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Whetblades in Elden Ring aren’t just for sharpening your hammers or other weapons that aren’t necessarily for bludgeoning. They are also for infusing magical properties, allowing you to min-max your build. You need them if you want to specialize in a particular stat or playstyle. So we’re here to present you with the locations of all the Whetblades in Elden Ring, complete with map markers and screenshots, so you get a better chance at familiarizing yourself with the game’s RPG systems before Shadow of the Erdtree arrives.
Whetstone Knife – Gatefront Ruins, Limgrave
Prioritize this one. It lets you customize most of the weapons with different Ashes of War (weapon skills). Moreover, you can further increase the weapon’s basic scaling properties (Standard affinity).
You can find this near the center of the Gatefront Ruins. It’s the ruined enemy base just outside of Stormgate (where Melina introduces herself, usually).
You’ll need to go down some dank stairs in a dark room that contains a chest. As a bonus, the Whetstone Knife shares the chest with the Ash of War: Storm Stomp, so you can experiment with it.
Iron Whetblade – Stormveil Castle, Limgrave
The Iron Whetblade is your next stop if you want a build that focuses on Physical damage but with a specialization in either Strength or Dexterity (or both).
It’s a must-have for most melee builds in Elden Ring, as it lets you infuse weapons with the following affinities:
- Heavy (changes weapon scaling to Strength)
- Keen (changes weapon scaling to Dexterity)
- Quality (changes weapon scaling Strength and Dexterity)
This one can be tricky to unlock as you’ll first need a Stonesword Key to unlock the Imp Statue in the armory room next to the hall with the roaming Grafted Scion enemy inside Stormveil Castle.
You can just mark the location on the map as a reminder and come back to it once you have a Stonesword Key.
Glintstone Whetblade – Raya Lucaria Academy, Liurnia of the Lakes
Spellblades and Battlemages will want this Whetblade in Elden Ring. It gives the following affinity scaling for weapons:
- Magic (changes weapon scaling to Intelligence, adds Magic damage)
- Cold (changes weapon scaling to Intelligence, adds Cold damage)
Thankfully, you don’t need any tricks or trinkets to unlock this one. The Debate Parlor Grace is the nearest, so starting from there, head up to the courtyard area with the collapsed stairs.
Look for the room with the Twinsage Sorcerer, and once inside, look for a window with a hanging corpse.
The corpse by the window contains the Whetblade.
Red-Hot Whetblade – Redmane Castle, Caelid
Pyromancers ought to grab this one right away, though it’s a bit tricky to find since it involves evading an Abductor Virgin enemy.
Still, the juice is worth the squeeze for you pious pyromaniacs as this Elden Ring Whetblade gives the following affinity to weapons:
- Fire (changes weapon scaling to Strength, adds Fire damage)
- Flame Art (changes weapon scaling to Faith, adds Fire damage)
Starting from the Chamber Outsize the Plaza Grace in Redmane Castle, Caelid, head out to the southern gate and run past the flamethrower enemies, head right.
Afterward, enter the door past the roaming Abductor Virgin.
Sanctified Whetblade – Fortified Manor, Leyndell
Sadly, Faith-builds and zealous lightning slingers will have to wait until the mid-game for their weapon upgrades. You don’t get to access the Sanctified Whetblade until you unlock Leyndell. And even if you unlock Leyndell much earlier, you might have a difficult time as the Fortified Manor is a tough place for low-level Tarnished.
Regardless, the Whetblade will give your weapon the following affinity upgrades:
- Lightning (changes weapon scaling to Dexterity, adds Lightning damage)
- Sacred (changes weapon scaling to Faith, adds Holy damage)
We’ll start from the West Capital Rampart Grace. From there, head to the side of the Fortified Manor (the one with the Erdtree roots near the buried roof).
Enter from the broken roof and look for a corpse right next to an anvil.
Black Whetblade – Nokron, Eternal City
For this one, you’ll need to advance Ranni’s questline a bit to access the Night’s Sacred Ground in Nokron, Eternal City. Or you could just stumble upon it through the underground entrance in Limgrave. It unlocks the following affinity for your weapons:
- Blood (changes weapon scaling to Strength and Dexterity, adds Blood Loss buildup)
- Poison (changes weapon scaling to Strength and Dexterity, adds Poison buildup)
- Occult (changes weapon scaling to Arcane)
Once you’re in Night’s Sacred Ground roof area, keep going where there’s a path to follow and for a cathedral window. There’s an altar there with a corpse. Loot the corpse for the Whetblade.
Once you have all the Whetblades in Elden Ring, you don’t really need to perform another special action. Their corresponding affinity upgrades will be available right away from any blacksmith or in the upgrade window from Sites of Grace.
