Unlock Secret Pathways with These 11 Elden Ring Items
Elden Ring is a game built on mystery. From illusory walls to hidden elevators and locked towers, the Lands Between are filled with secrets waiting to be uncovered. Some of the most rewarding areas — offering rare loot, lore, or powerful weapons — are only accessible with specific items. Knowing what to bring and where to look can mean the difference between a standard playthrough and a truly legendary adventure.
Here are 11 essential items that help unlock secret pathways and hidden content, perfect for players who love exploration and discovery.
1. Stonesword Keys
Arguably the most obvious item on this list, Stonesword Keys are used to unlock imp statue seals throughout the world. These often lead to new dungeons, hidden bosses, or short alternate routes. Some even open areas where rare cheap Elden Ring Items can be found early if you're daring enough.
Tip: Always keep a few in your inventory. You never know when you’ll run into a fog gate worth clearing.
2. Torch or Lantern
This might sound basic, but many hidden paths are in pitch-dark environments like the Catacombs or subterranean regions. A torch or lantern allows you to spot interactable walls or climbable ledges more easily. Sometimes, light even reveals hidden messages or doorways.
3. Bewitching Branch
This consumable item can turn certain enemies into temporary allies. It’s not just for combat — charming an enemy guarding a strange area might cause them to move, unlocking new routes or activating hidden mechanics.
4. Margit’s Shackle
Most players use this item just to pin down Margit during the boss fight, but it has a hidden secondary use: triggering unseen switches in Leyndell. Like many of Elden Ring’s tools, its utility goes beyond its original purpose — especially for secret-finding builds.
5. Imbued Sword Keys
These rare keys are used specifically at the teleportation portals in the Four Belfries. Each portal sends you to a distant, secret area — including one with a powerful boss and another that drops highly useful upgrade materials. Think of them as fast-track tickets to obscure zones you might not otherwise reach for hours.
6. Fanged Imp Ashes
Summoning this particular Spirit Ash in specific locations can reveal interactions that other spirits don’t trigger. In some catacombs and ruins, the presence of the right summon opens doors or causes traps to deactivate — a hidden feature many players miss entirely.
7. Perfumer’s Bottle
While not a “key” item in the traditional sense, crafting and using specific perfumes — especially the Uplifting Aromatic — can make you tanky enough to survive environmental hazards long enough to explore areas you’d otherwise skip. Poison swamps, fire-filled corridors, or high-fall zones often conceal secret pathways.
8. Deathroot
Feeding Deathroot to Gurranq, the Beast Clergyman, gradually unlocks new rewards — but also triggers changes in the world itself. While not all of them lead to physical pathways, certain NPC questlines and alternate endings require this obscure progression item.
9. Celestial Dew
Found in rare locations or purchased from hidden merchants, this item allows you to atone for sins at the Church of Vows. But more than just clearing your name, it can also reset hostile NPCs who would otherwise block access to secret questlines or locked areas.
10. Haligtree Secret Medallion (Left and Right)
Individually, these medallions do nothing — but when brought together, they reveal the hidden path to Miquella’s Haligtree. Holding the combined medallion at the Grand Lift of Rold unlocks an entirely new region, rich with challenges and lore.
Tip: This is one of the few mandatory steps for players aiming to complete all endings or explore every legacy dungeon. Getting both halves isn’t easy, so be ready to invest time or even look for elden ring runes for sale if you want to prep faster.
11. Sealbreaker Key
Sellen’s questline offers this special key that unlocks a sealed chamber in the Academy of Raya Lucaria. It leads to one of the game’s most lore-rich subplots and gives access to items and spells unavailable anywhere else. If you're a sorcery-focused player, this hidden path is essential.
Part of the magic in Elden Ring is that the world doesn’t spell everything out for you. It rewards observation, curiosity, and experimentation. Sometimes that means re-exploring familiar zones with a new item in your pouch or circling back to dungeons that felt incomplete.
Unlocking these secret paths doesn’t just offer stronger gear or more runes — it deepens the game’s narrative and sense of wonder. Whether you're grinding naturally or using resources like cheap Elden Ring Items to experiment faster, the real reward lies in discovery. Keep your inventory diverse, revisit old locations, and don’t be afraid to test every suspicious wall.