can be deadly not only to bosses but to other players in the game.  Below are our picks for some of the best sorceries in Elden Ring:

Adula’s Moonblade

On the sorcery side of things, this spell conjures up an icy blade to deal with frostbite damage to enemies nearby and is quick to use, placing it high on many ‘best spells’ lists. For those outside the regular striking range of this attack, they’ll still be in the range of the deadly arcs that shoot from the blade as it is swung, increasing its versatility. In virtually every way, this is the superior variant of the greatswords you can conjure via sorcery.

Glintstone Arc

For those still playing the game early on, they might notice this sorcery is attained in the initial parts of the game, giving you a cheap method to dispatch groups of enemies. This can alternately be used to trip up opponents that otherwise would dodge-roll to sidestep regular glintstone attacks, and it scales well with Intelligence allowing you to keep it well into later parts of the game as versatile, bread-and-butter sorcery. Any of the other sorceries in its family, such as Glintstone Cometshard or Pebble, are also highly acceptable.

Loretta’s Greatbow

For those looking to have a solid first-strike advantage in any confrontation, especially when they are facing a tough foe that can’t be snuck up on, look no further than Loretta’s Greatbow. A charged shot from this, or Loretta’s Mastery (a more powerful version from later on in the game) will prove deadly and allows you to draw the enemy aggro while prepping either a different spell or swapping to your melee weapons to fight up close. This serves as a perfect surgical strike method, damaging exactly what you set out to hit with it.

Ranni’s Dark Moon

While this attack is trickier to maneuver than Loretta’s Greatbow and has a significant windup phase, it is deadly for splash damage as a fire-and-forget spell against smaller foes or powerful bosses. This move can add deadly amounts of frostbite damage and even lower the enemy’s magic negation stats, so it’s a powerful weapon you can use multiple times for full effect before going on a close-range magic offensive.

Comet Azur

Could there be any other sorcery here on the list? Comet Azur is the sorcery that seemingly broke the internet when it was found, creating a deadly blue beam of glintstone energy which, at the high cost of FP, could be sustained to shatter enemy boss HP until opponents are vaporized. It’s certainly not a helpful tool in PvP, but is devastating as an asset for PvE enjoyers wishing to progress through the game, and is remarkably easy to use on big foes.

This concludes our list of the Best Elden Ring Incantations and Sorceries! Be sure to check out our other guides on the game, and see how particularly strong builds can be when using incantations like Black Blade!

Elden Ring was released on February 25, 2022, for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Series X|S.

One thing that Elden Ring doesn’t do very often is to hold your hand. You have to seek tutorials, routes, and explanations for many things without them being shoved into your face. This also includes knowing what each stat does and how they affect your gameplay when you level them up. For instance, Dexterity is considered one of the best overall stats, but what does it do? Does Dexterity increase attack speed in Elden Ring? Here, we’ll go over what the stat does.

Does Dexterity Increase Attack Speed in Elden Ring?

In short, Dexterity does not increase attack speed. What it does instead is reduces spell casting times, lessen fall damage, and make you more resistant to getting knocked off Torrent. Also, it’s one of the more versatile stats because it’s used in a majority of the weapons as a required stat and for attribute scaling.

There’s a lot of talk about Dexterity being one of the best stats because it is versatile. If you’re a magic user, you can pick up other weapons that scale with Faith or Intelligence so you won’t have to dip into another stat that doesn’t benefit your build. The same applies if you take a more melee-focused route.

Another reason for Dexterity being one of the best and most versatile stats is that when you’re on Torrent while facing a boss like the Night’s Cavalry or a Dragon, you won’t fall off right away. Falling off your steed is basically a death sentence. That one extra hit you can take between falling off and staying on Torrents can really turn the tide, especially if you’re using the jousting method to take field bosses on.

