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But if they did, then they can be picky with which Stonesword locks (or imp statues) to unlock. Because some of them might have disappointing rewards or are simply not worth the danger and the effort. So in order to maximize those Stonesword Keys in Elden Ring, make sure to prioritize unlocking these places first. They contain either useful meta items or lead to some big, secret places.

Fringefolk Hero’s Grave - Limgrave (Two Keys)

Even as early as the tutorial area, players can spot one of those foggy Stonesword locked passages. It’s near the Stranded Graveyard Site of Grace, just standing in front of the site. If players are fresh in a New Game playthrough at single-digit levels, it’s not advised to unlock this as the whole dungeon is a gauntlet of death and despair.

Gain a couple of dozen levels though and come back with a Stonesword Key and it becomes manageable. Inside is a death chariot puzzle and a boss enemy near the end. That would be the troublesome Ulcerated Tree Spirit but it drops a Golden Seed so the venture is worth it.

Room Near Rampart Tower - Stormveil Castle

The Rampart Tower in Stormveil Castle is an important location as it serves as a hub for some secret areas that interconnect. One of those is a Stonesword lock room filled with two enemies that wield greataxes. They’re not too tough to defeat. To get to this room, refer to the images below.

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Once inside, and once the axe enemies are dealt with, players will find an Iron Whetblade which is crucial to optimizing a character build since it allows players to customize weapon scaling. There’s also a Miséricorde and a Hawk Crest Wooden Shield in the same room but those items are just small bonuses compared to the Iron Whetblade.

Cellar Room Near Courtyard - Stormveil Castle

Again, in Stormveil Castle. This cellar room with a Stonesword lock is near the courtyard or castle grounds filled with fodder enemies (some of whom are piloting mounted flamethrowers). The area not only provides some good items but also a shortcut to the castle gate. Refer to the image below to get there. Starting from the Rampart Tower again up to the dark indoor balcony.

Players just have to drop down to the area with the large painting and go to the left of the painting.

Inside this cellar room, players will find a Godskin Prayerbook which grants access to Black Flame Incantations and also the Godslayer’s Seal. It’s one of the most powerful sacred seals in the game and it also buffs Black Flame Incantations so this area is significant for certain pyromancer builds.

Underground Cavern - Summonwater Village

Summonwater Village is easy enough to access, it’s along the big main road on Stormhill, just east, near the Limgrave-Caelid border. It’s a ruined town dominated by the Tibia Mariner. That’s not too worrying as the boss is a pushover— one of the weakest in the game.

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Defeat it and then look around in the ruined buildings for a basement preceded by a Stonesword lock. Inside this basement or underground cavern is a chest that contains the Green Turtle Talisman. It’s a lifesaver of a talisman since it increases stamina recovery speed. For some melee characters or builds, this might even be necessary.

Auriza Hero’s Grave - Leyndell, Royal Capital

In Auriza Hero’s Grave, there’s not one particularly game-changing reward but rather several impressive ones. The notable among these are the Crucible Axe Set and the Crucible Feather Talisman. Both are great survival items. There’s also a new Spirit Ash here called the Vulgar Militia Ashes (useful little buggers).

Moreover, there’s a Stonesword Key refund once players get past the killer chariot puzzle. If players explore a bit and also manage to destroy all the chariots via the puzzle, then they’ll be rewarded with the Tree Sentinel armor set which is even better than the Crucible Axe set and is on par with General Radahn’s armor.

Mimic Tear Ashes Room - Night’s Sacred Ground

For sure, players will want to automatically reserve a Stonesword Key for this spot. It lies in the Night’s Sacred Ground area in Nokron just southeast of the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace (requires jumping onto ledges and rooftops). Because there’s a pavilion or room in Night’s Sacred Ground containing a chest that contains the Mimic Tear Spirit Ash.

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It’s by far the most useful and overpowered Spirit Ash in the game as it makes a literal copy of one’s character (but with lower damage and higher HP). This Spirit Ash can make the toughest of boss fights manageable without virtually any big drawback. One Stonesword Key is a small price to pay for this superweapon in Elden Ring.

Marika’s Soreseal Room - Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree (Two Keys)

Marika’s Soreseal is a talisman that gives quite a boost as it adds five levels each to four attributes. Those stats would be Mind, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane. That’s a total savings of 20 levels which is a lot of Runes, especially in late-game where level-up costs start to become exorbitant.

Getting to Marika’s Soreseal Room is a little hard. From the Prayer Room Site of Grace, players will have to run past the knights and jump down a beam to the right (the one connected to a bell tower). They have to go down from the bell tower to the area with the Erdtree Avatar.

Just ignore the Erdtree Avatar in the large walkway and jump down to the right of the walkway, landing on ledges to avoid fall damage. Players will have to keep jumping down until they’re on the ground and up ahead (to the right of the large walkway they jumped down from) there should be a room with a fog door.

Dragon Temple Lift - Crumbling Farum Azula (Two Keys)

This is also another area that players will want to reserve some Stonesword Keys to unlock. It’s in the Elden Ring’s late-game level and it’s easily spotted after the Godskin Duo boss fight. It unlocks an elevator that leads to a large area in the Crumbling Farum Azula. Starting from Dragon Temple Altar Site of Grace:

This area houses a lot of good items such as a Golden Seed, some weapons, and even the final step of Iron Fist Alexander’s questline which will yield the powerful Shard of Alexander talisman. Overall, it’s a lovely secret area with a small price for admission.

Elden Ring is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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