Skeletons |
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| Location | In the beaches, dungeons, graveyards, and catacombs of the Lands Between, as well as Gelmir Hero's Grave and Auriza Hero's Grave. |
| Drops | |
Skeletons are Humanoid Enemies in Elden Ring. Skeletons are literal bare-bone creatures, always hostile and often moving in packs. It is very common for them to ambush their preys, by acting as lifeless corpses or hiding underwater or underground. They will not die upon defeat, making them able to re-take their previous shape and keep on fighting. In order to avoid this, players should also attack their remains even after these creatures are defeated.
Skeletons Location in Elden Ring
Where to Find Skeletons:
- Players can encounter Skeletons in the beaches and dungeons of Limgrave, and in the graveyards.
- They can be found in the Deathtouched Catacombs.
- Located roaming the graves of Liurnia of The Lakes.
- Can be found in Wyndham Catacombs.
- Weeping Peninsula. West of Witchbane Ruins.
- Crumbling Farum Azula. They are beastman skeletons instead of human, but otherwise act the same.
- Gelmir Hero's Grave.
- Auriza Hero's Grave.
- Capital Outskirts. They are in the graveyards outside the capital, and can hover up above the player in a t-shaped pose, where they will breathe down a black smoke that will cause damage but no status build-up.
Skeleton Drops in Elden Ring
Item |
Drop Rate |
Notes |
| Runes | 100% |  35 - 892 Runes |
| Executioner's Greataxe | 4.00% | N/A |
| Glaive | 4.00% | N/A |
| Grave Scythe | 2.00% | Usually found in graveyards |
| Grossmesser | 2.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| Scimitar | 2.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| Sun Realm Shield | 2.00% | Usually found in graveyards |
| Scripture Wooden Shield | 2.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| Longbow | 2.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| 5x Arrow | 10.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| 5x Bolt | 10.00% | Usually found in graveyards |
| Human Bone Shard | 5.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| Mushroom | 8.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| Smoldering Butterfly | 8.00% | Usually found in Catacombs |
| Enemy Type | Item Drops | Notes |
| Skeletal Militiaman |
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Skeletal Militiamen are usually found in graveyards. Two of these can be summoned by using the Skeletal Militiaman Ashes. They do not drop their spear, and it is not obtainable. |
| Skeletal Crossbowman |
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Skeletal Crossbowmen are usually found in graveyards. They do not drop their crossbow, and it is not obtainable. |
Skeletal Soldier |
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Skeletal Soldiers are usually found in graveyards. They do not drop their sword, and it is not obtainable. |
| Skeletal Mage |
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The Skeletal Mage can summon skull wraiths to chase down and damage the player. They are usually found in graveyards. |
| Skeletal Bandit |
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The Skeletal Bandit can drop two Bandit's Curved Swords. They are usually found in graveyards. This Skeleton can be summoned by using the Skeletal Bandit Ashes. |
| Skeletal Executioner |
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The Skeletal Executioner is stronger and does more damage than any other skeleton type. They are often found away from other Skeleton types, but are usually found above ground, and not too far away from Skeletons that usually appear in graveyards. |
Skeletal Glaiveman |
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The Skeletal Glaiveman is stronger and does more damage than most other skeleton types. They are often found away from other Skeleton types, but are usually found above ground, and not too far away from Skeletons that usually appear in graveyards. It also has the same drip as the Skeletal Executioner. |
| Skeletal Archer |
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Skeletal Archers are usually found in Catacombs. They can stab with an arrow in their right hand if their target is too close. |
| Skeletal Swordsman |
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Skeletal Swordsmen are usually found in Catacombs. The Scripture Wooden Shield drops from those that wield it, as well as from those that wield an Iron Roundshield, which they do not drop. They can throw Fire Pots at the player, though this is rare. Smoldering Butterflies and Mushrooms only drop from those that wield a shield. |
| Heavy Skeletal Swordsman |
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Heavy Skeletal Swordsmen are usually found in Catacombs. They can throw Fire Pots at the player, though this is rare. |
| Unarmed Skeleton |
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Unarmed Skeletons are found in the Tombsward Catacombs and the Black Knife Catacombs. They have no weapon, but will continuously throw Fire Pots at the player. |
| Skeletal Beastman |
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Skeletal Beastmen are only found in Crumbling Farum Azula. They have the same weapons and moveset as humanoid Skeletons, but the Beast Skeletal Executioners and Beast Skeletal Glaivemen can use Fire Breath. |
Elden Ring Skeletons Notes & Tips
Undead type- All Skeletons share their resurrection mechanic. Once defeated, the glowing remains they leave behind must be hit to avoid them reforming and attacking again.
