Oftentimes, Elden Ring hides its greatest treasures greedily, in dungeons the untrained eye can hardly see. The Tombsward Catacombs are a perfect example—they hold a Legendary Spirit Ash and are located far off the beaten path. So, let’s get in there and clear it out.
Where are the Tombsward Catacombs in Elden Ring?
The Tombsward Catacombs is located in Elden Ring‘s Weeping Peninsula, on the western side of the western plateau. From the Church of Pilgrimage, head slightly west and ride south to around the center of the Plateau. The entrance to the Catacombs is obscured by a massive stone pillar. But, you can tell you’ve found it if you see a pair of Jellyfish in floating off to the side of the road.
We recommend starting from the Church of Pilgrimage Site of Grace, since it can be easy to miss the drop-off if you ride north from the Minor Erdtree or north from the Tombsward Site of Grace.
How to clear the Tombsward Catacombs
Elden Ring’s Tombsward Catacombs are a Catacomb-type dungeon with a brutal trick in the middle. To start, things are a bit simpler. Right out of the gate, you have a choice to make. A pair of Gargoyles require a Stonesword Key to open a barrier in front of a few items. One of the items in question is the Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [9], which adds the Rancor Pot recipe—a bomb that emits enemy-seeking skulls—to your crafting options. Feel free to save this one for later, unless you’re running an alchemist build.
When taking out Skeleton enemies, be sure to hit them once more after they die—otherwise, they’ll respawn. Alternatively, you can use a Sacred Weapon to destroy them immediately, as well as dealing massive damage with each hit.
From here, head down the left hallway to see the double doors that will lead to the boss fight when we’re done with the dungeon. Take another left to go deeper into the dungeon and fight off a few fire-loving Skeletons. Be sure to pick up the glowing plants on the ground—they’re Grave Glovewort, useful for upgrading your Spirit Ashes.
Keep following the path until you reach a Skeleton with a large blade and a gout of burning fire. This fire comes from a pillar down the hall, which lowers into the ground when it takes any type of damage—we recommend using a Bow, or aiming a spell using the Telescope, if you want to knock it down efficiently. If you’ve only brought melee weapons, there’s a small nook to the right you can hide in between spurts of flame with good timing. But watch out for the Skeleton that spawns in there. He can knock you in the way of the fire, and getting hit by the flame can easily one-shot a new Tarnished.
Once the pillar is down, head to the room to the left to find the Prattling Pate “Thank You” item, a usable item that simply says “Thank You” when activated—a devastating taunt in PvP, or a way to thank summons for helping you in a fight.
This is a dead end, though. And by entering this room, you caused a Skeleton to spawn in the Fire Pillar’s room on the higher level. Jump on the Fire Pillar and hit it with a diving attack or ranged weapon to make it go back up—now, this deadly obstacle is an elevator. Kill the Skeleton and follow the path forward. Make sure to loot the narrow room you enter afterward, once you take out the ambush—there’s a Grave Glovewart [2] in here, a rare drop this early in the game.
Head through the next room to find yourself in front of the lever that opens the double steel doors for the boss fight. The boss is the Cemetery Shade, a humanoid shadow that can teleport. It deals massive damage and is resistant to Physical damage, but any effect that deals Holy damage can very easily one-shot it, while most non-Physical damage types chunk it very easily.
This boss holds the Lhutel the Headless Spirit Ash, a Legendary Spirit of a Mausoleum Knight. This friendly knight will require Ghost Glovewort instead of Grave Glovewort to upgrade. But, she can teleport and deals solid damage with her lance, making her a fantastic companion for bosses like Malenia and Malekith.
