Speak to Boc the Seamster
Congratulations! You've completed the first of many Legacy Dungeons in Elden Ring, and you've beaten the first Demigod, Godrick the Grafted. If you were following our walkthrough for Stormveil Castle, you should formally arrive in Liurnia of the Lakes from the throne room of Godrick the Grafted. As soon as you enter the new region, you'll find the Lake-Facing Cliffs Site of Grace, examine it to discover the checkpoint, and if you were also following the walkthrough and have encountered Boc twice, you should find him here kneeling by the Lake-Facing Site of Grace, a cliff above to the entrance to Stillwater Cave. Make sure to talk to him and he'll offer to alter your armor. If he's not there when you first find the grace just rest.
The Wandering Maiden
You can also find Hyetta's initial location, found near the Lake-Facing Cliffs site of grace (Elden Ring Map Link). But for her to show up, you must complete Irina's questline in the Weeping Peninsula, which is to deliver a letter to her father, Edgar who is at Castle Morne. Hyetta is initially found next to the Lake-Facing Cliffs site of grace. Hyetta says she roams The Lands Between in search of the distant light, drawn to her destiny by a guiding shine she feels in the back of her eyes when eating Shabriri Grapes. She will ask for one and if you choose to supply one to her, she will reward you with the As You Wish Gesture.
The Student of Raya Lucaria Academy
Next, if you move towards the southwest, you should find the Church of Irith (Elden Ring Map Coordinates), it's easy to find and you'll meet a new NPC here named Thops, he is a student at the Academy of Raya Lucaria. You can find him sitting on a bench inside the destroyed church. By the statue, don't forget to grab the Sacred Tear material for your flask. As for Thops, if you speak to him, you can learn some spells from him in exchange for Runes. First, you must donate 10 Runes, and then you can learn some Sorcery spells from him.
Church of Irith Elden Ring Map. Click on the image above to enlarge it.
These are just basic spells, but if you are not playing as an Astrologer and if you need to but the basic sorcery like Glintstone Pebble, then you can learn it from Thops for 1000 Runes. Eventually, if you speak to him again, he will share that he wishes to return to the academy, this means you will need to find a second Academy Glintstone Key for him later on which can be found in the academy. This church has a graveyard section, you may want to check it to find some Warming Stone, an Academy Scroll. just be cautious since there are Skeleton enemies there.
Malefactor's Evergaol
Near the Church of Irith and the Lake-Facing Cliffs site, you can go northwest from the map to find the Malefactor's Evergaol (Elden Ring Map Link). There is a mini-boss here, Adan, Thief of Fire who drops the Flame of the Fell God incantation spell and you can also find the Sacrificial Twig that can be found on a corpse on a stone platform jutting out of the cliff to the east. Accessible from above only, by heading east from Malefactor's Evergaol.
Malefactor's Evergaol Elden Ring Map. Click on the image above to enlarge it.
Unlike most evergaols, this one does not require a Stonesword Key to unlock. The transporter mechanism is active as soon as you reach the area. Enter the portal to challenge the boss imprisoned within Adan, Thief of Fire. Adan is a very straightforward fight. Despite his stout stature, he is quite agile and capable of quick dodge rolls. His main form of attack is his Flame of the Fell God spell, where he summons a large orb of fire that explodes after a short delay, dealing damage in a large radius and setting the area ablaze.
This attack is easy enough to avoid due to the clear telegraph and slow animation. He will also use a combo of multiple swings with his flail, ending in a spinning attack. This move has a long animation and can easily be exploited by ranged players.
Exploring the South Section
If you want to find a new set of Armor, you can find the Sage Set in the nearby cave of the Lake-Facing Cliffs site, Stillwater Cave. You can just run through and ignore the enemies if you can work your way around it. But if you are also aiming to clear out the cave, we recommend that you have a Torch to light up dark sections and to stock up with Neutralizing Boluses to alleviate the buildup and yo cure Poison. Stillwater Cave is inhabited by poison blooms and bats, and it is filled with poisonous miasma - it also has a mini-boss at the end, the Cleanrot Knight.
Stillwater Cave is a dark cave comprised of many pits where Poison Flowers and their giant counterparts bloom undisturbed. It is recommended to bring along a Torch and a handful of Neutralizing Boluses to counteract the poison build-up inflicted by its denizens. The Site of Grace is found shortly after entering the cave.
Stillwater Cave Elden Ring Map. Click on the image above to enlarge it.
The cave itself is rather small and there is a very straightforward path you can take to get to the boss: From the Site of Grace, hug the right wall and refrain from dropping down into the pits below as they are hotbeds for the Poison Flower enemies. There is a single Servant of Rot along the way. These are the mushroom-faced humanoids that cast poison bolts at targets from a distance. Take him out and jump the gap to reach the ledge ahead where two more servants await.