- If a Skeleton is killed by a weapon, spell, skill, or consumable that's strong against Undead, it will not resurrect.
- Necromancers, which can only be found in the Black Knife Catacombs, can each continuously resurrect certain nearby Skeletons (unless they are killed by certain Sacred weapons or weapon skills) until they are killed, at which point each Skeleton they can resurrect will disintegrate.
- The Skeletons in the Capital Outskirts can hover up into the air in a t-pose and breathe black smoke downwards, which does continuous damage until it dissipates.
- In the Deathtouched Catacombs, Skeletal Swordsmen can wield an Iron Roundshield but instead will drop a Scripture Wooden Shield.
- Those found in Crumbling Farum Azula are skeletons of Beastmen, though they wield the weapons of the human skeletons, not the weapons of Beastmen. The ones with a Glaive or an Executioner's Greataxe can use a Fire Breath attack. It is not clear why the drop Human Bone Shards.
- According to the description of the Skeletal Militiaman Ashes, Skeletal Militiamen "live in Death, and will continue to rise again until properly finished off.
This is the grotesque fate of those who come into contact with Deathroot." - According to the description of Skeletal Bandit Ashes, Deathroot appeared in the Lands Between after Godwyn's assassination took place, and "Those Who Live in Death" followed. "Those Who Live in Death" includes Skeletons.
- According to the description of the Grave Scythe, Skeletal Mages are "the aged grave keepers who tend the forgotten graveyards throughout the Lands Between." They can summon black-and-white wraiths, like Skeletal Snails.
- The description of the Sun Realm Shield says, "Shield of honor depicting a city crowned by the sun.
It has seen better days.
Much like the wear upon the shield, the Seat of the Sun is long faded away."
Neither the Seat of the Sun nor the Sun Realm is mentioned in the rest of the game. The Sun is mentioned various times in the game, almost always in reference to it being eclipsed. A cartoonish Sun is also visible on the "watch" in the bottom-right corner of the in-game map screen. There is still a Sun in The Lands Between, but it is usually obscured from the view of the player, except in a few locations. This is presumably due to the light pollution caused by the Erdtree's gross incandescence. Therefore, it is possible that this city and its soldiers predate the Erdtree.
Image Gallery
Anonymous200 hours in i learned you can kill them without using holy...
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Dissapointed there isn't THE cool ones like the Carthus Skeletons or reuse the cut bloodborne skeletons enemies.
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Hit them with the inseparable sword they’ll be one and done.
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I think that the Skeletal Soldier which drops the Sun RealmShield also wields a unique sword that is not obtainable :(
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I thought putting Holy AoW on a weapon would make it do Holy damage, "effective against Undead," to prevent them from rising again..guess not. Even the AoW, Golden Slam, didn't prevent them from rising up; they still got knocked down the same as a non-Holy attack..am I misunderstanding it?
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I only ever called these enemies "Those who live in death" cuz that's what D calls them (╥﹏╥)
- Anonymous
I got one hell of surprise from a skeletal militiaman, and again from a skeletal soldier a few minutes ago. One of each jumped up into the air, and started flying around for a few seconds, all while pouring out black mist that damages you if you get caught in it. both instances happened in the area around the Hermit Merchant's Shack Site of Grace right outside the walls of Leyndell. Has anyone else had this happen to them? It sure as hell is new to me.
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i love how the ones with glaives and greataxes don't stagger from 2h charged colossal r2s and just attack you through it all, what fun and competent game design
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The only reason they didn’t bring back wheel skeleton is that it’s open world and the wheel can potentially chase you forever
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Are we going to brush over the fact that the skeletal Soldiers look like Lothric knights? I’ve been playing DS3 for a bit and noticed this, makes sense as to why they have the “Sun Realm Shield.”
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For a long time I asked myself what Rogier meant when he stated Those Who Live in Death "touched upon a flaw in the Order." The game never explicitly states what that flaw is because it's fairly obvious if you think about it. Those Who Live In Death don't return to the Erdtree. They can't die either because Marika removed the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring. Those Who Live In Death don't die because there is no proper death in this world. Thus, they live in death.
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on today's episode of "Lore? Or Oversight?", the farum azula beastmen drop human bone shards
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Skeletal executioners and glaivemen are what happens when the High Wall hollows stay in the gym
Can we avoid using Slang to describe something in a Wiki? Do we really need to mention, that the glaive skeleton has the same drip as the Executioner Greataxe skeleton, especially If the drip is not even available?
