Like FromSoftware's other games, Elden Ring is an extremely challenging experience that will push players to their absolute limit. Many of the bosses in Elden Ring pose a significant threat to players, sometimes forcing them to farm for runes to level up their stats if they hope to stand a chance. Elden Ring players have discovered a few spots that are ideal for rune farming, but many are in agreement that one spot in particular is far and away the best there is.
The best Elden Ring rune farming location takes a bit of work to get to, but it's still accessible fairly early in the game if players know where to go. For those that already have a significant portion of the map unlocked, the spot is located at the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site of Grace, which is the "underground" area that players can see by opening the map and then clicking in the right stick.
If players do not have this Site of Grace unlocked, itself located in Mohgwyn Palace, they will first need to do some prerequisite work. Step one is to defeat Godrick the Grafted, one of the most challenging early-game bosses. Upon successfully defeating Godrick, players will want to speak with White-Faced Varre, who is one of the very first NPCs that players talk to in the game, usually located at the First Step Site of Grace. However, upon beating Godrick, players will discover that White-Faced Varre has moved to a different location.
Where to Find White-Faced Varre After Godrick Fight in Elden Ring
White-Faced Varre is now located at the Rose Church, which is in the swampy area north of Stormveil Castle and south of the academy. There is no Site of Grace located at Rose Church, so players will need to hoof it there even if they've visited the location before. Speak with White-Faced Varre upon arrival and always choose the top dialogue option. This will get Elden Ring players Festering Bloody Fingers, which are used to invade other players' game worlds.
Using the Festering Bloody Fingers, invade three other players. Win, lose, or draw, completing three Elden Ring invasions will complete this step. Next talk to White-Faced Varre again to get the Lord of Blood's Favor item. Once players have the Lord of Blood's Favor, it's time to return to the game's starting area, the Chapel of Anticipation.
How to Get Back to Chapel of Anticipation in Elden Ring
To get back to the Chapel of Anticipation in Elden Ring, players need to visit the Four Belfries. These are four towers located northwest of the academy. To get to the road that leads to it, players will want to head slightly southwest from Rose Church. In any case, upon reaching the Four Belfries, go to the tower on the highest hill and loot the chest here to get the Imbued Sword Key. Now turn around and head to the closest tower, located one hill down. Use the Imbued Sword Key here to open a portal that leads back to the Chapel of Anticipation.
When Elden Ring players return to the Chapel of Anticipation, they will find the boss that killed them at the very beginning of the game is still alive and kicking. It shouldn't be that difficult to kill them now; do so and then continue back into the actual church. Players can use the Lord of Blood's Favor on the corpse leaning against the wall to dye it with maiden's blood. When this is done, return to Rose Church and talk with White-Faced Varre again.
Agree with everything White-Faced Varre says, then keep talking with him until he coughs up the Pureblood Knight's Medal. This item will be located under the "Tools" section in one's Elden Ring inventory. Use it to be transported immediately to Mohgwyn Palace, which is the area where the rune farming spot is located.
Best Rune Farming Spot in Elden Ring
Before doing anything else, it's a good idea to run straight ahead, up the stairs, and activate that Site of Grace. The path to the rune farming Site of Grace is a treacherous one, and so this will make it much easier in case players die on the way there. When that's done, turn around and start moving through the forest, hugging the wall on the right to avoid being killed. Maneuver through the blood lakes to finally reach the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site of Grace.
This is one of the most famous Elden Ring farming spots as the enemies on the path here can be killed for a lot of runes. However, a trick makes this Elden Ring farming spot even better. To pull it off, Elden Ring players need a ranged weapon of some kind, like a crossbow or a spell. Ignore the enemies on the path here and instead pay attention to the large bird-like monster located beyond the gap.
If one is positioned correctly, it should be possible to lock-on to the bird monster. Shoot it with something, and, assuming one has positioned their Elden Ring character correctly, the bird should run off the cliff to its death. To shoot, equip a bot, hold it in both hands, then use RB/R1 to load an arrow. Use RB/R1 again to fire. Appropriate ammunition will need to be equipped in the slots on the Equipment Screen.
Players can then rest at the nearby Site of Grace to reset everything, banking a cool 11,000 runes every time they do this. It's not even necessary to wait for the bird to run off the cliff to its death before resting at the Site of Grace, which speeds up the process even further and lets players get an absurd number of runes very quickly.
Of course, there are ways that Elden Ring players can enhance this rune farming spot even further. To do this, Elden Ring players need to use items like the Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot or the Golden Scarab. These items increase the number of runes that Elden Ring players get for defeating enemies, so using those in conjunction with this farming spot will essentially give players as many runes as they want.
Now, it's possible that FromSoftware will release an Elden Ring update that patches this trick out of the game, and so fans should keep that in mind. It's unclear if the developers meant for it to be possible for this bird to fall off the cliff to its death, especially since there are areas where it will simply walk against the cliffside and not fall off. Because of this, there's a chance that the developers will consider this a rune farming exploit and want to be rid of it.
It's also possible that there are even better rune farming spots besides this one hiding in Elden Ring's massive open world. After all, Elden Ring is a huge game and fans have only had a couple of weeks to explore it so far. There may be ways to build up runes at an even faster rate that fans haven't even though of yet, either through legitimate means or methods that border on exploits like this particular Elden Ring rune farming trick.
There may be better Elden Ring rune farming tricks and there may be a time when this one is patched out of the game. For now, though, this bird trick makes one of the best Elden Ring rune farming spots even better.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
