Patches Questline and Location

Patches is an NPC in Elden Ring initially found in Murkwater Cave. Read on to learn more about Patches's location, a full questline guide, lore and more!

Patches Character Profile

Patches
Description	A shifty purveyor of goods.
Initial Location	Limgrave Can be found squatting inside Murkwater Cave.
Merchant	Yes
Items Dropped	・800 Runes (NG) ・ Spear+7 x1 ・Leather Armor x1 ・Leather Gloves x1 ・Leather Boots x1 ・Patches' Bell Bearing x1

Where is Patches?

Limgrave

Map Location
World View

Players will first find Patches inside Murkwater Cave in Limgrave. To unlock the fog gate blocking the entrance to the cave, you will first need to defeat the invader, Bloody Finger Nerijus.

Patches Questline

How to Complete Patches' Questline

As of Patch 1.04, Patches' questline now has updated progression after he appears in the Shaded Castle. Read on to learn how to get Patches' signature pose, the Patches' Crouch during his questline.

Defeat Patches in Murkwater Cave

Patches
Weakness	Resistance	Immune
Lightning Bleed Frost Scarlet Rot Poison	━	Sleep Madness
HP	1191 (NG)
Affected By	Poison, Scarlet Rot, Bleed, Frost
Spirit Ashes Available?	No
Rune Rewards	800 (NG)
Summonable NPCs	None
Location	・Murkwater Cave, Limgrave
Item Drops	・Spear+7 ・Leather Armor

Players will first encounter Patches as a boss. Loot the chest inside Murkwater Cave's boss room to trigger the fight. The goal is to get him down to half HP as he will surrender once you do.

Warning: If players kill Patches when he surrenders, his questline will end. Absolution will not work in this case, so make sure to spare him if you want to progress his questline.

Tips for Beating Patches
Use backstabs when he shoots poison
Wait for his shield to drop to counter attack
Dodge left or right to avoid his spear thrusts

Wait until his large shield is down to attack

Patches carries a large shield that will block most ranged attacks. Luckily, his attacks leave him wide open. When his shield is down, keep your distance and fire off your magic spells.

Lock on to follow him during his poison attack

Patches will spit out a poison cloud that makes it hard to see, and he'll usually try to follow this up with an attack. It has a fairly large radius, so keep locked on and get back to track him through the cloud.

Use a dagger or light-weight sword

Patches doesn't have much health (especially considering he'll yield halfway through the fight), so you don't need to worry about dealing heavy damage. Just chip away at his health between dodging his spear and he'll drop in no time.

Keep strafing right or left to dodge most attacks

His triple spear thrust is easy to predict and dodge, so once you get the rhythm of his attacks down, you shouldn't take many hits. Lock on with R3, keep moving left or right, and strike him once after he misses his attack.

Return to the Cave and See Patches' Emporium

If you spared Patches, reloading the area by leaving and coming back will make him available to you as a merchant. There will also be additional dialogue if you return, including an option asking about the new chest at the back of his cave.

Get Transported to the Mistwood (Optional)

If players open the chest behind Patches, they will be transported to the middle of the Mistwood in East Limgrave. Since the chest was a trap chest, you will not be able to fast travel away until you rest at a site of grace.

Escape the Mistwood and return to Patches in Murkwater Cave. Forgive him for the trap to progress his questline.

Speak to Patches in Liurnia's Scenic Isle

Map Location
World View

Once players enter Liurnia of the Lakes, Patches will move and set up shop near the Scenic Isle site of grace. Speak to him and he will tell you about an Iron Maiden at the bottom of the Academy of Raya Lucaria that is said to transport people to the foot of the Erdtree.

Warning: As with most of Patches' advice, this one is also a trap. Getting grabbed and killed by the Iron Maiden will send players to a very difficult location under the Volcano Manor in Mt. Gelmir.

Get Transported to the Volcano Manor

For players who want to follow Patches' advice, head over to the Academy of Raya Lucaria and take the waterwheel elevator all the way down. Have yourself get grabbed by the Iron Maiden at the bottom and you will be instantly transported to a difficult location in the Volcano Manor.

Note: If players take this route, Patches will no longer be encounterable on Mt. Gelmir. Instead, he will already be in Volcano Manor after you join the Recusants.

Follow Patches' Rainbow Road on Mt. Gelmir

Map Location
World View

Upon reaching the Altus Plateau, Patches will leave a message on the road to Volcano Manor for players to find. It will tell you to follow the rainbow stones to get treasure.

Reaching the end of the rainbow stone trail will trigger a cutscene where Patches kicks you to the bottom of the ravine. Prepare for a fight as there will be multiple Basilisks here that induce the Death status effect. Defeat them and simply fast travel out to continue on your way.

