Stormveil Castle is the first Legacy Dungeon you can encounter in Elden Ring, and contains many challenges and dangers, as well as a demigod boss. This page will contain walkthrough and guide information on how to reach Stormveil Castle, all the treasures and items that can be found inside, tips for navigating the dungeon, and how to defeat its fearsome bosses.
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Sections in this Page
- How to Get to Stormveil Castle
- Margit the Fell Omen Boss Fight
- Stormveil Castle Walkthrough
- Stormveil Cliffside
- Rampart Tower
- Liftside Chamber
- Godrick the Grafted Boss Fight
- Stormveil Castle Cleanup
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The Legacy Dungeon Stormveil Castle is easy enough to find, as you can spot it high on the cliffs as soon as you leave the tutorial dungeon at the Stranded Graveyard and enter Limgrave. Getting to it is another matter.
Taking the roads to the east, you can enter the large Storm Gate, but be prepared for a host of Godrick Soldiers and Crossbowmen waiting behind barricades, as an imposing Stonedigger Troll jumps down from the ruins above the small canyon to ambush you. It's a rough fight, and you may want to bypass it either by racing through on Torrent, or traveling a bit farther East to find a Spiritspring Jump point to get onto Storm Hill.
Past the narrow canyon entrance, you can find a Site of Grace at the Scavenger's Shack, where you'll meet the Character Roderika. She'll give you a bit of information on the castle, as well as the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes to hold onto, and may eventually move on to the Roundtable Hold.
Further up the road are more patrols of soldiers leading to the main Stormveil Castle Gate, but the entrance is heavily fortified by rows of barricades lined by soldiers, with a ballista manned at the tunnel entrance. It has incredible range and power, so it may be best to gallop on Torrent into the dense woods on the left as you make your approach, then race forward along the castle walls to ambush and destroy the ballista, before taking out the rest of the soldiers in smaller groups.
Entering the tunnel, you can find one last Site of Grace before you must fight the boss that guards the entrance to Stormveil Castle proper - Margit the Fell Omen.
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Margit the Fell Omen is something of a skill check in Elden Ring, as he's way more imposing and fearsome than any mini boss you've likely fought in the smaller dungeons of West Limgrave. If you've been avoiding these places or raced straight here, he may prove to be insurmountable, and it is highly recommend you gain experience and gear by clearing out the smaller dungeons of West Limgrave before attempting this fight.
Margit is a wary fighter, but don't let his slow pacing or knobbled cane fool you, he can hit incredibly hard - not just with his cane, but with his ability to summon holy weapons at a moment's notice to strike you with. You'll also be fighting on a somewhat narrow bridge, with chasms on both sides that he can and will knock you off of if you don't position yourself with your back to the middle as much as possible.
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As stated previously, Margit can sometimes be very cautious unlike many main bosses, and may slowly strafe you at a distance, inviting attacks. This can be a good opportunity for ranged and magic attacks, but you'll need to be ready to move at a moment's notice - particularly when he summons holy daggers to toss your way.
As you draw close, be prepared for several types of attacks he can unleash:
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- Getting close often prompts him to use a rapid upward swing from his staff that's difficult to anticipate, and can still deal damage if your shield isn't fully absorbing hits. He'll follow this up by slamming the weapon down again, but after a short delay - meaning you can quickly get behind him and counter with a few blows while his animation plays out - just watch for a quick tail lash follow up if you stay behind him for too long.
- He can employ a series of swings from his preferred weapon in horizontal sweeps (which can be parried if you're timing things right), and often combine them by summoning a holy dagger to slice at a faster rate, before jumping backwards and throwing it at you. He may also simply performing a retreating swing from his staff as he jumps back to increase distance from you. Other times, he may start to hold his staff high in one hand while walking forward before slamming it down vertically in front of him.
- One of his more iconic attacks is to slowly raise his cane above his head and hold it high with two hands. He'll wind it up with a long delay, and then finally send it crashing down fast in front of him - but you can dodge once the weapon is on its way down. If you retreat from this attack, he'll leap forward after smashing down and use a follow up attack to get close to you, but you can dodge roll behind his leaping swing.
- Sometimes at range, he'll begin to jog forward, and jump high into the air to slam down with his cane like a speartip into the ground. It's a powerful move, but also easier to dodge and get behind him, giving you lots of time to attack him as he slowly removes the weapon from the ground.
