Elden Ring: How to Complete The Shaded Castle

How do you complete The Shaded Castle in Elden Ring? As part of our ongoing Elden Ring walkthrough, we're going to guide you through one of the biggest optional locations in the game: The Shaded Castle. You must make your way through the area to reach the Elemer of the Briar boss fight.

As part of our Elden Ring guide, we're going to reveal how to complete The Shaded Castle. This page is broken down into specific objectives to help you through the castle and eventually find the Elemer of the Briar boss encounter.

Elden Ring: How to Complete The Shaded Castle

On this page, we're going to explain how to complete The Shaded Castle and then find the Elemer of the Briar boss.

The Shaded Castle Walkthrough: How to Find It

The Shaded Castle is located in the north of the Altus Plateau region. The easiest way to reach it is to fast travel to the Erdtree-Gazing Hill Site of Grace, head east and drop down into the valley below. You should spot some black trees without any leaves on them, and you must head in that direction. Pass through them until you come to a rocky area. To your left ahead will be a gap in the mountains you can pass through. Follow this path up and The Shaded Castle will eventually come into view.

The Shaded Castle Walkthrough: Get into the Castle

The Shaded Castle is a fort surrounded by a poisonous bog inhabited by Slugs. Your first task is to simply get beyond the castle walls, which can be done by jumping atop some rocks in the back left corner of the outer perimeter. Riding Torrent will make it easier to get up thanks to its double jump.

Once you're in, heading down the short flight of stone stairs and taking a right introduces you to a new enemy type: a sort of zombie that inflicts Poison build-up if it grabs you. They're very easy to kill, however. Follow that path all the way to the end to pick up some Neutralizing Boluses off a corpse.

Then head back the way you came and take the other path leading off the stone steps. You'll drop down onto a roof in a confined area packed full of the aforementioned enemies and plants that quickly build up Scarlet Rot. Drop down behind the main plant and you'll find a Smithing Stone [5]. You can then use the building to jump back up to where you came from.

In order to make some progress, head back to where you first encountered the poisonous enemies and you'll spot a gap in the path on your left. You'll jump across to another rooftop, but look down to your left to spot a Somber Smithing Stone [5]. Then right next to the crowd of Slugs is some Beast Blood. You must now follow the path along the poisonous swamp all the way until you find a Site of Grace up a ladder. You'll spot its golden embers first, and to reach it you must first cross over some ruins.

Along the way, you'll find items like Golden Rune [6], Smithing Stone [5], and Smithing Stone [4]. Eventually, you'll find the Shaded Castle Ramparts Site of Grace, thus giving you your first checkpoint inside The Shaded Castle.

The Shaded Castle Walkthrough: Find the Shaded Castle Inner Gate Site of Grace

Our next task is to push further into The Shaded Castle, and we're going to do that by way of a ladder we passed on the path to the Shaded Castle Ramparts Site of Grace. Double back to the main area in the poisonous swamp and you'll spot a ladder on the righthand wall, taking you up to a new area. At the top will be some more poisonous enemies, and with them killed, take the path on the left. You can take it all the way to the end to find a knight that drops the Cleanrot Armor upon death. There's also a chest inside the room it was guarding which houses the Valkyrie's Prosthesis.

Once you're done, head back and you'll eventually find another gap in the stone wall on your left. Drop down to continue progressing through The Shaded Castle. Jump onto the rooftop ahead, then deal with any enemies down below. There's a Golden Rune [6] to pick up, and beware of the poisonous swamp. It makes you move very slowly, which is a problem considering the foes nearby. Cross the swamp to the safe stone floors on the opposite side.

In the small arena ahead will be some Rot Grease, and when you've picked it up, head back to the entrance to this area and take the ladder up on the left. Take the Golden Rune [4] off the corpse and interact with the Site of Grace you find. Up ahead is a Ghost to talk to on your right, and then a ladder to climb on the left.

The Shaded Castle Walkthrough: Find the Elemer of the Briar Fog Door

At the top of the ladder are two Dogs to kill, and four more enemies in the room to your right. The most dangerous one is equipped with a crossbow. In the backlight corner of this same room is a ladder you can climb up. Take it to the top and you'll find the Perfumer's Cookbook [2] on a corpse. Head back down the ladder and take a right to go outside and continue along the main path.

To the right is another Dog to kill and a Hefty Beast Bone to pick up. To the left is where you need to head next, but your path is blocked by another strong knight. This one flings Lightning at you, so be very careful.

On the other side is just one path you can take into a building, which has a Gold Firely on the ground floor in the back. Head up the stairs next to it to find yet another knight outside. This one has two Dogs by its side, so be careful of them too. Once they're dead, head to the edge of this area before taking the ladder up. You can kick a ladder down to create a shortcut from the Shaded Castle Ramparts Site of Grace. On the opposite side of the area, you'll find a Smithing Stone [5]. When you're ready, take the lift up. At the top will be the fog door leading to the Elemer of the Briar boss fight.

The Shaded Castle Walkthrough: Fight Elemer of the Briar

You must now take on Elemer of the Briar in order to consider The Shaded Castle completed. Click the following for information on the boss and strategies for beating it: Elden Ring: How to Beat Elemer of the Briar.

Do you have any other helpful tips and tricks for how to complete The Shaded Castle in Elden Ring? As always, check out our Elden Ring guide, and let us know in the comments section below.