There’s no shortage of easily missed areas in bothElden RingandShadow of the Erdtree.Whether you’re a veteran on a NG+7 run or it’s your first time traveling through the Lands Between, there’s a good chance you overlooked more than one location in the expansive and sometimes labyrinthian world full of twists, turns, and hidden passages. Part of what makesElden RingandSOTEso intriguing is that every time you play, you’re likely to discover (or re-discover) something unexpected.
Some ofElden RingandSOTE’ssecret areasare intentionally hidden in obscure and hard-to-reach areas, with small or subtle clues that players will often overlook or ignore. Other areas that are often missed are only accessible by following specific NPC questlines. These areas are just another reason that the game has so much replay value, giving players a reason to go back and explore things they overlooked the first time around.
10Sellia Hideaway: Discover Sellen’s Secrets
Follow Sellen’s Quest Line To Find The Sellia Hideaway
The Sellia Hideaway is an area that I certainly missed on my first (and second) playthrough, largely because it is connected to the questline for Sellen, a heinous NPC that most players are not too excited to help out. The location is hidden behind an illusory wall in the mountainside behind a graveyard with a single sorcerer in it in the Caelid region. Even if you happen to stumble across this area by accident and go inside,you’ll eventually run into a magical barrier,behind whichMaster Lusat is waiting.
However, you won’t be able to break through this barrierunless you’ve progressed Sellen’s questline significantly, which can be a challenge if you’re uncertain what to do exactly. It’s worth completing at some point, though, as it’s the only way you’ll unlock theStars of Ruinsorcery.
9Moonlight Altar: Home Of The Dark Moon Greatsword
Complete Ranni’s Questline To Reach The Moonlight Altar & The Cathedral Of Manus Celus
Ranni’s questline inElden Ringis perhaps the most drawn-out of all the NPC quests in the game, and completing it in its entirety will require a bit of a commitment across your entire playthrough. During the process, you’ll eventually have to take onAstel, Naturalborn of the Void, a difficult boss down in The Grand Cloister, which is part of the Lake of Rot. Defeating it willunlock a lift in the Deep Ainsel Wellthat leads up to the Moonlight Altar plateau.
Once you’re there, you’ll be in for a series of challenges, with very tough enemies,including Glintstone dragons, Crystalians, a Red Wolf of Radagonenemy, among others. You’ll also be able to access the Cathedral of Manus Celus, where you’ll be able to pick up the infamousDark Moon Greatsword.
Easily Missed, But Well Worth A Visit
After you takedown Starscourge Radahn, you’ll likely be ready to get out of Dodge and finally move on to a new area. However, before you take off, you might want to head to the far corner of Radahn’s arena to find an obscurely located dungeon, the War Dead Catacombs. This area is tucked into thevery far northern part of the Wailing Dunes, or the arena in which you fight and defeat Radahn.
You may want to come back to the War-Dead Catacombs at a later time if you’re under-leveled for a Putrid Spirit fight, as it can be pretty challenging to defeat if you’re unprepared.
This place is full of goodies, and it’s well worth clearing before you move on to the next step. You can pick up both the Radahn Soldier and Redmane Knight Ogha Spirit Ashes, as well asa Golden Seed, after defeating the Putrid Spirit down there. You’ll also find the Collapsing Stars sorcery in a chest in the War-Dead Catacombs, not to mention the various lesser loot scattered throughout the catacombs.
7Night Sky Unceasing Belfry: Nokron, Eternal City’s Most-Missed Area
If you’re down in Nokron City or Siofra River and notice a broken bridge in the distance with a lone Crucible Knight staring out at the stars,the answer is yes, you can get over there. Is it worth it? Not really, but it’s worth knowing how to get there if you are looking for theMottled Necklacetalisman. You can access this area from the infamous Four Belfries location, specifically through the Night Sky Unceasing Belfry, which you’ll need anImbued Sword Keyto unlock.
Going here is more of a checklist item than a necessary stop in your journey, as you’ll end up getting a better version of the Mottled Necklace once you reach the Ancient Ruins of Rauh in theShadow of the Erdtreecontent. Further, that Crucible Knight staring at the stars doesn’t drop anything fancy, just some Runes, so enter this area at your discretion andprepare to be underwhelmed.
6Consecrated Snowfield Catacombs: A Hidden Tomb Within A Hidden Field
The Consecrated Snowfield Is Hard Enough To Find On Its Own
The Consecrated Snowfield is a difficult enough area to reach on its own, requiring players to find both sides of the Haligtree Secret Medallion and hoist it at the Grand Lift of Rold. Doing so will lead you to the Hidden Path to the Haligtree, whicheventually spits you out in the Consecrated Snowfield.Once you’re there, this is a massive area with extremely low visibility and giant skeleton monsters that will attack you out of the mist, so be careful.
There is a secret catacomb and Mimic Tear boss beneath the Hidden Path to the Haligtree that can only be reached by descending invisible platforms to the bottom.