- At around half health, he'll admit you have some strength, but summon a might holy hammer, and swing it in an arc in front of him to gain momentum to launch into the air, and slam it down on top of you. Backpedal away from the initial swing, and wait until he's about to crash down to dodge out of the way of the hammer and retaliate - but be ready for followup dagger swings.
- He can also start to summon a longer golden sword blade, with more reach than his daggers, and can use it in conjunction with his cane to perform spinning combo slashes that are difficult to avoid, or end with a stab with his main staff weapon.
Margit can be very hard to predict which magical weapons he'll summon and how he'll incorporate them into his combo attacks, so you'll always want to have stamina in reserve to quickly block or dodge his next move. If you have an adequate absorbing shield, you can even perform Guard Counters, provided you make sure he's finished his combo strike before you launch your counter, or you'll likely take more damage once committed to the attack.
Take your time with this fight, as he moves slowly enough to give you time to watch his attack animations and get a feel for the right and wrong times to try your own attacks - and never get too greedy so you leave yourself open. Melee fighters should back off every now and then to regain full stamina and wait for him to make the first move so you can react accordingly.
If you are having a bit of trouble with Margit there is one other tool available to you: the Margit's Shackle. Using this item causes Margit to become stunned for a few seconds, allowing you to get in some free hits. The Shackles only seem to work two times, and only in the first phase of the fight, so use them wisely.
You can purchase this item from Patches at his shop in the Murkwater Cave.
Get your hits in where you can to slowly whittle Margit down, and he'll fall with enough practice, clearing the way to Stormveil Castle proper.
Stormveil Castle Walkthrough
Starting from the Stormveil Main Gate, go right down the staircase and loot the body to get a Furlcalling Finger Remedy.
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As you go back up the stairs take a peek over the edge and you will see a wooden bridge along the wall. Drop down and follow this path to the end to find a Fire Grease x2. Drop down again into the grassy area, then exit the castle out of the hole in the castle wall on your left.
Return to the Site of Grace then go through the door on the left and speak to the NPC who calls out to you from the corner. They will explain you have two ways to approach the keep: Through the heavily fortified main gate, or through a hidden opening in the side. At this point it may be possible to run through the front gate gauntlet with a little determination, but it would be a waste of time and you would miss a lot of items. So this guide will be taking the side path for maximum loot acquisition.
Taking the NPC's advice, exit out the opening on the left side of the room and grab the Golden Rune [1] on the cliff's edge. Turn around and use the rocks to jump up onto the hole in the castle wall where you can find a Ruin Fragment x3. Use the path along the wall to reach the cliff on the other side. Here you will find a wall with a hole smashed in it. Climb up the debris on your right to reach a cliff above you where you can find a Smithing Stone [2]. Carefully drop down to the grassy area below where you will be attacked by a storm hawk. Once you kill it walk forward to the cliff's edge but instead of dropping down, go right to find a small path that leads up to a crumbling watchtower. You will meet the NPC from before here, and he will give you a Grace Mimic.
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Look down and you will see a Site of Grace below. Drop down and rest if you need, but before progressing we need to go back and grab a few more items. Go left from the Site of Grace following the cliff's edge down to a clearing where you will see three Stormhawks. Approach them carefully or you may be overwhelmed. When you defeat them you can claim the Smithing Stone [3] they were guarding. Continue following the path down to encounter two more Stormhawks, then past them is a dead-end where you can find Bolts x 10. Return to the Site of Grace from before and prepare for the next zone.
Stormveil Cliffside
From here we can finally get into the castle proper. Walk up to the wooden staircase in front of the Site of Grace, keeping an eye on the guard who is patrolling the tower at the top. Wait for him to turn his back, then stealthily ascend the stairs, trying to reach and kill him before he can alert the other guards. There are two more soldiers, one in the tower and one around the corner. Beware their quick thrusting attacks and ranged air slash ability. Defeat them and walk around the tower to find a Golden Rune [2] on the other side.
Enter the tower to get inside the castle wall. Inside you will encounter two sleeping guards who can be easily dispatched as they try and get up. There is a staircase on your left, but instead walk underneath it and sneak your way around the barrels to get a backstab on the guard patrolling this area. Once he is defeated you can freely loot the Hookclaws in the back corner of this room.
Return to the staircase and make your way up to the platform at the top. Enemies will throw firebombs at you to ignite the barrels at the top of the stairs, so roll backwards before the explosion sets off, then run up the stairs and kill both of the guards before they can pelt you with more bombs. On this platform you will find a locked door we won't be able to access for now, but look to the right of the door to find Throwing Dagger x5.
