Shadow Keep | Elden Ring Wiki

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Shadow Keep: Main Plaza Entrance

 

The Main Entrance of Shadow Keep

 

The main entrance of the Shadow Keep dungeon is the linear path to take when traveling to the location. When you clear Castle Ensis after defeating Rellana, travel north until you reach the main entrance. Along the high road, you should find a monolith where you can grab the Scadu Altus Map Fragment, Map: Scadu Atlas [See Elden Ring Map]. Tread carefully as you approach the main gate as you'll encounter campsites of Messmer Soldiers. Before heading inside, check the east section of the fort's outer walls to find a fallen Furnace Golem where you can loot x1 Furnace Visage [See Elden Ring Map]. Next to it, you can find a tent, inside is a corpse that you can pillage to find x1 Furnace Keeper's Note [See Elden Ring Map].

 

Approach the main entrance and step on the lift's mechanism to ride it to the top. When you arrive, you'll find the Shadow Keep Main Gate site of grace, interact with it, and make preparations before entering the plaza where you'll fight a Great Enemy Boss, the Golden Hippopotamus. As soon as you enter the plaza, the battle against the boss will begin. For more guides and strategies on how to defeat the boss, please click here. Defeating the Golden Hippopotamus drops x2 Scadutree Fragment and the incantation spell, Aspects of the Crucible: Thorns. Defeating this boss will also allow you to continue exploring the Shadow Keep and the Main Gate Plaza lost site of grace manifests at the center of the large room.

Past the Main Plaza

  

Proceed to the next section by passing through an armory room that's on the left side of the Main Gate Plaza checkpoint. Inside the room, there is a Spirit NPC you can talk to. Exit the room and walk up the stairs to enter the next room where you'll encounter two Messmer Soldier enemies on the left and another soldier patrolling the narrow stairs on the right. Defeat the enemies, and before going up the narrow stairs, loot the body near the foot of the stairs, next to some objects to loot x1 Festive Grease. Slowly walk up to the first set of stairs and you'll find a doorway on the right leading to another armory room. Inside the room, there are two Messmer Soldier enemies and a body that can be pillaged to obtain x6 Smithing Stone [1].

  

In the same room, there is another doorway on the right, tread carefully since there are two more Messmer Soldier enemies and one Black Knight wielding a double-headed spear. One of the soldiers near the doorway is sleeping, and you can gain the upper hand by using a long-range weapon like a bow to shoot it from afar, thinning out their numbers. Clear out the enemies and approach the table beside the rack of weapons, you'll find a body next to it. Pillage the body to find a dagger weapon, the Main-gauche.

 

Next, go back to the previous room and jump through the window to enter a courtyard area that has a golden tree in the middle. Facing the golden tree, turn left, and you'll see a Black Knight enemy facing a corpse holding an item. You can sneak behind the enemy to attack with a critical backstab. Kill the enemy and loot the corpse to find x3 Golden Vow. Now walk up to the golden tree to find the Talisman of Lord's Bestowal. Before you progress, check the south section to find a doorway, inside is a scaffolding of wooden platforms where you can find a corpse that can be looted to find x2 Smithing Stone [8]. Now go back to the courtyard, head north to enter the doorway that was near the Black Knight enemy you killed earlier.

You'll enter another armory room where you'll encounter an axe-wielding Messmer Soldier and another Black Knight wielding a double-headed spear. After killing the enemies, before you exit the doorway on the right side of this room, check behind the rack of weapons to find a body you can loot to acquire x4 Smithing Stone [1]. Exit through the doorway to find a ladder that you can climb, this leads to a door that can be opened to find a refectory or a dining room.

