As well revealing a lot of fascinating lore, it’s also stuffed with NPC quests and side missions, rare loot, and a rather weird ending should you decide to eventually take on Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. However, it’s very easy to miss certain quest steps or complete things out of order and lock yourself out of seeing everything in one playthrough. So we will walk you through it all in our Volcano Manor guide.
Elden Ring Volcano Manor guide
Joining Volcano Manor means going on a Tarnished hunt, murdering travelers and warriors like yourself and stripping their corpses for rare loot. It’s also part of a few NPC questlines, whose stories don’t progress unless you complete at least a few contracts. Getting started and actually reaching a proper ending is more difficult than you might think, though. If you want to get the most out of the Volcano Manor quest, you’ll want to start early. You need to spare Patches in Murkwater Cave back in Limgrave, then speak with him again at the Scenic Isle Site of Grace in Liurnia. You can access and defeat Rykard without doing any of Volcano Manor’s quests, though it comes with a few consequences. After you defeat Rykard - regardless of whether you join the Manor - everyone in the Manor leaves. That means you’ll miss Rya’s quest and all the loot gained from Tanith’s contracts.
How do you get to Volcano Manor in Elden Ring Where is Patches on Mt. Gelmir? Should you join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring? How do you start Bernahl’s quest in Elden Ring? Does Volcano Manor affect the ending in Elden Ring?
How do you get to Volcano Manor in Elden Ring?
There are three possible routes. If you speak with Patches at Scenic Isle, he should tell you about a secret route in the basement of Raya Lucaria. Allow yourself to get drawn in by the Virgin Abductor, the iron maiden-like monster, and you’ll end up underneath Volcano Manor in the Inquisitor’s Chamber. You’ll have to fight (and win against) two more Abductor Virgins to leave, but once you do, you’ll wind up in Mt. Gelmir long before you’re meant to. The Mt. Gelmir map fragment is along the road out front of the manor, past the giant troll. You can also reach the Manor a bit earlier if you start Rya’s side quest. Rya is east of the Scenic Isle Site of Grace first, in one of the small gazebos. She asks you to find a necklace for her, which you can get off the bandit at Boilprawn Shack, north of Scenic Isle. Buy it for 1,000 Runes instead of looting it off his corpse, as he plays a role later in the Dung Eater’s quest. Rya thanks you with an invitation to Volcano Manor, but you’ll need to progress to Altus Plateau before you can do anything with it. If you take the Grand Lift of Dectus to Altus, you should find Rya standing on the platform just in front of the lift. If you took the tunnels instead, she may be near the Erdtree Gazing Hill Site of Grace instead, though she didn’t show up there for me. Speak with her, and she’ll immediately take you to the manor.
How do you cross the Volcano Manor bridge?
If not this route, you’ll just have to reach the manor on foot, which you can do in two ways. The first is reaching the Bridge of Iniquity, near the Corpse-Stench Shack. This is where you’ll end up if you follow the road west of Windmill Village. The bridge is impassable, though. The way forward involves climbing a ladder near the iron maiden-style enemy roaming the soldiers’ encampments. Alternatively, you can take the road through Seethewater, north of Wyndham Ruins, pass the Magma Wyrm near Fort Laiedd, and through Hermit Village. Fight or ignore Demi-Human Queen Maggie, then continue following the path past the soldiers. If you want to continue Patches’ quest, you’ll need to take a short detour.
Where is Patches on Mt. Gelmir?
To the left of the bridge, near the Pumpkin Head, you’ll see several glowing stones. Turn left at the third one, and you’ll see a clump of bushes further back. Patches is in there. Speak with him, then walk toward the edge of the cliff near the red glowing stone. He’ll kick you off – you don’t die though – and then you can speak with him again. He warns you not to join Volcano Manor. From there, cross the bridge, and climb up the ladders and past the Grafted Scion. Turn left when you reach a fork in the road, and cross the bridge. Hop on the Spiritwind, ignore the Fallingstar Beast, and you’ll see the manor straight ahead.
Should you join Volcano Manor in Elden Ring?
Yes, if only to advance several quests and get access to Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. Despite the gravity of the murders you commit, there are no negative consequences – at least, none we’ve come across. Whether you arrive unannounced or with Rya has no bearing on what happens next. Tanith, the lady of the manor, will assign you tasks periodically. These contracts are all assassination missions, where you grab and read a letter, travel to the spot marked on the map, and invade an NPCs world to fight them. The later ones are in Mountaintops of the Giants, so you won’t be able to finish the quest chain right away in most cases. You’ll also want to hold off defeating Rykard until you’re completely finished with the Manor, since everyone leaves shortly afterwards. After your first contract – Old Knight Istvahn in Stormhill, a fairly standard invasion battle – you’ll get the Magma Shot spell from Tanith. Hhead outside and speak with Patches to continue his quest. Berhnal (the Warmaster from Stormhill) will sell you new Ashes of War, and Rya has new dialogue that’s related to her quest, but not vital for advancing it.
Continuing Patches’ quest
Patches gives you a letter from Tanith and asks you to deal with the assassination request for him. Do that, return, and he’ll give you the Magma Whip Candlestick. The second contract tasks you with taking down Idle Riley in Altus Plateau, who’s anything but idle. They use fast-loading crossbow bolts that inflict Scarlet Rot, but once you’re successful, Tanith gives you the Serpentbone Blade katana. You can move forward with Rya’s quest now and unlock the Prison Town legacy dungeon, which leads to Rykard. Hold off defeating him if you want to continue the manor contracts, though.
How do you start Bernahl’s quest in Elden Ring?
After the second contract, speak with Bernahl again. He’ll give you two new contracts to complete together, and then once you’re back at the manor, he rewards you with the Gelmir’s Fury spell. After the second contract is also when Diallos grows disillusioned with the Manor and leaves. Travel to Jarburg in Liurnia to finish his questline.
Does Volcano Manor affect the ending in Elden Ring?
Not as far as we’ve been able to tell. Your final contract takes you to the Mountaintops of the Giants to defeat Hoslow, with the HP-restoring Taker’s Cameo talisman as your reward. Tanith invites you to meet Rykard, but make sure you’ve found Rya in Prison Town and progressed to the point where she asks you to kill her first. Don’t kill her. Defeat Rykard, and the Manor’s inhabitants will disappear – mostly. You can find a letter from Rya in her hiding place in Prison Town, while Tanith is having a bit of a moment in Rykard’s boss arena. Here’s where things get murkier.
What are the Dancer’s Castanets for in Elden Ring?
After defeating Rykard, you’ll find Patches one more time in the Shaded Castle in the north of Atlus Plateau, where he’ll give you Dancer’s Castanets and a new weapon. You’re supposed to give Tanith the Castanets, though if she’s in the boss arena, she won’t take them. We’ve not been able to acquire the Castanets before she moves to Rykard’s room, though, so their purpose remains unknown. For now, you can choose to kill Tanith, get her armor, and defeat her knight before leaving Volcano Manor behind for good. The Knight drops one of the game’s best Incantations, Aspect of the Crucible: Breath, and there’s no indication yet that we’ll need Tanith around for future quests. If you’re looking for more help in The Lands Between, check out our Elden Ring guides collection, including how to help Millicent and the best Ashes of War to outfit your weapons with.