If you’re looking for items on a cliff dropping down steep inclines or trying to get back to your pile of lost runes, you reduce the likelihood of dying with a higher Dexterity stat. This is especially helpful when it comes to Tunnel dungeons, but does not prevent death from huge falls where you fall for more than about a second.

Elden Ring is available now for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series consoles, and PC.

Elden Ring is a game with incredible depth. Even fans of FromSoftware’s previous entries might miss important pieces of knowledge about this title, such as the weaknesses of certain enemies. While Elden Ring is much more accessible thanks to online improvements and greater build variety, new players might end up without more important knowledge that veterans are aware of. For example, they might not be aware of every movement option available in Elden Ring – including sprinting – especially if they missed the Cave of Knowledge at the start. Learning how to sprint in Elden Ring might seem trivial for most, but it can be vital for the survival of first-time players.

How to Sprint in Elden Ring

Much like FromSoftware’s other action titles, sprinting is done by moving while holding the roll button. Tapping the button will only lead to a roll or a backstep; it must be held in order to activate sprinting. It should be noted that sprinting can be done directly after a roll or a backstep simply by continuing to hold the button while moving. If the player has access to Torrent, the roll button will simply provide a short boost of speed. To put it simply, hold the roll button when on foot and tap it repeatedly when on Torrent to sprint.

Players should be wary of their equipment load if they want full access to sprinting. Similar to how rolling cannot be done while over-encumbered, sprinting will be unavailable as well. This might not be an issue with the right equipment, however. A good example of this is the Bloodhound’s Step Ash of War, which can allow players to rapidly move in any direction while dodging attacks. With or without these tools, sprinting is still immensely helpful for new players. With good stamina management, it’s possible to easily sprint past most enemies on the way to a boss fight, avoiding unnecessary conflicts as a player reaches their toughest battle yet.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Elden Ring has an abundance of weapons and gear that players are always going to be looking for during their playthrough if they need to add a certain item to their arsenal. Whether they are preparing for fights with brutally tough bosses, or simply want to look the most stylish across the lands, hunting for gear is an extremely important part of the experience. One such weapon that players may be looking for is the Halo Scythe and this guide article will take you through everything you need to know about how to get the Halo Scythe in Elden Ring.

Acquiring the Halo Scythe in Elden Ring

There are certain types of enemies that will drop the Halo Scythe for you within the experience. There are the Cleanrot Knights which are close to the ‘Heart of Aeonia’, specifically to the south. It can be a rarer drop to get the weapon but it is indeed possible to get it from these particular knights. If the knights are wielding the scythes then those are the ones that you want to focus on eliminating for a chance of getting the Halo Scythe to drop for you.

Further, the specific name of the area where you are best to eliminate these enemies for a chance of the scythe dropping is Caelid’s Aeonia Swamp. You will of course be able to find a lot of these enemies here to begin the process of farming for getting the Halo Scythe. You will likely be familiar with the Cleanrot knights as there is a boss encounter with them in the Abandonded Cave. It should be noted that it is the regular enemies that have a chance of dropping the weapon. Time to get farming and add another excellent weapon to your equipment!

Elden Ring is available now and playable for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

Elden Ring does little to guide you through your adventure in the Lands Between. You fight against a seemingly impossible boss, get a small optional tutorial, and now you’re out and about. The moment you explore, you’re facing yet another seemingly unbeatable boss, the Tree Sentinel. This posed the question, what is the best way to go? Here, we’ll guide you through the best progression route in Elden Ring like the boss order and places to check out.

Best Elden Ring Progression Route and Boss Order

For true first-timers of the Soulslike games, always pick the Golden Seed for your Keepsake! This will give you an extra permanent heal at the start of the game. Since you have free reign on where to go in the Lands Between, follow this guide’s arrows as just the best route for Elden Ring.

Once you make it to The First Step, skip the Tree Sentinel. It’s possible to beat everything in the game with level 1 gear, but if you want to deal decent damage and be able to take more than one hit, move on. The following map will show you the places you should go to defeat bosses, gain XP, and acquire new weapons for your journey ahead. Fighting Agheel is optional since Dragon bosses in the game tend to be clunky and tedious.

