Elden Ring features a massive open world chock full of side quests to complete, weapons and gear to find, spells to master, and areas to explore. Some locations, quests, and items are even well hidden from the player, requiring dedication and insight to complete. Before you burn the Erdtree and end the game, be aware of the content you may have missed!
Burning the Erdtree is necessary to complete the game. Burning the tree will lock you out of most side quests, particularly the Corhyn, Goldmask, and Dung Eater questlines. Acquire the Bolt of Gransax weapon from Leyndell and explore the sewers. Players should visit the secret Haligtree and Mogwhyn palace areas.
Read on for more details about hidden content and quests you should complete before burning the tree and ending Elden Ring.
Elden Ring: Things to do Before Burning the Tree
What are the hard to find, optional areas in Elden Ring?
Elden Ring has a big world map full of locations, dungeons, and challenges for players. However, there are also areas hidden beneath the surface of the world, and obscure corners of the world that can only be visited if players complete specific quests. Some players may stumble across these locations through exploration, but most are so well-hidden that it will be difficult to find them without guidance.
Nokron, Eternal City is an area important for Ranni’s questline, and can be accessed fairly early in the game from Limgrave. In the Mistwood forest in southern Limgrave, you can find the Deep Ansel Well, which is a long elevator that takes you underground to Nokron. Here you can find unique gear and a boss to fight. However, some parts of Nokron are inaccessible from this entrance. Once you defeat Radhan, a massive meteor will fall from the sky and destroy the Mistwood, opening up a massive chasm to the other section of Nokron. There you will find more bosses, an ancient city shrouded in darkness, and the powerful Spirit Ashes called Mimic Tear.
Beneath Leyndell, the Capital City, you will find a vast network of sewers. This area is called the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds. There is a unique boss here, Mohg the Omen, and many Omen enemies who are quite powerful. You will find unique loot in this area as well as some catacombs with unique rewards. Be warned, this area includes a labyrinth of pipes and raised platforms packed with enemies which can be confusing and frustrating to navigate.
This area is necessary to visit to complete the questline of The Loathsome Dung-Eater, an NPC you will first meet as a red phantom in the Roundtable Hold. You can find his corporeal form here, imprisoned deep beneath the city. Just know that freeing him, while required to complete his quest, may have consequences for other NPCs in the game.
The Consecrated Snowfield and Miquella’s Haligtree is the largest hidden area in all of Elden Ring, and the most well-hidden. In order to access this area, the player must complete a long quest involving the Albinauric Village and the NPC Latenna. You must gather both halves of the Haligtree Secret Medallion. The Consecrated Snowfield is a large, snowy area blanketed in constantly falling snow that obscures the player’s vision. There are many powerful enemies in this location, so be cautious.
There is a city in the northern part of the area called Ordina, Liturgical Town, filled with invisible assassins. If you light all the bonfires there, you are granted access to Miquella’s Haligtree. This is a large city built around the boughs of the massive Haligtree, and a fortress at the base of the tree where the hardest boss of the game resides, named Malenia. The area is dense with content and one of the most visually impressive in the game, so it’s a shame most players won’t experience it. You must visit this area before burning the Erdtree, or you will be locked out of the area and the greatest challenge Elden Ring has to offer.
Another particularly well-hidden area players can visit in Elden Ring is the Mohgwyn Palace. This area has more of a horror theme, crisscrossed by rivers of blood and cursed enemies. This area is also accessed through the Consecrated Snowfield, on the western ridge of the area, by interacting with a magic teleporter. This area is well-known for being a great spot to grind runes by repeatedly killing the Albinauric enemies right beside the first site of grace. As you head deeper into the area, you will find a large temple which serves as the palace of Mohg, the Lord of Blood. He is one of the most difficult bosses in the game and will drain your health during the battle. Only challenge this boss if you are prepared for a tough fight!
The final secret area to visit before burning the Erdtree is the Deeproot Depths location. To access this area, the player must explore the edges of Nokron, the Eternal City, to reach the Siofra Aqueducts. After defeating the twin Valiant Gargoyles bosses at the end of the area, the player will see a conspicuous coffin at the back of the boss arena in front of a waterfall.
Players familiar with previous FromSoftware games will know that you have to get into the coffin to reveal a secret. Sure enough, if you interact with the coffin and step inside, you will be transported up the waterfall and into the Deeproot Depths. There are many powerful enemies here, and an optional boss named Lichdragon Fortissax, which the player may fight as part of Fia’s questline.
Acquire the Bolt of Gransax
The Bolt of Gransax is located in Leyndell, the Royal Capital, immediately after the Godfrey, First Elden Lord boss fight. From the large walkway overlooking the capital, you will see a massive bolt lodged into the ball. From there, you will be able to see a rare item glimmering on the surface of the bolt. You can jump down onto the bolt, and grab the item, which is a spear called the Bolt of Gransax.
You MUST acquire this weapon before defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade in Crumbling Farum Azula, as once you defeat Maliketh, Leyndell will become the Ashen Capital and the area with the spear will be inaccessible. This weapon has a unique skill called the Ancient Lightning Spear, which allows the player to conjure a huge, crackling red bolt of lightning and throw it at their foes, for a relatively cheap cost of 25 FP. Such a powerful skill makes the weapon worth acquiring for any player.
Quests You Should Finish Before Burning the Erdtree
One of the major quests tied to the burning of the Erdtree is the quest involving the NPCs Corhyn and Goldmask. Corhyn is the incantation vendor who resides in Roundtable Hold for most of the game. However, when the player reaches Altus Plateau, Corhyn will let the player know he is leaving to seek the famous Goldmask and will appear on Altus Plateau, where he will find Goldmask. After that, the pair will appear in front of the colosseum in Leyndell, Royal Capital.
Here you will need to solve a puzzle requiring the player to have 37 Intelligence, after which Corhyn and Goldmask will move to the Stargazer’s Ruins. All these steps MUST be completed before burning the Erdtree, as it is the only way to get Corhyn to appear in the Ashen Capital. From there you can receive his quest rewards. You can find Goldmask in the Ashen Capital as well if you complete these steps. He will reward you with the Mending Rune of Perfect Order, a powerful Great Rune which will grant the player a special ending sequence after defeating the final boss.
The other quest one should complete prior to burning the Erdtree is Dung Eater’s quest line. He will reside as a red phantom in the Roundtable Hold, in the room beyond the Twin Maiden Husks. Once you acquire a Seedbed Curse, you must show the item to the Dung Eater, and he will give you the Sewer-Gaol Key. You will need this key to open his cell beneath Leyndell in the Subterranean Shunning-Ground.
Once you open his cell, you speak with him and tell him he is free to go. If you return to Roundtable Hold, he leaves a message for the player there telling you to fight him in the outer moat of Leyndell. He will invade the player as a red phantom, and defeating him will grant the player his weapon, the Sword of Milos. Return to Roundtable Hold and feed him 5 Seedbed Curses. This will complete his quest, which will grant the player the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse and the Omen set of armor. The Mending Rune of the Fell Curse and defeating the final boss will give you a unique ending.
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