Getting to the Abyssal Woods in Shadow of The Erdtree is hard enough, but once you arrive there and want to reach Midras Manse, it gets so much worse. Here is how I made it through the maddening fields to the relative safety of the hall. Check our guides hub for all your Elden Ring tips and tricks.
Reach the Abyssal Woods
I would recommend using the guide for the second illusory wall in Shadow of The Erdtree to get to the Abyssal Woods and Midras Manse early. Our full guide on it is here. In brief, you need to begin at the Main Gate Plaza Site of Grace in Shadow Keep and head up the stairs through the door.
At the top of these stairs, take a right and look for a hole in the wall on your left. This will lead you down a ladder and behind a waterfall. From here, follow the path until you reach a collectible painting. At this location, turn right and hit the wall indicated in our guide to open the route to the Abyssal Woods.
Navigating the Abyssal Woods in Shadow of The Erdtree
There is madness everywhere in the Abyssal Woods on the way to Midras Manse. It will try to kill you in ways you never imagined possible. Be prepared for a horrible time and also a little nudity. If you have a high-focus build, you may find this area a little easier, but I doubt it.
Leaving Shadow Keep to the Darklight Catacombs
Once you exit from the secret entrance to the Abyssal Woods, you will find yourself in a graveyard of Furnace Golems. Pick up a few of their Furnace Visage from the corpses, but be aware there is still one alive, and it will try to kill you.
Make your way to the far side of the lake, and on the left, you will find your first Site of Grace. Check in and then make your way onwards.
Navigating this part of the map will require you to run along the edges of the river using the ledges. Swap from side to side and carefully climb down the waterfalls as you find them. Be aware that there are a lot of flying enemies, and while you can simply run past them, I recommend thinning the herd now and again. They are relentless.
Stick to the right-hand side until you reach a site of grace called Recluses River Downstream. Here, you can peer over the edge and notice platforms you need to navigate down. My recommendation is to never jump; always roll. This will prevent you from overshooting.
Head further south, being careful of the Hippopotamuses in the lake. Once you reach the edge, look over again until you see more ledges leading to the lower floor. You will have to once again, roll down these to get to the Darklight Catacombs embedded in the cliff face.
Enter the Darklight Catacombs and follow our guide here to reach the other side.
Forsaken Graveyard
Leaving the Darklight Catacombs will kick you into a boss fight area in the Forsaken Graveyard area of Abyssal Woods. Jori, Elder Inquisitor isn’t too much of a challenge, depending on your level. They are a sorcerer, so I suggest closing the gap and focusing on them entirely. Close range is not their strong point.
At the midway point, Jori will summon a group of allies. Ignore these completely and focus all your attacks on Jori. Their health is very low, and once they are dead, so are their allies. Once you have cleared this area, use the Site of Grace and get ready for the worst area in the Abyssal Woods walkthrough.
Jori, Elder Inquisitor loot
When you defeat this rather easy optional boss in the Abyssal Woods, it will drop the Barbed Staff-Spear. The Great Spear levels with Dex, Strength, and Faith. It deals both Physical and Holy damage.
Say goodbye to your Horse
As you ride on from the Forsaken Graveyard Site of Grace, your horse will suddenly disappear. You cannot summon it back due to it being far too scared. Continue heading southwest, avoiding the rats. Don’t worry about the sheep. I know their eyes are red, but they’re mostly harmless. You will eventually reach the Woodlands Trail Site of Grace.
Optional Scadutree Fragment
Before making your way to Midras Manse, you may want to head south to collect a Scadutree Fragment. From the Woodlands Trail site of grace, head south, between the valley of rocks. Be aware, you will be invaded by a Madness Bird between these rocks. Kill it before it makes you completely insane. Being forewarned about it is enough to beat it usually.
Keep heading south until you see the church in the distance. Here you will find a Scadutree Fragment and the Abandoned Church Site of Grace. To continue through the Abyssal Woods to Midras Manse, head back to the Woodlands Trail Site of Grace.