Next, as you clear most of the central part of Limgrave, head south past Agheel Lake South and Bloodhound Knight Darriwil’s Evergaol. Go south until you hit the Bridge of Sacrifice. Next, you want to clear as much as you can in this area. For additional drops and XP, patrol the Castle Morne Rampart Site of Grace at night to fight the Night’s Cavalry. There should be 10 bosses in this area you can take down, including Leonine Misbegotten at Castle Morne.

Once you have explored a majority of Limgrave, you can then proceed towards Stormveil Castle to fight Margit. Of course, to fully maximize your stats without hitting diminishing returns on XP gains, you can revisit skipped field bosses like the Tree Sentinel and Flying Dragon Agheel.

The next hurdle is getting through Stormveil without getting lost or running out of Crimson Flasks. Since that might be harder than Margit, you can start to travel eastward towards Caelid. Don’t stay for long, but try unlocking new Sites of Grace. Hit up a few dungeons and find additional Golden Seeds to up your flask count.

The area labeled “early game farm” is good for getting a few extra levels so you can get through Stormveil and eventually get through the second story boss of the game, Godrick the Grafted. While you’re farming here at the northeast side of Caelid, find the Farum Greatbridge Site of Grace so you can come back there to defeat Black Blade Kindred and Flying Dragon Greyll at a later time.

If you followed the route up to this point, you should probably be nearing level 70, which will be more than enough to find your way through Stormveil, beat Godrick, and get to the next area of the game, Liurnia.

This place is just as densely packed as the last two regions, but you want to start with the outskirts. Hug the left or right of the area. Don’t take the lake routes here, given that there isn’t anything too significant other than Sites of Grace and collectibles. Travel to as many named places until you get to Caria Manor on the left and the Church of Inhibition on the right.

All this side questing will help you gain additional levels, upgrading materials, armor, and more important items to help you survive. At this point, you can then clear out Raya Lucaria without too much trouble, including the boss.

This allows you to move forward onto the Altus Plateau. Here is where you want to start with the western part and slowly make your way to the east. While you can use the Grand Lift of Dectus to make your way there, it’ll be easier to go through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice where you fight Magma Wyrm Makar. It’s an alternate route so you can reach places like Volcano Manor. While this area and quest are optional, they’ll help level you tremendously if you want to go for a completionist run.

Once you clear all or most of the area off the outer wall of Leyndell, you can revisit Caelid. Even though this place is technically available from the start, the enemies hit very hard. If you’re all the way at the Royal Capital, you are most than equipped to take on most of the threats looming in the red wastelands, including one of the more notoriously difficult bosses, Radahn.

If you decided to clear all or most of Caelid, including Redmane, the War-Dead Catacombs, the Divine Tower, the Bestial Sanctum, and all the dragons, most of the other fights in the game should be significantly easier.

At this point in the game, everything is a lot more straightforward, especially with where the Sites of Grace are pointing. Leyndell is the last place in the game where you can easily get lost because of its depth. You might end up in the sewers or making your way to the top, getting that much closer to the Erdtree sealing the Elden Throne. Here, you only have to fight Godfrey and Morgott so you can progress toward the Mountaintops of the Giants.

That whole upper section of the map that seems inaccessible to the east of Castle Sol is all optional. It’s accessible if you get both pieces of the Haligree Medallion. Anyway, this snowy section of the map will feel like Caelid again. Everything hits hard, plus visibility is low.

It is recommended to hit all the dungeons and caves. Levels matter greatly, especially for the fight ahead. The arrows will show you a path where you need to go, but feel free to grab any additional farming XP along the way. The only real mandatory boss here is the Fire Giant so you can move forward with the story.