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I wish skeletal soldiers dropped their armor, it is a perfect fit for roman soldier cosplay.
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So you can get the shield from the sword skeleton but can't get the actual sword itself? I really don't understand why some of the observable weapons we see on enemies aren't able to be obtained at all, wouldn't hurt to have a tiny bit more variety.
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Are skeletons weak to Strike damage? I mean they are brittle and bony and it seems like they should be, right?
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The ds1 skeletons don’t actually appear as often throughout the game as I thought. They don’t appear in the Overworld, and the only catacombs I saw that had them were Deathtouched, Tombsward, Caelid, & gelmir/auriza’s grave. Am I missing any?
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For anyone wondering, the elite beastmen skeletons DON'T drop Executioner's greataxe or Glaive.
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its bs that holy alone does not kill skeletons.
Also if you scatter or attack a skeletons bones they will form up without waiting on the trigger. Only tested in the deathtouched catacombs and only doesnt work on the 2 skellys who only activate once you pull the lever
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I wish we got the kettle helm that the crossbowmen wear. It'd be a nice simple helmet without the cloth that the foots soldier cap has
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It's interesting to see in the skeleton's notes and tips say weapons, spells or consumables "strong against undead" stops them from resurrecting not holy damage. It's mental that only the right type of holy damage puts them down permanently.
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It is idiotic that Sacred weapons don’t make them stay dead. Apparently a few weapons do, but not Sacred ones. Patch this, From.
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The skeletons that are just bones have almost all of the movesets seen in DS1 and DSR.
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I noticed that D Hunter of the dead, Wears the same helmet as the skeleton soldiers
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there are skeletons without shields wielding scimtars in the deathtouched catacombs.
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I WANT the sword the skeletal soldiers who drop the sun realm shield wield. I want a straight sword with some GIRTH. Some HEFT. Bigger than Broadsword but not so big as to be a greatsword.
Also, the militia skellies should drop the Iron Spear rather than the shriveled scrotum gnomes in Nokron. I'd use an Iron Spear if I found it early on, especially since plain ol' Spear is also weirdly rare.
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very disapointed in not being able to get the sword from the skeletal soldier, all the other skeleton weapons are pretty universally the best all around weapons in their respective class and it would be quite interesting to see how that one wouldve turned out
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The skeletons that drop grossmesser also dropped a scimitar for me in the tomesward catacomb I made sure it was the skeletons that use it
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The big Beastman skeletons with glaives and greataxes in Farum Azula are quite deadly since they have massive poise making them hard to stagger, and they hit like freight trains.
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My favorite thing about skeletons in these games is when you backstab them, their bones go flying everywhere.
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Executioners and Glaivemen are strangely powerful despite being bones and a cloak
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I realized something about the large skeletons. The Glaive variant shares the same movesets from that Large Hollow (Halberd) in DS3, while the Greataxe variant shares from another large hollow that wields an axe. I wanted to point this out because one of them did that jump attack with the axe and it instantly gave me flashbacks to High Wall of Lothric.
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why is it that holy ashes of war kill them but if its regular holy damage on a weapon you still have to hit it after you defeat them
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A shame you can't get their tattered armor, minus the grave keeper cloak. If anyone is looking for that though, it drops from the colesseum bois
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Funny how they could fly in one there attacks but at the same they spew out that skull fog thing
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i discovered this by accident at farum azula, rolling into them with any piece of the briar set on will cause them to die when in their "resurrection" phase after being "killed" once. very helpful when you can't spare a weapon attack animation when swarmed by these guys
It seems SO wrong that Coded Sword and Cipher Pata aren't weapons that can kill skeletons without them resurrecting, as they're literally pure holy light.
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The location portion has a spelling error. I don't think a 'skeletalon' is a thing.
"Where to Find Skeletons:
Players can encounter Skeletalons in the beaches and dungeons of Limgrave, and in the graveyards."
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As of writing, golden arrows will destroy them without reanimating, but player crafted holy arrows will not.
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Since they do not and probably will never have their own article, I'll just mention these here. There is another skeleton variant that resembles an undead knight that wields a sword and shield and the glaive wielding beastman skeleton can also breathe fire.
Also, all of the skeletons in the cemetery near the Leyndell minor Erdtree will frequently levitate in the air and belch dark magic at you.
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Scared Order (skill / ash of war) can also kill skeletons permanently when buff is active.