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Turn around and go up the next staircase where you will enter a hall with a Smoldering Butterfly x3 and more explosive barrels for you to dodge. Kill the enemy ahead, then smash the debris behind you to uncover another set of staircases. Kill the enemy at the top of the stairs, then drop down to grab the Golden Rune [2] on the platform below you.
Go back up the stairs and open the black door on the right wall of the top platform. Entering this room will trigger a cutscene where the door is closed behind you, locking you in with a black knight. The knight has a large shield, but his slow moves make him highly susceptible to backstabs. Be careful, though. There’s a good chance he’ll use his Ashes of War Storm Stop skill to call up a gust that can do severe damage if you’re not playing a highly armored character.
Once the knight is dead you can explore the room and grab the Rusty Key and Curved Sword Talisman.
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Return to the platform with the locked door, but don't use the key just yet. Instead look for the huge hole in the wall to the left of the door. Jump up into the hole in the wall where you will find St. Trina's Arrow x10. Target the enemy below and execute them with a falling attack. Beware another spear wielding enemy to your left who will pelt you with firebombs, and a third who will come down the ladder at the top of the staircase. Once all the enemies are dispatched climb the ladder and reenter the room through the hole in the wall at the top.
Return to the locked door from before and unlock it with the Rusty Key, then climb the ladder inside to reach the platform above. Upon exiting the door take a right walk toward the platform ahead of you, taking care to jump across the gap rather than fall down. Kill the resting enemy in the middle of the platform, then carefully cross the wooden plank to reach another enemy and a Fire Grease.
Note the slightly elevated wooden platform to the right of the plank. Run and jump to it to access a door to the exterior. Here you will encounter a shielded soldier. Stand your ground and try not to get knocked off the platform. Walk down the stairs ahead and enter the door on your left, where you will find another soldier and the Brick Hammer. Do not drop down from this point, instead turn around and walk all the way back to the ladder room.
This time take the left path, but beware the enemy waiting to ambush you just before the stairs ahead of you. Kill the enemy and ascend the stairs to find another enemy resting at the top, and a Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot behind some boxes. Head out the door to an exterior platform where you will see a large staircase. Don't ascend it just yet, instead walk along the edge of the wall to find Mushroom x3 around the corner.
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Walk back to the stairs and climb up to find a large door leading to the inside of the castle, guarded by a halberd knight. Try and sneak up on him and execute a backstab to get the upper hand. Beware his large sweeping attacks and keep in mind that he can leap long distances to kill you as you attempt to heal. Once he is defeated you can enter the elevator room and take the staircase up. The elevator is not active yet, but you can jump over the elevator shaft to reach the Drawstring Fire Grease x2 on the other side. Jump back across the gap and enter the armory room ahead where you can rest at a new Site of Grace.
Rampart Tower
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From this we can finally access the real core of Stormveil, but before that we have some hidden items to collect. Begin by ascending the second staircase outside the Site of Grace room. You will encounter a spear and shield enemy and another soldier shooting you with a crossbow from a platform across the room. You can run into the nearby hallway to avoid the crossbow enemy, then use guard counters to break down the shield enemy. Go back to the elevator and jump on the pulley system to cross over to the other side, kill the soldier, and loot the Throwing Dagger x5.
Go back into the hallway and walk all the way around to find a door that exits onto a exterior platform. Crouch and carefully walk around the pedestal to the left of the door to avoid alerting the guard on patrol. Climb up the stairs on the opposite side of the platform and stealth kill him, then go kill the other sleeping guards one by one.
Notice the sandbags piled up next to the castle wall. Use them to climb up onto the wall, then go right along the ledge until you are close enough to jump onto the crumbling adjacent tower. Jump inside and fall down to find a Stonesword Key.
Jump out the window and land on the rooftop below where you will encounter an armored stormhawk. This hawk is just as relentless as the previous ones, and it can also spit fire out of its helmet. Trying to pick a spot to attack is hard because of its erratic movement, so your best bet is to shield block one of its heavy strike and counter strike in the small opening. Defeat the hawk and claim the Dazing Cross-Legged gesture on the other side of the roof.
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Look at the wall where the stormhawk was perched and you will notice an adjacent tower with a ledge you can hop up onto. Jump on and walk all the way around the tower to find a small wooden walkway that gets you access to a platform containing a Smithing Stone [2].
Go back around the tower but instead of going back to the roof where you battled the stormhawk you will want to jump onto the adjacent rooftop with the crumbled pillar on it. You will want to use that pillar to reach the ledge above you, then walk around it where you will find yet another accessible rooftop.
