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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree added some new Faith incantations, such as Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns. While the base game already features two Aspect of the Crucible incantations, players can now find two new incantations called Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns and Aspect of the Crucible: Bloom.

Aspect of the Crucible: Bloom can be found on a corpse near the Ravine North site of grace in Rauh Ruins. However, you will have to grind for the Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns incantation. Here’s how you can get this spell in the Elden Ring DLC.

elden ring gravesite plain scadutree fragment location
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - All Scadutree Fragment Locations in Gravesite Plain

This guide will help players find every Scadutree Fragment in the Gravesite Plain, the first area in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

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Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns Location in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

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To get the Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns incantation, you will have to defeat the Golden Hippopotamus guarding the entrance to Shadow Keep in Shadow of the Erdtree. You can fight this boss by taking the lift from the main gate of Shadow Keep. After taking the lift, rest at the Shadow Keep Main Gate site of grace and then enter the plaza ahead to start fighting the Golden Hippopotamus. Once defeated, you will be rewarded with the Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns incantation and two Scadutree Fragments.

The Golden Hippopotamus is one of the more annoying bosses in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Right as you enter its arena, it will start running at you with its mouth wide open and will grab you unless you roll sideways. If it grabs you, the chances of surviving are low as it will quickly follow up with a smash attack using its giant head.

In its first phase, the Golden Hippopotamus mostly uses its mouth grab and face slam attacks. Most of its attacks can be dodged by rolling sideways towards its body. However, once its HP drops to near 50%, the Golden Hippopotamus grows thorns on its back and becomes a little more agile. With its thorny back, it will now be able to perform a rolling attack similar to the Godskin Noble and execute a spin attack that launches thorns in all directions.

Using the Mimic Tear summon can help you beat the Golden Hippopotamus in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. You can also summon Redmane Freyja for the fight if you have progressed her questline. As it is a living animal, you can always use a bleed build to quickly take down the hippopotamus. Another option is using a stance-breaking build to deal huge chunks of damage from ripostes.

What Does the Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns Incantation Do?

Elden Ring Aspects of the Crucible Thorns

The Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns is an Erdtree incantation with a requirement of 27 Faith. To equip and use this spell, you need one empty memory slot and 20 FP. On casting the spell, the character drops to the ground and launches thorns from their back in all directions.

The Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns can be charged to deal more damage and have more range. To buff this spell, you can use Flock’s Canvas Talisman for extra incantation damage and Godfrey Icon for extra charged damage. Equipping the full Crucible Axe Set or Crucible Tree Set can provide a sweet 14% damage boost.