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So far as I've seen, having tested a bunch of weapons, there are three that prevent the revival of reviving enemies without the aid of Sacred Blade or other buffs: Golden Epitaph, Golden Order Greatsword, and Inseparable Sword. The Inseparable Sword specifically mentions being useful for hunting Those who Live in Death, and I suspect that the other two have lore reasons for doing so connected to the relationships between Miquella, Radagon, and Godwyn. It would be awesome if someone with an INT/FTH build could test whether Discus of Light and Radagon's Rings of Light have the same skeleton-killing effect.
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why isn't there anything on the wiki about the faram azula skeletons
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The Shared Order ash works against them, the game probably says explicitly "highly effective against TWLID" when something works against undead enemy
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Glaive is a weapon that is also dropped by the large Glaive wielders.
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Just started a Cleric playthrough and for some reason the skeletons still resurrect despite me using a holy infused weapon.
Am I missing something or is this a bug?
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Was hoping the armored knight skeletons would drop their sword, been trying for a bout an hour and I’ve only gotten the shield.
Try using Holy Water Pots against them. It makes their spawns easier.
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Can confirm that Ash of War: Sacred Blade, *not lightning slash* will prevent normal skeletons from resurrecting, but only if you kill them while the buff is active, does not work after it wears off. This is the only way ive seen to prevent resurrections
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ash of war: lightning slash does not prevent resurrection on normal skeletons
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Just added the Grossmesser when I found it in the Weeping Peninsula, I'll keep updating as I get through the game if I find anything else
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If you buff the weapon with holy grease it does not permakill skellys, HOWEVER if you use Sacred Blade Art it'll do the trick!
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I am confused as to why people are not mentioning that you "can" kill the skeletons without holy or light weapons. All you have to do is when they break apart and their soul is exposed, you hit it once or twice, can't remember, but they die regardless. I tested this theory when my skeleton militia summons died in a similar fashion so I decided to try it. Again, your weapon does NOT need to be holy to actually kill these things! just hit them again when their soul is exposed. No need to carry around a holy weapon.
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The Holy Blade skill/ash also kills them permanently, as will a killing blow by any weapon with holy damage.
Tested on the two skeletons in ruins in Liurnia near Cliffbottom Catacombs entrance.
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Does anyone know if the crossbow skeletons between the Sellia Backstreets grace and the Church of the Plague drop their helmet?
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The Skeletons with the Black Grow can be permanently disposed if you kill their respective Necromancer. Just like in previous Souls games. Just find the guy that has a staff with a black flame and that should be it.
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Prevent resurrections by killing them with holy water pot, a weapon buffed with Order's Blade, or Litany of Proper Death incantation. Things that do not specify revival prevention in their description cannot prevent skeleton resurrection, such as sacred weapon.
Some skeletons are summoned by a necromancer, and cannot be killed at all without a revival prevention method. To kill these skeletons, you have to kill their summoner.
Once defeated, and souls left exposed, the kiss of fire from spell or torch will lay them low for good.
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The ones in deathtouched catacombs can drop a Scimitar, Scripture Wooden Shield (not Iron Roundshield idk), or Longbow depending on what they are wielding, they also drop human bone shards, smoldering butterflies, mushrooms, and arrows for the archer ones.
Just added the drops I discovered for the 2 first areas with them, the drop rate for skeletons is exhaustingly low, so let me know if I missed anything!
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At least a couple, likely more, of the skeletons in The Black Knife Catacombs doesn't seem to be killable even when hitting the blue glow after downing one. The first one you run into is a regular, killable one. The two after seem to have a dark glow coming from them, and I can't kill them however many times and methods I try. Suggestions?
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While their model wields an Iron Roundshield, they actually drop a Scripture Wooden Shield, idk why
I posted this as a reply to another comment but I might as well post it here.
I've used two types of weapon with Holy damage and I still have to hit them while they're down. The only exception seem to be if your weapon is buffed with holy damage from an Ash of War like Holy Blade, only then will they stay down once killed. Strange that inherent holy damage (Winged Scythe) is not having the same effect. Bug maybe?
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Has anyone figured out if skeletons die permanently if killed by sacred(faith)weapons or do they reform anyway if not hit when downed?
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the skeletons in atleast Deathtouched Catacombs can drop the scimitar
I really wish the greatsword used by the skeletal soldiers was obtainable. It looks nice, like a very old and worn but still reliable weapon. Kinda like something a newbie adventurer might pick up in his first dungeon because it's better than whatever he was using before. Or the old sword of a mercenary that people make fun of because it looks like junk but it's actually good quality.
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