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It’s no secret thatbeloved developer From Softwareloves the idea of making these absurdly hazardous ‘swamp’ areas. Iterations of this concept have been shown inall the SoulsBorne and Soulslike games, such as the Swamp of Sorrow inDemon’s Souls, Blight Town inDark Souls, Black Gulch inDark Souls 2, Farron Keep inDark Souls 3, The Nightmare Frontier inBloodborne, and even the Ashina Depths inSekiro.Sadly,Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicondoesn’t seem to follow this tradition, but it is technically a separate IP. In any case,these types of areas are typically seen as a massive challenge for those who aren’t the most ‘cautious’ of players.Elden Ringis no exception in this regard, as multiple locations in this absurdly long open-world game will kill the player if they linger for too long.
The largest example of this inElden Ringis the Lake of Rot, the place where allegedly (accordingto the in-game worldbuilding) the ‘Outer God’ of Scarlet Rot connected to Malenia is sealed deep beneath. This massive hazardous site will infect the Tarnished with Rot, a truly horrific status ailment, after stepping in it for more than a couple of seconds. Thankfully, there are a few tips and tricks to get through this area alive, and it’s time to go through them all, step by step.
Updated December 30th, 2023 by Jacob Buchalter:The long and arduous wait for Elden Ring’s first major DLC,Shadow of the Erdtree, has been painful. Granted, everyone wants From Software to take their time and make the best possible product they can, but the wait is still pretty tough. Thankfully, there’s an absurd amount of stuff to explore and do in the base game, even for players who have beaten the game once (or even a couple of times). The Lake of Rot, for example,has a lot more going on in itthan most players give it credit for. So, let’s take a broad look at the region as a whole, what to bring to get through it, and what the Tarnished should expect to find there.
Step One: Reach The Lake Of Rot
Hint, It’s A Lot Deeper Underground Than You Might Think
The Lake of Rot can be found on the main Ainsel River.To get here, players simply need to move southwest from theNokstella Waterfall Basin Site of Grace. Along this path will be a lift that will take the Tarnished all the way down to the starting point of the Lake of Rot (don’t even bother thinking about how that works geographically).
In any case, once the Tarnished rests at the Lake of Rot Shoreside Site of Grace,they will be able to loot the Map Fragment of the area from a nearby corpse on the shore.Funnily enough, after actually reaching this point, the next step involves warping out of here to go gather all the necessary supplies first.
Step Two: Bring The Right Items To Traverse The Lake Of Rot
The Scarlet Rot Status Effect Is No Joke
Exploration in this lethally disgusting (and somehow also beautiful) area of the Lands Between is tricky, and you’ll find that just surviving here will burn through your stockpile of resources rather quickly. Therefore, a great, low-risk way of collecting items while exploring this site is the old ‘tried and true’ method of using ‘Death Runs’. Basically, players make sure to use all their resources first, then they bash their heads against this area over and over, not worrying about using curative items and dying repeatedly until they manage to make it to the next Site of Grace through pure grit. Since every newly activated SoG is technically ‘permanent progress’, this is usually the best method to use, since it allows players to retroactively explore the area more carefully without worrying about progression.
But, for players (in single-player or co-op) who don’t want to use the, albeit a bit cheap, ‘Death Run’ method, thePreserving Boluses are by far the most vital curative tool for staving off the Scarlet Rot.However, the player should be aware that this status effect will begin climbing again the second that the buildup has been neutralized, so typically they’re meant to be used in situations where dying is a real setback, such as during a boss fight.
Preserving Boluses are harder to stock up on, even with all the Merchants in the Lands Between that players can buy from, so it’s absolutely worth it to take the time and obtain the item that allows players to craft these Boluses themselves.To get the ‘recipe’ for Preserving Boluses, the Tarnished will need to take a trip to the Siofra River to get theArmorer’s Cookbook 6.To find the book precisely, simply head to the Siofra River Well, take the long elevator down, then progress forward until there’s a long elevator up leading to the Siofra River Bank.