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This roof is teeming with soldiers, so be careful how you approach. I would recommend starting by killing the sleeping soldier on the right, then hiding behind the tower to protect yourself from the three crossbow soliders on the left. Let them come to you and dispatch them one by one. Once they are all dead climb to the top of the tower above you and loot the Claw Talisman.
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Take the ladder back down, then retrace your steps all the way back to the rooftop with the crumbling pillar on it. You will see a gap in between this roof and the one where you fought the stormhawk. Heal to full HP then drop down to the courtyard below where you will find a Stonesword Key door and a Somber Smithing Stone [2]. Use the Stonesword Key you recently got to unlock the door, but be careful of the two axe soldiers waiting inside. Draw them out into the courtyard one by one if you need a little room to dodge around. Their slam attacks are very slow, so you can easily get bnehind them and execute a back stab. Inside the room you will find the Hawk Crest Wooden Shield, Misericorde, and the Iron Whetblade.
Go back into the courtyard and go in the other door you haven't explored yet. Inside is a dining hall guarded by a Grafted Scion, but we don't want to battle it yet so immediately run to the other side of the room and enter the small room on the other side which contains two dogs and the Crimson Hood atop a pile of bodies.
Exit this room and enter the door immediately to your left where you will find the first elevator that takes you back up to the Spot of Grace.
If you are low on Flasks you can rest, but we still have a little more jumping to do. Go back up to the rooftop and jump across the towers and make your back back to the rooftop with the crumbling pillar. Climb up like you are going back to the rooftop where you got the Claw Talisman, but instead drop down to the platform below you, then drop down again onto a large open rooftop where you will see two soldiers in the distance. Sneak up behind the weaker one and backstab them so you can take on the halberd knight one on one. Just like before your strategy is going to be to strafe in an attempt to execute a backstab, and guard countering when you see an opening. Just keep in mind that most of his attack patterns have two parts, so don't get caught attacking too early.
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Cross the wooden bridge to access another rooftop where you will meet two more soldiers, and find the Nomadic Warrior's Cookbook 10 on a wooden platform. Go down the ladder on the other end of this rooftop where you will encounter two more soldiers,, then cross another wooden bridge where you will meet another halberd knight as well as a sword knight in hiding. Approach carefully or you will quickly get overwhelmed by the two of them (The halberd knight dropped a Banished Knight Helm (Altered) for me here, but I cannot confirm if that is a guaranteed drop at this time). Grab the Festering Bloody Finger from the nearby body, then descend the ladder nearby to another lower platform.
Follow this path forward and around the corner where you will find Arrow x10 and another ladder you can go down. On this final platform you will find a Golden Rune [4] and a blocked doorway, which we will get to later. For now, teleport back to the Spot of Grace and we can go take on the Scion.
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Take the elevator back down to the dining hall and prepare to take on the Scion. This enemy is a pain because of his multi-hit attacks, erratic movements, and large shield, but it is just as susceptible to guard counters as anyone else. Keep in mind that most of its attacks feature two to four strikes, so wait until the final attack before countering (usually denoted by it being a little slower and stronger). Anytime it rears up on its back legs the Scion is about to unleash a flurry of attacks so back off or roll away quickly and wait it out. Rinse and repeat this process and you should be able to take it down fairly easily.
Once it is dead you can grab the Highland Axe from underneath the large painting, as well as the Stanching Boluses off the table in the side of the room. From here we can go a few different places, but we will begin by going into the kitchen to the left of the giant wall painting.
Quickly take out the group of weak enemies resting in front of the fire, then take on the soldier who runs down from the platform overhead. Loot the Exalted Flesh under the platform, the ascend the stairs where you will run into another soldier with a shield.
Inside the room at the top of the stairs is yet another halberd knight. Crouch, wait for him to turn his back, then sneak up to start the fight with a backstab before executing the same careful strategy as always to defeat them. Loot the chest at the front of the room to get the Mimic's Veil item.
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Exit this room, but instead of going straight ahead into the next room climb the sandbags on your left to hop the wall and go onto the platform on the other side. Sneak up on the enemy overlooking the ledge, then loot the nearby Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot .
Follow the nearby wooden walkway to find a ladder at the end. Climb up onto the roof and walk forward to the edge of the roof where you can see a wooden balcony below with an enemy on it. Drop down and kill the enemy, then open the nearby door to open a shortcut back to the kitchen. Before going back, go through the door the soldier was guarding to find a Stonesword Key and a chest containing a Pickled Turtle Neck.
