While most of the areas in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree are insane hellholes, the Abyssal Woods region takes the “insane” part to the next level. It’s an area filled with Madness and Madness-themed enemies, ruled by the Frenzied Flame God. Getting there and navigating it is, thus, madness-inducing. But don’t stay mad– it’s not that bad; with my Abyssal Woods guide, you’ll feel like a chad. Check this Abyssal Woods guide for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree before venturing there.
Requirements for the Abyssal Woods in Elden Ring
You need to have completed the following requirements before you can venture into the Abyssal Woods.
- Defeat the Golden Hippopotamus.
- Unlock the shortcut in the Shadow Keep (before the Storehouse, First Floor (Grace).
- (Optional) Have at least Scadutree Blessing 10+.
The Abyssal Woods and the area leading to it are difficult gauntlets. You can’t just zoom past every enemy using Torrent since you can’t summon him for half of your journey in finding the Abyssal Woods.
Where To Find the Abyssal Woods in Elden Ring
Once you’ve met the requirements above, it’s time to look for a secret entrance (illusory wall) into the river leading to Abyssal Woods. Below are more specific instructions on where to find the Abyssal Woods.
Illusory Wall in the Shadow Keep Sewers
- You can start from two locations, either from the Main Gate Plaza or the Storehouse First Floor. Follow the white trail in the image.
- Jump down to the canal, make sure to land on solid flooring, not the water.
- Go inside where the water falls. Climb down the ladder and into the Shadow Keep sewers.
- In the room with the painting, hit the clean wall on the right, this is an illusory wall.
- Proceed through the sewers and interact with the coffin. This will transport you to the Castle Watering Hole Grace and into the river path that leads to Darklight Catacombs (entrance to Abyssal Woods).
Follow the River Into Darklight Catacombs
The map image above is a simple summary of the journey here. The green trail is surface traversal, the red trail is underground traversal.
- Use Torrent to run past enemies; there are too many of them.
- Run past the Furnace Golem and insect enemies and jump down the riverside cliffs using Torrent.
- Once you get to the Darklight Catacombs, progress through the area.
- You’ll eventually find Jori, Elder Inquisitor at the end of the dungeon.
- Defeat Jori, Elder Inquisitor (use Mimic Tear or whatever, he doesn’t fight fair anyway).
Once you’ve defeated Jori, Elder Inquisitor, that’s it. You’ll unlock the Forsaken Graveyard Grace in the boss arena and that should serve as your entrance to the Abyssal Woods.
The Abyssal Woods area is unique as far as Elden Ring open-world regions go since you can’t use Torrent here. Torrent will be too scared to summon due to the Madness in the area.
Navigating to Midra’s Manse in the Abyssal Woods
If you want the safest path to the Abyssal Woods, the map image above is what I recommend. The path leads into Midra’s Manse, which houses the Abyssal Woods boss. It’s one of the most fun and definitive boss fights in Shadow of the Erdtree, don’t miss it.
Before you venture there, however, read on as there’s a certain enemy type that makes stealth mandatory in this region. There aren’t many enemies in the Abyssal Woods, but there’s one enemy type to avoid.
Hide From the Madness Lantern Enemies
These are nigh-unkillable enemies in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Once they see you, they’ll chase you around and inflict Madness on you. It’s hard to run away from them since they move too fast, and their wands can immobilize you while they inflict Madness.
You can’t hit them, sadly. So you’re left with no choice but to run away or hide. You can try parrying and riposting their wands which can kill them, but this might be a bug or an unintended interaction. Besides, parrying their wands is hard since the animation doesn’t sync well with the timing.
Hide in the tall grass, but avoid bumping into the yellow fruity plants, as they will alarm the enemy to your location.
Once you get to Midra’s Manse, it’s straightforward, and there’s no more need for stealth. You can also try to outrun these unkillable enemies while using Clarifying Boluses, but it’s a dangerous speedrun method.
Detour South for Scadutree Fragments
You can also head down south then southeast from the Forsaken Graveyard to grab a couple of Scadutree Fragments in the Abandoned Church. There’s also a Grace there, but I wouldn’t use it as a starting point to venture west to Midra’s Manse since it’s not the safest route.
You might lose your way in the Abyssal Woods, but hopefully, you don’t lose your mind while navigating this mad area in Elden Ring.
