Shadow of the Erdtree: Castle Ensis Full Walkthrough

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree introduces a whole new group of painfully difficult bosses and dungeons for Tanrished to explore. Very early in the DLC, players will face several extremely daunting challenges, culminating with the second in a pair of legacy dungeons in Gravesite Plain: Castle Ensis. Even for players making it through Belurat and the Divine Beast Dancing Lion with relative ease, will likely find Castle Ensis to be a much bigger challenge. The area’s boss, Rellana , is already building up something of a reputation among Elden Ring fans. This guide will help players prepare for their journey, providing a complete guide to the Castle Ensis legacy dungeon in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Castle Ensis Walkthrough: Entering Castle Ensis

Defeat the Troll Knight:

Before entering the castle grounds, consider heading below the bridge that leads to the castle and collecting

SotE
‘s Spelldrake Talisman +3
. This is the most powerful magic-damage-negating talisman in
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree,
and it will come in handy during your fight with Rellana, Twin Moon Knight.

The best place to begin your journey through Castle Ensis is the Castle Front site of grace, found just after Ellac Greatbridge. The site of grace is literally at the steps to the castle grounds, and will be the place you return to should you die before reaching the Castle Ensis Checkpoint site of grace.

The first goal in Castle Ensis is to make it over the bridge and past the Troll Knight . Along the bridge, you’ll find a body with a Black Pyrefly . Defeating this enemy awards you with one Somber Smithing Stone [9] , and Royal Magic Grease . You’ll see two obvious paths ahead: a stair set leading up, and an entrance to an unknown chamber. If you head to the area to the left of the stairs, you’ll find a single Somber Smithing Stone [1] on a dead body hanging off the cliff. If you enter the chamber, you’ll find one Lazuli Sorcerer, and a single Shadow Realm Rune [4] . Head up the stairs to continue along the main path.

Reach Castle Ensis Checkpoint:

Head up the hill, and you’ll come to a T in the path. To the right, you’ll see a Dog and a single Messmer Soldier. To the left, you’ll find a Dog and Messmer Soldier standing on a set of wooden stairs that lead to the roof of a building. The main path is to the right, but there is a popular weapon to the left. After dealing with the enemies, head up the stairs to the left. Look for the only tower, and the ladder that leads up to the top. Use the ladder, and you’ll find the Milady Light Greatsword in a chest at the top. Head down and continue up the path into the tunnel.

After you exit the tunnel, you’ll see a dead body that holds a Flight Pinion . Continue up the path, and you’ll find two options: a chamber on the left, and a path on the right. Enter the chamber on the left to find the Loyal Knight’s Cookbook in a chest. The path up is the main path. As you exit the chamber, you’ll see a Black Knight making its way down the path. Take out the knight, and the two Messmer Soldiers sitting by the fire in the small alcove. Head to the top of the hill to find Castle Ensis Checkpoint, and one of Miquella’s Crosses. As usual, there will be a single Scadutree Fragment . There will also be a note from Needle Knight Leda . If you head to the edge of the castle wall, just past the site of grace, you’ll find another Somber Smithing Stone [1] on a dead body.

Castle Ensis Walkthrough: Main Castle Grounds

Open Castle Ensis Front Gate:

When you reach the Castle Ensis Checkpoint site of grace, you’ll notice the main castle gate is closed. Your next goal will be to get the gate open. From the site of grace, head south towards the Messmer Soldier standing at the cliff. Drop to the first ledge and collect the Knot Resin from the dead body. Drop once again, and you’ll see a large hole in the ground. Take a moment to look down, and you’ll notice three Dogs. These foes can converge on you quickly, and they are extremely lethal in a group. Be prepared before you jump, as you’ll need a moment to recover from the drop. Take care of the Dogs and collect the arrows from the dead body. Head out the only available exit.

Exiting the cave, you’ll find you can head left or right. Turning left will take you along the main path, while heading right will lead you along the cliffs to a rooftop. Here you will find Starlight Shards on a dead body sitting at the northwestern peak. Head back the way you came and follow the path along the edge of the waterfall. Watch out for small gaps in the ground, as falling is deadly. Take the path to the end, then jump to the top of the waterfall. Head under the arch, then you’ll see a ladder on the left that will continue the main path, and a cave ahead behind another waterfall. To the left of the cave entrance, you’ll find a body with Drawstring Royal Magic Grease . In the back of the cave you’ll find more Knot Resin. Head back to the ladder and climb to the top.

At the top of the ladder, watch out for a Messmer Solider waiting to ambush you as you enter the door. Beyond, there is a single spear-wielding Messmer Soldier. Head out the door to the left, and straight across to find the mechanism that opens the main gate to Castle Ensis.

Defeat the Moonrithyll Carian Knight:

From the chamber with the gate mechanism, head outside. You can either rest at the Castle Ensis Checkpoint site of grace, or continue on up the stairs. At the top, you’ll find three Messmer Soldiers along a small bridge. After defeating them, you may see the dead body along the cliff to the left at the end of the bridge. It contains only String . Continue up the main path, and pay attention as the buildings close in after the wooden structure on the left. A Dog will jump out from the bushes to attack. At the top of the hill, make a right towards the structure in the distance.