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Take the shortcut back to the halberd knight room and proceed through the doorway we ignored earlier, following it all the way to the end and killing the resting Axe Soldier. Go through the nearby door to find yourself in a cozy room where you can find a Golden Rune [2].
Exit out the door on the opposite side to find yourself on a rampart patrolled by a sword knight and a weaker soldier enemy with a torch. As always you want to crouch and wait for them to turn their backs, then sneak up and kill the weaker soldier before taking on the knight. Once they are defeated you can proceed down the rampart where you will see a ladder you can climb on the left and a doorway at the end.
We are going to start by heading for the door which will lead you to a chapel where you can meet a Sorcerer named Rogier who will ask you to kill Godrick and sell you spells. Once you are done speaking to him you can head back to the ladder and climb up onto yet another roof.
Begin by dropping off the side of the roof opposite the ladder to loot the Kukri x5 below. Drop into the chapel through the window then return to the ladder and pass through the bell tower to find the Golden Rune [2] on the connected roof before heading up the nearby stairs.
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Here you will encounter some very dangerous stormhawks that throw explosive barrels at you, triggering other explosives in the area. You want to approach them slowly to bait out their barrel toss so you can fight them without worrying about getting blown up. As always, wait out their erratic swooping attacks before guard countering. Turn around and head toward the dead end behind the stairs to find a Smithing Stone [2] (beware yet another stormhawk ambush) then follow the path forward through one last stormhawk before reaching the Rampart Tower Spot of Grace yet again.
We are nearly done exploring this area, but we still have to open up that second elevator before we can fully proceed. Go back to the rampart with the barrel chucking stormhawks and find the balcony that overlooks the ocean. Peer down over the edge and you will see a platform below you can drop to. From here you can drop again to a thin ledge along the castle wall, the onto a smashed tower where you will find a Marred Wooden Shield. Continue dropping until you land on a ledge made of crumbling rocks which will break and send you plummeting down to an area far below.
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Immediately you will notice a scarab on the nearby cliff's edge, so be sure to run and kill it before it can escape to claim the Ash of War: Storm Assault. Keep following this cliff, but go into stealth before you reach the open area ahead because there is a Crucible Knight patrolling the area. He is VERY tough to defeat at this point because of his high health pool and resistance to normal cheesy strategies like backstabbing. Your best bet if you want to beat him is to parry his sword swings. However, when he reaches half health he transforms and opens up a new set of powerful abilities like a diving attack and fire breath. If you manage to defeat him you will get the Aspects of the Crucuble: Horns.
If you are up to the challenge feel free to practice against him, otherwise just run and grab the Somber Smithing Stone [2] he is guarding and then sprint past him through the crumbling archway and into the tower beyond where you will find the second elevator back to the Spot of Grace.
Finally we are ready to proceed for real. Return to the room where you battled the Scion and exit out the door opposite the kitchen to enter a new room that leads to the courtyard. use the door on the left to get onto the wooden rafters above where you can find an Arrow x10.
The next room is the courtyard, which is absolutely packed to the brim with soldiers, archers, and fire spitting turrets. The name of the game here is CAREFUL, but really how you want to approach this is up to you. If you feel confident enough to run in there and kill them all as a group feel free, otherwise you can try and draw them out slowly and dispatch them one by one. Whatever you do make sure you fully clear all of them out before taking on the larger enemy and the dog that is behind the line of soldiers.
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Once the coast is clear enter crouch and sneak around the large enemy and position yourself on the staircase behind him so you can approach and backstab him. His attacks are strong but slow, so execute the normal cheese plan of backstabbing, or do some guard counters to break him down. Once he is dead we are free to explore the courtyard! Check the grounds as well as both of the wooden guard towers and you will find: Fire Arrow x12, a Wooden Greatshield, a Pike, Magic Grease, Golden Rune [1] [2] and [4], Furlcalling Finger Remedy, Mushroom x8, and Smoldering Butterfly x5. You will notice a path leading down to the main gate, but I would recommend just ignoring that until after you defeat the boss.
Check the corner near the doorway into the courtyard and you will see a cellar leading to a room with some rats, a Fireproof Dried Liver, and another Stonesword Key door. Use the other key we found earlier to open it up and loot the chests inside to get the Godslayer's Seal and Godskin Prayerbook.
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Near where the giant enemy was resting is a small room containing a special painting. Next head up the stairs behind the large enemy where you can find a Smithing Stone [1] and finally (finally!) the next Spot of Grace in a room at the top of the stairs.
