The Shadow Keep inElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is an incredibly dense area. With hours of content to explore and entrances that don’t have any relation to their counterparts, the chances of you getting lost or finding yourself uncertain about reaching other areas is very, very high.

Thankfully, Shadow Keep’s nine floors, two entrances, and four bosses are far easier when you can do it with someone else. Engaging in our own type of jolly cooperation, we offer you this comprehensive guide on all the highlights of this impressive and massive dungeon.

Marked map in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree shows the path to Shadow Keep’s Church District.

How To Enter Shadow Keep: Church District (East Entrance)

Finding the second Shadow Keep entrance is a long and lengthy process that requires a bit of backtracking and exploration in new areas.

If you are looking for this entrance, then it is likely you have not yet discovered the east Scadu Altus with the Cathedral of Manus Metyr.

Player finds the entrance to Bonny Village inside the Moore Ruins while riding Torrent in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

If you haven’t already, we highly recommend you make sure you’ve faced and defeated Queelign twice before (at the Belurat Tower Settlement and Church of the Crusade in Scadu Altus). Without completing this step, part of this walkthrough will be unavailable to you.

Your first step isfinding the Moore Ruinsin the central area of the Scadu Altus.

Player stands and watches the approach of a Greater Potentate in the Bonny Village in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

You need to find the hidden path to the Bonny Village via a very narrow alleyway between two dilapidated buildings (not the giant hole in the ground! But do try nearby).

As long as youventure through all of Bonny Villagealong the main path, you’ll eventuallypass through:

Player locks onto the monster under the Church District water in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

Just continuealong the main path north-eastuntil you see a large gate doorwhich will lead into the Shadow Keep: Church District.

How To Reach The Shadow Keep: Storehouse, Back Section

This watery area is fairly straightforward with only a brief detour for an important upgrade item.

Your main goal is to jumpacross the building rooftopsacross the area, though there is a caveat:

Player looks at the circular structure containing a Great Ghost Glovewort and a water monster in the Chruch District in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

A watery monster lurks just out of sight and will gobble you up if you spend too long near the water’s edge.

Our first and only detour will require us getting up close and personal with this monster as weventure to the left to a circular structured area.

Messmer’s exploding corpses in the Church District rise in front of the player in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

You’ll have tosprint and jump across several logshere to reach the far side and loop around to take theGreat Grave Glovewort.

Return to the main rooftop sectionuntil you reach asquare area to the west.

Player finds a rising ledge up to a new level in the Church District in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

Flaming corpses will rise from the ground as you near. They’re not too dangerous, but they do explode after seeing you.

You can stop their explosions by inflicting Frostbite.

From this area,use one of the narrow ledges on the far side to go northand up to a new ledge (again with more exploding corpses; it’s fireworks season, after all).

The rooftop ahead will also have a dagger Fire Knight guarding x3Ember of Messmer, so be careful proceeding.

Player jumps onto and climbs a support pillar in the Church District in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

On the far south side of the rooftops,look eastto see several long pillar-supports. You have tojump to themin order to proceed up to the next rooftop.

This next rooftop has a giant hole in the middle of it.

Player sprints toward the Prayer Room in the Church District in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

You’ll need to:

Instead of going toward the visible Fire Knight for now,turn around and head around the cornerto the northeast.

There’s a locked door here that you canopen with thePrayer Room Key.

Player decides which Iris to give to Queelign in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

You get this item as a reward for defeating Queelign a second time.

Inside, Queelign himself will be lying on the ground.

At this point,you have two options:

If you don’t yet have an Iris of Occultation, you can come back to this location soon.

To find out what happens for each item, see our spoilered expandable below as this affects more than just Queelign.

Spoilers Ahead!If you give the Iris of Grace to Queelign, you will receive his Spirit Ash.

If you give him the Iris of Occultation, you will be given his sword, theQueelign’s Greatsword.

Choosing to give him either does not affect the Count Ymir and Cathedral of Manus Metyr-related questlines as there are multiples of the Iris of Grace and Iris of Occultation, but the same decision will apply for them as well. Grace will give an ash, and Occultation will give a weapon.

Leaving the Prayer Room,go down the hall and take the first leftavailable for aRune of an Unsung Heroon a corpse.

With that in hand, you canfight the dagger Fire Knightpatrolling the hall finally.

Continuing down the hall, there’s another FIre Knight ahead.

After defeating it, you shouldgo down the corridor on the left(facing North). We’ll ignore the southern room and the statue just for a moment.

Sprinting across the bridge to avoid any water monsters,take the elevator upso you can claim the Storehouse, Back Section Site of Grace at the top.

Oh, and remember that pesky fire mage shade up top that bothered us in the first part? Well, it’s time for revenge and a Smithing Stone [9].

How To Drain The Church District

Take the elevator back downand nowventure into the room with the itemin the center.

Ignore the statue’s item andrun around, cutting through the hallway on the other sideto a bridgethat goes over the water.

Beware the bat that patrols around the corner on the far side.

