ER Shadow of the Erdtree Ancient Ruins of Rauh Walkthrough

As you get deeper and deeper into Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, it just keeps getting more and more confusing. The end-game begins at the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, a multi-levelled maze filled with floating platforms, dark tombs and missile-firing prawn guys around every corner.

It’s really easy to wander into this clifftop corner of hell without finding the Ancient Ruins of Rauh map first, since you actually collect it in a totally different, and well hidden, area. You wouldn’t be the first, and you definitely won’t be the last. I personally spent hours looking for the map prerelease before I discovered the right place.

But even if you do have the right map, there’s not much stopping you from riding around in circles or missing key items and points of interest without even realising they’re there. You can find cool optional bosses, some fun summons and talismans, as well as the critical path towards wrapping up the DLC’s main story.

After the labyrinthine corridors and staircases of the Specimen Storehouse, you might have thought you were in for a change when you emerged from the darkness of the Black Keep and back outside into the Shadow Realm. But unfortunately, it’s more of the same - only this time on horseback.

My best tip for navigating the Ancient Ruins of Rauh is to not even entertain the idea of fighting enemies that aren’t bosses. Think of it as an obstacle course rather than an action game. Otherwise you’ll just get worn down or sniped from across a giant room, fighting against unwinnable odds with no hope of victory.

However, once you start to put a few Site of Grace checkpoints together, the Ancient Ruins of Rauh is actually an interesting area with a lot more secrets to uncover than it first appears.

Ancient Ruins of Rauh Walkthrough

The Ancient Ruins of Rauh is accessed from the West Rampart Site of Grace at the bottom of the Specimen Storehouse. From the Storehouse, First Floor Site of Grace, turn left and take the elevator down in the room you find. At the bottom, turn right, then go down the stairs at the end of the hall before turning right when you come into a dining room filled with Living Jars.

This leads to the West Rampart. However, if you’ve not been there already, before you explore the Ancient Ruins proper, you need to grab the map fragment from the separate “Rauh Base” area.

To get to the Rauh Base, go to the Moorth Ruins Site of Grace in Scadu Altus, where you first speak to Dryleaf Dane, and go north until you reach a small pool with a statue next to it. Behind the statue is a cave which leads to a clearing. On the other side of the clearing you find the Rauh Base and eventually the map.

Now that you can actually see, ride across the bridge from the West Rampart, avoiding the volleys of mortar fire from the Fire Knight guarding the other side.

You can fight the Fire Knight once you’re close enough if you wish, they drop a unique item if you do, but I feel like this is a great time to practise what you’ll be doing for the rest of the Ancient Ruins area: riding as fast as possible past scary enemies on your way to the next Site of Grace, bonus points if you physically wave at the screen as you bravely run away from harm. Even more points if you can bonk them once on the head and ride off.

Either way, through the archway behind them, grab the smithing stones and take the door on the right. At the top of the stairs, ride the elevator up and you immediately find another Site of Grace to rest at.

Viaduct Minor Tower Site of Grace

Walk forward through the archway out into the light and you find yourself in the full Ancient Ruins of Rauh.

Hop back on Torrent and continue westwards under the knotted roots and into the temple in front of you. In front of you is a pot-carrying shadow, who you can whack for a Revered Spirit Ash.

Watch out in this area for the lurking Curseblade, the same kind you faced just before the boss in Belurat, Tower Settlement. They’re very mobile, hit surprisingly hard, and have a nasty habit of clipping you into a corner and wailing away until you’re dead.

Using Torrent’s dash to stay out of harm’s way, ride westwards, then take a right towards the big golden door. Hop off Torrent quickly to push it open, then saddle back up and ride down the slope inside.

Resist the urge to nope out from the return of the abhorrent spider scorpions and follow the path around before pushing open the door on the other side of the chamber at the bottom.

Take a right past the snake snails, then drop down the hole in front of you. You won’t take damage because of the spiritspring.

If you turn back on yourself here and head east, you can jump up another spiritspring, take a left, then a right to get back outside. Keep riding east here until you reach a Bloodfiend.

Drop off the cliff next to them and you can rematch the Golden Hippopotamus from the Black Keep Main Plaza for a Scadutree Fragment.