At this point, you should go back to Leyndell and pick up any items you see on the floor since there are quite a few missable here. Once you’re done, proceed with the Cardinal Sin scene and get to Farum Azula. At this point, everything here is straightforward as this is the last mandatory and unique place to beat the story.

The reason why underground areas of the game are excluded from the guide is that they’re all mostly from optional quests. Of course, if you’re looking to explore every area before the credits roll, you want to explore them.

Of course, this route which we consider the best for Elden Ring is that it allows you to mostly hit all the important areas, including any possibly missable things. If anything, it’s more to point you in the direction of useful items and powerful enemies.

Elden Ring Boss Order

The following is simply a list of the mandatory bosses you should fight before getting to the final boss. This does not include bosses from catacombs, invasions, or dungeons.

• 1. Margit the Fell Omen
• 2. Godrick the Grafted
• 3. Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
• 4. Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Shade)
• 5. Morgott, the Omen King
• 6. Fire Giant
• 7. Godskin Duo
• 8. Maliketh, the Black Blade
• 9. Godfrey / Hoarah Loux
• 10. Radagon of the Golden Order / Elden Beast

What you may notice is that other shard bearer bosses like Mohg, Malenia, and Rykard are missing from the mandatory ones. They aren’t necessary. While they all add to the lore and give cool drops, only the above are those needed to get through the game. Of course, with more bosses defeated and more places explored, you can even the playing field having stronger stats so you won’t always get one-shotted by everything that comes your way.

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series consoles, and PC.

Elden Ring doesn’t really help the player all too much unless they are willing to seek the knowledge. You just make your character and then you are on your way into the Lands Between. Like many RPG games out there, there are stats and all these other important tidbits that can help shape a certain build or playstyle you want to go for, namely scaling. It might be a bit of a confusing aspect for many, so here we’ll clarify how stat scaling works so you can get the most out of your build in Elden Ring.

How Does Scaling Work in Elden Ring?

When you check your weapon, you’ll notice that there are letters next to the five stats listed in the Attribute Scaling part in your Equipment menu. These are extremely important as they indicate their strength relative to how much you specced into these said stats.

You’ll notice that out of the eight stats you can spec into (Vigor, Mind, Endurance, etc.), only five are listed to scale with the weapons you pick. Before you can even think of looking at attribute scaling, take note of what your highest stat of those five is. It’s important to capitalize on your highest stats to get the most out of your weapons, especially in a game as legendarily difficult as this.

Next, you should see that you fulfill all the possible requirements to handle your weapon correctly. In my provided example, I show my maxed-out Nagakiba +25. It has a requirement of 18 Str and 22 Dex. As I fulfilled those stats, I then take note of how well the weapon scales in the Attribute Scaling section.

Both Str and Dex are at B rank, meaning that I should focus my build around Strength and Dexterity. For every level I put into one of those two stats, the lethality of my weapon will increase. If I spec into Mind or Faith, that would be counterintuitive to wanting to increase my weapon’s damage output. Using katanas, in general, doesn’t require any other stat other than Arcane for the Rivers of Blood or Intelligence for the Moonveil and Meteoric Ore Blade.

If I wanted to run a build that focuses primarily on Strength and Dexterity, I should look out for weapons that scale primarily in those regions. The higher the letter, the stronger it’ll scale with my weapon. If they were both at A, the Attack Power would be even higher than what you’re seeing it at right now.

In this next example, I’m using a maxed-out Hoslow’s Petal Whip +25. It scales with a D in Str, D in Int, and C in Dex. Looking at its attack power, the numbers add up to a number lower than my Nagakiba. That’s mostly because the Str and Dex stats are lower than B. It’s also from the fact that this weapon scales off Intelligence, which is a stat that I don’t have much put into.

All weapons that do not require Somber Smithing Stones can be altered with Ashes of War so you can switch the attribute scaling. This can be extremely useful if you want to make a specific build but really like a certain weapon. Of course, their potency in terms of Attribute Scaling won’t be as strong as those of unique weapons.

