The Ultimate Challenge: Elden Ring’s Most Brutal Optional Areas Revealed!

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Summary

  • Beyond the main storyline, Elden Ring’s vast open world offers challenging optional areas with hidden bosses.
  • The toughest optional areas include Deeproot Depths, Lake of Rot, Mohgwyn Palace, Castle Sol, and more.
  • Players navigate treacherous terrain, elite enemies, and frustrating traps in these challenging optional zones.

The world in Elden Ring is vast and brimming with diversity, boasting expansive landscapes, secret caves and catacombs, subterranean realms, ancient dungeons, and much more. Although the main narrative is substantial, it merely scratches the surface of what the game has to offer for those eager to uncover every nook and cranny, finish side missions, and defeat every boss.

In line with FromSoftware’s tradition, some tough challenges such as demanding bosses and entire zones can be skipped or are inaccessible unless certain conditions are met in Elden Ring. This list highlights the hardest optional areas, not just for their boss encounters, but for the overall difficulty they present. These locations, marked by dangerous terrains, tricky platforming, relentless foes, or a brutal mix of all three, are known as the most challenging and unforgiving spots in the Lands Between.

8. Deeproot Depths

For Fans Of Frustrating Root Platforming

Although not the toughest optional zones in Elden Ring, the Deeproot Depths can still be quite challenging – it’s not the bosses that make it difficult. This concealed area, which can be entered via a coffin in Nokron or a secret pathway, shares some resemblance with Miquella’s Haligtree, featuring winding roots and branches that demand precise platforming, whether you’re on foot or riding Torrent. A misstep frequently results in instant death.

Enhancing the annoyance, the region is teeming with colossal ants and basilisks that spread a deadly disease known as Death Blight. These hardy creatures dish out hefty damage. However, the loot makes the journey worthwhile, providing a good amount of Runes to level up swiftly. The bosses, such as Crucible Knight Siluria and Lichdragon Fortissax, aren’t exceptionally tough, given that many players often reach this area at a high level. In summary, although not as mercilessly challenging as some later zones, the layout and enemy population can exhaust players over time.

7. Ordina, Liturgical Town

Feel Like Prey In This Tiny Puzzle Cage

The secluded locale known as Ordina, the Liturgical Town, nestles within the expansive, elective Consecrated Snowfields. Functioning as an entrance to Miquella’s Haligtree, it isn’t essential for finishing the game; however, exploring the entire region demands considerable effort. Players intending to encounter Malenia should tackle a puzzle here, igniting four flames strategically placed throughout the ghost town to lift a seal. Despite its straightforward nature, this mission can swiftly turn into an irritating endeavor due to sneaky Lesser Black Knife Assassins hiding in every nook and cranny, as well as lethal Albinauric Archers perched atop towering structures, firing lightning-quick shots.

Some tactics may help make this task less daunting, like employing the Sentry’s Lantern or the Hidden Cloak Amulet, yet Ordina frequently leaves a lasting sour taste well before the riddle has been fully solved, despite having the appropriate equipment.

6. Lake Of Rot

The Ultimate Deadly Swamp For Soulsborne Lovers

Some Elden Ring gamers might never venture into the Lake of Rot, and that’s definitely something to be envious of. Ignore Caelid’s Aeonia Swamp or any cave teeming with Scarlet Rot; this location ratchets up the misery a notch. The Scarlet Rot is almost everywhere, making survival a challenge unless you have gear that boosts Immunity, such as the Flamedrake Talisman, or a large supply of Preserving Boluses.

Navigating through the noxious marsh is a laborious, uncomfortable journey, punctuated by just a few spots offering momentary relief. To make matters worse, a Treant with an Ulcerated spirit waits to pounce, and a battle against a Soldier from the Dragonkin family unfolds right amidst the Scarlet Rot. However, the final confrontation against Astel, Born of the Void, may somewhat mitigate this ordeal, which feels like a trial by misery.

5. Mohgwyn Palace

Borderline Optional, But Not Without Its Perks

The Mohgwyn Palace (conquering Mohg, Lord of Blood) serves as an entry point for the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, but it’s entirely up to you whether you explore it or not. Skipping it won’t prevent you from experiencing Elden Ring’s main storyline conclusion. However, venturing into Mohgwyn Palace prematurely, before your character is adequately leveled or equipped with Bleed resistance, can be a perilous move. This area is designed to be one of the final stops on the Tarnished’s journey. Even without battling Mohg, the palace itself is a gruesome, blood-drenched nightmare.