Liftside Chamber
From here we are within striking distance of the boss room, and in fact we can even take back way to get there. Pull the lever next to the elevator to call it down, then take it up to reach a high rampart that over looks the courtyard. Go through the door at the end of the path and you will find yourself in a long room populated by magic jar enemies, including one large jar warrior hiding in the back.
Try to draw out the large jar and deal with him first. As you may expect his attacks are strong and slow, so just stay out of range to bait out an attack, then run in for one or two attacks when he is vulnerable. The main attack you need to look out for is his spin which he winds up by turning his body slightly.
Kill off the smaller jars afterwards then look in the corner where the large jar was hiding to find two Cracked Pot. Look down the path and you will see it has been split in two with two higher paths and one leading down the middle. If you look down you will see another scarab, which you can kill to get the Ash of War: Stormcaller. Grab the Kukri x8 off the left high path, then drop back down and go through the door at the end of the room. Here you will find the boss door as well as another Spot of Grace. Activate the Spot of Grace and rest if you need, but it isn't boss time just yet.
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Instead take the other path where you will see a giant and some soldiers waiting. Dealing with the giant is easy, but the soldiers can be pesky in this encounter. Try to draw them underneath him and it is possible that he will just kill them with his slam attack. Otherwise, try and bait the soldiers into the smaller hallway area the giant cannot get into. Once you have the giant in a one on one, stand in front of him until he starts up an attack, then run underneath him and strike the back of his legs. This will almost always cause him to miss his attack, allowing you some free hits. Just look out for his foot stomp which can deal big damage in an area of effect.
Once the enemies are defeated you can grab the Smithing Stone [2] from the end of the alleyway nearby, then loot the Golden Seed from under the tree up ahead. Look to the right and you will see an item sitting behind the line of stormhawks. Carefully walk up and grab it without alerting the hawks to get the Golden Rune [2]. Then you can kill them to access the staircase they are guarding and reach the Smithing Stone [2] that is atop them.
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Finally go into the room near the tree and meet a warrior named Nepheli Loux who wants to help you defeat Godrick, as well as a Smithing Stone [1]. Turn around and head back to the jar warrior room.
Climb up onto the wooden awning where you found the Kukri earlier and use it to jump to the thin railing that runs along the wall. Follow this ledge to reach some open windows on the wall.
Go through and windows and head forward where you will encounter a powerful knight and his stormhawk. Try and deal with the hawk first to simplify the encounter, then deal with the knight with the usual combo of sneaky strikes and guard counters. Grab the Lump of Flesh that they were guarding and head back towards the windows.
Go through the door near the windows and up the stairs inside to reach another wooden platform above the jar warrior room. Cross the gap to the right of the door to get a Smithing Stone [2], then jump back and take the path up where you can loot a Golden Rune [2] and a Smithing Stone [1]. Go through the nearby door and take the stairs down, but beware the group of enemies resting on the platform below. Thankfuilly they are all weak guards, so clear them out then grab the Manor Towershield from under the staircase, then exit out onto the balcony.
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Here you will find a Smithing Stone [3] and a message on the ground hinting that you should look down. You will see a series of platforms you can drop onto, so follow them all the way to the bottom where you will find an accessible tower and a Golden Rune [5]. Pass through the tower to find yourself on a balcony overlooking a deep pit. grab the Rainbow Stone x5, then go forward and up the stairs to reach a door that leads back to the Spot of Grace.
With that shortcut unlocked it is time to venture into that pit. Go back to the corpse where you got the rainbow stone and you will see a small awning you can use to reach the platform on the far side of the room. Jump across and go into the tunnel where you can find an Arteria Leaf, and a bat waiting in ambush. Drop down again where two more bats await. You can deal with them in mostly the same way you deal with the stormhawks, guard counters are always effective! Use the nearby rafters as a bridge to reach the item on the other side, a Smithing Stone [2].
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Continue carefully dropping down until you reach the bottom of the room, where you will immediately find a Golden Rune [2]. Start walking down the path, careful not to get overwhelmed by the rats that are creeping around, including one powerful Large Rat who can drop a Rune Arc. Past the rats on the left is Poisonbloom x3, and on the other side of the wall is another scarab you can kill for the spell Rancorcall.
WARNING: If you drop down the ledge at the end of this path you will enter into a mini-boss battle against a powerful tree spirit. If you have a lot of Runes you don't want to lose teleport back to the Spot of Grace now and come back once you have spent them.