You can skip these if you are rushing to the boss. Hug the edge and head southeast until you see another servant around the bend. Jump down into the pit from here and run past all the Poison Flowers to find a tunnel in the southeast. This tunnel is filled with Servants of Rot but they are all in a rested state and will take a long time to get combat-ready, allowing you to simply weave around them to get to the mist gate at the end and challenge this dungeon's boss: The Cleanrot Knight.
The Cleanrot Knight is an imposing figure wielding a spear and a sword. After traversing through the mist gate, the boss will almost always run towards you and use his Impale attack. This is his most dangerous move and if the attack connects, he will raise you high in the air, deal tremendous amounts of damage and inflict the scarlet rot status on you. Dodge to the side when you see his spear glowing. Use your best spirit summons to distract him and take potshots at the knight from behind. Watch out for the water on the floor which will rapidly cause you to build up the poison stat. The Cleanrot Knight drops the Winged Sword Insignia upon defeat.
Stillwater Cave is a good source of Cave Moss should you require it for farming. Nearly every stretch of the cave has nodes of this material to collect from. Exploring the cave will also yield a good amount of Budding Cave Moss as well as Crystal Cave Moss crafting items. In general, the Giant Poison Flowers are not worth killing as they are highly resistant to magic and release a deadly poison at melee range. It's best to skip these while exploring the cave.
Finding Important Items in the Field
Once you're back to exploring the center section or south area of Liurnia, you'll want to grab a few items first and probably stop over some locations. We will be listing down the coordinates of the item and/or location marked on the Elden Ring Map so that you have a better picture of where the
- Academy Scroll (Elden Ring Map Link): It can be found just north of Church of Irith. It's by one of the big gravestones where the Skeleton Mages are rising. You can present this scroll to a sorcerer such as Sorceress Sellen so that you can gain access to additional Sorceries that you can learn. Sorceress Sellen is at Waypoint Ruins in Limgrave.
- Map (Liurnia East) [Elden Ring Map Link]: Found in the south of the swampy lake, in the middle by a monument with enlightened texts on it. A bit north from the Lake-Facing Cliffs site.
- Laskyar Ruins (Elden Ring Map Link): This ruins location can be found just a bit north of the monolith where you got the map fragment. You can find some useful items here such as a Ritual Pot, a Wraith Calling Bell, Smithing Stone [3], and the Glintstone Craftsman's Cookbook (2). Don't forget as well to discover the site of grace for the ruins. In the middle of the ruin is a waygate that will take you right in front of the South Raya Lucaria Gate grace site, take it and unlock this site because you'll need it later.
- Map (Liurnia North) [Elden Ring Map Link]: This map fragment can be found just a bit south near the Academy Gate Town Site.
- Golden Seed (Elden Ring Map Link): You can find one by an illusory sapling. It can be found near the Academy Gate Town Site and the Academy Gate Town.
Patches, a Crystal Tear, a Church, and More Items!
If you travel northwest, open the map, and place a beacon on the small isle near the telescope. You'll find the Scenic Isle Site here (Elden Ring Map Link). You will only find Patches here if you didn't kill him and decided to forgive him during your encounter with him at the Murkwater Cave in Limgrave. You can check his wares and purchase any items that you need. Continue moving northwest and you'll find another isle that has the Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear (Elden Ring Map Link).
From the isle where you got the crystal tear, move west and you should find the Folly on the Lake Site. You can find it inside a gazebo, on the southwestern side of the lake (Elden Ring Map Link). Travel north from this site and you should find the Rose Church. White-Faced Varre can be found in this location and if you exhaust his dialogue, you can acquire the Festering Bloody Finger. There are also some items that you can find here such as the Nomadic Warrior's Cookbook [12] and the Bloodflame Blade incantation that drops from a Teardrop Scarab found along the marshes outside of the nearby island. Note that there is another scarab nearby that does not drop anything.
Also from the Folly on the Lake Site, if you travel to the east, you should find the Boilprawn Shack (Elden Ring Map Link). You can find the site for this location, as well as a new NPC, Blackguard Big Boggart. Make sure that you exhaust his lines and befriend him so he can be summoned later on for the Magma Wyrm Makar fight. Note, Blackguard Big Boggart will not speak with you beyond a line or two unless you speak with Rya first and she tells you about her stolen necklace. You first meet her at Liurnia of the Lakes under the pavilion next to the Birdseye Telescope north of Laskyar ruins. Exhausting her dialogue she will ask you to retrieve a necklace from someone who stole it.