 

East Wing of the Keep

 

Tread carefully in this room since there are enemies inside, a Black Knight wielding a hammer and a shield, and another Black Knight with a large bow. You can pick up x1 Golden Vow on a dead body by the opening on the wall on right side. A Shadow Realm Rune [6] can be found just by the doorway heading outside. Exit through the doorway that's on the east side of the room to exit a battlements area where you'll find lined-up boats and stacks of weaponry. On the left side just as you exit, you can pick up x1 Holyproof Pickled Liver. Be careful as you explore this section since there are multiple Vulgar Militia enemies guarding and surrounding the boats. There is one body nearby that is sitting against a boat, you can loot it to find x1 Rada Fruit. Check the east side of the battlement area. You'll find a dead body with x1 Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot and another body sitting against the eastern wall. Loot the body to obtain x3 Smithing Stone [8].

Find the Domain of Dragons Painting

You'll find a ladder beside a body that has a Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot. Climb down the ladder and investigate behind the waterfall where you'll find another ladder. Climb the ladder to find a storeroom that has the Domain of Dragons Painting. [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. Approach the wall on the right and hit it to reveal an illusory wall. Beyond is a pathway leading to a sewage area where you'll find a coffin that you can interact with. Resting in the coffin will trigger a short cutscene and you'll be brought to the depths section of Scadu Altus, specifically by the Castle Watering Hole site of grace [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. If you're done exploring this secret room, head out of the storeroom, and then back to the waterfall area. Keep following the path going west, and you will find a dead body with x1 Somber Smithing Stone [8].

 

 

Click on the images to enlarge them.

As you approach a ramp in the middle, head down to kill the Vulgar Militia enemies and loot a corpse at the bottom of the ramp to acquire x1 Drawstring Golden Grease. Also at the bottom of the ramp, you can find double doors that can be opened which leads to a shortcut to the Main Gate Plaza Site of Grace. Go back up the ramp. As you go back up the ramp, you can find summon signs. For the red summon sign, you will be summoned by Needle Knight Leda to to assist her in defeating Hornsent. After defeating Hornsent, you will be sent back to your original location. You will also acquire the curved sword Falx along with the Hornsent Set armor. For the yellow sign, you will be assisting Hornsent in defeating Needle Knight Leda. Once you have defeated Leda, you will receive the Ash of War: Swift Slash and Leda's Rune. You can only do one of them, so be careful in choosing with which reward you want. By the stairs leading to the Fire Knight, you can loot a dead body for x1 Messmerfire Grease. Kill the patrolling Fire Knight and make sure to also loot the nearby bodies to acquire x8 Smithing Stone [2] and x8 Bone Dart. Proceed north and ride the lift to enter the Specimen Storehouse of the Shadow Keep.

Shadow Keep, Church District

 

The main entrance of the Church District of the Shadow Keep is located on the east side of the Shadow Keep. The direct path to finding it is to travel from the Church District High Road Site of Grace [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. You'll know you'll arrive when you enter a large doorway and pass through a long hallway. At the end of the hallway is where you'll formally arrive at the church district and discover the Church District Entrance checkpoint [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map].

 

The Church District is a flooded area, and the goal is to traverse the area by using high ground and finding a mechanism that drains the water. Please take note that falling into the water will result in death. Ignore the path on the left since you won't be able to use the lift until you drain the flood. Instead, jump across (using a running jump) to land on the roof of a building, then check the right side to find a small Crab and a body next to it that can be looted to acquire x2 Crab Eggs. Continue walking around the roof to find another body that's being eaten by a Crab. Loot the body to obtain x4 Thin Beast Bones. Continue south and you'll find another body being eaten by a Crab, check the body to find x2 Strip of White Flesh.

 

Next, jump on the floating tree trunk to reach a large broken-up circular platform. The path here is fairly straightforward, try to reach the opposite end by using the floating tree trunks and wooden platforms, and make sure to loot the body on the circular platform to find x1 Great Grave Glovewort. Retrace your steps to the rooftop of the building where you looted bodies and killed the small Crabs, and this time, head west where you can jump across to progress (see the second image above for reference).

