War-Dead Catacombs is a location in Caelid in Elden Ring and the home of the Putrid Tree Spirit. This cave also contains a few crafting items, weapon upgrade materials and some new Spirit Ashes. As part of our Elden Ring guide, we're going to explain how to complete War-Dead Catacombs.

Elden Ring: How to Complete War-Dead Catacombs

On this page, we're going to reveal how to complete War-Dead Catacombs. We'll include the location, a walkthrough, and any additional information, like item drops.

War-Dead Catacombs Location: How to Find It

The War-Dead Catacombs has a unique prerequisite – you’ll have to defeat Starscourge Radahn before being able to enter. That’s because the entrance is actually in the boss arena, all the way at the northeastern tip of the ravaged beach. Once you’ve defeated Radahn, it’s just an uneventful horseback ride north of the Starscourge Radahn Site of Grace.

War-Dead Catacombs: Walkthrough

The War-Dead Catacombs begins peacefully with a simple descent down a few flights of stairs, but that isn’t the case for long. At the end of the hallway after the stairs you’ll catch a glimpse of an all-out war among a legion of spectral knights and soldiers. Wait a few moments and they’ll disappear, but they’re not quite gone – they’ve just traveled underneath into the scarlet rot pools below. It’s much safer to explore once they have moved, but the area is still not completely secure.

While the powerful knights do battle below, there are still a few archers posted along the balconies here that aren’t afraid to fire away. The first of these archer knights is in the northeast corner which isn’t yet accessible, but keep an eye on that corner to dodge the arrows that’ll be coming your way. Sprint for the Magic Grease on the corpse in the center of this area, run up the stairs in the back right corner, and head for the doorway at the end of this path.

You’re still not safe once you reach the next passageway however, as there’s another archer knight posted at the far north end. Dodge roll past its arrows and into the larger square section to give yourself some more wiggle room where you’ll be able to better lure the knight out and defeat it. Ignore the windows you pass by for now, and continue into the next hall. Defeat the glowing enemies as you go, and pick up the Grave Glovewort [6] before continuing.

The next chamber has a Grave Violet by the window and a spear knight in the following room. This guy is no slouch, but he’s vulnerable to backstabs, so use them to your advantage whenever possible. The room the knight was guarding holds a bunch more Grave Violets and another Grave Glovewort [6]. Once you’ve grabbed them all, jump out the first window on your left.

You’ll find yourself on an elevated section with a doorway flanked by Jade Goblins nearby. Before approaching, be aware of all the enemies that surround you here – the bow-and-arrow knight we first encountered is through the western window, two more Jade Goblins sit along the northern ledge, and there’s a powerful knight inside the door that the two goblins are posted at. Your best bet is to focus on the two door goblins first, then the knight within. If you emerge victorious, you’ll find the Radahn Soldier Ashes in the center of the scarlet rot room the knight was guarding.

With that taken care of, take out the two other goblins along the ledge and leap through the window to finally get rid of that knight who’s still up here. He just so happens to be standing right next to another Grave Glovewort [6] and the lever that opens the metal boss doors. While it’s a straight shot to the boss now, there’s still plenty of loot to grab here. Head back through the window, down the stairs in the previous chamber, drop down by the large statue, and dispatch the three Jade Goblins who defend this area.

With the goblins handled, pick the Ghost Glovewort [4] in the dark alcove and head into the adjacent passageway. The following scarlet rot water is the stuff that’s underneath the area we entered – meaning there will be some powerful enemies down here. Given the scarlet rot buildup that you’ll be accumulating down here, we’d strongly recommend avoiding or running past any and all enemies you encounter in these waters. There’s no use taking on all the risk of fighting down here.

Make a run for the glowing item directly in front of you toward the south to snag a Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot. Continue west and around the first opening by a pillar to find stairs back up to the upper level of this area, but don’t head back up just yet. Make use of that higher level to alleviate the scarlet rot if you need to before diving back and heading to the treasure chest in the middle of the western side to get the Collapsing Stars spell.

There’s only one more item to grab down here – head east from the chest to find a Golden Rune [6] on a corpse. With that, you’ve grabbed everything that’s worth anything in here. Head up the stairs to the southeast, then straight to the west to find the boss room doors and the mist gate, beyond which is the Putrid Tree Spirit. If you’re running low on Flasks after everything, don’t hesitate to head back and rest at the Site of Grace. With the lever pulled, it’s a safe and straight shot back to the boss room.

War-Dead Catacombs: Item Drops and Loot

Do you have any tips and tricks for how to complete War-Dead Catacombs in Elden Ring? Let us know in the comments section below, and check out our Elden Ring guide for more information.