Hidden doors and dark secrets await in Volcano Manor.
An evil secret resides hidden in Volcano Manor. One of the Shardbearers — demigods you’re tasked with hunting down in Elden Ring — has gone missing. The ominous Volcano Manor is literally built into an active volcano and contains the Lady Tanith questline. By joining her house, you’ll be sent on missions to kill Tarnished NPCs. You can even hunt other players. This is an ominous group, but you won’t have to kill too many characters to discover the manor’s secrets. After two assassinations, you’ll be on your way to a secret area and an optional boss.
Behind Volcano Manor is a sprawling Prison Town filled with strange enemies and creeping horrors. The winding road takes you to the domain of the God-Devouring Serpent, and Rykard himself. The blasphemous snake might be the cruelest of the demigods, and you’ll see evidence of his past atrocities all over the ruined village.
Follow this path to encounter one of the secret Shardbearers. Rykard is not required to complete the main story. There are actually multiple Shardbearers you can skip and still become Elden Lord. But who’s going to ignore one of the coolest secrets in the game?
More Elden Ring guides:
10 Tips You Need Early | First Shardbearer | Walkthrought Pt. 1 | Unlock Raya Lucaria | Walkthrought Pt. 2 | Great Lift of Dectus | Walkthrough Pt. 3 | Margit, The Fell Omen Boss Guide | Godrick, The Grafted Boss Guide | Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon Boss Guide | Starscourge Radahn Boss Guide | Godfrey, First Elden Lord Boss Guide | Morgott, Omen King Boss Guide | How To Find Malenia, Blade of Miquella | How To Find Mohg, Lord of Blood | Frenzied Flame Ending Guide | Age of the Stars Ending Guide
Secrets Of Volcano Manor | Lord of Blasphemy Quest Guide
To fight Rykard, the Shardbearer, you need to partially complete Lady Tanith’s quest in Volcano Manor. Volcano Manor is located in the activate volcano on Mt. Gelmir.
- Step #1: Joining House Tanith
- Travel to Volcano Manor and join Lady Tanith’s house. Find letters in the Drawing Room (use the Drawing Room Key) to get jobs. Talk to the characters here.
- The letters mark Tarnished NPCs. Invade using the Recusant Finger. Defeat targets and continue to get new assassinations.
- After killing two targets, I was able to progress.
- Step #2: Finding The Secret Path
- Talk to the Serpent Zorayas every time you visit. She’s the hunched NPC — keep talking and you’ll learn her true form and name. Complete more missions until she reveals she saw a secret passage.
- In the room next door, walk up to the wall in the back-right corner. This is the first room to the right in the hallway with Zorayas.
- Follow the secret path through the manor. In the secret path, attack the walls to reveal more hidden rooms. The path eventually leads to the Prison Town Church site of grace.
- Step #3: Through The Prison Town
- Progress into the Prison Town until you reach the grand cathedral and encounter a Godskin Noble boss. Before entering, use the large switch to raise a bridge leading back to the Prison Town Church site of grace.
- Defeat the Godskin Noble to get the Serpent’s Amnion [Key Item] on the altar. Return to Zorayas and give her the Serpent’s Amnion.
- Continue into the Prison Town until you reach a portal in the upper manor. The portal will take you to the boss arena.
Step #4: Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy Boss
Collect the Serpent Hunter Sword to fight the God-Devouring Serpent.
BOSS: God-Devouring Serpent
An enormous, coiled serpent in a lava-filled underground chamber beneath Volcano Manor. To fight the snake, equip the Serpent Hunter greatsword — for this fight only, the sword has a special power that gives it extreme attack range.
Using the Serpent Hunter and use its long straight-forward attack to launch a burst of magic, or swing wide to deal more damage. This is a simple, straightforward stage of the fight. It isn’t until the second battle that this fight gets much, much harder.
BOSS: Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
Rykard has revealed himself after defeating the serpent. Rykard’s face appears on the twisted snake corpse and pulls an enormous blasphemous sword from his throat. He gains overwhelming magic attacks — and the boss is incredibly difficult. This is a hidden optional Shardbearer, and is tough enough to save for the very end of the game. Boost your magic defense and try to take him on.
Goodluck, Tarnished.
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