  

Once you're across, walk around the sides to reach the platform and loot the body that is guarded by Ignited Putrid Corpse enemies to obtain x1 Fireproof Pickled Liver. Jump back onto the sides of this building so you can walk to the top and proceed west where you'll have to do a running jump to safely land on top of another roof of a building. On the roof of the building, you should encounter a Fire Knight enemy walking around. Kill it and then loot the body that's near the spot where the Fire Knight enemy was walking to obtain x3 Ember of Messmer. Keep going straight until you reach a wall, then turn around to find a body sitting against one of the roof's structures. Loot it to acquire x1 Slumbering Egg [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map].

The Prayer Room: Fire Knight Queelign

  

Next, face the east side of the compass and you should see a narrow ramp structure of one of the churches. Do a running jump to land on it safely, then walk to the top where you'll find two large openings or holes on the big roof. Slowly drop down onto the narrow structure that's on the right side, then you can walk down so you can safely run onto the other structure that is on the left so you can loot the body that holds x3 Stormhawk Feathers [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. Go back and then drop down onto the opening of a ceiling (see the third image above for reference).

 

Below, you should immediately see yet another corpse next to a small Crab. Loot the body to find x1 Lightningproof Pickled Liver. Go around, northeast, and you'll locate a locked door, this is the Prayer Room that requires the Prayer Room Key, a key that drops upon defeating the NPC Invader Fire Knight Queelign, encountered for the second time at the Church of the Crusade [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. If you have the key, you can unlock the door and find Fire Knight Queelign (NPC) in the flesh. Now, if you have an item called the Iris of Occultation, you can give it to the NPC, and after Queelign's dialogue, the NPC will drop a weapon you can loot. This weapon is Queelign's Greatsword. NOTE: If you give the Iris of Grace to Queelign, you'll receive the Spirit Ash "Fire Knight Queelign". The Iris of Occultation can be acquired in many ways, one way is by obtaining it as an item drop from defeating a Lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirit located in this area after you drain the flood.

The Flooded Church District: Draining the Flood

Exit the prayer room and proceed to the northwest doorway, but before proceeding further, be sure to enter the armory room on the left to find a body sitting against the wall. Loot the body to find x1 Rune of an Unsung Hero
. Enter the hallway and kill the first Fire Knight enemy that you see, on the left side of the hallway, loot the body resting against the wall to find x2 Furlcalling Finger Remedy, and continue straight down the hallway where you'll encounter another Fire Knight. The room ahead is not accessible at the moment and the doorway to the right where you'll notice Marika's statue that has a glowing item in its hand is unreachable, so exit through the first doorway on the left side of the hallway.

NOTE: In the same hallway, there are two doorways on the left, the far most or second doorway will lead you to a lift that takes you to the Specimen Storehouse section of the Shadow Keep. You're free to roam here, but we highly recommend returning to the Specimen Storehouse after clearing the Main Plaza and Church District of the Shadow Keep. What you can do is enter the Specimen Storehouse, and activate the nearby Site of Grace (Storehouse, Back Section) so you can just fast travel here after exploring the Church District.

 

Cross the pathway where you'll encounter two Giant Bat enemies, then walk up to the short steps where you'll encounter another Giant Bat ahead. Jump over the gap, and kill the creature. Now before going straight, walk up a bit and you'll find a corner on the right. It's a dead end but there's a body that you can loot that's being protected by another Giant Bat hanging from the ceiling. Kill the enemy and loot the body to acquire x3 Hefty Beast Bone [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. Next, climb the ladder next to a doorway to find the mechanism that drains the water.

You can also return to the hallway to get the item sitting on the hand of Marika's statue. You can get the item by jumping on the hand, it may require a few tries as the platform that you need to stand on is quite narrow. Loot the item to acquire x1 Scadutree Fragment, then prepare to fight a group of Ignited Putrid Corpse as you jump down. Behind the same statue, you can find the Fire Knight's Seal weapon [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]

Exploring the Sunken Chapel

Kill the Lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirit by the Large Tree

For some clarity, we recommend that you start by fast-traveling to the Church District Entrance checkpoint [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map] since you can now use the lift near the Site of Grace. From the checkpoint, go left, use the lever to call the lift, then step on the center to ride it down. You'll now be able to explore the open area of the Sunken Chapel. At the center, you will see a large tree, only approach the tree if you're prepared to fight because a Lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirit will emerge beneath the ground. Killing it will drop the Mantle of Thorns, and resting against the tree is a corpse holding x1 Somber Smithing Stone [5].