Head to the Hallowhorn Grounds (AKA where the corpse of the Ancestor Spirit is placed) and face the stairs. Turn entirely around from facing the stairs and head directly to the other side of the riverbank to a small bit of raised terrain.Follow this terrain around to the player’s lefthand side and the Armorer’s Cookbook 6 should be sitting right there, right behind an Ancestral Follower scrounging around in the nearby shrubbery.
All The Other Items (Of Every Type) That Help In The Lake Of Rot
Besides using thePreserving Boluses, there are also several different items that the player can equip to make this area dramatically easier. Here’s all the gear (some of which is even found in the Lake of Rot) inElden Ringthat increases the odds of survival in the Lake of Rot, what it does, and where to find it:
Mushroom Set
Armor Set
The Mushroom Crown is found on a corpse that has been strewn over a pillar in the southeastern corner of the Lake of Rot. The remaining pieces of the set are all found in Seethewater Cave.
Each Armor Piecehas the highest immunity stat compared to all the other armor pieces in the game. The full set gives +243 Immunity.
Flame, Cleanse Me
Incantation
On a corpse in the camp of Fire Monks, just southeast of the Church of Vows.
Cures most status buildups, including Scarlet Rot, while also dealing a small bit of damage to the player in exchange.
Ant’s Skull Plate
Greatshield
Found in Nokstella, the Eternal City,in a small enclosed room with a Nox Swordstress just at the bottom of some stairs.
Grants a high amount of passive Immunity and can also inflict deadly poison on enemies & players if they use enough Shield Bashes on them.
Random drop from the Mausoleum Knight enemies.
Grants a high amount of passive Immunity as well as Robustness and Focus.
Immunizing Horn Charm
Talisman
Found on a corpse in an ant pile near the Ainsel River Downstream Site of Grace.
Mottled Necklace
Found on a corpse at the end of a destroyed bridge on the Siofra River, the location is only accessible from the Four Belfries Waygates.
Raises Immunity, Robustness, and Focus by a pretty sizeable amount when equipped.
The general theme here is thatplayers will want to push their Immunity as high as they possibly can before really exploring the Lake of Rot.Otherwise, they’re just going to be spending a lot of time backtracking and respawning from the Scarlet Rot damage killing them.
Step Three: Explore The Lake Of Rot
There’s A Deceptive Amount Of Loot To Be Found Here
Credit to Otis_Inf for theirElden RingPhotomode Mod used to gather the footage above.
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Runes & Aeonian Butterflies
3+
Once playersactually enter the lake to explore it, they’ll find stone pillars with levers on them sprinkled around the general area that the Tarnished can use to raise platforms that will give them safe ‘areas’ while they’re exploring the lake. There are four pillars in total that are all relatively close to one another; and when all of them are activated, a sizeable path through a large portion of the Lake will open.
As the player wanders along these platforms, they’ll also encounter the iconic Basilisks From Software fans know and ‘love’ that can make this portion of the Lake an absolute pain to get through. Eventually, the Tarnished will reach a side of the Lake that gives them the opportunity to continue on to the Grand Cloister. However, if they decide to explore more of the Lake andhead towards the eastern side of the Lake, they’ll find the Field Boss of the area, the Dragonkin Soldier.
Side-Step, Lake Of Rot Mini-Boss: The Dragonkin Soldier
At This Point, You’ve Probably Already Fought A Dragonkin Soldier Before
In order tofight the Dragonkin Soldier on a semi-even playing field,the Tarnished will need to make sure to raise several large platforms around the boss by stepping on a weighted pad on an eastern pillar.This allows the player to fight the boss without having to constantly worry about the Scarlet Rot ailment, which, with the platforms lowered, can make this not-so-difficult boss quite a pain to deal with otherwise.
