Some of them bridge separate and seemingly unrelated areas while others are staging spots for some rather memorable side quests. In any case, caves, along with the catacombs and ruins, make up the bulk of Elden Ring’s exploration opportunities, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by their number. So make sure to pick these as they offer more than a dingy spelunking session.
Updated August 29, 2022, by Sid Natividad: All caves in Elden Ring are special. Each one of them is different from the other, and holds a rather sadistic surprise or nerve-wracking challenge at the end. So it’s only fair to accommodate a few more of them when considering the best Elden Ring caves.
Frankly, there are a lot of them and sometimes, it’s good to know what players are getting themselves into before they plunge into a grisly death. So regardless of what a player is looking for, these additional Elden Ring caves are certainly worth the time it takes to visit them and die in them over and over again.
RELATED: Elden Ring: Best Multiplayer Gameplay Items
12 Tombsward Cave (Weeping Peninsula)
Somewhere on the Weeping Peninsula, just south of the Weeping Evergaol to the western part of the landmass, is a poisonous pool of death called Tombsward Cave. The place might look repulsive to a lot of players because of the poison enemies, but it’s actually a genius way to showcase Elden Ring’s poison mechanics.
More than that, it forces players to think on their toes in dealing with these enemies. The rewards of the cave itself aren’t too incredible, but the experience and the fulfillment of overcoming this curveball in Elden Ring can be just as rewarding as finishing a boss fight, albeit an easy one.
11 Highroad Cave (Limgrave)
The Highroad Cave is located in Stormhill, just north of Limgrave near the big bridge. As for why players will want to check this place out, it’s one of the good thematic caves in Elden Ring where players will want torches or a lantern. This cave is dimly lit, and that adds to the challenge of traversal.
RELATED: Elden Ring: Best Blood Weapons, Ranked
The enemies are all mostly animals, making the cave look more natural than others. Of course, there’s also the question of the reward; that would be the Smithing Stones and the Blue Dancer Charm, which is important for some lightweight builds. Overall, it is a good place to visit, if only for collecting all the talismans.
10 Sage’s Cave (Altus Plateau
The Sage’s Cave is tucked away to the west of the Wyndham Ruins, under the cliffs, and is a good spot for those looking to test their brains. The cave rewards curiosity and lateral thinking, as is evident by the numerous detours, hidden paths, and illusory walls.
Players will have to leave no stone unturned if they want to get everything they can out of this rewarding cave. As it is, it has tons of great rewards ranging from build-defining armor to a Stonesword Key. The enemies can be annoying, but none of them can pose too much of a challenge for anyone who has already reached the Altus Plateau.
9 Dragonbarrow Cave (Caelid)
Players can find the Dragonbarrow Cave in the Dragonbarrow region of Caelid along the cliff face near the Minor Erdtree. It has an entrance that almost makes it look like a dungeon, but it’s still a cave,. The site has one of the more rewarding talismans in the game, the Bull-Goat’s Talisman.
RELATED: Elden Ring: Best Ashes Of War, Ranked
This talisman increases the wearer’s poise, which is important for certain builds. Apart from that, there’s also a Flamedrake Talisman +2 in there. The area isn’t really special apart from those two rewards. The boss is just a duo copy-paste of the regular Crumbling Farum Azula enemies, but unlocking its location can be rewarding too.
8 Murkwater Cave (Limgrave)
Murkwater Cave is located along the northward river that spills into Agheel Lake. It’s the spot where Bloody Finger Nerijus invades the players so even before entering, something eventful has already happened near this location. Inside the cave, however, is a one-of-a-kind boss fight where the boss gives up and surrenders as he’s nearly defeated.
Turns out it was just Patches cowering behind a greatshield. He’s a staple scoundrel of the Dark Souls games who somehow wiggled his way into Elden Ring. Nevertheless, this is a welcome face for FromSoftware veterans. It’s like meeting an old scummy friend who owed money and nonchalantly decided not to pay.
7 Coastal Cave (Limgrave)
Coastal Cave is an area hinted at by two characters. It’s a quest area where players can advance Boc the Seamster’s journey to becoming a royal seamster for the players. The whole place is teeming with mangy Demi-Humans and the final boss is of questionable quality, but the amazing part about this place is that it’s not a dead end.
