Elden Ring: How to find and complete the Abandoned Cave

The Gold Scarab, an item that improves your Rune gain passively, is one of the most important items in Elden Ring. Because it's a talisman, it'll readily slot into most builds as a way to supplement your income when exploring or dungeon-crawling. It's not simple to find, though; you'll have to explore the Abandoned Cave, a dangerous dungeon full of Scarlet Rot and venomous opponents. Here's how to find and finish Elden Ring's Abandoned Cave.

First, some preliminary work. Make sure you have lots of Poison and Scarlet Rot cures on hand, especially Neutralizing and Preserving Boluses. You can always equip a Sacred Seal and use the Flame, Cleanse Me! incantation to rapidly clear your condition if you don't have a consistent supply of those. Finally, for the boss, make sure your Ashes and weapons are leveled as high as possible.

How to Get There

Get to the Smoldering Wall Rite of Grace – this is where we'll begin. Avoid the bipedal hounds and the Abductor Virgin by heading east on Torrent. Approach the cliff with caution; you should see a massive branch extending out towards a cave. In the Abandoned Cave, cross the branch and tag the Site of Grace. Prepare your Scarlet Rot healing options before diving down the rabbit hole.

Scarlet Rot, and lots of it

Cure your Scarlet Rot as soon as possible by racing to the Abductor corpse on a tiny island above. You can see Dragonwound Grease in a side tunnel, and it's up to you to decide whether it's worth the trip. Turn on your lantern and make your way down the tunnel to the west. Before continuing, you should see a multiplayer pool symbol that you can enable.

Look down and to the right, over the cliff, before you leap. If you spy an adversary lounging around, jump attack him and finish him off. Continue along the corridor until you reach the target lock. You'll latch onto an infected rat, but there's another nasty foe off in the distance. Continue on after disposing of them, keeping an eye out for two more ill rats waiting in the corner.

The final stretch

A cluster of Miranda plants grow at the end of this tunnel, except instead of poison, they cause Scarlet Rot. Instead of fighting them, sprint to the right and jump up onto the ledge shown above; two venomous opponents were ready to snipe at you from this bluff. From here, you can choose whether or not to fight the Mirandas. If you decide to continue, look for the Cleanrot Knights in the tunnel near where you leaped up.

These knights are formidable, yet only one is initially born. Summon an Ashe's ally as soon as you arrive, if only to distract one of the knights while you concentrate on the other. Simply dodge into their blows and circle behind them, or hit them with a heavy-enough weapon to break their posture. Neither of them is in good health, but they cause a lot of damage. Keep in mind that portion of the arena is infected with Scarlet Rot, which might be problematic if your resources are low. The Gold Scarab, a super-useful item that improves your Rune gain passively and slots into a Talisman slot, is your reward for completing this dungeon.