Elden Ring is full of secrets, some obvious and some so well hidden that most players are better off seeking out answers online than trying to figure out the puzzles themselves. One of From Software’s favorite tricks is to put seemingly innocuous items in their games that turn out to be a key item in later side quests and puzzles. It’s a trick that works over and over again as there are usually just enough clues in the game world for players to figure out the key and feel smart doing so.
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Elden Ring has several such items, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC added even more for good measure. Players can easily be excused for missing some or all of these items in a playthrough, or even finding the items but never discovering their true purpose. These are all the items in Elden Ring that seem useless but actually have a hidden purpose.
While every effort is made to avoid blatant story spoilers, the entries in this topic do contain some mild and some moderate spoilers for various NPC stories and secrets in both Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
10
“You’re Beautiful” Prattling Pate
Save Boc the Seamster From a Rebirth That Changes Him Entirely
Elden Ring‘s Prattling Pate items don’t seem like they have much use, other than an amusing way to interact with other players. These infinite-use items speak a short phrase when dropped on the ground, in this case, “You’re beautiful“. Quite a statement to make to another player’s character, but it just so happens that there’s an NPC players who know well and needs to hear these words.
When Boc, the NPC that follows the player and tailors their clothes, arrives at the royal capital Leyndell, he starts speaking of a need to reinvent his “ugly” form. Following this quest chain, players can give him a larval tear, sending him to Rennala for rebirth. However, if players instead use this item to tell Boc he’s beautiful as he is, he gets over his need to change and thus avoids death in rebirth.
9
Thiollier’s Concoction
Send the Sleeping Dragon to a Different Slumber with the Ancient Dragon Priestess
Getting Thiollier’s Concoction requires a few quest steps of talking to NPCs, getting the black syrup from Moore, and delivering it before Thiollier leaves his original position at the Pillar Path Cross. Seemingly for little reward, as the only effect the concoction has on the player is instant death. However, what sounds like fanciful dialogue when the player obtains the concoction is actually telling the player its use directly.
The deadly poison can be used to “coax even the oldest of dragons to sleep“. There’s precisely one ancient dragon NPC in Elden Ring, so that’s a pretty big clue as to how the concoction is supposed to be used. Visit the Ancient Dragon Priestess at the Dragon Communion Altar at night, and players will find her in a trance, “giving” her sleep to her dragon lord. The concoction will lull her to a real sleep, and thus send her NPC questline down a different path.
8
O Mother Gesture
Access Hinterland To Continue Count Ymir’s Quest
Using gestures as keys wasn’t new to Shadow of the Erdtree, as it had already been used in the base game of Elden Ring, but this gesture from the DLC seems innocent enough at first until players find a hidden part of the Shadow Keep. The gesture is found next to a headless statue in Bonny Village, near a shed serpent skin. The gesture itself gives no clue to its hidden purpose.
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Once players have found the rear of the Shadow Keep and the gate to the Commander Gaius boss room, they’ll find a side room with a large statue and a pretty hefty clue that players are supposed to use this gesture to open the way. If players have found the gesture by this point, they’ll likely put 2 and 2 together, but otherwise, it’s a conundrum.
7
Stone Sheathed Sword
Visit Altars for the Hidden Powers For a Sword of Light or Sword of Darkness
The Stone Sheathed Sword seems like an unimpressive weapon at first, but most players will probably realize that there’s more to this ancient sword than meets the eye. It’s found upon one of three altars in the game, dependent on which one the player visits first. No matter which altar they visit, players will always receive the dull stone sword first. Visiting any other altar with the sword, though, will reveal its hidden power.
The weapon will transform into the Sword of Light or the Sword of Darkness, depending on which altar the player visits second. The player can then switch between the weapon’s forms by visiting the third altar, and switch back by visiting the respective altars again. For players who want to seek the altars out, they’re in the Fogrift Catacombs, the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, and the Ruins of Unte.
6
Seluvis’s Puppets
Convert Seluvis’ Slumbering Puppet Into a Vessel For Sorceress Sellen
Finding the creepy hidden puppet-filled cellar of the mage Seluvis seems like more of a lore reveal than anything else at first, some insight into his scheming character and how he uses puppets. Beyond opening up more dialogue with Seluvis, this hidden room has another hidden purpose. One that players won’t discover unless they follow the seemingly unrelated questline of Sorceress Sellen.