RELATED: Elden Ring: Spells & Incantations That Are Surprisingly Good For Stance-Breaking
After the boss fight, players will be pleasantly surprised that the cave will continue on until they find an exit. The whole boss area is then revealed to be an underwater tunnel that connects to the island housing the Dragon Communion Church. It sets a precedent of how caves or catacombs in this game can hide secrets and thus incentivizes player exploration.
6 Academy Crystal Cave (Liurnia of the Lake)
Moving on to Liurnia of the Lakes, there’s also another cave there that holds an additional reward after players defeat the area boss. The two Crystallians are not exactly fun or fair to fight but once players have defeated them, they can unlock an elevator that goes up to the rooftops of Raya Lucaria Academy. It’s a lovely sight and there are even more rewards in the chest nearby.
Granted, the whole place is not friendly to magic-based classes since the enemies have high magic resistance. But that’s to be expected. When one thinks about it, the whole cave’s existence is also impressive considering how it’s connected to a whole academy.
5 Lakeside Crystal Cave (Liurnia of the Lake)
Lakeside Crystal Cave is more than meets the eye. It seems just like any other normal cave except it has a heavy story connected to it. It’s most likely Giden Ofnir’s improvised prison where he keeps Latenna shackled until she hopefully reveals the location of the other half of the Haligtree Medallion.
RELATED: Elden Ring: Hardest World Bosses, Ranked
There’s also the fact that Lakeside Crystal Cave also connects to an outer area, making it another cave that doesn’t have a dead end, and it also contains an actual narrative reward. The only problem is that it’s difficult to find since Gideon seems to purposely mislead the players, saying it can be found west from a certain location but in fact, it’s closer to the southwest.
4 Gael Tunnel (Caelid)
Caelid unsurprisingly has its own surprises, and it’s not just the space rabies on the surface. It also has its own ingenious way of connecting to Limgrave apart from the obvious main road. That would be through Gael Tunnel which is a cave or mine that has a locked door leading to Limgrave’s eastern area.
The tunnel itself is spacious and winding, almost maze-like. The area’s final boss is a measly Magma Wyrm but it drops the coveted Moonveil katana, making this area a hotspot for lots of magic-focused builds. The door leading to Limgrave after the boss fight is just a bonus.
3 Sellia Hideaway (Caelid)
Due northeast of Caelid past the town of Sellia, there’s a cave that is notoriously hidden by a subtle cliff wall. Not many players would have thought to attack the cliff wall, thus possibly missing a large and important cave called Sellia Hideaway. It’s part of Sellen’s questline where she’s aiming to locate Master Lusat, a powerful outlawed sorcerer.
RELATED: Elden Ring: Most Fashionable Armor Sets For Peak Elden Bling
Lusat is imprisoned for his blasphemous and dangerous sorcery involving the stars. Sellia Hideaway is his prison and the guards are not lenient here. There’s even a Revenant at the bottom of the cave in a dark and waterlogged area. Even simply locating Lusat himself is a difficult task, meaning the players will be familiar with this place, whether they like it or not.
2 Sealed Tunnel (Altus Plateau)
Caves leading to special areas in Elden Ring are some of the best ways to make the players think they’ve achieved something out of sheer curiosity. This mechanic continues up to Altus Plateau where players can explore the Sealed Tunnel just outside the main walls of Leyndell in order to access a Divine Tower.
Not many people could have anticipated the importance of such an area, but the Sealed Tunnel’s purpose soon becomes apparent when players notice that it’s noticeably bigger and more complex than most other caves. There are thematic roots in the area to represent the Erdtree’s reach. It’s also a place where players will want to come back since they’ve probably missed a lot while rushing to get to the Divine Tower.
1 Spiritcaller Cave (Mountaintops of the Giants)
Most caves have straightforward enemies. Players see them, players kill them. It’s a simple transaction that doesn’t reward lateral thinking too much. That’s why Spiritcaller Cave is an exceptional one. It’s a cave filled with Spiritcaller Snails located in a late-game area. Players will soon be forced to think outside the box and search for the snails instead in order to survive their spirit armies.
In Elden Ring, this kind of combat is a great way to spice things up, and also blindside the players into thinking that the area is harder than it is thanks to the peculiar enemies. The cave’s environment itself is full of traps and can confuse the players with the layout, perfectly summarizing a Soulsborne game’s level design philosophy.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.
MORE: Elden Ring: Best Armor Sets For Melee Builds