As stated by the warning, if you drop down into the swampy area below you will trigger a mini-boss that may be too powerful for you at this point. It is a massive snake-like creature with large sweeping attacks and powerful magic. However with a 100 physical block shield and a little determination, it is very possible. The enemy telegraphs its attacks pretty obviously, so manage your stamina and be ready to block or dodge roll when you see it move to attack. You want to stand somewhere around its belly area to avoid its forward smashing attacks and get hits in safely. When it spins around and charges at you with its mouth open you NEED to dodge away or else get caught in its mouth and take on massive damage. When the monster glows gold it is entering its second phase with a magic explosion, so back off to avoid the area damage.
If you manage to defeat the spirit you will be rewarded with a Golden Seed and some loot including a Stonesword Key, Throwing Dagger x8, and Smoldering Butterfly x3. Continue up the path to find a massive skull and one more item, the Prince of Death's Pustule. From here you can access a ladder that will take you back to the dining hall area. With that in the books it is offically boss time. Teleport to the Secluded Cell Site of Grace and get ready.
This is a good moment to take stock of your current supplies. You should have a number of Smithing Stones and a bunch of new gear, so consider taking a trip back to the blacksmith to upgrade before taking on this fight. A +3 weapon and 100% physical block shield are recommended
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Godrick the Grafted Boss Fight
Godrick the Grafted is the first of the Main Bosses you will face in Elden Ring. He is distinguished by his twisted body which is made up of his servants limbs that he has grafted onto his own broken body. Similar to the Grafted Scion, many of Godrick's attacks are multi-part and multi-hit and he has some erratic movements that might catch you off guard. At half health he will graft a dragon head onto his arm that opens up some new attacks and modifies others with fire damage, so be careful if your shield does not have high fire resist.
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Thankfully in both form's Godrick's attacks are highly telegraphed, highly punishable, and he is generally slow moving which leads to a fairly easy fight once you've clocked the patterns. Additionally, you can summon Nepheli just outside the boss door if you need a little extra help (or a distraction). Below is our general boss guide for besting Godrick:
- In general you can stick relatively close to Godrick if you are a melee attacker. His axe sweeps seem to have the biggest hitbox at the ends, so if you simply dodge roll toward Godrick you will generally avoid them and end up in a good spot to punish. Just remember that most of these are combo attacks, so be sure you manage your stamina and wait for the final attack if you plan to guard counter. If you are really unsure you can stay further out of range and wait for one of his slow overhead slam attacks which are easy to punish.
- Another easy to see move is his aerial slam, which he telegraphs by grabbing the head of his axe with his off hand and leaping into the air. Dodge as he comes down then get in a 2-4 hit combo while he is standing back up. Another easy to punish move is his rolling slam. He will whip up the air around himself and then roll on the ground before leaping up into the air and slamming into the ground. Simply walk toward him while he is in the air and he will sail right over you, letting you get in some back slashes while he is recovering.
- With Nepheli's help you can easily stagger Godrick and get a critical attack in. Let her become his focus, then get in a bunch of side and back strikes while he is trying to strike her. Just pay close attention to his movements because he can change focus back to you in an instant.
- With his dragon hand on there are only a few more moves to pay attention to. The most dangerous is probably the dragon breath which has a large area of effect and can hit multiple times. He telegraphs this one by raising the dragon head into the air as its mouth starts to leak flames. Try to move to the side or back to avoid the brunt of the blast. The other is the fiery rock attack which he telegraphs by dragging the dragon head across the ground in a circle before blasting fiery rocks into the air. You can run toward him and let the rocks sail over your head, or simply run away and heal up while the rocks burn out on the ground.
If you are feeling extra confident you can equip a Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot and use it before killing Godrick to rake in some extra Runes. Defeating him will get you Godrick's Great Rune and the Remembrance of the Grafted (See our guide on how to duplicate Remembrances).
You can rest at the new Spot of Grace here to level up, then speak with the NPC from earlier who is now stomping on Godrick's grave. Proceed up the path and enter the temple where you can find Godrick's throne. Go through the door to the right of the throne to reach a separate chamber where you can speak to a ghost who laments his failed service to some maiden. Grab the Shabriri Grape next to him, then run to the temple exit which spits you out into the next area, Liurnia of the Lakes.
Stormveil Castle Cleanup - How to Activate Godrick's Great Rune
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Finally it is time to gather the last of the loot in this castle, and activate Godrick's Great Rune. Teleport back to the Liftside Chamber Spot of Grace and head back to the heavily guarded main gate path that is accessible via the courtyard. This path is slightly easier to clear approached from the back, but it can still be a major pain. Use stealth whenever possible, and do not aggro too many enemies at once. Don't be afraid to back off if you need some extra space or need a moment to heal.
