Elden Ring can come across as a fairly brutal game, especially early on when you have limited flask charges and low health while the Tree Sentinel is destroying you. One could just ignore this boss entirely and go on their merry way, leveling up here and there while exploring the world. This is perhaps the method that most players will want to pursue, especially if they’re looking to enjoy the game as it was meant to be played.
For those who want to become strong quickly, level up without much stress or just have a nice reliable farm spot, there are other methods as noted by Tagback TV on YouTube. First, you’ll want to bypass the Tree Sentinel and go to the Church of Elleh for the first Site of Grace. From there, travel along the road north. You’ll eventually reach an enemy camp – look for a pillar of sorts with an item near it. Pick that up to unlock your first map fragment.
This allows for more easily following the roads that you’ll be taking (at least, for this area of Limgrave). From the road you originally arrived from, take a right until you reach another Site of Grace. Activate this and following a short conversation with Melina, you’ll obtain the Spectral Steed Whistle and be able to summon Torrent. But this is still only just the start.
Keep traveling along the road (the day time is best since it allows for avoiding powerful foes) and take the first left that comes up. Follow this road and there will be another Site of Grace in the Mistwood Outskirts. Activate it and keep following the road until you reach the Third Church of Marika. Pick up the items inside, including the Flask of Wondrous Physique and Sacred Tear which reinforces the Flask of Crimson Tears and Flask of Cerulean Tears to provide more healing or FP generation. Activate the Site of Grace here and rest.
Behind the Church is a portal – it can be spotted near a small stream. It will transport you to Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow, an area in the north-east part of the map. Travel straight down the road from where you’ve teleported, avoiding any of the enemies along the way. Eventually, you’ll reach a bridge with a dragon – do not venture on to this bridge and fight it. Instead, activate the Site of Grace nearby and take the road to the area above you. Next, go left and then right, traveling down the hill and triggering the poison traps along the way while avoiding enemies. You’ll find a smaller bridge that can be crossed (which has a boss during nighttime so, again, traverse it during the day).
Even if you’re poisoned, keep healing until you’ve reached the next Site of Grace at Lenne’s Rise. From here, you’ll find a bridge looming in the background and a road leading down hill. This road will curve to the left and down, but at the corner will be a boulder that spawns in. The trick here is to only travel a little bit ahead of this corner until it does. Once that happens, simply double-back, ensuring that it rolls off of the side into the abyss.
You’ll net 2,000 Runes for this without having to fight at all. Fast travel back to the Lenne’s Rise Site of Grace and repeat this process. Make sure to stick somewhat close to the boulder once it rolls off – otherwise it will just despawn and require fast-traveling back to Lenne’s Rise to “reset” it. Otherwise, this can be farmed continuously for tons of Runes within a very short span of time. As per the below video’s calculation, you can net 585,600 Runes per hour with this method.
Another way to increase the amount of Runes earned playing is the Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot. This boosts your Rune acquisition but for a short time. While consumable, it’s possible to obtain the recipe for crafting it. There are a few hoops to jump through though, like finding Patches and letting him live, purchasing the relevant cookbook from him and farming the materials for crafting. You can check out TagbackTV’s video below for more information.
However, it’s worth noting that if you killed Patches, then you can still obtain the recipe (and other items from his Emporium). Make sure to accept Melina’s offer for an accord and then her invitation to the Roundtable Hold. Take Patches’ bell to the Twin Maiden Husks merchant. You’ll now be able to purchase items from Patches’ inventory even though he’s dead. This merchant is also good for purchasing Stonesword Keys and Rune Arcs if you’re in need.
Another great way to earn tons of Runes is to cheese certain powerful foes. Remember that boss, Night’s Cavalry, that appears on the bridge leading to Lenne’s Rest at night? From the Site of Grace’s side, go to the bridge at night but don’t fight it. Instead, dash past on your mount and ensure that it doesn’t hit you. Traverse up the hill filled with poison traps, taking care to dash only when the boss is too close. Don’t look back either.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, you should receive the “Enemy Felled” message and receive 42,000 Runes. Use the Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot for even more gains. This is only a one-time method since Night’s Cavalry doesn’t respawn but it’s a great way to earn tons of Runes in a short period of time.
Another method is to follow the road from Lenne’s Rest (the same one where the boulder spawns). Keep going past the Dragonbarrow Fork’s Site of Grace – you’ll reach the fork in question and must go left. Eventually, you’ll arrive at Fort Faroth. Activate its Site of Grace and you’ll see a giant dragon here. If approached from the bottom, it will be unable to attack. Defeating the dragon will take some time with a regular weapon so bring a weapon that deals Bleed damage. This allows for chunking off of a percentage of its health quickly even if you’re low-level.
Just before the dragon dies, use a Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot to boost the amount of Runes earned. Slaying it will provide over 100,000 Runes instantly. The other dragons will no longer hang around this area after the big one is dead so keep that in mind if you prefer farming them later.
Elden Ring is currently available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Check out our review for the game here along with other tips and tricks here.
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