D.CraZy Posted March 1, 2022 Posted March 1, 2022 Info : It ain't much, but it's honest work. Elden Ring has a brutal difficulty curve, especially if you're charging headfirst into its major Legacy dungeons. The enemies and bosses there can crush you in a single hit or wear down your resources so fast that it can be tough to make progress if you're unprepared. And one of the simplest ways to prepare is by investing in your stats, for which you'll require lots and lots of runes from fallen foes. For much of the early game—which, remember, will be a good amount of time in this massive open world—you'll be starved of opportunities to level up. You'll get through your first few levels quick enough, but each time you do the rune cost rises, and pretty soon the manageable enemies you've been feasting on won't be enough. Thankfully, you don't have to play by the rules, slowly harvesting runes as you explore the world and fight your way through its dungeons. There are places all over the Lands Beyond where you can net yourself a mountain of runes, often with little risk, by exploiting certain abilities, enemy patterns or the terrain. Limgrave Limgrave is the first area you'll explore, and once you get Torrent you'll be able to ride across it pretty swiftly while avoiding most enemies, unless you want to beat them up. If you've got your steed, you might want to check out this farming spot shown off by PowerPyx on YouTube. The method only begins in Limgrave, but will actually take you to a much higher level area. They claim it'll net you about 300,000 runes per hour, which is enough for many, many levels at the beginning of the game, even if you only do it for 10 or 20 minutes. The catch is that this method will send you from Lingrave to a much higher level area, with enemies that will take you out very quickly. Magic builds will have an easier time, though it's still absolutely viable for melee characters. First you have to head to the Third Church of Marika in Limgrave—it's located east of the first few Sites of Grace. From there, you need to go northeast until you find a portal sitting in water. This is actually connected to a side quest that you'll get for a character later on, but meeting them first isn't required. The portal takes you to Greyoll's Dragonbarrow, a high-level area in the north of Caelid that features one of the game's strangest characters, who you'll see right behind you when you arrive, along with a site of grace. Watch out for the big creature on the stairs in front of you as you leave, as you won't want to mess with it. Outside, you'll find some small, relatively weak enemies, and beyond them a bridge with another site of grace next to it. Grab the site of grace if you want, but don't cross the bridge. Instead, go back to the small enemies, because they are who you'll be farming. These little guys go down fast, and while a magic build will be helpful here, melee characters can still stagger them or employ stealth. The video claims you'll get 637 runes per kill, and there are quite a few of them, but upon testing it I found I was actually getting considerably more: 1094 runes per kill. The nearby site of grace will then let you keep respawning them. Just don't give them an opportunity to retaliate, as they can kill low level characters in a hit. Since you're already in Dragonbarrow anyway, you might as well hit up another cheesy farming spot nearby. This one is courtesy of TagBackTV on YouTube, and you don't need to get in any fights to fill your rune coffers. You'll need to make your way over to the Lenne's Rise Site of Grace, southeast of the one you should have activated next to the bridge earlier. You still don't want to cross that bridge, so instead double back a bit and take the route that will bring you to the smaller bridge to the east. Make sure to do this during the day, as there's a boss that appears on the bridge at night. There are a few enemies to avoid and some poison traps, but the Site of Grace is right at the end of the bridge, so it doesn't matter if you take a bunch of damage. Activate the Site of Grace and heal up, and then head down the path that takes you under the bridge you've been avoiding. Close to the top of the path is a trap—a magical boulder that will only appear when you're in front of it. Dash out of the way of the boulder and it will continue its trajectory, squashing something below and earning you a not-too-shabby 1952 runes. Then teleport back to the Site of Grace and do it all over again. You can also get another big payday by taking on the boss on the small bridge. You want to wait until after you've got the Lenne's Rise Site of Grace. Start there, then ride over to the boss at the other end of the bridge. Don't fight him, though. Instead, get him to chase you through all the poison traps. If you keep him following you, the poison will eventually kill him, giving you an impressive haul: 42,000 runes. This is just a one-time thing, but nice nonetheless. Liurnia Once you've conquered Stormveil Castle, the first Legacy dungeon, you'll probably have quite a lot of runes in your possession. But can you ever really have enough? Luckily there's a farming spot just up the road. You can find the spot near the Liurnia Highway North (past Stormveil Castle) Site of Grace, and you don't really need to do much here, since you can gain runes while AFK. Right next to the checkpoint are a bunch of soldiers fighting spiritual attackers and one giant (which you need to run over with your horse to trigger). The giant will smash most of the soldiers pretty quickly and grant you about 43 runes per kill. It's not much, but if you want to mindlessly do it while watching Netflix it could be useful. If you're in the area, you might as well. Raya Lucaria Academy is the next Legacy dungeon you'll encounter, and if you've got a strength build and a penchant for helping your fellow Tarnished, you can net yourself a very nice haul by farming its boss. Our features producer Nat used this method, with assistance from PCG contributor Samantha Greer and her massive sword. As Nat explains, "the big bad of the Academy, Rennala, is ridiculously easy to stagger," which means strong characters can toss her around like a rag doll. If that's your build, you should have an easier time with her, so you might want to use your skills to help other players and continue raking in the runes. Caelid If you've tried PowerPyx's farming method you'll already have visited Caelid by travelling through a portal. And you might want to stick around, as there's a very handy farming spot in this area that, like the Liurnia Highway North Site of Grace, allows you to get runes while just sitting around and chilling, and in much greater quantities. You'll need to reach the Impassable Greatbridge in the far south first. The best route to take isn't from the Site of Grace you unlocked in Caelid earlier, as it's far away and covered in enemies that will do you in quickly. Instead, head east from Limgrave, and then south, following the road through Caelid. You might as well pick up the Caelid map and unlock Sites of Grace on your way. Near the Impassable Greatbridge Site of Grace is a battle between soldiers and giant demon dogs. They'll start fighting the moment you approach them, and from there you can just sit back and relax. I recommend perching on the rocks next to the damaged wall, as you get a good view and you'll be out of danger. The soldiers will net you fewer than 200 runes each, but there are loads of them, while the dogs will give you 313. The soldiers always win the fight, but you can prolong it by dragging in a few other dogs that are hanging out just north of the battlefield. You should walk away with 2,000-3,000 runes per run, and with the Site of Grace right next to it, you can repeat the battle almost immediately. Just watch out for the soldiers on the tower next to you, as they will shoot you with their crossbows. There's some loot at the top of the tower, but you can ignore them if you want, as they won't be able to hit you if you're past the big fire, which you will be if you're sitting on the rock. With the exception of the Liurnia farming spots, all of these can be attempted as soon as you've got Torrent to carry you around quickly, giving you a ridiculous supply of runes right from the start. That should make getting through Stormveil and defeating its lords a lot easier. And keep checking back, as we'll be adding more locations as we discover them.
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