The best way to take care of this boss quickly is to dive in as quickly as possible. While the Dragonkin Soldier is spawning from underneath the ‘water’, the player will be able to get a bunch of free hits before the boss actually starts swinging. After that, follow all the standard strategies for fighting any of the other Dragonkin Soldier bosses that appear multiple times throughout the game and follow the golden rule of keeping away from its front as much as possible. While these gigantic soldiersaren’t exactly the most ‘difficult’ boss fights in the game, learning all their moves is still something worth doing:
Attack Description
Arm Sweep
A long sweep in a cone in front of the boss with one arm.
Spinning Claw
Uses the right claw to drag along the ground clockwise around itself.
Grasping Slam
Crawls a bit forward before reaching out with its right claw fully, slamming it down to create a shockwave.
Close-Range Slam
Fully raises its left hand up before slamming it down close to itself, creating a powerful shockwave.
Elbow Slam
Lifts right elbow up before slamming it down, creating a shockwave near the point of impact.
Slam & Shovel
Shoves the left claw into the ground parallel to its body, creating a shockwave. Then, a second later, rips up the earth to free its claw, creating another shockwave before lunging forward with the same arm and flopping down.
Two-Handed Hammer Slam
Raises both hands clasped together above its head before slamming them down in front, creating a larger-than-usual shockwave.
Belly Flop
Slowly stands up, creating small shockwaves with each movement to do so. Then, immediately falls forward onto its stomach, creating a huge shockwave on impact.
Standing Slam & Shovel
Same as Slam & Shovel, but the Soldier stands first, additionally, it doesn’t do the lunging part of the attack either.
Roaring Barrage
Lets out a roar that staggers players nearby, slams its right claw down to create a shockwave, and lunges forward with its left claw, before ending the combo with a sweep with the right claw.
Step 5: Fully Loot The Lake Of Rot
Clearing Out The Items Hidden Throughout The Rest Of The Lake
Past the Dragonkin Soldier (whether the Tarnished kills it or not), there will be several small areas that give the player a couple of itemslikehigh-level Somber Smithing Stones (6, 8, & 9)and theNomadic Warrior’s Cookbook 22.
The Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook 22 is an item that will give the Tarnished the ability to craft Rot Pots, Rot Grease, and Drawstring Rot Grease from their inventories.
After raising the fourth and final platform, the player will be raised up to an area where they can fight anAlabaster Lordto get hisAlabaster Lord’s Sword. Once the player has all these items, they’ve pretty much cleared out everything important in the Lake of Rot and can confidently continue the Grand Cloister. This, of course, eventually leads to the Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
Golden Seed
Upgrade Material
One is obtained from the Ulcerated Tree Spirit near the waterfall at the bottom of the Cloiser’s Entrance.
Scorpion’s Stinger
Weapon (Dagger)
Just inside the Temple entrance guarded by Lesser Kindreds of Rot.
Ghost Glovewort (9)
After reaching the bottom of the Cloister’s entrance, head across the small ‘river’ of Scarlet Rot and it should be guarded by Lesser Kindreds of Rot just on the other side.
Smithing Stone 6
On one of the corpses in front of the waterfall the Ulcerated Tree Spirit bursts out from.
Smithing Stone 7
In this last ‘area’,which may as well be its own separate zone, the player won’t need to worry too much about the Scarlet Rot because there is another Site of Grace right at the start of this area. The Grand Cloister has a number of Kindred of Rot enemies that aren’t exactly ‘difficult’ to face on their own but can become very overwhelming if fought as a group.There will also be a hidden Ulcerated Tree Spirit that will ambush the player in a hidden path at the bottom of the small Rot ‘waterfall’ near the Grand Cloister’s entrance thatwill yield aGolden Seed once it’s killed.
Players who make enough progress in Ranni the Witch’s NPC Questline will eventually need to go through the Grand Cloister and beat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void in order to reach the last ‘area’ of her Questline, the Moonlight Altar.
Once the player has killed all the Kindred of Rot, they will be able to head inside the main temple where they can pick up theScorpion’s Stinger Daggerin the chest straight right inside the entrance. After this, they can move next to the waterfall and interact with the stone coffin to (for some reason) get inside it and watch the cinematic where they’re transported to the area where the battle against Astel, Naturalborn of the Void takes place.