Traveling through this path can be grueling, filled with treacherous marshes of blood and dark caves, and the adversaries are equally ruthless. You’ll encounter colossal birds with high health, persistent invaders, hordes of Albinaurics who pack a punch, and the Sanguine Nobles, who can inflict bleeding wounds. However, the Mohgwyn Palace stands out as the top rune-farming location in the game, making it an attractive destination for those aiming to boost their power before taking on more demanding tasks.

4. Hero’s Graves (All Of Them)

Here Comes A Chariot

  • Fringefolk Hero’s Grave
  • Sainted Hero’s Grave
  • Gelmir Hero’s Grave
  • Auriza Hero’s Grave
  • Giant-Conquering Hero’s Grave

In the realm known as The Lands Between, there lie five Graves of Heroes, which are usually concealed behind a Stonesword Key. It’s puzzling why Elden Ring’s most esteemed heroes were laid to rest in such dark, labyrinthine catacombs filled with traps, but that’s the reality we face. The experience of venturing into these tombs is both exhilarating and vexing, as they provide attractive rewards and numerous secret treasures hidden behind illusory walls, yet some parts can test one’s endurance to the utmost limit.

As a gamer, I’m constantly dodging instant-death chariots hurtling through cramped corridors, navigating scorching lava floors, and precisely timing my jumps for tricky platforming sections that feel like they were designed to break my controller. Flaming pillars to dodge, bouncing pressure traps to avoid, and relentless enemies to outsmart – these dungeons test not just my skills, but also my endurance. The sweet relief of reaching the end is always worth it, but

3. Subterranean Shunning-Grounds

Wait, Haven’t I Been In This Pipe Before?

In the depths of Leyndell lies the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, not merely one of the hardest dungeons in Elden Ring, but also one of the most chilling. Navigating this labyrinth of pipes is a daunting task, with Imp ambushes around every corner and Omen enemies that leave you battered and bruised. Each step forward feels like an uphill struggle, as I fight my way through tight corridors, constantly on edge due to the looming threats lurking in every shadow.

This subterranean ordeal intertwines with the Forsaken Depths and the Cathedral of the Forgotten, aligning with the unsettling Frenzied Flame trail. The harrowing journey through coffin-style platforms, underscored by melancholic tunes, amplifies the area’s foreboding ambiance. Fortunately, the ultimate confrontation against Mohg, the Omen, isn’t the most challenging battle in the game; however, after surviving all that this labyrinth presents to players, the encounter may seem anticlimactic when compared to the exertion required to reach him.

2. Castle Sol

Who Thought The Teleporting Spectral Knights Were A Good Idea?

It’s quite surprising that the tiny, elective castle nestled in the Mountaintops of the Giants often garners intense dislike within Elden Ring. It isn’t merely Commander Niall who stirs this animosity (though he does contribute significantly), but also the fierce attacks and summoned reinforcements that make him one of the game’s toughest optional bosses, without a doubt.

Despite Niall’s absence, Castle Sol is a veritable hellhole. Spectral Banished Knights, capable of teleportation, can appear anywhere on the battlefield, making evasion futile. The only viable strategy is to confront them directly. To make matters worse, Lion Guardians patrol the area and Spectral Exile soldiers unleash lethal ballista attacks, turning the already arduous task of clearing this small fortress into an exhausting ordeal. Every corner requires substantial effort to navigate.

1. Miquella’s Haligtree & Elphael, Brace Of The Haligtree

Peak Optional Suffering In Two Acts

As a seasoned gamer, I can confidently say that navigating through Miquella’s Haligtree in Elden Ring has undeniably been the toughest optional dungeon I’ve encountered, a testament to my Soulsborne veteran status. This treacherous journey is split into two equally challenging segments: first, Miquella’s Haligtree culminates in a somewhat merciful prelude against Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree. But don’t let your guard down just yet, because what follows is Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree, which leads straight to none other than Malenia, Blade of Miquella. By now, she needs no introduction – she’s the embodiment of unyielding challenge!

The journey downwards presents a ruthless obstacle course filled with formidable adversaries: colossal ants, misshapen beings, emissaries of the Oracle, corrupted avatars, returning souls, diseased tree spirits, crystal-wielding creatures, and knights from the tainted lands all block your path. Navigating through this is a terrifying ordeal, combining treacherous jumping puzzles with bubble-blowing Oracles, toxic Miranda plants, swamps contaminated by scarlet rot, and labyrinthine passageways teeming with soldiers and ballistas. It’s a severe trial, conquering Miquella’s Haligtree will make no other region in the main game or expansion seem quite as daunting anymore.

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2025-03-15 07:07