Elden Ring is the first open-world title from developer FromSoftware, and as a result of the huge size of its landscape, there are a number of essential items that are relatively easy to miss for those just coming to the game for the first time. The size of the world isn't the only issue, but also the fact that many players new to FromSoftware games may not understand the "rules" the games usually operate under: pay attention or miss out.
Elden Ring deviates from FromSoftware's Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro formulas, taking the precise, measured gameplay that the Souls games and their successors became famous for and throwing it into a new, wider context. While it's a revelation for many, it could also potentially confuse some fans. Those used to Dark Souls might repeatedly attempt early challenges without remembering that there's a wide world to explore, where others might get so far afield so quickly that they miss out on basic early-game items that might help them out.
Elden Ring's list of tools and key items is quite extensive, but given the freeform nature of the game, it's likely that players will miss at least one or two of them as they head around the Lands Between. Sometimes this is a bit of a problem (such as passing up the Elden Ring Crafting Kit in the early game), where other times the need for a given item may be less or other items will potentially supplant it. Here are some of Elden Ring's easiest essential items to miss.
Limgrave Hides Several Of Elden Ring's Essential Items
Players who immediately jump into Elden Ring can speed past a number of important things: the tutorial cave, the first NPC who explains the concept of Grace, the first merchant, and more. Slower and more observant players who take the time to look around will most likely find all of them, but others will encounter a huge boss they may choose to give a wide berth, sending them off on explorations into nearby caves and fields. Still others will dive straight into Elden Ring's co-op to start leveling up, perhaps leaving some of the finer details for a later time. But Limgrave houses a bevy of essential items for new characters:
- Crafting Kit
- Telescope
- Torch
- Spirit Calling Bell
- Whetstone Knife
- Iron Whetblade
- Flask of Wondrous Physick
The Elden Ring merchant named Kalé sits in the Church of Elleh at the start of the game, right past the giant horse-riding Tree Sentinel boss that prowls the opening area once players have escaped into the open world. Kalé recommends the Crafting Kit as a kindness to new players, but those who don't engage him in conversation, button-mash through his dialogue, or don't take a close look at the inventory might miss the Crafting Kit and several other key items from the get-go. The Crafting Kit opens an entire crafting menu in Elden Ring, allowing the creation of items from elements gathered in the world. Kalé also sells the Torch, a basic item that early characters will find invaluable for exploring dark caves that otherwise offer little to no light, plus a Telescope that can make exploring the open world safer by giving players advance warning about what they're potentially riding into.
Elden Ring's Church of Elleh has one more secret, however, that's far easier to miss. If players return to the church after speaking with Milena and being chosen by Torrent, the spectral steed, then a witch named Renna will appear at the church during the nighttime. She will call to players and offer them a gift of the Spirit Calling Bell, allowing them to summon Elden Ring spirits from the Spirit Ashes found around the world. These can be immensely helpful, especially for newcomers to FromSoftware games, but those who don't meet Renna will have to wait until they're summoned to the Roundtable Hold, where they can purchase the bell from the Twin Maiden Husks.
If players travel north from the church to just outside the Storm Gate, which leads to Stormveil Castle, a large group of Godrick's soldiers can be found camped around a ruin. There is a staircase that leads down into a basement on its northwestern quadrant that holds the Whetstone Knife, an item that allows Elden Ring's Ashes of War to provide weapons with not only new special skills, but new affinities that can affect the attributes they scale with. This allows characters focusing on Strength and Dexterity to potentially shape a weapon to increase in potency along with their favorite stat.
The final, and arguably most important item in the area is the Flask of Wondrous Physick, which can be found north of the Minor Erdtree in eastern Limgrave, toward the border with the Caelid Wilds. It rests in front of the statue in the Third Church of Marika. Many players will end up there as a matter of course, but others will take the northern road through Summonwater Village on their way east. An in-game hint about the item's location can also be purchased from one of Elden Ring's nomadic merchants, though players may not realize the item's true value at the time.
Other Essential Items Elden Ring Players Will Want To Find
Less essential but still desirable Elden Ring items that are easy to miss include:
- Tailoring Tools
- Prattling Pate Hello
- Lantern
The Tailoring Tools are another item that can be missed by players who don't head down to Limgrave's beach. It's rewarded to players who defeat Elden Ring's Demi-Human Chief boss in the Coastal Cave, which can prove a significant early challenge if players don't summon help, since there are numerous additional enemies plus two main bosses fought at the same time.
The Prattling Pate Hello item is lots of fun for multiplayer especially, allowing for an audible "hello" to sound that will greet other players. It can be found at the Stormfoot Catacombs to the northwest of the Church of Elleh, where players may want to return if struggling with Elden Ring's Godrick at Stormveil Castle as they head south to explore the Weeping Peninsula. While it doesn't confer any immense benefit, it's something those who enjoy the game's multiplayer aspects will undoubtedly want to have, hearkening back as it does to the carvings of Hawkeye Gough from Dark Souls. It's easy to miss because it resides in an optional dungeon, hiding behind a fire pillar that players may not decide to explore behind. Two more such items exist in Elden Ring, though this is arguably the most essential of them.
Elden Ring players shouldn't hesitate to get their hands on a Lantern, which provides ongoing light but doesn't take up one hand the way the torch does. Magic users may also use the Starlight spell, which provides considerably more light, but does so at the expense of a memory slot that might be used for another spell. The Lantern can be purchased from the Isolated Merchant at his shack along the western edge of the Weeping Peninsula, or the Nomadic Merchant along the western road of Liurnia of the Lakes, north of the Church of Irith. Whatever method players choose to light up the dark in Elden Ring, having at least one of these options reliably at their disposal will help, and being able to carry it hands-free will make make them all the more effective.