Back at the bottom of the first spiritspring, head west, then take a left and another left to get outside. Here you find a lovely little reference for the Elden Ring lore nuts, Devonia, one of the missing Crucible Knights from the base game. They’re very tough, but use the rocks and scenery to block their centaur-like Ash of War, before retaliating at the end of their long animations. They drop Devonia’s Hammer, which has a unique Ash of War, and the Crucible Hammer-Helm, which boosts Crucible Incantations.

Just past Devonia though, you find a Site of Grace, which it’s probably best to rest at before you fight them - just in case!

Rauh Ancient Ruins, East Site of Grace

Look out to your west and all you can see is idyllic waterfalls and lush greenery. But as soon as you step out onto the broken bridge in front of you, a furnace golem will start to spew giant walls of flame in your direction.

Dash purposefully across without stopping, then drop down to the right.

Continue forward up the stairs, then, as quickly as you can, bear left past the Furnace Golem and ride up the hill to the southeast. There should be another Site of Grace here where you can de-aggro the fiery foe.

This can be tricky, since the golem has huge AoE attacks, as well as stomping melee. Try to avoid riding past their feet, or dawdling anywhere you’re likely to get caught inside the flames.

Rauh Ancient Ruins, East Site of Grace

From here you’re getting towards the home strait, but there’s actually so much to discover yet in the Ancient Ruins.

First go southwest from the Site of Grace, towards another temple interior. Ride up the stairs, avoiding the bouncing energy beams, then take a right.

Ride forward, grab the Scadutree Fragment from the altar, then continue back outside into a clearing with two Horned Warriors in the middle.

Ride past them, grab the Revered Spirit Ash from the statue they’re guarding, then behind them you should see an archway leading back inside. Instead of going through the archway, instead go onto the hill to the right of it and ride along the side of the cliff.

Here you find the seal for the spiritspring below. You can then drop down to the spiritspring and use it to jump across to the stairs you can see on the other side of the ravine for a treasure chest containing the Mottled Necklace +2.

Now, return to the Rauh Ancient Ruins, West Site of Grace. Ride up the stairs again and take a right at the top, but this time, turn left and go further inside instead of straight on.

Here you find an elevator you can ride up which leads to another sodden clearing with another Horned Warrior. This time the Warrior is guarding the Divine Bird Feathers Incantation, but when you ride past them, you find a new temple interior afflicted with Scarlet Rot.

Take a left up the stairs and, depending on your actions within the NPC quests throughout the DLC, you can be invaded by Hornsent here. Deal with him as you would any other NPC Invader - use as much AoE and aggressive attacking as possible to interrupt his attacks and rush his HP down - then continue up the stairs.

On your left you find the “end” of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, the Church of the Bud. However, there’s one last thing to do before you commit to the last boss of the area.

From the Rauh Ancient Ruins, West Site of Grace, ride up the stairs as you always have, then take a right at the top and go left to ride up the elevator as if you were going to the Church of the Bud again.

But at the top of the elevator, turn immediately left and look off the edge of the cliff. There are some ruins here you can drop down onto and ride around to the east to find a secret area. Take the side path around to the side of the cliff for some items including the Talisman of All Crucibles, but to continue, ride the elevator in the middle.

Up the elevator, you find a new Site of Grace: the Ancient Ruins, Grand Stairway.

At the end of the long path from the Grand Stairway drop down to the right and you can rematch the Divine Beast: Dancing Lion from the first legacy dungeon.

Getting to enjoy this awesome boss design again is a real treat, but it has an extra annoying trick this time. At about half health, it will summon around 5 basilisks which inflict the death-blighted status which kills you - and your summons - instantly.

Therefore I’d recommend using any gear you’ve got with bonus Vitality, such as the Prince of Death’s Pustule from the start of Fia’s quest with Rogier under Stormveil Castle. It’s much easier when the death-blight doesn’t build up so fast!

Either way, once you’re ready to complete the area, make your way inside the Church of the Bud and prepare for the end-game of Shadow of the Erdtree!

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• Back to Shadow of the Erdtree Walkthrough Main Page
• Belurat, Tower Settlement Walkthrough
• Castle Ensis Walkthrough
• Dragon’s Pit Walkthrough
• Black Keep Church District Walkthrough
• Specimen Storehouse Walkthrough
• Abyssal Woods Walkthrough
• Ancient Ruins of Rauh Walkthrough

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