 

Defeat the Second Lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirit

  

The second Lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirit is located around the east area of the sunken chapel (see the images above for reference). Defeating it will drop x1 Iris of Occultation which (if you don't have it yet) you can give to Fire Knight Queelign in the Prayer Room to obtain Queelign's Greatsword. Also in the east area, you can find open buildings. One building houses two bodies that you can loot to find x4 Rada Fruit and x6 Kukri [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map].

There is also building another where you'll find a pack of Crabs and Giant Crab enemies, one roaming around, and the other next to another body that you can loot to find x1 Shadow Realm Rune [5]. [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. If you continue to go around this area, you'll reach the west side where you'll find the Sunken Chapel Site of Grace [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]

Find the Tree-Worship Site of Grace

Head north towards the entrance of the main church then immediately turn left to find a corpse by a corner. Loot the body to find x3 Shadow Sunflower. Clear out the enemies then approach the small room that has Marika's statue (the same statue where you got the Scadutree Fragment and the Fire Knight's Seal weapon. Make a right and you'll enter a large room. Straight ahead, you'll see some stairs on both ends, walk up to the upper platform and investigate the railings to discover a body hanging on top of it.

 

Loot the body to obtain the Battlefield Priest's Cookbook [1], [See Shadow of the Erdtree Map]. Walk back down the stairs and check under the upper platform to find a door. Open that door and you'll find another lift that takes you underground. Ride it to find and activate the Tree-Worship Site of Grace — from here, (if you followed the tip earlier by activating the Storehouse, Back Section checkpoint in the Specimen Storehouse) you can fast travel to the Site of Grace to start exploring the Specimen Storehouse.

Shadow Keep: Specimen Storehouse

Storehouse, First Floor

Northeast of the Site of Grace, you can loot a dead body for x1 Fireproof Pickled Liver. There will be a Shadow Undead tucked in the column behind you which will easily die in one hit. A Shadow Undead will be hiding behind the table, so you can get a jump on it as its back will be exposed to you. Head straight, and you will find a room on the western side near the Site of Grace. In this room, you will encounter Shadow Undead scattered around the room. You can loot x1 Rune Arc on a dead body near the entrance. Go past the archway on the western side, then ride the lift going down.

Finding the West Rampart Site of Grace (Detour)

After arriving in the basement, explore the area. You'll find a dead body that you can loot for x1 Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot on the room at the end of the hallway. Be cautious as you are entering the room, as there is a Living Jar waiting for you to enter. After clearing the room, go past the doorway on the northern side of the room, just beside the lift area. You'll be in a hallway connecting two other rooms. The room on your left is a balcony that has another Living Jar waiting for you, and a dead body. Loot the dead body after killing the Living Jar for x1 Ash of War: Wall of Sparks. Exit the room, then head north to progress.

 

In the next room, there will be a Living Jar running up the stairs to approach you. At the end of the wall parallel to the stairs, you can hit it to reveal a hidden room. Loot the dead body in the hidden room for x1 Battlefield Priest's Cookbook [4]. After looting the hidden room, head down the stairs. You will be in an area filled with Living Jars. You can find x1 Innard Meat northwest hidden behind the jar that a Living Jar crawled out of.

In the next room, you'll find hostile Living Jars of various sizes. On the eastern side of the room, you can pick up x1 Iris of Grace behind a Living Jar. A dead body lying on a bed will give you x1 Hefty Cracked Pot. Exit the room by the west doorway to progress. You will encounter another Living Jar right as you enter the room. After defeating the Living Jar, head down either stairs, which leads to the West Rampart Site of Grace [See Elden Ring Map]. Go back to the Storehouse, First Floor Site of Grace.

