Castle Ensis walkthrough for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (2024)

Castle Ensis is Elden Ring’s second legacy dungeon in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. You’ll find it to the east of Belurat, Tower Settlement after you find Leda’s note telling you she headed east. It’s not as complex as Belurat’s twisting paths and vertical levels, but there’s still plenty of branches that are easy to miss.

Our Elden Ring guide will walk you through the Castle Ensis legacy dungeon and point you toward every site of grace, boss fight, and important item.

Castle Ensis location

After you complete Belurat, Tower Settlement, a note from Needle Knight Leda will point you to the east. There’s only one settlement in that direction — Castle Ensis. The castle serves as both your next step on Leda’s quest and also the gateway into Shadow of the Erdtree’s next region to explore, Scadu Altus.

There are no NPCs to meet here. You’ll face two named bosses — Moonrithyll, Carian Knight and Rellana, Twin Moon Knight.

Entering Ensis Castle

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From the Three-Path Cross Site of Grace, follow the road northeast and you’ll come to Ellac Greatbridge. There’s a particularly nasty ballista pointed at you from the far end, along with a ton of soldiers and perfumers.

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When you reach their camp, head to the right (east) side. Back in the area with the tents, there’s a chest containing the Firespark Perfume Bottle.

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On the other side of the road (the west side), look for a small clearing with a Black Knight and a few more soldiers. You’ll find the Fire Knight’s Cookbook (2) inside a nearby tent.

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Head back to the main road through the center of the camp and follow it north. You’ll pass a headless statue on your right with a Scadutree Fragment at its feet. The Castle Front Site of Grace is just a little farther up the road, also on your right.

Reach the Castle Ensis Checkpoint Site of Grace

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Go up the stairs and across another, smaller bridge. You’ll meet a Troll Knight at the end. Duck into the small room on the right to face a Lazuli Sorcerer and pick up a Shadow Realm Rune (4) worth 15,000 runes.

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Back outside, take a right and keep going up the stairs. At the top of the first rise, take a left around the back of the building there. Deal with the enemies on the stairs and climb up to the roof. To the right, you’ll find a ladder to the top of a tower. Climb up and open the chest at the top for the Milady light greatsword.

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Head back down to the main road and keep following it north through the tunnel. At the next clearing, deal with the Black Knight, and then head to the right. Take out the soldiers on the roof, and then head to the back left corner.

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Drop off the roof and down to the ledge below you. Grab the Scriptstone from the corpse there (you passed under it a second ago), and then turn around. Follow the tunnel behind you to reach another corpse holding a Glintslab Firefly. Drop off the ledge and take a right — this is the main path’s tunnel you just came through.

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When you get back to where you fought the Black Knight, head to the left. You’ll find an open door and a room with a chest inside. Open it for the Loyal Knight’s Cookbook.

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Back outside, take a left and go up the slope. At the top on your left, you’ll find a Message from Leda, a Miquella’s Cross, a Scadutree Fragment, and the Castle Ensis Checkpoint Site of Grace.

Open the gate

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The gate (portcullis) next to the checkpoint site of grace is closed, so cross the main road heading south. Deal with the Messmer Soldier there, and then drop off the ledge. Grab the knot resin from the corpse, and then drop down through the hole ahead of you.

Grab the Royal Magic Grease and deal with the Rotten Strays, and then follow the cave south. When you exit the tunnel, take a right.

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Follow the ledge around the cliff until you can jump over to the roof. Grab the Starlight Shards from the corpse, and then carefully drop off the left (east) side of the roof to find another corpse with a Furlcalling Finger Remedy. Head back to the south around the building to return to where you fought the Troll Knight. Retrace your steps back up the hill.

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This time, when you leave the checkpoint site of grace and drop through the hole, pass through the tunnel and take a left. Use the jutting rocks to climb on top of the waterfall and follow the river into the castle.

Straight ahead, there’s a corpse with some Drawstring Royal Magic Grease and a tunnel under another waterfall. Follow the tunnel for some more knot resin.

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Back outside, take the ladder up. Deal with the soldiers in the room at the top, and then head outside. Cross past the gate (we’re on the other side of it now) and into the room directly across from you. There, you’ll find a lever that opens the gate back to the site of grace.

Defeat Moonrithyll, Carian Knight

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Head up the stairs and cross the bridge, dealing with any soldiers you meet. At the far end of the bridge, there’s a corpse with some string off to the left. Keep heading up — a rotten stray will jump out at you from the right side about halfway up the hill.

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At the top of the hill, take a right. There’s a trio of Noble Sorcerers who are a just a pain to deal with there. Take another right just before the stairs and follow the path around the outcropping to find a ladder. At the top, take out the Page and grab the Somber Smithing Stone (6). You can drop off the edge of the roof to take out the third Noble Sorcerer.

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Climb the steps and take a left to meet Moonrithyll, Carian Knight. If you’re quiet, there’s a second door to the right of the one he’s protecting. That will lead you around behind him for a sneak attack or to just skip him completely. If you defeat him, you’ll pick up the Moonrithyll’s Knight Sword.

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Before you leave the outside area where you fought him, look in the northwest corner for an easy-to-miss staircase. Take the stairs down and head through the door on your left. You’ll find a chest inside with the Wolf Crest Shield.

Continue south into the next room to chat with a ghost and grab the Rellana’s Cameo talisman from the altar.

Reach the Castle-Lord’s Chamber

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Take the door on the right (west) side of that church and work your way down the hall past the Lazuli Sorcerers.

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At the end of the hall, take two lefts and climb the stairs to reach the roof. Push through the gate on your right and then take an immediate left.

Drop off the walkway you’re on down to a ledge. Hit the corpse for a dewgem and then climb the ladder behind you. At the top of another ladder, take out the Page and the Noble Sorcerer. Cross the roofs heading west to find one more corpse with a Somber Smithing Stone (2) at the far side of the courtyard.

Drop back into the courtyard and go back through the gate. Don’t drop off this time and keep following the rampart around to the east. Deal with the Messmer Soldiers for a couple more Somber Smithing Stones, and keep following the path to the tower at the end. Climb the stairs around the tower. At the top of the stairs, take a left into the tower itself to find a chest with an Imbued Sword Key inside.

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Head back outside and take on the Black Knight blocking your path. Behind him, ride the elevator up and then take a right to find the Castle-Lord’s Chamber.

Defeat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight

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Directly to the east of the site of grace, there’s a balcony with a corpse holding a Somber Smithing Stone (4). Back inside, follow the stairs up to find your next boss fight. Before you head in, there are two gold summon signs on the ground — one for Dryleaf Dane and another for Needle Knight Leda.

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Once you defeat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, she’ll drop the Remembrance of the Twin Moon Knight. Visit the new Ensis Moongazing Grounds Site of Grace, and then you can head to Roundtable Hold to turn the remembrance into Rellana’s Twinblade light greatsword(s) or the Rellana’s Twin Moons sorcery.

Back at Castle Ensis, head to the north to reach the next region, Scadu Altus, and eventually the labyrinthine Shadow Keep legacy dungeon.

Looking for more Shadow of the Erdtree guides? Check out our guides on new Elden Ring DLC weapons, armor, map fragments, sites of grace, and talismans. We’ve also got location guides on where to find Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes, and an interactive Elden Ring DLC map.