You can visit Blackguard Big Boggart's page to learn more about his questline and to find a list of items that can be bought from him.
Now from the Rose Church, continue northwest and you should find the Temple Quarter (Elden Ring Map Link). For this location, you can grab some materials such as Bloodrose and kill the Albinauric and Glintstone Flower enemies to farm Runes. In one of the destroyed buildings, however, there is a treasure chest containing the Icerind Hatchet weapon.
Find the Academy Glintstone Key
Now, the next legacy dungeon you will need to explore is the Raya Lucaria Academy, mainly found at the center of Liurnia of the Lakes region. The only way in is by passing through the South Raya Lucaria Gate which is actually blocked by a barrier and can only be entered if the person is holding the Academy Glintstone Key. If you were exploring and stumbled upon the South Raya Lucaria Gate through the Academy Gate Town (Elden Ring Map Link) you should find a corpse of a Raya Lucaria Sorceror that's lying near the South Raya Lucaria Gate, if you loot the corpse, it holds the coordinates (Meeting Place Map - Elden Ring Map Link) for the Academy Glintstone Key.
The coordinates or location of the key will take you to a lake area that is guarded by the Glintstone Dragon Smarag. When you arrive, if you want to just grab the key, make sure you are riding your mount, and quickly run behind it. You'll see that it's guarding some corpses, the Raya Lucaria Sorcerer corpse holds the Academy Glintstone Key, while the other two holds a Dragonwound Grease and Kukri. The choice is yours if you want to fight this dragon or just avoid it - with the key, you can now enter Raya Lucaria Academy via the South Raya Lucaria Gate.
The Magical Dragon
Glintstone Dragon Smarag can be found due south of the Crystalline Woods site of grace, in central Liurnia of the Lakes. You will arrive at this location while exploring the lake area north of Temple District, he is usually asleep and guarding the Academy Glintstone Key, x6 Kukri, and a Dragonwound Grease (Elden Ring Map Link). Regardless of class focus, get into your most highly protective gear against magic, fire (unknown which his breath attacks inflict), and physical and aim to execute the majority of the fight from horseback, getting off your steed only to gain I-frames, especially during his dive attack, an easy to prepare for attack because of the long buildup animation.
As often as possible try to hit Smarag's head. With enough pressure, he will go to the ground and open himself to a critical strike. Poise damage is minimally inflicted against the legs, wings, and torso, though Banished Knight Oleg's additional pressure against Smarag's flanks is enough to push the meter to full, so don't dismiss those areas of attack altogether. The majority of damage you will be able to inflict will be against the flanks and wings because Smarag so often holds his head out of reach, even with a double jump.
Most of Smarag's attacks will deal significant damage, but a vitality stat of 20+ should be enough to survive a single hit from any of his attacks. For a more detailed strategy and if you want to find our video guide on how to defeat this boss, check our Glintstone Dragon Smarag page - successfully defeating this dragon rewards you with 14,699 Runes and a Dragon Heart which you can use at the Church of Dragon Communion to learn unique Incantations - make further preparation after the battle as you make your way to Raya Lucaria Academy.
Lakeside Crystal Cave
This cave is located on South-Western Liurnia, carved among the cliffs by the shore (Elden Ring Map Coordinates). It is also directly south from the Scenic Isle Site of Grace.
Lakeside Crystal Cave Elden Ring Map. Click on the image above to enlarge it.
After entering the cave you will find yourself in a large open area and in front of the grace is a chest containing an Arteria Leaf. Stick to your left and jump up the hill to clear out the Demi-Humans. Follow the pathway along the cliff as normal however, don't drop down into the chasm. Enter the room at the end of the cliff, kill the Demi-Human Chieftain inside the room and open the chest containing the Spear Talisman. Afterwards, head back and to the middle of the cliff to find an area to drop down to. Once you are at the bottom, you will enter a room containing 3 Crystal Snails and another room with many more, but these will take some time to attack. Drop down again to find Soft Cotton x2 on a body on the ledge and then drop down to grab a Smithing Stone (2), Smithing Stone (4) looted from two more corpses, and a Lump of Flesh. Once you proceed, you will get ambushed by three more snails. Turn left to fight the Boss, Bloodhound Knight. He is very agile and can close gaps quickly. Upon his Death he drops the Cerulean Amber Medallion.
After defeating the boss, continue through the arena to find the Slumbering Wolf's Shack. You can meet Latenna here and there is a Rune Arc behind the shack. After completing the Village of the Albinaurics later on in this walkthrough (Liurnia West), you can return to Latenna and she will accompany you as spirit ashes.