Exploring Storehouse, First Floor

As you head north of the area, you will encounter numerous Shadow Undead in the area which you can easily dispose of as they usually die in one hit. As you progress through the area, you will have to deal with Shadow Undead while also picking up loot such as x1 Fire Coil. Go down the stairs on the northern side of the area, picking up x3 Hefty Beast Bone. In this room, Ansbach will be in the corner northeast of the room, reading scriptures. Head back out of the room, then keep going west. You'll encounter three Shadow Undead shortly. Head west past the Shadow Undead, and you will encounter a Fire Knight patrolling the area. By the southern wall, you'll find a dead body sitting with x1 Smithing Stone [6]. Go back to the stairs, then head up after clearing the area.

 

When you arrive at the top of the stairs, go to the right and keep following the path until you see a Shadow Undead looking over the railing on the east side. Behind the militiaman, you can pickup x1 Smithing Stone [5] on the railing opposite of it.  Jump over the railing that the militiaman is looking over, and you can loot x1 Boltdrake Talisman +3 from a dead body in the area. On the north side of the room, pull the lever to reveal a path behind the bookcase. Go through the path, and you can pick up x2 Ember of Messmer from the body along the way. This path will lead you back to the central library.

  

Head back to the stairs that you went up to, then go left instead. You will encounter three Shadow Undead. You can loot x4 Black Pyrefly on the western part of the room. After getting the loot, you can head up the stairs on the north. There will be a Fire Knight under it, but you won't attract its aggro if you go up the stairs. You can pick up x4 Beast Horn on the area under the stairs where the Fire Knight is at. Once you head up the stairs, you can find another Fire Knight by the ledge, southwest of you. You can ignore it first and clear the area. At the southern section of the area, you can deal with the four Shadow Undead by the shelves, then pick up x1 Blessed Bone Shard. You can then take the Fire Knight in combat.

Once you have dealt with the Fire Knight, follow the southern ledge. Along the way, you can pick up x1 Furlcalling Finger Remedy. There will be Shadow Undead in the area, so be prepared to face them in combat. After defeating the Shadow Undead, you can climb on to the foot of a hanging statue. You can drop on top of another statue with x1 Revered Spirit Ash that you can pick up.

  

Make your way back to the statue, then look southeast. You'll find an area than you can cross to with a beam by jumping on the railing. You will find x1 Dueling Shield on a dead body sitting by the southern wall. Go back to the statue, then explore the area by following the path southwest of it. You'll encounter numerous enemies in this area, such as militiamen. Inside the small archway room, you can find x2 Lump of Flesh on a dead body. Go inside the room, and you'll come across a Fire Knight. After dealing with the Fire Knight, you can loot the dead body by the railing to get x4 Beast Horn. Go back to the statue crossing this time, and you'll find yourself in a new area. You can loot x1 Scadutree Fragment here and x1 Storehouse Cross Message. You can activate the Storehouse, Fourth Floor Site of Grace [See Elden Ring Map] in this area.

  

Storehouse, Fourth Floor

After activating the Storehouse Fourth Floor Site of Grace, there will be a body containing x3 Stormhawk Feather on the right as you head out through the arches. To continue, turn left, following the path going south. Keep following the path until you encounter a Fire Knight patrolling by the stairs. Right before the stairs leading up to the Fire Knight, you can loot x4 Black Pyrefly on the right side of it.

  

After defeating the Fire Knight, continue traversing the path until you see two giant bats. Deal with the giant bats, picking up x3 Ember of Messmer where the giant bats were, then enter the room on the left.

In the room, if you go left, defeat the Shadow Undead in the area. After that, you can loot a body on the western side sitting on the wall, which will contain x2 Smithing Stone [6]. If you turn right, you will be in the library again, although at a different level. Clear the area of enemies, mostly consisting of Shadow Undead. You will come across a body by a lectern, which contains x2 Fire Coil when you loot it. Eventually, you will be facing a Fire Knight. After defeating the Fire Knight, you can loot a nearby body with x3 Smithing Stone [7]. Keep following the path, clearing hostiles as you come across them.

