There are only a few ways to gain access toElden Ring’s Altus Plateau. While the Grand Lift of Dectus might be a bit simpler, and while theAbductor Virgin’s wild rideis definitely worth taking, the more adventurous might be drawn to the Ruin-Strewn Precipice innortheastern Liurnia of the Lakes.
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This treacherous climb, carved into the sides of a jagged cliff, is full of deadly falls and dangerous foes, but the route is worth it for some special weapons only acquired by conquering this perilous path.
How To Reach Ruin-Strewn Precipice
The approach is fairly straightforward; head toward the northeastern ravine in Liurnia of the Lakes. This ravine is located east of Caria Manor and west of theGrand Lift of Dectus. If you’ve already unlocked theBellum Church site of grace, you can ride north out of the ruined floor, down past one of the wandering merchants, and into the river route below.
You’ll eventually come across aGolden Seedsurrounded by gigantic Land Squirts.
Toward the end of the ravine, you’ll discover theRavine-Veiled Village site of grace. Rest there, and inspect the nearby shack—inside, you’ll discover one Smithing Stone [5].
Before beginning your climb, head deeper into the ravine toward the waterfalls. You’ll find aWhite Teardrop Scarab. Defeating this Teardrop Scarab will reward you with theBarbaric Roar Ash of War. After acquiring this, three Giant Bats will swoop down on you, but you should be able to dispatch them easily.
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Beginning The Climb
After resting at the Ravine-Veiled Village site of grace, head up the nearby ladder. Following this climbing path, you’ll eventually make your way into a mine entrance further up the ravine.
Off to the right, you’ll find oneSmithing Stone [4]on a corpse, then off to the left, toward the next ladder going up, you’ll encounter a miner. Defeat him and loot the Smithing Stone [4] in the wall beside him.
Be careful of the room beyond. It’s a trap.Vulgar Militiamenare lurking in the corners of the cave, and they’ve set many of theirpoison trapsaround the ground—especially clustered around the corpse with an item across the room. Hug the left cavern wall and follow the room around that way; this will allow you to get the jump on the Vulgar Militiamen one at a time and fight them on your own terms.
Once you’ve cleared out the three Vulgar Militiamen, loot the rest of the cavern, but be careful of the poison traps. you may find two Smithing Stone [4] items as glowing stones in the eastern wall, and looting the corpse will earn you one Smithing Stone [3].
In the next room, down the southern passage, you’ll spot an elevator, which is your way forward. Butbe careful!Another Vulgar Militiaman islurking behind some cratesand barrels to the left of the elevator. Once he’s dealt with, proceed up the elevator.
On your way up, you should spot a platform with an item on it to the south side of the shaft. The elevator moves quickly, so you might need a return trip to time your jump. The corpse’s item is oneSmithing Stone [5].
The next passage lets you out into a hallway of miners. In this passage, you’ll find a corpse to loot on the left side with one Golden Rune [5] on it. Just past the corpse, around the pillar to the right, you’ll find one Smithing Stone [4] growing from the wall.
The passage opens up further down, splitting off in three directions. A staircase to the right, a wooden barrier entrance to the left, and a passage across the way. The passage across the way will be your way forward, but explore these other side areas first. They’re short, and they contain some good loot.
The wooden passage to the left has an item on a corpse at the end of the room, and about seven poison traps on the floor in front of it. This always meansVulgar Militiamenare present. In this room, you’ll find two; they’re lurking to the left and right sides of the entrance. Defeat them, carefully navigate around the poison traps, and loot the corpse to acquire twoLightning Greaseitems.
Before you head up the stairs across the way,check to the left of the staircase. You’ll find one Smithing Stone [4] and one Somber Smithing Stone [4] hidden behind the pillar.
Up the stairs, you’ll spot two miners resting ahead, but there are also two Vulgar Militiamen hiding. One is waiting off to the right, and another is lurking just past the leftmost miner. Defeat these enemies to claim theRune Arcon the corpse in front of the altar.
You’re now free to head through the exit passage. You’ll finally come across the Teardrop Scarab you’ve probably been hearing for a little while. This is anExplosive Teardrop Scarab. Strike it and quicky retreat to avoid damage. It will drop one Somber Smithing Stone [4].
Exit the passage and rest at the Ruin-Strewn Precipice site of grace. Now, the real climb begins.
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Bats, Bats, More Bats
Take the elevator up from the Ruin-Strewn Precipice site of grace. Just ahead, you’ll spot a Vulgar Militiaman standing at the edge. Once you engage, a Giant Bat will drop from the wall opposite him and join the fray. This route will have you encountering many Giant Bats, so steel yourself.
At the top of the next thin staircase, you’ll encounter twoGiant Batsfeasting on a corpse on the ground in front of you. There are also two more Giant Bats lurking nearby; one on the ledge directly above, and one hanging from the wall off to the left.
After these enemies are defeated, loot the corpse on the ground to receive oneGolden Rune [4].
