8 Best Ways To Level Up Fast Before Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Elden Ring is considered one of the greatest games of all time, so it is no surprise that many fans eagerly anticipate its long-awaited DLC release, Shadow of the Erdtree. In the meantime, newcomers and veterans alike may want to figure out how to level up quickly and properly prepare for the inevitable challenges in the upcoming expansion. There are a few easy tips to help characters level up in both early-game and late-game to bring those builds to life, which is especially helpful for players aspiring to have multiple builds to play around with.

There are several methods to farm runes, the game’s main form of currency spent on powering up character stats, and most of them have already been circulating since the game’s initial release. With Shadow of the Erdtree around the corner, players might want a cohesive strategy to squeeze the most EXP juice they can while ensuring leveling up is more of a fun exercise than a chore. All of this is achievable to help save some time, but beware that some grinding might be involved here and there to get the most EXP as possible.

8 Storm the Castle! …Then, Do It Again!

Early Game

The first major legacy dungeon that most players come across is the mighty Stormveil Castle in the region of Limgrave. The castle is a host to easy pickings with archers, ballistae operators, and lumbering giants. The early game farming here is just a fast travel away to the Liftside Chamber Site of Grace where a few steps out the door lets you sneak up on Stormveil fighters in the Courtyard, most of whom have their backs turned to the player spawn area.

Another great spot to farm early game runes in Limgrave is right near the Stormfront Site of Grace where a litany of soldiers is camped out just east. There are some horse riders in the near distance, so just be aware of their positioning when attracting aggro with the encampment. Further east are a couple of giants tied to a wagon that provide a decent amount of runes.

It is recommended to farm soldier enemies at the Stormfront area at the earliest levels before attempting to take on the giants. Then, it will be easier to farm the archers and ballistae operators in the Stormveil Courtyard.

7 Big Dragon, Big EXP

Early To Mid-Game

There are a few reasons to keep the great Greyoll, the great dragon of Caelid, alive until a certain point in the game. However, players who wish to forego the lore of the sentinel dragons of the Lands Between and simply want to boost those build stats have an opportunity to get a massive EXP boost. There is a cheese glitch that has worked for many players, even with the newest patches, that requires patience and timing.

First, discover the Fort Faroth Site of Grace in Dragonbarrow, which is a region in Caelid. Sneak up on Greyoll from her left side nearest the Site of Grace and give her a beatin’. It will take a while to dwindle her health down to low numbers, but before her health is depleted, hop on Torrent and give her the last few whacks of a weapon.

As soon as she starts to move around from her static position, quickly ride back to the Site of Grace and rest. This will reset the dragon at its original state where you can do it all over again for more than 50,000 runes every time.

Read on to #4 of this article to learn more about the gold-pickled fowl foot and golden scarab items which will make this time-consuming effort much more worthwhile.

6 Sorry to Disturb You, Albinaurics

Mid-Game

There are a few ways to enter Mohgwyn Palace which provides one of the most popular rune farms out there in the form of an Albinauric population. They sit right outside the palace in the dozens on a cliff-side near the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site of Grace.

The reason behind this being such a popular farming site is twofold: the nearly docile nature of the froglike humanoids (at least in Elden Ring’s terms) and how many runes they offer, which makes for a recipe of about 40,000 runes in just a matter of seconds with a few slashes of a blade or magical blasts.

This will be a great way to prepare for the area’s staple boss fight, Mohg, Lord of Blood. Defeating Mohg is also one of the requirements to gain access to the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Overall, this area of the game provides some great ways for players to power up and obtain great gear, like Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear.

Touch the withered arm in Mohgwyn’s Palace after Mohg’s defeat and make sure to vanquish Starscourge Radahn in Caelid to fully gain access to Shadow of the Erdtree as those are all 3 requirements.

5 Rune Farming Multipliers

Mid- To Late-Game

After acquiring the Golden Scarab Talisman, it is also important to learn how to find gold-pickled fowl foot which can be consumed to get the most runes out of farming. You can turn the 40,000 runes you get from culling the Albinaurics camping outside Mohgwyn’s Palace into 120,000 runes after equipping the Golden Scarab while also consuming a gold fowl foot. Feel free to use the same multiplier strategy when clearing out some of your favorite dungeons in the Lands Between or implementing some of the other strategies for rune farming.

4 Rolling Ball of Death… and EXP

Early Game

Caelid is home to some of the deadliest enemies and environments in the game, but also clearly houses some of the best farm spots. After discovering Lenne’s Rise in Caelid, simply ride on over with Torrent downhill towards the right (Eastern) side of the map until you draw near the giant archway.

Be cautious as a large death-ball will materialize and try to crush you once you pass a certain point. Simply pivot around the ball with your mount to avoid being crushed, but keep your camera focused on the ball until it rolls off the hill. This nets about 2,000 runes each time and is easy and quick to respawn and repeat.

3 Runes for a Free Show

Easy Runes

Spawn at the Impassable Greatbridge Site of Grace and watch the chaos unfold as knights and dogs twisted by the land of Caelid duke it out. They cull each other in a skirmish each time you spawn at that grace, which nets about 7,000 runes each time. Of course, the EXP booster items like golden scarab will increase these gains by a small margin, and the process can be expedited by running around the battlefield and picking off the weaker enemies.

2 Pay Attention to the Details

Keep Your Eyes Open

Certain visual clues throughout Elden Ring will let you know if there is an opportunity for extra runes. For instance, if you see a glowing white skull on the ground, crush it since it is most likely hiding a little trove of runes. Enemies with glowing red eyes are not necessarily harder to defeat, but they will drop more EXP than their peers.

Ever find yourself wondering what the floating golden leaves are in certain parts of the Lands Between? Those are leaves of the Erdtree, and they are an indicator that enemies will drop more runes than usual. This passive buff randomly occurs, so some players take the time to pass in-game time to continuously spawn at nighttime until the golden leaves litter the sky.

1 Consumables Galore

Quick Boosts

Lastly, be sure to find consumable runes like Lord’s Rune and Hero’s Runes which allow players to earn a whopping 50K and 15-35K runes, respectively. These can be found in a few areas, such as a Lord’s Rune found on a corpse in front of a pillar along the western path at Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum, and also by defeating certain enemies like Erdtree Avatars in Leyndell Royal Capital and Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree which guards the entrance to the Inner Wall in the north.

Aside from other farming spots and certain bosses to get loads of runes from, the above methods should net plenty of runes to level up in a matter of hours. Combine these tips to bring character builds up to snuff for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, which is set to give players some of their greatest challenges yet.

Video Credit: YouTube/TheGamesEntertainer, YouTube/Gaming with Griff Griffin