  

Repositioning Specimens

Climb up the stairs heading west. You can pick up x1 Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot on a body near the top of the stairs. On this level, you will be fighting Shadow Undead and Fire Knights. On the southwestern-most part of the level, there will be a body containing x1 Spirit Calculus, nearby a Fire Knight that you fought. If you want to clear the whole floor, you can head east past the set of stairs going up. There will be a passageway to an area on the eastern side containing Shadow Undead and loot. You can pick up x5 Ember of Messmer and x1 Shadow Realm Rune [5]. There will also be a lever at the southern wall. When you pull the lever, the structure in the middle will start to go up, bringing along the specimens that are hanging onto it.

  

After clearing the current floor, you can head up the highest level of Storehouse. You can loot a body on the left side of the top of the stairs containing x2 Sliver of Meat. In this floor, you will activate the Storehouse, Seventh Floor Site of Grace [See Elden Ring Map]. Redmane Freyja will be present near the Site of Grace, who is at the southwest side of the room by a stone tablet. Exhaust all dialogue options with Redmane Freyja.

Storehouse, Seventh Floor (and Backtracking)

After activating the Storehouse, Seventh Floor Site of Grace, head to the eastern section of the area. Jump up the ledge, then onto the hanging statue, and you can loot x1 Revered Spirit Ash. Backtrack your way outside, then take the stairs down to go to an area that has Shadow Undead. In this room, you can get loot such as a Secret Rite Scroll lying on a desk (NOTE: only pick it up after talking to Freyja at the Seventh Floor Site of Grace) and a Smithing Stone [6]. Earlier, you talked to Redmane Freyja at the Storehouse, Seventh Floor Site of Grace. Talk to Ansbach, give him the Secret Rite Scroll, then teleport to the First Floor Site of Grace. Return to Ansbach, then he will then give you x1 Letter for Freyja. If you give the letter to Redmane Freyja, she will reward you with the Golden Lion Shield. You can also return to the ledge on the fourth floor where you found a Fire Knight. Go to the western section of it, and you can find the Pearldrake Talisman +3. 

To progress, you need to go to a beam that has moved up because you pulled the lever earlier. If you look over the railing on the bridge outside the Site of Grace, you can see which beam you have to jump on. Head there by going down one level, then going to the room across the stairs. Clear the Shadow Undead you encounter along the way, then jump on the beam.

  

Head up the structure and its statues until you see a balcony by the head of the highest statue. The room will have three Shadow Undead and x1 Ember of Messmer that you can pick up below the southwest shelf.

  

After clearing the room, head outside. Follow the path on the right side (going north), going up the set of stairs. Three Shadow Undead will be in the room on your right, along with a body that you can loot for x3 Ember of Messmer. At the end of the bridge across the room, Fire Knight Captain Kood will be guarding a door. This enemy will be a bit different from the ones you encountered earlier, as its move set will be more aggressive than the normal Fire Knight.

  

After defeating the Fire Knight captain, x1 Winged Serpent Helm and x1 Ash of War: Flame Spear will be dropped. Open the door to proceed further. Head up the stairs and you will discover the Dark Chamber Entrance Site of Grace [See Elden Ring Map].

  

Storehouse, Back Section

  

Upon entering, look to the right immediately to see a noble corpse against the wall. Loot it to obtain x1 Somber Smithing Stone [9]. Proceed to the left side, through the doorway, where you'll find the Storehouse, Back Section checkpoint. Continue moving straight until you walk past a ladder. Do not climb the ladder first, instead, keep going straight to find some items. First, look to your left to see, another noble corpse sitting against a desk, loot it to obtain x3 Glintslab Firefly. Then at the end, you'll see a Fire Knight and three Shadow Undead standing next to another corpse, kill the enemies then loot the body to acquire x1 Carian Thrusting Shield.