When you reach the second set of stairs remember that this area is heavily guarded by two turrets and multiple firebomb throwing soldiers. If you have a ranged attack you can pick off the turret soldiers from afar, but otherwise just run as fast as you can to the bottom where you can escape their range. From here you can scale the rocks that are piled up against the wall, then jump over the gap to reach the posts where the turrets are located and kill their operators and find the Arbalest.
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Continue into the next large open area where you will encounter another large group of soldiers. Similar to the courtyard you want to draw them out slowly and be sure NOT to aggro the large lion enemy waiting in the corner. if you look down the path you can see the front gate and the final Spot of Grace from here, but don't run toward it because there are more turrets hiding around the corner ready to blow you away. Instead sneak along the right side wall where they can't see you, then climb up onto their platform and kill off all the turret operators, plus loot the Smithing Stone [2] and Smithing Stone [1] on their platform.
Once all the soldiers are dead you can finally loot all the items at the gate ( Ballista Bolt x3, Golden Rune [1], and Golden Rune [2] ). Next, go into the door on the hillside next to the front gate to find the Spot of Grace, a Golden Rune [5], and the mechanism that opens the gate as well. Go through the door behind the Spot of Grace to find a Commoner's Simple Garb.
With the Spot of Grace activated we can now go back and face off against that fearsome lion. This enemy is both powerful and agile so it can be hard to find your spot to strike it or heal. Your best bet is to throw up your shield and wait out one of its slow arm-blade attacks, then get in one or two attacks during the recovery state. Do not try and punish the quicker bite or off-claw swipes as they are usually followed up with another attack. It is kind of cheesy, but if you fight the lion on the nearby staircase its attacks will occasionally go right over your head.
Defeat it to get a Somber Smithing Stone [1], Beast Blood, and Old Fang x2. Now you can progress through the large doorway it was guarding and reach the final Spot of Grace for this dungeon as well as the Boltdrake Talisman. Proceed down the path and onto the long bridge that leads to the Divine Tower in the distance. Unsurprisingly, this bridge is guarded by some more powerful enemies. There are three of these mechanical giants in total, and the good news is that they can hit each other, so try and position yourself between the melee giants and the ranged giant so that they may get struck by incoming arrows. Otherwise, deal with them how you would a normal giant: bait out an attack, then strike their ankles while they are preoccupied.
Once all three giants are dead you can grab the loot on the bridge. There is a Warming Stone sitting on a smashed in section near the middle of the bridge, and then a Soft Cotton and Ash-of-War Scarab waiting on end of the bridge behind the teleporter. However, I would take the teleporter first and go into the Divine Tower and come back before dropping down to collect that loot because scaling up the debris is annoying.
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Use the teleporter to be taken across the bridge to the Divine Tower in the distance. The door will not be unlocked until you have defeated Godrick. With the Rune in hand, open the door and take the elevator up to the top where you can activate a Spot of Grace get the true Godrick's Great Rune. This can be equipped at a Spot of Grace to access its power using a Rune Arc. Similar to the Ember in Dark Souls III, using a Rune Arc will give you the Great Rune buff until you die.
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Now that you've cleared all of Stormveil Castle, there are many directions you can take to continue your adventure:
We highly recommend exploring the rest of Limgrave if you haven't already to find every mini dungeon, world boss, and secret in the entire region.
- See Our Region Overview Guides for West Limgrave, East Limgrave, and the Weeping Peninsula
You may also want to explore the Siofra River Well located in East Limgrave's Mistwood area, as the underground area is much larger than a dungeon, but presents a good and fairly linear challenge with a tough summonable boss.
Farther to the East lies the region of Caelid, but newer players may find the area incredibly difficult and unforgiving with lots of large aggressive beats and poisonous areas.
Therefore, we recommend journeying North instead to the region of Liurnia. It can be reached either through Godrick's throne room, or by a secret path along the cliffs northeast of Stormveil Castle, below a broken bridge. Liurnia is the home of the second Legacy Dungeon - The Academy of Raya Lucaria, and boasts a very large region comprised of a large central flooded lake and two large ridgelines bordering the swamp. There are many more dungeons and points of interest here that should provide a bit more challenge than Limgrave, and is a natural progression point.
- See Our Region Overview Guides for East Liurnia and North Liurnia, as well as the guide for entering and beating The Academy of Raya Lucaria.