As you proceed along the path, you’ll start getting attacked by disappearing Noble Sorcerers. If you are patient, you can take them out as they reveal themselves. Head to the right of the upcoming stairs to find a ladder that will take you to the top of the large stone block where the Noble Sorcerer is attacking you from above. At the top of the ladder, be careful, as you’ll first encounter a High Page. Just past him, you’ll find a Somber Smithing Stone [6] on a dead body. You’ll see a broken section of wall where you can jump down and take out the last Noble Sorcerer. Now drop to the ground and head up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, you’ll encounter the Moonrithyll Carian Knight. This red-named miniboss packs a serious punch. It is weak to bleed, and is also easily staggered with greatswords. Upon defeat, it will drop the Moonrithyll’s Knight Sword . Before moving on, head to the western corner of the concrete patio area, and you’ll find a set of stairs that lead down to a small chamber. Here, you’ll find the Wolf Crest Shield . Now head back up to the patio, and enter the chapel area.

Rellana’s Cameo, Imbued Sword Key, and Ash of War: Wing Stance:

In the chapel, you’ll find a specter kneeling in front of an altar. Behind the altar, you’ll find the Rellana’s Cameo Talisman. Continue down the hallway, where you find one Lazuli Sorcerer and a Shadow Realm Rune [2] in the hallway, and another Lazuli Sorcerer in the room off the hallway. Turning the corner after picking up the rune, you’ll find a third Lazui Sorcerer waiting to ambush you. Head up the stairs and out the door.

Outside, you’ll be attacked by a Noble Sorcerer on the roof ahead. Hurry through and open the gate to the right. Immediately after opening the gate, you can drop off the ledge to the left. You’ll find a Dewgem on a dead body sitting at the cliff’s edge. You’ll find a ladder right after the body, which takes you to the roof where the Noble Sorcerer was attacking from. Be careful as you get off the ladder, as a Page will be waiting as well. The side of the roof you’re on will be the left side of a U-shaped building. Head to the opposite side to find a Somber Smithing Stone [2] . You can drop off the northeastern side of the roof to find the Glintblade Trio sorcery. Drop off the edge again to end up back where the Wolf Crest Shield was found. Head back through the chapel, and continue through the gate.

This time, after the gate, follow the path past the single spear-wielding Messmer Soldier on the right. After the soldier, you’ll encounter a section that splits into a high path and low path. The high path has a single Messmer Soldier hiding behind several crates. The lower path has two Dogs and multiple Messmer Soldiers guarding a Somber Smithing Stone [5] and Somber Smithing Stone [6] .

Continue along the path and you’ll find a wooden stair set that climbs a tower. Head up, but watch out for the Messmer Soldier you’ll encounter. At the top, turn left to find an Imbued Sword Key in a chest. Turn around and head across the bridge. You’ll encounter a lone Black Knight. Take the lift up behind the knight. At the top, turn left and smash the table to reveal a balcony. On the balcony, you’ll find a Somber Smithing Stone [4] . Now jump over the balcony wall to the ground below. You’ll see a tower with a wooden bridge to the southeast. That is where you are trying to reach. When you get to the tower, head inside and make your way to the top. Inside a chest you’ll find Ash of War: Wing Stance . Now head back down and cross the wooden bridge, head left at the end and use the rock ledges to drop to ground level. You’ll end up back at the lift after the Black Knight. Take it back up, then turn right to find the Castle-Lord’s Chamber site of grace.

Castle Ensis Walkthrough: Rellana, Twin Moon Knight

Defeat Rellana to Access Scadu Altus

Now that you’ve made it to the Castle-Lord’s site of grace, the only thing left to do is take the stairs up to the boss arena, and defeat Rellana . She is a very difficult foe, and stands in the way of reaching the Scadu Altus. While SotE does have a way to skip Rellana, the rewards offered by the Remembrance of the Twin Moon Knight make it a worthy endeavor, to say nothing of the accomplishment itself. Players will have the choice of taking Rellana’s Twin Blade’s , or Rellana’s Twin Moons . You will almost certainly want to collect every Scadutree Fragment in Gravesite Plain before facing Rellana, and even then, she is difficult. You will have the opportunity to summon Needle Knight Leda, though this does seem to make the fight considerably harder. Still, you should absolutely use everything you have at your disposal.

Carian Sorcery Sword:

The last item Castle Ensis has to offer is the Carian Sorcery Sword , which can only be found after you gain access to the Scadu Altus. From the Highroad Cross site of grace, head west and enter the river. You’ll see on the map that the river is U-shaped, and you’ll want to stay on the eastern side. Head to the edge of the river, sticking to the right, and you’ll see that you can jump down to Castle Ensis from above. You’ll land on an unmanned rooftop, where you’ll find the sword in a chest.