In fact, in a few cases, scaling can go as high as S rank, but only a handful of weapons can achieve that. That’ll also only be possible if you rank them up to +25 if they’re normal weapons or +10 if they require Somber Smithing Stones. Just know that those that do require Somber Stones cannot have their Attribute Scaling changed. Those are locked to specific stats.

Elden Ring is out now currently for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The Ulcerated Tree Spirit is a particularly tricky Elden Ring boss, but attacking this creature at the recommended level with the right tips and tricks in mind is a surefire way to bring it down with ease. Like most bosses in Elden Ring, the Ulcerated Tree Spirit has an attack pattern that can be learned if you pay close enough attention. That means you can avoid all of its attacks as long as you keep your cool and don’t freak out if you die a few times. Still, there’s only so much you can do if you’re underleveled or don’t have good enough gear, so here’s the recommended level for the Ulcerated Tree Spirit boss fight in Elden Ring.

Recommended Level to Beat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit in Elden Ring

When you fight the Ulcerated Tree Spirit, your Elden Ring character should be at least level 65. There are multiple variations of this boss located throughout the Lands Between, but the level requirement is the same for them all.

The earliest version of the Ulcerated Tree Spirit can be found at the beginning of the game by using two Stonesword Keys next to the Stranded Graveyard Site of Grace after completing (or ignoring) the Cave of Knowledge tutorial, but your character will be way too weak to challenge it at that point. If you’re trying to beat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit before you’ve leveled up or obtained new weapons, you won’t win unless you’re a veteran Dark Souls player who enjoys challenge runs and no hit runs.

For those who didn’t choose Stonesword Keys as their starting keepsake, the Ulcerated Tree Spirit will be encountered in the Mt. Gelmir region of the Lands Between. Just like the other variants of this boss, you should be level 65 before attempting to fight it. There are also non-boss versions of the Ulcerated Tree Spirit found in areas like Stormveil Castle and Grand Cloister, and the level recommendation holds true for these even though they lack a boss health bar.

How to Defeat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit

Beating the Ulcerated Tree Spirit is a simple ordeal if you are at the appropriate level when fighting it. Just learn its simple attack pattern and attack when it is recovering. Its attack pattern may seem sporadic and unpredictable at first glance, but you can pick up on its tells if you pay attention during your first few attempts. The main problem with this boss fight is the small room that it takes place in, giving the boss a huge advantage over you.

The first phase of the fight will see the Ulcerated Tree Spirit using mostly melee attacks with its wide-reaching arms, while it will resort to ranged holy attacks during the second half of the fight. The best strategy here is to be patient and only attack after the boss uses one of its more powerful moves, as these have long end lag stages that will allow you to get a few hits in with ease.

If you have weapons, sorceries, or incantations that apply fire damage, then use those here as the Ulcerated Tree Spirit has a crippling weakness to fire. Incorporating flames into your combat strategy will make this fight much, much easier. You can also check out our Ulcerated Tree Spirit cheese strategy guide for an easier path to victory.

Ulcerated Tree Spirit Rewards in Elden Ring

Once you emerge victorious over the Ulcerated Tree Spirit, you will receive a large sum of Runes in addition to some other rewards depending on the variation of the boss that you defeat. If you slay it in Mt. Gelmir, you will receive 18,000 Runes, a Leaden Hardtear, and a Cerulean Hidden Tear. Defeating it in the Fringefolk Hero’s Grave will net you 15,000 Runes, a Golden Seed, and Banished Knight Oleg’s Ashes.

Finally, if you beat it in the Giant’s Mountaintop Catacombs, you’ll get 48,000 Runes, a Golden Seed, and Glovewart Picker’s Bell Bearing 2. You’ll also get a Deathroot for killing this boss, which can be used for a certain Elden Ring questline.

Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

When it comes to Great Runes in Elden Ring, the first one you will come across is Godric’s Great Rune. You will get it after you manage to kill him and you may wonder what exactly it does. If you look at it in your inventory, it tells you it raises your stats, but you won’t notice any stat increase from when you got it. This is because there are a few things you need to do with a Godric’s Great Rune before you will gain its benefits. Let’s go over what benefits you get from Godric’s Great Rune in Elden Ring and how you get them.

What Does Godric’s Great Rune Do?

Just reading the description of Godric’s Great Rune will tell you that it provides a stat increase to you. Even though the game doesn’t list the exact number, players have managed to figure out that if you equip and activate Godric’s Great Rune all of your attributes will raise by five. This may not be an insane increase but it is still a nice bonus to have no matter your build. That’s 40 levels worth of attribute points that you don’t have to spend.

How to Equip Godric’s Great Rune

When you first obtain the Great Rune you will notice that you can’t equip it at a site of grace. This is because you need to activate it first before it can be used. Once you have activated Godric’s Great Rune, you can equip it at any site of grace. You do still need to use a Rune Arc after you have equipped Godric’s Great Rune to gain the benefits that it provides.

After you have used the Rune Arc you should notice the stat increase. You can check if the Great Rune is working by seeing if it is lit up on your HUD. In the small golden shape that your HP, MP, and Stamina bar are connected to you should see the Godric’s Great Rune there and it should be shining. If it is, then you are gaining the effect of the rune. If you don’t see the Great Rune lit up there then you need to use another Rune Arc to activate it.

There are not many ways that your Great Rune will run out. But it doesn’t hurt to check on it every once in a while to make sure you are still gaining the effects that it provides. It is pointless to have one equipped and not activated if you are able to. If you need any more help with Elden Ring make sure to check out our other guides.

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and PC.

Great Runes are made out to be such a big deal in Elden Ring. Many NPCs will talk to you about them and for good reason. Each rune you equip provides some sort of beneficial effect, from giving you bonus stats to allowing you to restore health with each attack. The big question about Great Runes is if the effect will run out or not. Most stat effects in Elden Ring have a duration or are lost on death. Since you have to use an item to activate a Great Rune it would make sense that the effect runs out at some point. Let’s go over if Great Runes will expire.

Will A Great Rune Last Forever in Elden Ring?

Since the Gret Rune system for Elden Ring is similar to the Lord of Cinders system in Dark Souls 3. Many players will figure that they both work the same. In Dark Souls 3, you could use an Ember to obtain the power of a Lord of Cinder which would give them increased stats and allow you to summon other players and you would lose the effect on death. However, the Great Rune system works a bit differently.

Once you have a Great Rune equipped and consume a Rune Arc to activate it, you will gain the benefits of the Great Rune until you equip a different Great Rune. Fast traveling, being summoned to another world, even death won’t deactivate the Great Rune. Even if you close and re-open Elden Ring, you will still have the effect of your Great Rune on. This will allow you to challenge some of the more difficult bosses of the game with a slight advantage.

This is quite useful since Rune Arcs are not the most common resource. You can find a decent amount of Rune Arcs as you play the game and some merchants have a few to buy. The only other way to get Rune Arcs is to be summoned into another world and successfully kill the boss that the player is trying to kill.

As long as you are not changing Great Runes with every death you should be fine with the amount of Rune Arcs you will passively find through the game. You probably won’t change your Great Rune unless you get a new Great Rune and you think you will benefit more from its effect. If you need any more help with Elden Ring make sure to check out our other guides.

Elden Ring is out now for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and PC.

Some of the most powerful items in Elden Ring come with penalties in exchange for strength. The Primal Glintstone Blade is one of these items, reducing maximum HP in exchange for reduced spell costs. It’s not the only item that can reduce the cost of spells, but few pieces of equipment – including other Talismans – can match this one. The blade is a perfect addition to any player looking to deal immense damage with sorceries, and it can find plenty of use on support and healing builds as well. Any spellcaster in Elden Ring will benefit greatly from figuring out how to get the Primal Glintstone Blade for themselves.

