Somber Smithing Stones are special upgrade materials in Elden Ring used to improve the most unique weapons in the game. Similar to Twinkling Titanites from the previous FromSoftare game series, Dark Souls, these materials are meant to be rarer than the normal variant as players will require less of them to upgrade a weapon. The special weapons in Elden Ring that require Somber Smithing Stones cannot be upgraded by the players themselves at a smithing table as they will require the help of an expert Blacksmith, such as Smithing Master Hewg at Roundtable Hold. Instead, players looking for upgrade materials for their weapons such as these should explore the various mines spread across the world of Elden Ring.
Somber Smithing Stones are special upgrade materials used to improve unique weapons and shields in the game. Some of these are the unique items players can acquire by trading Remembrances from bosses. These items are equivalent to Boss's Souls from the Dark Souls series and can either be consumed to get a high number of runes or traded with the Two Fingers for special weapons, shields, or powers that are associated with that specific boss.
Much like regular Smithing Stones, the Somber variant possesses various ranks that will be required to fully upgrade a weapon. However, unlike the regular kind that can level a weapon up all the way to +25, Somber Smithing Stones can only do so up to +10. This may be due to the particular characteristics of the weapons that require Somber Smithing Stones but may also be because these are much rarer than the normal Smithing Stones in Elden Ring.
How to Max Out a Somber Weapon Early in Elden Ring
To max out a weapon that requires Somber Smithing Stones, players will only need one stone from each rank, meaning they will need a total of 10. Players will be able to buy ranks one through four from Smithing Master Iji in the northwest of Liurnia of the Lakes and even ranks one through nine from the Twin Maiden Husks, assuming players can find and give them all five Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearings. Otherwise, players can fully upgrade a weapon early by finding the following Somber Smithing Stones out in the world.
Where to find Somber Smithing Stones 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Elden Ring
The first four ranks of Somber Smithing Stones can be bought from Smithing Master Iji, who players can find early in the game in Liurnia of the Lakes, the region to the northwest of Elden Ring's starting zone, Limgrave. To get to this region, players can either go through Stormveil Castle or the "hidden" path near the adjacent broken bridge. In the middle of the enormous lake in Liurnia is a large island and to its north is a smaller one called Sorcerer's Island. If players head directly north from there, they will eventually find Kingsrealm Ruins and, past that, the road to the Manor Site of Grace, next to a friendly giant called Smithing Master Iji. Iji will sell an infinite amount of Somber Smithing Stones 1 and 2, as well as three of ranks 3 and 4.
Where to find Somber Smithing Stone 5 in Elden Ring
To get a Somber Smithing Stone 5, players should head to the Dragonburnt Ruins in the southern part of Limgrave's lake. Find the stairs leading down in the middle of the enemy camp and open the chest to be teleported to a mine in Elden Ring's eastern region, Caelid. Players should go around the shack they will find themselves in and head down to leave the mine while making sure to use the Site of Grace near the exit. After leaving the mine, follow the edge of the lake to the right until the sand hits a rocky cliff. In that cliff is a crevice filled with Abnormal Stone Clusters and at the end of it a giant white crystal, at the base of which is the Somber Stone 5 players are looking for.
Where to find Somber Smithing Stones 6 in Elden Ring
Players should be warned that getting Somber Stones 6 and 7 will require the most effort out of all of the others, but it is entirely possible to do so from the start without having to kill a single enemy in Elden Ring. It is important that players ignore all enemies they will come across and remember to use every Site of Grace they find. Heading back to Liurnia of the Lakes, players will need to travel to the mouth of the main lake, which is the part closest to Limgrave. From there, head northwest into the wooded area of the lake to find Laskyar Ruins, find the stone gazebo with a teleporter and use it. This will take players to the entrance of the Academy of Raya Lucaria.
Heading inside, players should activate the Site of Grace, go down the elevator and follow the path forward until they come across the double doors. In this room, players can go to the opposite side of the entrance to find a Somber Smithing Stone 3 if they so wish. Otherwise, head left after entering and again to find another Site of Grace. After that, players should proceed forward from the Grace and outside to the graveyard, which they should run through as they avoid Elden Ring's creepy undead enemies by holding to the right until they enter a building and come across a giant turning wheel. Jump onto the platform to head to the top, at which point players should run to the other side of the wheel in order to catch another platform going down. After getting to the bottom, they will come across an Iron Maiden that will try to grab the player and put them into its "belly." Players must make sure to die to this attack as it will transport them to the Volcano Manor.