Through the Abyssal Woods to Midras Manse
Now, from the Woodlands Trail, head south and then west, following the river that runs west along the ground between the high rock walls. There will be rats along this route, but you can ignore them if you’re in a rush. After all, the runes don’t do much compared to the Scadutree Fragments.
Follow the riverbed west until you reach the next Site of Grace. This is, finally, the Abyssal Woods Site of Grace, where everything is about to go horrendously wrong. Check into the grace, and get comfortable, you’ll probably be visiting a few times. I suggest spending your Runes.
Also, as an important note, take your clothes off. Seriously. Take all your armor off. You want to be as quiet and light as possible. This will make the next section so much easier.
Optional Skadutree Fragment
From the Abyssal Woods Site of Grace, head north towards the cliff face. After killing the rats, you can climb the ledge behind them against the cliff wall. Head east along the wall until you reach the end.
If you look down, you will see a corpse by a tree. This guy is holding onto yet another of the Scadutree Fragments in Shadow of the Erdtree. Thanks, guy.
How to get past the unkillable Lantern madness enemies in Abyssal Woods
Now, you will see two ways forward from the Abyssal Woods Site of Grace. To get to Midras Manse, we want to head down the cliff face to the west. You will notice the Lantern Heads wandering around down there.
These enemies, I believe, are bugged. They cannot be hit by weapons, but they can be parried, provided you have a shield with this capability. However, the parry window is brutally small for enemies that will constantly respawn and are everywhere. So, take your clothes off and get ready to sneak.
Drop down into the valley of the Lantern Heads and immediately head to the right, against the rock face. You will notice a lot of long grass and shadows here. Do not rush this, and enter into sneak mode.
Edging along the rock face, slowly make your way west, paying attention to where the Lantern Heads are looking. Take your time and use the trees and long grass to obscure the view. Continue on, under the rock bridge, and to the next area with an open section you can carefully crouch-run across.
This area is guarded by a Statue of Marika, meaning if you die, you won’t have to get all the way back to the Site of Grace. However, this doesn’t mean you can be careless. If caught, it is guaranteed death.
In this section, stick to the right wall until you see a chance to cross to the left. When the lantern’s heads are turned, make your way to the left side, and you should be clear to continue west across the lake to the Divided Falls Site of Grace. Congratulations, you made it past the Lanterns. You have my permission to put your clothes back on.
How to kill the unkillable madness Lanterns in Abyssal Woods
It is possible to kill these enemies, provided your parry game is on point. If you want to kill them instead of sneaking like some kind of worm, equip the Golden Parry Ash of War and a shield that can parry. To successfully parry the Lantern’s unkillable madness enemies in Abyssal Woods, you must parry just as they lift their wand to its highest point.
Parry at this moment, and you can finally attack them. I think they are bugged. The window is far too small for an enemy like this. Killing them may reward you with the Aged One’s Exultation Talisman. This increases attack when there is Madness in the vicinity.
The last leg to Midras Manse
From the Divided Falls Site of Grace, it is only a short throw to Midras Manse with no more of those infuriating monsters. Head south from the Site of Grace and under the rock bridge at the far side of the lake. Be aware of the sorcerers. They’re not too tough to kill
Drop down the ledge, and head west, sticking to the wall on your right to climb up the gradual incline. Follow the wall around until you are eventually facing east, and continue heading upwards using the inclines. Again, be aware of the sorcerers.
Continue forward east until you come to the base of a large grey tree. Here, you can turn to the south and you should be able to just about make out Midras Manse in the distance. You will have to start dropping down the ledges to reach it, taking your time to ensure you don’t fall too far. From here, it is a straight shot to Midras Manse in Abyssal Woods and into an all-new type of hell.
Welcome to Midras Manse, home to several interesting bosses, Midras herself, and some great loot.