How to Get the Primal Glintstone Blade in Elden Ring

This Talisman is only obtainable later on in the game; specifically, it can only be found in the Mountaintops of the Giants. Players must head to the Stargazers’ Ruins found after the long bridge connecting the bottom half of the area with the top half. The ruins are found on top of a cliff to the left of the player when they cross. Just be careful, as one wrong turn will lead you to a boss fight with the Death Rite Bird.

Upon reaching the Ruins, players will encounter a jellyfish yearning for its sister. They should take care not to kill it, but even if they do, the jellyfish will thankfully respawn after resting at a Site of Grace. It happens to be floating next to a staircase leading to the Primal Glintstone Blade, but the entrance to it is sealed. To pass the seal, players must answer the jellyfish’s wish and summon their own Spirit Jellyfish. You should already have the spirit by now, especially if you’ve spoken to Roderika at any time. After some dialogue, the two jellyfish will disappear and the seal will vanish, allowing the player to claim the Talisman as their prize.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

When travelling through some of the optional areas of Elden Ring, players might encounter disembodied hands with multiple fingers. These Fingercreepers are actually strong enemies that can quite easily tap away at a player’s health in mere moments. They aren’t found in many different places, but they make their home in areas relevant to important NPC questlines. To beat Fingercreepers effectively, players will need a fair amount of skill and varied methods of attack. Only by exploiting the weaknesses of these hand-like creatures can players avoid a tough time battling them.

How to Beat Fingercreepers Effectively in Elden Ring

Fingercreepers rely on their size and close-range strikes to catch players off guard. Staying up close to one will not end well unless you weave through the fingers and keep yourself directly behind them. They can’t be backstabbed, but the only counter Fingercreepers can muster is to run away and reposition themselves. Additionally, while they have a ranged attack, it’s slow and easily avoided; the projectile they shoot doesn’t even immediately explode when hitting the player. Staying far away and firing off spells is a surefire method of taking these foes out.

If you wish to avoid a long and drawn-out fight altogether, Fingercreepers are exceedingly weak to fire. Using a weapon or spell that deals fire damage will cause the Fingercreeper to roll around the ground in pain, rendering it unable to attack for a time. This also applies to bloodflame spells or weapons, allowing you to inflict an incredibly powerful status effect on the enemy as well. While they might be less common than the speedy, deadly Revenants and the large, bleed-inflicting bears, Fingercreepers have much more exploitable weaknesses. Just be wary of the ones that hide in the ground, waiting to grab unsuspecting players. If one of those gets its hand on you, no amount of knowledge will easily save you from its grasp.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Even in the first moments of a player’s Elden Ring experience, the strongest foes might be hiding in plain sight. Numerous bears can be found near the first major area of the game, and one of them even serves as an optional boss. These Runebears are strong and dangerous, sometimes able to inflict more damage and intimidation than certain major bosses. Players can still figure out new tactics to beat Runebears effectively, and they might need to in order to stand a chance against them early on.

How to Beat Runebears Effectively in Elden Ring

Runebears aren’t as fast as other enemies, but they have excellent mobility. Trying to attack them from afar will not be effective. Instead, players should focus on fast melee strikes and dodge through the bear’s slower yet stronger blows. A shield should also be kept to easily guard against faster attacks, such as the bite, but it should not be relied upon; Runebears can inflict hemorrhaging even through a player’s guard. Using equal or greater speed compared to the bear will be more useful than trying to block its attacks.