The Consecrated Snowfield Catacombs can be foundalong the easternmost cliffside,and they’re some of the easiest catacombs to miss in the base game. These will also be the final catacombs in the base game, assuming you followed the progression normally and have completed all others. Noteworthy loot in this catacomb includes theImp Head (Elder)and theRotten Gravekeeper Cloak.
5Subterranean Shunning-Grounds & The Deeproot Depths
The Sewers Beneath Leyndell Go Much Deeper Than You Think
The Subterranean Shunning-Grounds and the Deeproot Depths are an area only accessible after Leyndell has transformed into a city of ash. You’ll need to descend deep beneath the city to reach the end of this labyrinth, and you’re going to face a ton of challenges along the way. The Subterranean Shunning-Grounds have anetwork of winding sewers that all lead to different points of interest, but you’ll also be able to reach a hidden area once you’ve made it to the Cathedral of the Forsaken and defeated Mohg.
You can attack or roll into the altar at the back of the room, which will lead to one of the most frustrating platforming locations in the game. Most players will assume this is a pit to nowhere and will likely fall to their death multiple times. However, you can jump from the lowest point for a safe landing, and you’ll be at the Frenzied Flame Proscription, where you can finish up Hyetta’s questline and even strip naked to pursue theLord of Chaos ending. Behind Hyetta, there’syet another illusory wall that leads to another secret region, the Deeproot Depths.
4Dragonlord Placidusax’s Arena: Take A Nap And Fight A Dragon
Explore Crumbling Farum Azula To Fight The Toughest Dragon In The Base Game
Dragonlord Placidusax is a Legendary Bossthat can only be reached if you really know where to look. There’s a hidden drop-off in Crumbling Farum Azula that can be located by traveling back down the elevator through the church from the Beside the Great Bridge Site of Grace. Run past the Beastmen and head straight for the cliff edge todrop down to a series of rock platforms below.At the end of this path, you’ll find a dug-out area with prompts similar to those you’d see in a traveling coffin teleporter, which will take you to Placidusax’s arena.
This is one of the toughest dragon bosses in the base game, and it will likely take you a few tries if you aren’t familiar with its moveset.Placidusax doesn’t count as a Dragon or Ancient Dragonand therefore doesn’t take extra damage from Dragonwound Grease or other similar effects. Defeating him rewards the Remembrance of the Dragonlord, however, so it’s well worth the struggle.
3Eastern Nameless Mausoleum: A Forgotten Dungeon In SOTE
It Takes Quite A Bit Of Traveling To Reach This Shadow Of The Erdtree Mausoleum
The Eastern Nameless Mausoleum is one of the many hidden areas in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion that most players won’t find unless they do a deep dive. This area is accessed by traveling from the Shadow Keepthrough a waterfall and across a series of hard-to-navigate platforms. The Mausoleum entrance is located way out of the way, and you have to go through the Ruins of Unte and the Furnace Golem, then continue heading south until eventually you see two little flames indicating a dungeon.
This is easily one of the most missed spots in the DLC, which says a lot considering how many secret areas there are inShadow of the Erdtree. Completing this Mausoleum is highly recommended, though, asyou’ll get one of my favorite armor sets from the expansion,theRakshasa Set.
2Charo’s Hidden Grave: Defeat The Ancient Dragon Man
Find The Grand Altar Of Dragon Communion & Look For The Red Fields
Charo’s Hidden Grave is a hidden location that can only be accessed after defeating the Ancient Dragon Man in the Dragon’s Pit. From the Dragon’s Pit Terminus Site of Grace, go east toward the Jagged Peak Drake and either defeat it or run past it, thenturn toward the gigantic ancient dragon corpsewhere you will find the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion. There’s a ramp behind this location that eventually leads to a red field of flowers, which will take you to Charo’s Hidden Grave.
This area is only worth the trip for the Scadutree Fragment if you ask me, as you’ll only get a handful of mediocre items, including theSpirit Glaive,Gravebird Ashes, and a couple of cookbooks. The area is beautiful in terms of design and aesthetics, but the loot and enemies leave a lot to be desired. This is one area you shouldn’t feel too bad about missing if you happened to overlook it.
1Hinterland: Use The O Mother Entrance And Enter Scaduview
You Can Only Access Hinterland With The Secret Password
One of the most easily missed areas in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is Hinterland, also known as Scaduview, which can only be accessed by tracking down a special emote and performing it in front of a statue in the Shadow Keep. Most players will see this massive area on the SOTE map, but getting there is another story andrequires a bit of sleuthing if you aren’t using guides.
The O Mother emote is found in the northeast section of Bonny Village, nowhere near the Shadow Keep, so you may have to do some backtracking if you didn’t grab it already.
You’ll eventually reach a statue with a note that says, “Shadow Keep, Back Gate,” and performing the O Mother emote will open a secret passage to Hinterland. This is a perfect example of the many secret areas inElden RingandShadow of the Erdtreethat players are likely to miss no matter how many times they’ve traversed the Lands Between.