Complete Patches' Request in Volcano Manor

Map Location
World View

You will next find Patches upon joining the Recusants of Volcano Manor. Again, he will set up shop in the hallway leading into the main room. Progress the Volcano Manor questline until Patches gives you a contract to kill Great Horned Tragoth for him.

Invade and defeat Tragoth then return to Patches. Speak to him to tell him the deed is done before reloading the area and speaking to him again for the Magma Whip Candlestick reward.

Quest Objectives
Defeat Magma Wyrm Makar
Complete the First Two Volcano Manor Requests
Invade the Great Horned Tragoth

Defeat Magma Wyrm Makar

To access Tragoth's invasion sign, players will need to defeat Magma Wyrm Makar. Once defeated, reload the area to get the invasion sign to appear.

How to Beat Magma Wyrm Makar

Complete the First Two Volcano Manor Requests

Istvan Location	Rileigh Location

Defeat Old Knight Istvan in Limgrave and Rileigh the Idle in the Altus Plateau to trigger Patches' next quest. Once you kill these two targets, speak to Patches and he will hand you a new assignment.

Invade the Great Horned Tragoth

Return to the area where you defeated Magma Wyrm Makar. Tragoth's invasion sign should be inside the boss room. Invade and defeat him to progress Patches' questline.

Note: Killing the Great Horned Tragoth before defeating Radahn will remove him as a gold summon for that boss battle.

Speak to Patches at the Shaded Castle

Map Location
World View

After players defeat Rykard at the Volcano Manor, Patches will leave the area along with the other NPCs. He will relocate to the Shaded Castle, on the walkway leading to Elemer of the Briar boss fight.

Speak to him and he will tell you that he feels sorry for what became of Lady Tanith. During your conversation, he gives you the Dancer's Castanets key item. Give it to Tanith to progress Patches' questline.

Quest Objectives
Complete the Volcano Manor Questline
Defeat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

Complete the Volcano Manor Questline

In order to unlock this interaction, players will need to progress the Volcano Manor questline. This includes killing Old Knight Istvan in Limgrave, Rileigh the Idle in the Altus Plateau, and Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood at the Mountaintops of the Giants.

Volcano Manor Walkthrough

Defeat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

To get Patches to move, players will have to defeat Rykard at the bottom of Volcano Manor. Once this boss is defeated, all the Volcano Manor NPCs will leave their previous locations.

Note: Immediately completing this step will stop many of the other NPC questlines in Volcano Manor. For players who want to complete everything, make sure you have completed all character interactions before slaying the serpent.

How to Beat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

Defeat Patches Again in Murkwater Cave

Map Location
World View

After Patch 1.04, Patches will return to his original location in Murkwater Cave after you meet him at the Shaded Castle. This will be another rehash of the original boss battle. Damage him, wait for a moment, and he will eventually surrender.

Speak to Patches after he surrenders to receive his signature Patches' Crouch gesture. Speak to him and exhaust his dialogue before reloading the area to once again gain access to Patches' Emporium, his merchant shop.

Alternatively, you can (finally) kill Patches. Upon death, he will drop his spear, his Leather Armor, as well as his Bell Bearing which unlocks more items from the Twin Maiden Husks at Rountable Hold.

Patches Shop Items

Lore and Trivia

Lore

• When the Tarnished first meets Patches, he will accuse them of thievery and immediately challenge them to a battle. Midway through, he will surrender after finding himself outmatched. It is after this that an uneasy truce is made between Patches and the Tarnished.
• According to Patches, he is also Tarnished, claiming to be untethered as he roams about the Lands Between searching for any and all kinds of opportunities. True to his word, Patches will move to Liurnia, meeting the Volcano Manor's scout, Rya, and providing information about a malfunctioning Iron Maiden that should teleport players to the base of the Erdtree.
• Eventually, Patches will reveal that he is actually part of Volcano Manor. Like many recusants, Patches claims that the Greater Will and the Two Fingers are a charade for the foolish.
• After Rykard falls and Tanith goes mad, Patches tries to bring back the Proprietress of the Volcano Manor from her insanity. This does not go to plan, forcing the petty thief to return to his old haunt in Murkwater Cave.

Trivia

• Patches is a recurring character in the Souls-series, appearing as far back as Demon Souls. He goes by different titles for each game. In Elden Ring, he calls himself Patches the Untethered.
• The Black Hood that completes Patches' armor set can be found inside the Sage's Cave in the Altus Plateau.
• If players kill the Great Horned Tragoth for Patches, he will replace Tragoth as the gold summon during the Starscourge Radahn boss battle. However, when summoned, Patches will take a quick look at Radahn before teleporting out and leaving you to fight the general by yourself.

Patches Quotes

Elden Ring Related Guides

Shadow of the Erdtree NPCs

All Elden Ring NPCs

Other NPC Guides