The path continues off to the left, where you’ll spot a ladder heading further upward.
Before taking that route, you have two other detours. Arocky path to your rightleads up to where one of the Giant Bats from the previous battle was perched. Climb your way up, and with some light acrobatic jumping, you’ll eventually find a corpse hiding behind a large pillar holding oneSomber Smithing Stone [3].
The second detour comes in an easy-to-missladder leading down, located just opposite the base of the craggy climb you just took. Sliding down the ladder, you’ll find yourself on a thin wooden path with a miner enemy busying himself just ahead. Follow the thin path around to acquire oneSomber Smithing Stone [4]at the end. Head back up and toward the ladder to the next section.
Before climbing up the ladder to the next section, run shortly past it to acquire one Smithing Stone [4] growing out of the stone wall.
This next stretch will begin to test you. You’ll already begin to hear the singing of aChanting Winged Dame. This landing (the area around/beneath the series of pillars ahead of you when you first climb up the ladder) is swarming with Giant Bats. Take your time with them, and they’ll prove to be no problem.
You’ll find two Giant Bats off to the right, feasting on a corpse. Defeat them to loot one Golden Rune [5] and one Smithing Stone [4] from a crystal growth right beside it.
Moving forward from here, you should get a solid view of the enemies laid before you. The Chanting Winged Dame awaits you at the base of your ladder out of here. Two Giant bats hang from the wooden rafter above and to the left of the dame, and another two Giant Bats hang from the two pillars to the left. You should be able totarget each of the hanging batswith arrows or spells and lure them to you without alerting the Chanting Winged Dame. These enemies are all very manageable on their own, but if you attack the Chanting Winged Dame first, they’ll all swarm you.
Loot thetwo Smithing Stone [4]items along the right cave wall before dispatching the Chanting Winged Dame.
After climbing up the ladder, you’ll want to leap across to the left pillar to acquire one Golden Rune [5] hidden on the other side.
Ahead on the next stage of this path, you’ll encounter several Land Octopuses and Giant Bats. When you reach the next ladder going up, run past it a little bit to get one Smithing Stone [4].
Climb the next ladder.
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The Final Stretch
You’ve now reached the most dangerous portion of the climb. The way forward lies to the left, but thepath to the rightleads to theSerpent-God’s Curved Swordand a battle with several Land Octopuses and one Giant Land Octopus.
Follow this pathway to the right until you reach the slanting overhang. Hug the leftmost wall to acquire one Smithing Stone [4] growth. With the Land Octopuses, you can run in and likely grab the items and get out without engaging. With ranged attacks, you can also take out most, if not all, of the enemies before they prove much of a threat.
Once theGiant Land Octopusis engaged, you should have no trouble looting the items around it—one Smithing Stone [3] and theSerpent-God’s Curved Sword, a very styling weapon to add to your arsenal.
Once the items have been acquired, return to the lower platform and prepare yourself for the final push.
Due to the fact that your last site of grace is a frustrating distance back, and thetwo Chanting Winged Damesahead are very grab-happy, the absolute safest approach is torun past them, take the elevator up, and rest at the Ruin-Strewn Precipice Overlook site of grace at the top of the elevator. Once you get that, return to this level and loot with peace of mind.
You’ll find one Rune Arc, one Smithing Stone [3], and one Smithing Stone [4] in the immediate area of the two Chanting Winged Dames. In addition, if you navigate around the platform the two Chanting Winged Dames occupy, you will discover oneLost Ashes of War, a powerful tool to customize your weapon arts.
With these rewards collected, return to the Ruin-Strewn Precipice Overlook site of grace and rest. A boss fight lies ahead.
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Boss Fight: Magma Wyrm Makar
Just outside of this boss fog, you have three possiblesummoning options: Blackguard Big Boggart and Great Horned Tragoth will always be present, and Millicent is an additional option if you’ve advanced her questline far enough. You can only summon two for the fight, however. The summons are not required for this fight, but they’re a nice option to have.
This boss arena has some good room for maneuverability, but there are plenty of broken ruins and bits of rubble to get stuck on, so be careful as you navigate around.
Magma Wyrm Makar will fight much the same as any previous Magma Wyrms you’ve encountered thus far in Elden Ring. Make sure you’redodging into its attacks—especially those involving its massive sword—and try to side-step or dodge to the sides when the boss begins its lava-spewing charge.
Hovering at amedium range helpsyou to see the Magma Wyrm’s attack animations better, increasing your chance to successfully dodge its moves. Hanging out under it makes it too much of a guessing game. Attack when the opportunity presents itself, and avoid the lava. You should defeat this foe in no time.
Upon defeat, Magma Wyrm Makar will drop 24,000 Runes, the powerfulMagma Wyrm’s Scalesword, and one Dragon Heart.
After defeating this boss, head through the chamber out the other side, take the elevator up, and you’ll find yourself in beautifulAltus Plateau.