Following her questline as her “apprentice” will require players to save her from immense danger at a later point, and that requires transferring her soul to a puppet body. Fortunately, for unstated reasons, Seluvis happens to have a Sellen-ready puppet body in his hidden cellar. This lets players turn the seemingly inert puppet’s body into the true Sellen and continue her quest.
5
Jellyfish Spirit Ash
Reuniting The Sisters to Access the Stargazer Ruins
The Jellyfish Spirit Ash will likely be one of the first Spirit Ashes that players obtain, as a gift after speaking to Roderika in the Stormhill Shack. While it’s a useful companion at the start of the game, many players will have forgotten all about this summon by the time they get to the Mountaintops of the Giants. It’s here, however, that players will discover the true purpose of this Spirit Ash.
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Near the start of the Mountaintops, in the Stargazer Ruins, is another spirit that speaks a couple of lines of dialogue, yearning for her sister, and a promise to visit the stars. It turns out her sister is the very Spirit Ash players have been carrying all this time. Summoning the Spirit Jellyfish here will fulfill the spirits’ wish and give the player access to the Stargazer Ruins, which happen to hold a pretty handy talisman for casters.
4
Hefty Furnace Pots
Destroy Furnace Golems and Unlock the Ruins of Unte
A damaging throwing item is never totally useless, but players might rightly wonder about the viability of the lengthy throwing animation for the Hefty Furnace Pot. The pots have other, less obvious uses though. Some of the Furnace Golems that the player encounters in the Land of Shadow can’t be attacked normally thanks to armored legs.
The Hefty Furnace Pots are their hidden weakness, throwing them directly into the raging fire atop the Golem deals massive damage. That’s not the only hidden use of the item, either. The Hefty Furnace Pot is also used as the key to the Ruins of Unte, by using it to awaken the unlit Furnace Golem that blocks the way in.
3
Erudition Gesture
Used to Access Areas in the Converted Towers
The “gesture as a key” trick, that players used to access the Shaman Village in Shadow of the Erdtree, was first used in the base game with the Erudition gesture. This gesture, along with the crowns of Raya Lucaria’s magic schools, will open the way to several hidden sorcerer’s secrets, primarily the mage’s towers that hide memory stones for increasing spell-casting slots.
The secret spots are signposted with developer messages, but the gesture itself gives players no clue that it’s a key unless they find those spots and use the gesture for more than just to express one’s self in an emotive mood.
2
Miniature Ranni
Find Ranni’s Soul in a Talking Doll
When players first pick up the Miniature doll of Ranni the Witch, they might be a little confused as to how this inert item helps them continue their questline. The option to speak with a doll only appears if players rest at the nearest site of grace in the Ainsel River Main, and even if players select the “speak” option, they’re met with no response.
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Persistent players will soon realize the trick though, as selecting the dialogue option several times in a row reveals that Ranni’s soul is within the doll, and she’ll reluctantly speak to the player. This allows players to continue her side quest and pursue her specific ending path if they so wish.
1
Law of Regression
Help Gold Mask Find the Ultimate Secret
This Golden Order incantation, seemingly for removing negative status effects, hides one of the biggest secrets in Elden Ring‘s base game. The last line of the description of its use gives players a clue, saying the spell “reveals mimicry in all its forms“. Being an incantation with a high intelligence cost and a niche use case makes the Law of Regression seem fairly useless unless players know its hidden purpose.
If players follow the side quest of Gold Mask, at some point they’ll find him stumped by a question. He sees a fundamental flaw in the Golden Order, but can’t fathom its reason, as a secret about the nature of the Order eludes him. This takes place in Leyndell, and by exploring that area, players will eventually find a statue of Radagon. Using the Law of Regression on that statue reveals the fundamental secret that Gold Mask is looking for, and it’s one of the biggest lore reveals in Elden Ring prior to the DLC.
- Released
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February 25, 2022
- OpenCritic Rating
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Mighty