Sites of Lost Grace are found throughout Elden Ring and serve as a kind of checkpoint for player progression. When you die, you can choose to respawn at the last Site of Lost Grace you visited. When one of these Lost Graces is found, it becomes a fast-travel point on the player map.
It's easy to compare Lost Graces to Bonfires from Dark Souls, and for the most part, this is an accurate comparison. However, Sites of Lost Grace in Elden Ring give players a lot more options for things to do when resting, some of which can't be unlocked until certain requirements are met.
What Happens When You Sit At A Site Of Lost Grace
When you rest at a Site of Lost Grace, a few things happen. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the world is reset. Enemies living and dead re-appear at their original positions – resting at a Lost Grace is an easy way to get rid of enemies giving chase, as long as you get to it before they get to you.
Additionally, Lost Graces completely restore your HP, FP, Stamina, and remove any negative effects currently plaguing you. They also completely refill your total Sacred Flask uses, which can be altered in the Lost Grace menu. Finally, the Site of Lost Grace becomes your new respawn point should you die, unless you choose to respawn at a Statue of Marika instead.
Level Up By Turning Runes To Strength With Melina
After discovering your third Lost Grace in Limgrave you'll be introduced to Melina, who offers an accord. In exchange for taking her to the foot of the Erd tree, she will act the part of the Finger Maiden and let you use Runes to level up your stats.
While Dark Souls 2 and 3 and Bloodborne each had an NPC who stayed in one place to level up characters, Elden Ring lets players level up anywhere. The screen that pops up after selecting "Level Up" shows your attributes, your current number of Runes, and the number of Runes needed to increase a stat by one.
Assign Flasks, And Mix Wondrous Physick
Sacred Flasks are most players' primary means of healing and recovering FP. Some builds require a lot of FP to be successful, like Sorcery or Incantation-oriented builds, while others don't use any FP at all. The "Flasks" option lets players allocate uses of their Crimson and Cerulean flasks however they please - a Vanguard might only use the Crimson Flask, while a Prisoner would likely have a 50-50 split.
After a certain point in Elden Ring players gain the Flask of Wondrous Physick, which is essentially a fully customizable Sacred Flask. Items called Tears can be infused to create unique effects when drinking from this Sacred Flask. Once you have your Flask of Wondrous Physick, look for the "Mix Wondrous Physicks" option in the Lost Grace menu to get started.
Assign Ashes of War, And Tailor Armor
Ashes of War are a new system in Elden Ring that lets players customize the special attacks and alter the scaling of their weapons. Though the Broadsword starts with the Stomp ability, for example, giving it the Kick Ash of War replaces this stomp with a guard-breaking kick. Select "Ashes of War" to customize these abilities, but make sure to find the Whetstone Knife first or you won't be able to customize them at all (hint: check the Gatefront Ruins).
Additionally, players can now customize their Armor, though this appears to be only cosmetic. Tailoring Tools is a key item that can be found at the end of a cave located in southeastern Limgrave. Once they've been acquired, select the alteration option when resting at a Site of Lost Grace to see the customization options for Armors in your inventory.
Pass Time, Sort Chest, And Talk To Melina
The day-night cycle of Elden Ring changes some things in the Lands Between depending on the time. As such, it's sometimes a good idea to wait rather than go get lost, especially at night. The option to "Pass Time" lets players choose the time of day that they want to stop resting at the Site of Lost Grace.
Aside from that, though, the last two options are pretty standard for FromSoftware games. You can choose "Sort Chest" to manage your inventory and store items you don't want to carry, and can choose "Talk to Melina" to talk to your maiden and learn a little bit about her story and the world around you.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.