The first thing players must do here is reach the closest piece of terrain down into the lava while trying to avoid taking full fall damage, as the distance can be deadly in Elden Ring. This can be achieved by finding a ledge and falling "against" the rocky terrain in order to slide down at the end. As soon as they hit the lava, players should drink their flasks and roll to safety. After that, head west and up the ramp and turn left after the stairs to jump onto some buildings. Players must follow the roofs westward until they come across a lower one containing a corpse with the Somber Smithing Stone 6.
Where to find Somber Smithing Stones 7 in Elden Ring
Next, jump down from the roof and head east to return to the ramp, only this time after the stairs, head forward into a small hanging cage. After getting to the top, turn left while carefully avoiding the dangerous enemy that lingers there, and then go left again to activate the lever and raise the bridge. On the other side, hanging from a ledge, is a body containing the Somber Smithing Stone 7. However, getting to it will require a tricky jump in Elden Ring. First, players must jump onto a little knob protruding from the bridge and use it to jump on top of the stone handrail adjacent to the two chained metal wheels. After that, get on top of the larger wheel and try to jump to the ledge with the torch that is next to the body. This might require a few tries, but if successful, players should be able to walk along the ledge to loot the item and then make sure to die to teleport back to where they first spawned in this area.
Now that players have both Somber Smithing Stones from Elden Ring's Volcano Manor, they will need to find a Site of Grace, or otherwise, they won't be able to teleport out. After spawning back at the "start," players must head towards the lava cave instead of jumping down. Jump along the terrain to find a tunnel leading down and head east while avoiding the fire slugs. Players should continue jumping down from the platform to platform until they reach a built platform. Go up the stairs and to the right to find a Site of Grace while avoiding the ambushing enemies in this area.
Where to find Somber Smithing Stones 8 and 9 in Elden Ring
Fortunately, reaching these two Somber Smithing Stones is much easier than the previous ones as it will only require players to travel to the northwestern region of Caelid in Elden Ring. There, players will find the region's Divine Tower, at the front of which is a Scarab containing the Somber Smithing Stone 8. It may take a while for players to kill it depending on their level, but as long as they keep hitting it, it won't disappear. After that, follow the path out of the tower and hug the left to find a path leading down and north. At the end of that path, players will find a circle of chairs and a few bodies containing items, one of which is the Somber Smithing Stone 9.
Where to find the Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone
Getting the final Somber Smithing Stone will require players to advance White-Faced Varré's questline to the point where they gain entrance to Mohgwyn's palace. This Elden Ring NPC is likely the first one players will meet as he is standing in front of the First Step Site of Grace at the start of the game. Next, players will need to beat Godrick in order to have him move to the northeastern corner of the Rose Church in Liurnia of the Lakes, located to the south of the large island in the middle of the main lake.
After players respond positively to all of his inquiries, he will give them several Festering Bloody Fingers and task them with invading other players. Players will need to do this three times, but they do not have to win and can even leave the world right after entering another player's world. After performing the three invasions in Elden Ring, Varré will ask players if they want to join his order and request the blood of a maiden. Players can acquire this at the Church of Inhibition which is located directly east of Smithing Master Iji, on the other side of the map, and the main road on top of a cliff. Returning with the blood-soaked cloth to Varré will have him award you with a Bloody Finger, a reusable invasion item, and the Pureblood Knight's Medal.
Using the Knight's Medal will teleport players to Mohgwyn's Palace, after which players should head up the stairs to find the Dynasty Mausoleum Site of Grace. From here, players follow the path upwards until they go through a very tall doorway that leads into a dark cave. Head left to go up the cave, then right at the intersection, and then left at the tombstones. Proceed forward to go up some more stairs and turn right to find another set going up to the left and out of the cave. Here, players will find another Site of Grace and a bit further ahead, where several enemies face a statue, in front of which is a chest containing the Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. With this, players can take any weapon that requires Somber Stones and max it out early in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.