  

Go back and climb the ladder to the top where you'll encounter another Fire Knight and two Shadow Undead reading a book. You can sneak behind the enemies to backstab them. Continue to the right side and walk carefully up the stairs to avoid aggravating the Fire Knight, roaming the floor above. At the top of the stairs, turn to the corner on the right to find a corpse to loot x3 Fire Coil. Kill the enemies on this floor, then continue moving straight. You'll discover another noble corpse sitting against a small table, loot it to obtain x4 Rada Fruit, and go straight towards the balcony to find another noble corpse that holds the Fire Serpent incantation. Go back, and look behind the bookcase to find an opening on the wall.

 

Through the opening, turn right and you'll find another noble corpse sitting by the edge of the narrow scaffolding. Loot the body to acquire x6 Shadow Sunflower. Continue going up, and by the ramp, you should find another noble corpse that you can loot to obtain x1 Blessed Bone Shard. Continue going up and you'll arrive at the loft section of the storehouse. Activate the Storehouse, Loft Site of Grace before you proceed to explore.

Storehouse, Loft

Once you have activated the Storehouse, Loft Site of Grace, proceed to the lift north of the Site of Grace to go up. You will end up on beams above the Specimen Storehouse. This level will be filled with Giant Bats roaming the area. The only path you can follow will be the one going west, so keep following it. There will be a lot of ways you can walk on the beams, but the only way you can progress through this area is through the ladder. Pick up x7 Thin Beast Bones from a body at the edge of a beam, then go up the ladder that you walk past through just before picking up the loot.

After climbing the ladder, you will arrive in a new level. If you go to the southeast section of the level, you can find x4 Smithing Stone [7] from a dead body. Following the path from the south side will lead you to a pillar blocking your way. If you look down, you can find a platform that you can jump off of, and it will contain the Wrath from Afar incantation. Next, jump on the beam to the north, then climb up the nearby ladder to the west of where you landed. You will end up on the beam that a pillar was blocking earlier. You can aggro the bats here, so be careful when attacking as you might fall off of the beams.

 

You can find a lift in the middle of the beam going west with an item above it, along with a Fire Knight on a nearby beam which will be hostile if you approach the lift.

If you use the lift to go down, you will end up in an area with a Fire Knight facing the other way around. You can easily dispose of the Fire Knight by backstabbing it and staggering it continuously. After dealing with the Fire Knight, you can pick up x1 Rune of an Unsung Hero on the southwestern corner of the area. The area will be clear, and you can head back up the beams using the lift. If you want to get the item above, you can ride the lift, then exit it before going down. A second lift will arrive just beside it, then do it again. Jump on the roof of the first lift just as it is arriving, and you will be able to reach the item, which is a Fire Knight Hilde summon.

If you walk across the beam going west, you can climb down a ladder. On your left, just around the corner, you can loot a body for x4 Rada Fruit. Directly northeast of the ladder you descended on, you will find another ladder you can use to descend. You will reach an area similar to the Site of Grace.

 

If you head outside the archway on the northwestern side of the area, you will find a lift directly on your right. Take the lift going down, then keep following the scaffolding until you reach an area with a door and a lift. You cannot open the door yet, so use the lift nearby to go down. The lift will then lead you to the Shadow Keep, Back Gate Site of Grace [See Elden Ring Map].

 

This area leads you into two areas. There is a room on the east, just beside the Site of Grace. In this room, you can pick up x1 Scadutree Fragment. After that, you will see an archway heading outside on the north-northeast side of the room. This is a boss area in which you will be fighting Commander Gaius.

The Dark Chamber

Near the Dark Chamber Entrance Site of Grace will be a door. Opening it will lead you to the boss, who is then revealed to be Messmer the Impaler. Messmer the Impaler uses a spear as a weapon, so be careful of the range of his attacks. His spear and attacks will be imbued with fire, so having fire resistance would be a good idea for this boss fight. For a more in-depth guide on how to defeat Messmer the Impaler, you can go to this page for more information.

 

When you defeat Messmer the Impaler, you will receive Messmer's Kindling along with the Remembrance of the Impaler. Messmer's Kindling will be used to gain access to a legacy dungeon, Enir-Ilim [See Elden Ring Map].