Runebears have slightly lowered resistance to fire, but players will get more use out of the many status effects available for them to use. The most effective status to use against Runebears is sleep. Sleep-inducing items aren’t easily found – even the books used to craft some of them aren’t easily found – but they’ll completely stop a Runebear in its tracks. This will give the player plenty of time to heal up or deal some massive damage. Runebears are generally out-of-the-way regardless, and they’re easily outran by Torrent. Players can easily avoid Runebears and save exploring their territory for later. After gaining the right equipment and facing off against stronger common enemies, defeating a Runebear will seem like a much simpler task.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Elden Ring is a game with many powerful foes. Many of the boss fights that players encounter will keep them on their toes, but even normal enemies might be surprisingly more difficult than usual. One such enemy is the Revenant, a spider-like humanoid with incredible speed. One Revenant can even be encountered as a boss, but the more common variants can lead to a great amount of trouble – especially the group of Revenants found in Elphael on the way to Marika’s Soreseal. Thankfully, there are many tactics and abilities that players can use to beat Revenants effectively.

How to Beat Revenants Effectively in Elden Ring

The rapid pace at which Revenants attack can be highly damaging to players. They usually let off a string of two, three, or four attacks in quick succession. This includes a flailing attack, which players should avoid by staying away from the Revenant’s head; staying closer to its elbows or torso will make you much safer. They can also spit poison at players, most notably after crawling into the ground and reappearing. Even if you keep away from the poison, ranged attacks will be ineffective due to the revenant’s lunges. Instead, players should opt to use shields and fast weapons. A Revenant’s attacks are mostly physical, so guarding against them will keep the player from taking much damage at all.

Above all else, however, Revenants are most weak to area-of-effect healing. Spells like Erdtree Heal will deal incredible damage to Revenants, instantly staggering them, while spells like Blessing’s Boon will slowly drain the Revenant’s HP over time. This won’t apply to spells or items that only heal yourself, but even the weakest Heal spell will deal immense damage. Ironically, this makes player-friendly support builds the strongest builds to battle Revenants with. If you’re able to give yourself 12 Faith and a good sacred seal, this is the best way to effectively beat Revenants.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The Haligdrake Talisman is an early game item that tends to elude players in Elden Ring, with the accessory hanging above a tall ledge near the tutorial area when the game kicks off. Unlike the repertoires of legendary Talismans out there, there are no achievements for collecting every trinket that the game has to offer. But the Haligdrake Talisman stands as a learning exercise in instilling the idea of finding alternative routes, the rewards obtainable from taking detours in the realms of Limgrave and succeeding regions.

How to Get the Cave of Knowledge Haligdrake Talisman in Elden Ring

The Elden Ring adornment is accessible by dropping down some ledges to the shoreline near the Seaside Ruins site of grace, traversing along the beach, and entering a cave where the talisman is located. Starting from the Seaside Ruins site of grace, travel south around the ledges while avoiding the enemies nearby. Players will know that they are at the right location to begin their journey downwards if they can identify a spirit spring alongside the beach. Depending on whether the player has acquired Torrent or not, there are two ways to the coastland.

With Torrent, players can just jump down near the vicinity of the Spirit Spring, which will cushion the player’s drop as they fall, neglecting the damage that they would have taken. If a player hasn’t gotten Torrent yet, however, then they’ll have to strafe alongside the narrow ledges of a protruding column as they drop from one ledge to another, avoiding steep falls as they make their way to the beach sands below.

After landing back on solid ground, start heading north towards the cave. You may encounter a tall humanoid wielding a gravity sword along the way near a campfire, who will drop Ash of War: Gravitas if defeated for the first time. Keep heading north and the player will eventually reach a cave leading inwards into the seaside cliffs. Continuing down the passageway will lead players to the high ledge above the Cave of Knowledge, the beginning area of the game after their encounter with the Grafted Scion. Loot the ledge-clinging corpse for the Haligdrake Talisman.

The talisman provides a damage reduction towards holy damage, making the player more resilient against holy incantations or boss attacks of a similar attribute. Though enemies of such nature and few and far between. It will prove handy in the instance where the additional defense against such elements becomes convenient.

Elden Ring is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.