As you go up the stairs on the left,jump over the gap in the walkway(we’re warning you because it got us; avenge us, friends).

There are two bats hiding around the corner on the right, so once they’re grounded, you canclimb the ladder ahead.

Up top isa lever you can pushto drain the Church District. This will make available the entire ground level of this area, but we’ll focus on the best parts for you.

From here, take the ladder back down and then, very carefully,descend into the room next to the ladder using one of the platformson the way.

Search for the Sunken Chapeland the Site of Grace within.

Returning to the Church District area now that it is drained will automatically reward you with the Iris of Occultation.

How To Find The Scadutree Avatar

From the Sunken Chapel Site of Grace,travel to the far sideto see a circular area surrounding a dead tree.

There’san Erdtree Avatar defending this area, so tread with caution anddefeat itfor theMantle of Thornsspell.

In the area ahead to the north, there’s a small room guarded by a Fire Knight.

Unlike other Fire Knights, he suffers from severe bouts of loneliness that can only be cured bysummoning hoards of exploding corpses(we all have a type).

However, his summoning is his only strength, sodispatch himfor theDeath Mask Helm.

His friends will disappear after he dies.

Search the chamber with the statue of Marikato find theFire Knight’s Sealhiding behind her (sneaky little thing).

With all the items now filling up your bag, you canleave the chapel through the northeast corridor.

There’s a balcony with two stairs on either side framing a door.Go upstairsbriefly for theBattlefield Priest’s Cookbook [1].

Then, you may nowdescend through the doorto the Tree Worship Site of Grace.

This is where you shouldstart getting ready for your next boss fight.

Remember to grab theIris of Graceon your way down, past the Site of Grace and to the boss room.

How To Defeat The Scadutree Avatar

The Scadutree Avatar is not a hard boss, but it is certainly a quirky one.

A three-stage bosswith three separate healthbars.It will keep resummoning itselfwith each death.

As it isn’t a hard boss,we’ve got a quick summaryto help you get the edge on defeating it quickly:

Once you’ve defeated the Scadutree Avatar, your reward will be theRemembrance of the Shadow SunflowerandMiquella’s Great Rune.

What an absolutely amazing find!

But we’re not done yet, soreturn to the Backstage Site of Gracein the Specimen Storeroom.

How To Find The Storehouse, Loft Site Of Grace

From the Backstage Site of Grace,run across the bridgeinto an armoury where several fire mage shades and a Fire Knight are roaming.

There’s aCarian Thrusting Shieldagainst the back wall.

At this point, you’re able to return to the elevator down into the Church District area again. You can now jump into the statue of Marika’s hand we ignored earlier for oneScadutree Fragment.

Return to the bridge to take the ladder upto a ledge where a Fire Knight is standing. Kick him off, just to be a bully.

Then, up the stairs nearby, watch out for another Fire Knight that is patrolling the area behind you and to the right. He’s guarding aFire Coil.

Exploring the area,go northeast to a balconywhere you cangrab theFire Serpentincantationfor free off a corpse. And free is best.

Back inside the stacks,look at the wall to the southeastto discover a large hole.Jump through it.

To your right, the outside path has aBlessed Bone Shardand no enemies, sostroll up to the next Site of Graceat the top.

How To Reach Commander Gaius And The Back Gate Site Of Grace

From here, you cantake the nearby liftinto the Lofts area.

This pesky area is about to test every nerve in your body. Keep your snacks close for patience and prosperity.

Your first task is learning how to deal with the bats here.

Exploring the lofts, take the first ladder (once you grab theThin Beast Bonesaround the corner) you come across. Then, take a left.

Up here, there’s aSmithing Stone [7]on a corpse on a central pillar.

Follow the loft pathto a bat in the southeast and thenaround a corner northeast that looks like a dead end.

You’ll have tojump downonto another beam and thentake the first ladder you see up.

There’s a Fire Knight up here.

Watch out because it also can use the new golden ring incantation to push you off.

Travel to the liftwithin sight and take it down to an area with another Fire Knight and aRune of an Unsung Hero.

Then, you cantake the lift up again.

Continue in the lofts area and take your first right toward a visible ladder nearby.

How To Defeat Commander Gaius

There are not enough words in the English dictionary to fully describe the amount of hatred the community feels for this boss.

If Messmer the Impaler was fair, Commander Gaius can sometimes feel like his exact opposite.

His first attack will always be a boar-charge attack, and its dodge window is very small. Often, you’ll be clipped by a final frame as you’re dodging through.

The best way to avoid his first attack is to start sprinting forward and either left or right. Then, dodge roll in that direction just as he’s about to strike.

When fighting Commander Gaius seriously (and not using the many, many cheeses he deserves from a dedicated community of YouTubers), we would like you tokeep these notes in mind:

With much patience and inner-frustration, you will eventually put the boar and his rider down.

Your reward? TheRemembrance of the Wild Boar Riderand,much further ahead, fiveScadutree Fragments.

With the back lot available to you and all these rewards in tow, you’re able to now finally say thatyou’ve explored all of the Shadow Keep.