Elden Ring: Nokstella, the Eternal City walkthrough
Another labyrinthine city awaits us in Nokstella, and it's a worthwhile detour. Here's how to find it and get through it.
Nokstella, the Eternal City in Elden Ring, is a hidden place in the underworld deep below Liurnia.
You can reach this location by following the main part of the Ainsel River. Always follow the course of the river and through a cave full of ants. Behind it you will discover the entrance to the Eternal City. There are many hardships (and important items) that lie along the way, however, so here's how to get to Nokstella, the Eternal City in Elden Ring in one piece.
On this page:
- Exploring Ainsel River Main
- Entering the Uhl Palace Ruins
- Reaching the Nokstella Waterfall Basin Site of Grace
- Exploring the east side of Nokstella
- Defeat Baleful Shadow to continue Ranni's Quest
Exploring Ainsel River Main
Starting at the Site of Grace "Ainsel River Main", you'll find directly to the left 3x Magic Grease in the ruins. On the right, there's also a Nox Swordstress riding a giant ant. Next to it grows 1x Ghost Glovewort (7).
In the ruins in the centre, kill the two Nox Monks and loot 2x Holy Grease Drawstring and 1x Smithing Stone (6) from them.
Behind them, you can run around the building to the north-west and find 3x Silver Tear Husks by a corpse on the cliffs.
In the building to the north-west, you'll discover some snails guarding 1x Celestial Dew as well.
Entering the Uhl Palace Ruins
Once you've got all these items, follow the course of the river westwards, through the Uhl Palace Ruins. You will see more snails on the right, next to which you will find 1x Smithing Stone (6).
The area by the water is heavily guarded by lots of Silver Tears, which will explode in a burst of lightning when they die. Luckily, they will also harm their mates in the process, and the ant with the rider that's also nearby.
As soon as things are quiet here, you can explore the surrounding area. There is 1x Golden Rune (10), 2x Ghost Glovewort (8) and 1x Ghost Glovewort (7) on the left side of the river. Continue westwards through the ankle-high water.
On the left under the roof are some more Silver Tears guarding a corpse with 1x Somber Smithing Stone (7).
Just opposite to the north, kill three more giant ants to find a body on the cliffs as a reward, which contains 1x Stonesword Key. There's also a Golden Seed at the top in the next section).
Reaching the Nokstella Waterfall Basin Site of Grace
In the building to the south-west, you will find a lift that will take you down to the next Site of Grace "Nokstella Waterfall Basin". Travel back up, first completing the area from which you came.
To the right of the building with the lift, more Silver Tears have taken up residence and are guarding a corpse with 1x Celestial Dew.
There is also 1x Ghost Glovewort (8) in the water, and to the north-west you will find two giant head ants, but you can leave them to the left. They are not guarding anything important.
This wraps up the right-hand side of Nokstella and everything that happens down by the water. In the next section, we'll take you through the buildings and staircases on the left-hand side of the area.
Exploring the east side of Nokstella
Starting at the Site of Grace "Nokstella, Eternal City", continue forward until you reach the Golden Seed at the end of the area.
Head up the stairs to the west directly behind the Site of Grace. After the first few steps, you can enter a building on the left to kill a Nox Swordstress. The ornate treasure chest in the right-hand corner can be opened to reveal an Ant's Skull Plate.
Follow the stairs further up, collect 1x Fan Dagger on the railing on the right, and a group of Silver Tears will come towards you. With luck, you'll only have to kill one of them before its lightning explosion takes out the rest.
On the top of the stairs, you can run round the left-hand building and find the Archer Ashes on the right-hand side at the end of the path. The building can also be entered, and contains many Silver Tears that protect themselves with shields and attack with spears. Once you've taken them out, you can take the Ghost Gloveword Picker's Bell Bearing (2) from the treasure chest.
Leave the building and continue northwards, where a Tear will fall on your head next to the item by the corpse - 1x Golden Rune (10).
To the left, you can enter the building through an open window and discover another treasure chest with a 1x Somber Smithing Stone (7).
Continue along the path outside to find another 1x Golden Rune (10) on the railing on the right, and fork the path at the end of the stairs to the west.
At the building on the left, you can sacrifice a Stonesword Key in an imp statue, but be prepared for the Silver Sphere coming from the right to attack. It's worth killing, as it will drop a Larval Tear on defeat.
Once it's been dealt with, the room you just opened with the Stonesword Key has two Nox Monks inside, which you'll need to beat to make your way to a treasure chest that contains the Nightmaiden & Swordstress Puppets Ashes.
Now cross the bridge where the Silver Sphere rolled at you from. Before the end, you will find a corpse with 1x Golden Rune (10). Here, the path forks again. First, enter the open building on the right-hand side, but be very careful, as a Silver Sphere will spawn behind you. The doors only open again once it has been defeated. It leaves behind a Larval Tear, and a treasure chest with 1x Great Ghost Glovewort.
The only way left is up the stairs to the west. On the railing to the left, you will find another 1x Golden Rune (10), and at the end of the steps another building that can be entered.
Before going inside, though, follow the path to the east on the right, where you can collet 1x Smithing Stone (6) to the left of the locked building.
Now, enter the building - again, with extreme caution - as heaps of Silver Tears and Spheres which will fall from the ceiling. Most of them should be killed by the lightning explosion in a chain reaction, though. Be careful with the Sphere, which leaves behind another Larval Tear, and loot the treasure chest, as it contains 1x Somber Smithing Stone (7).
To the left, cross another bridge to the west and climb the stairs, where a Teardrop Scarab will drop another 1x Somber Smithing Stone (6).
The building at the top of the stairs is a church where you have to defeat another two Silver Tears. They transform into upright walking fighters and shouldn't be taken lightly.
Defeat the Nox Monk next, and take the Moon of Nokstella talisman from the decorated treasure chest. This talisman will increase your Memory Slots by 2, making it a vital pick-up for players with magic builds.
Then, continue behind the left exit. You will come to a lift, which in turn is connected to the Nokstella area. Take it down and collect the Golden Seed (which you could already see from below) and drop down. This area is now almost completely explored, so just a little bit more to go now.
Finally, we turn our attention to the second staircase behind the Site of Grace "Nokstella, Eternal City" (located to the left of the river with numerous Silver Tears), which we haven't explored yet. Go here, and you will come to a chamber with a monk and a treasure chest with a Ghost Glovewort (9) inside.
That's it for this section. Fast travel to the Site of Grace "Nokstella Waterfall Basin". At the rock face to the north-east, you can find 1x Ghost Glovewort (9), then continue through the tunnels along the river.
Defeat Baleful Shadow to continue Ranni's Quest
There are Basilisks here that spray a deadly black smoke which will kill you instantly if you stand in it for too long. Collect 1x Smithing Stone (4) and 1x Smithing Stone (5) and continue into the area behind.
You'll find the NPC called Baleful Shadow here - an enemy you'll need to defeat as part of Ranni's quest - but this guy isn't the easy kind, so don't take him lightly. Once he's defeated, you'll receive the Discarded Palace Key, to be used in the Raya Lucaria Grand Library, where Rennala is located.
The adjoining corridor leads to a lift, and this leads to the area below: the Lake of Rot. That's everything you need to know about getting through Nokstella, the Eternal City.