Traverse Ainsel River and uncover all bosses and items with our complete Elden Ring walkthrough.
List of Contents
If you’re aiming to complete all of the optional content, track your progress through the Ainsel River with our interactive map of the region.
Ainsel River Interactive Map and Region Guide
| Ways to Get into the Ainsel River |
|---|
| Method 1: Ainsel River Well |
| Method 2: Ranni's Questline |
| Method 3: Coffin in the Nameless Eternal City (Deeproot Depths) |
| 1 | 
Start from the Eastern Tableland Site of Grace and make your way down and around the hill, heading northeast to the Ainsel River Well Elevator. |
|---|---|
| 2 |  At the bottom, touch the Ainsel River Well Depths Site of Grace. |
| 1 |  Give Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade after finding it in Nokron. She will give you the Carian Inverted Statue after talking to her. |
|---|---|
| 2 |  Use the teleporter in the now unlocked Renna's Rise. It will take you to Ainsel River Main.Note: If the teleporter is inaccessible, try using the Carian Inverted Statue at the Carian Study Hall then come back. |
| 1 |  From the Nameless Eternal City Site of Grace in the Deeproot Depths, head west to the edge of the waterfall. |
|---|---|
| 2 |  Ride the coffin to Ainsel River Main. |
| Paths Through Ainsel River |
|---|
| Path 1: To the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella |
| Path 2: Ainsel River Main (Ranni's Questline) |
| 1 |  From the Ainsel River Well Depths Site of Grace, head down and left into the tunnel, being careful of the giant ants that hang from the ceiling. |
|---|---|
| 2 |  Turn right at the fork and follow the river. Be careful of the ants that roam the tunnel. Keep heading downstream. |
| 3 |  Keep following the river straight through the tunnel. |
| 4 |  Head upstairs towards the Ainsel River Sluice Gate Site of Grace |
| 5 |  Touch the Ainsel River Sluice Gate Site of Grace then use the elevator and head down. |
| 6 |  If you want to kill the Malformed Star in the next room, make your way to the far right side of the room. |
| 7 |  Head through the small tunnel. |
| 8 |  On the other side, climb up the pillars to reach the Malformed Star and kill it. |
| 9 |  A merchant can be found in the room to the northwest, underneath where the naturalborn was. Head west to find the Ainsel River Downstream Site of Grace. |
| 10 |  Touch the Ainsel River Downstream Site of Grace. |
| 11 |  Follow the river and enter the path to the right, past the ants. |
| 12 |  Once past the ants, go right then left into a small tunnel. |
| 13 | 
At the end of the tunnel you will fight the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella. after defeating him, you can find a Great Ghost Glovewort inside the chest under the throne. Then, touch the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella Site of Grace. |
| Note: Entering Ainsel River in this way will not let you access the northern half of Ainsel River or the Lake of Rot. Use Method 2 or Method 3 to get to Ainsel River Main. |
| 1 |  Pick up Miniature Ranni from a nearby coffin. Make sure to talk to her and exhaust her dialogue at every Site of Grace you pass by. |
|---|---|
| 2 |  Make your way down the river. You will face another Malformed Star. Use the ruins as cover and make your way to it and defeat it. |
| 3 |  Go through the archway behind the defeated Malformed Star. |
| 4 |  Keep going down and following the river's path. |
| 5 |  Enter through the open door. |
| 6 |  Through the door you will find Nokstella, Eternal City. |
| 7 |  Touch the Nokstella, Eternal City Site of Grace. |
| 8 |  Past the Site of Grace, keep following the river downstream, defeating or avoiding the enemies along the way. |
| 9 |  At the end of a river you will find a building with an open doorway, enter it. |
| 10 |  Ride the elevator inside, going down. |
| 11 |  At the bottom, touch the Nokstella Waterfall Basin Site of Grace. |
| 12 |  Go forward and head through the tunnel. Be careful of the enemies that inflict Deathblight. |
| 13 |  On the other side you will face the Baleful Shadow. Defeat him to obtain the Discarded Palace Key and continue. Note: Return to the Raya Lucaria Grand Library and use the key to open the chest next to Rennala. Retrieve the Dark Moon Ring from the chest as this will be needed to get to the Moonlight Altar after defeating Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. |
| 14 |  Once he is defeated, proceed through the door and ride the elevator. |
| 15 |  Touch the Lake of Rot Site of Grace. Note: It is recommended to have a good stock of Preserving Boluses or the incantation Flame, Cleanse Me when tackling this area. Otherwise, allocate all flasks to HP flasks if you are out of options. |
| 16 |  Head southwest towards the pillar on an island and step on the plate on the floor. This will raise some platforms that you can walk on. |
| 17 |  Head towards the next pillar and step on its plate. |
| 18 |  The next pillar is pretty far away. Use the platforms in between to recover from scarlet rot. Watch out for the enemies along the way as well. |
| 19 |  Continue heading towards the next pillar island. |
| 20 |  Head between the two torches to continue on to the next area. Stepping on the plate on this pillar island will bring you up to fight an Alabaster Lord optional boss. Defeat him to obtain the Alabaster Lord's Sword. |
| 21 |  Head towards and touch the Grand Cloister Site of Grace. |
| 22 |  Follow the platforms and make your way down to the ground level. |
| 23 |  Make your way to the southwest corner of the area. |
| 24 |  Ride the coffin at the edge of the rot waterfall. |
| 25 |  Make your way to the fog gate at the end of the room. |
| 26 |  Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. |
| 27 |  Touch the Astel, Naturalborn of the Void Site of Grace. |
| 28 |  Head north towards the elevator and ride it to the Moonlight Altar. Note: If this area is blocked off, return to the Raya Lucaria Grand Library and use the Discarded Palace Key to open the chest next to Rennala and retrieve the Dark Moon Ring. |
| Note: This guide only describes the critical path to the main objective. Feel free to explore the other paths and other nearby areas for useful items. |
Walkthrough and Progression Route
| Base Game Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| Limgrave & Weeping Peninsula | Liurnia of the Lakes |
| Siofra River | Caelid |
| Ainsel River | Altus Plateau |
| Mountaintops of the Giants | Leyndell, Ashen Capital |
| Shadow of the Erdtree DLC Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| What to Do First | What to Do After Rellana |
| What to Do After Messmer | What to Do After Consort Radahn |
Ainsel River Walkthrough
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