Highlights
- Farming is crucial in Soulsborne games, and choosing the right location can make all the difference in maximizing rewards for leveling up characters.
- In Elden Ring, the Bestial Sanctum early game and Mohgwyn's Palace end-game locations offer the best Rune farming spots, with high rewards for killing specific enemies.
- Each game in the Soulsborne series has its own best farming spots, such as the Senpou Temple in Sekiro, the Painted World of Ariamis in Dark Souls Remastered, and the Blood Echoes farm in Bloodborne.
There's nothing gamers love more than a challenge, and few developers understand how to stretch the limits of players' skills quite like FromSoftware. The developer has consistently churned out quality releases since it burst into international stardom with Demon's Souls back in 2009, and its most recent blockbuster, Elden Ring, became the gold standard for action RPGs after an incredible launch that saw it dominate proceedings at The Game Awards in 2022. Like every RPG, FromSoftware's Soulsborne titles often require intense farming for materials and XP to progress past its grueling storylines, headed by bosses that are notoriously difficult to overcome. Each game has multiple farming spots for players to boost their characters' abilities, although some of these farms give considerably more rewards than their counterparts.
Farming is an essential component of RPG gameplay, and in the high stakes of Soulsborne games, hours of grinding can prove to be the difference between gruesome death and the glory of victory when facing a boss like Elden Ring's Malenia. However, farming in just any location can be counterproductive to a player's cause, as some areas require far more expertise than others - and there's a good chance the difference in rewards might not be worth the trouble. There are a few proven methods for gamers to maximize their grinding returns in FromSoftware's challenging Soulsborne subgenre, and these farming spots offer the best return on investment to level up characters en route to taking down that elusive final boss.
Elden Ring
The best Rune Farm in Elden Ring depends on how far players have progressed into The Lands Between with the Tarnished. For the early game, the Bestial Sanctum is the ideal location. Avoiding any contact with the towering boss, the Site of Grace inside the Sanctum has some ninjas for players to sneak up on, and each kill earns the Tarnished about 1000 Runes. The Windmill Village along the coastline of the Altus Plateau is great for mid-game farming, populated by locals that drop 7000 Runes each.
The Godskin Apostle boss is also up for grabs for more ambitious players, with a reward of 14,000 Runes given for his defeat, alongside the Godskin Peeler, and the Scouring Black Flame Incantation. The most valuable Rune farm in Elden Ring is Mohgwyn's Palace, as the end-game location earns players 13000 Runes per head for a round of crow hunting - although the Varre quest must be completed to access this trove.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The Senpou Temple provides the best farming value in Sekiro's early game, rewarding players with a wealth of experience points in seconds. A deranged warrior stands outside Senpou Temple's Main Hall door to the right, and gamers can finish him off and return to the Sculptor's Idol inside the hall. Resting by the idol will respawn the warrior, and repeating the process will earn players 200 XP. For the post-invasion arc of Ashina Castle, the Upper Tower Antechamber is a great farming spot, as players can sneak up on the blue samurai and purple warriors to earn 700 XP. Alternatively, running past both groups of enemies will pit them against themselves, a safer method of earning points.
Dark Souls Trilogy
In Dark Souls Remastered, the Painted World of Ariamis gives players the most reward. Equipping the Covetous Silver Ring and the Symbol of Avarice and hunting the surrounding phalanx enemies can yield up to 10,000 souls in one minute, and the process can be repeated by heading to the nearest bonfire. The Artorias of the Abyss DLC also has great farming potential, with the Oolacile Township containing a few easily-handled twisted Bloatheads that can drop a decent number of souls. For Dark Souls 2, nothing comes close to the Giant Lord for farming souls, as the boss arena has both a bonfire and a Bonfire Ascetic.
Burning a Bonfire Ascetic at The Place Unbeknownst bonfire will significantly increase the souls output - as well as the difficulty. Players can earn around 260,000 souls at bonfire intensity 2, and this amount increases progressively till level 8. The next installment in the series, Dark Souls 3 has many great farming locations, but The Grand Archives level has a highly impressive souls drop per enemy. The Gertrude Knights on the rooftop of the Archives are formidable opponents for even experienced Soulsborne players, but a tactic like using Dark Souls' Rapport pyromancy can secure a win, dropping a whopping 13,000 souls per Knight.
Bloodborne
Blood Echoes can be rare to find in large volumes, but Bloodborne's best farming technique yields jaw-dropping results for gamers. Unlocking the farm can be a challenge, however, as players must beat the Blood-Starved Beast and obtain the Pthumeru Chalice to gain access. Once the Beast is defeated, the second tombstone on the Hunter's Dream can be opened with a glyph, spawning players into the farm. Stepping just outside the first doorway reveals a distant health bar taking damage. Upon the death of this unseen monster, players will earn 83,000 Blood Echoes, and the process can be repeated by returning to Hunter's Dream and loading the chamber again.
Demon's Souls
Just as in Bloodborne, the ultimate farming technique in Demon's Souls requires some preparation. Players will need to pick up the Silver Bracelets and the Ring of Avarice around the Prison of Hope, and also learn the Soul Thirst and Soulsucker spells after unlocking Yuria the Witch before embarking on this journey. The Black Mind Phantom Flayer stands outside the Throne Room of Yormedaar, and activating Soul Thirst before killing the creature with the Soulsucker spell gives players a reward of over 26,000 souls - one of the quickest and most valuable farms in Demon's Souls.