All Elden Ring Deathroot locations and uses explained

Elden Ring maliketh boss fight black blade beast clergyman
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring Deathroot locations are necessary if you want to appeal to the Beast Clergyman Gurranq and get various Bestial Faith rewards. Gurranq is a terrifying figure in Northeast Caelid, but is essential in Elden Ring if you plan to make use of the Faith stat properly, and to do that you'll need Deathroots, special hidden items with locations all around the map, usually a consequence for beating certain necromantic boss fights. We'll go through how to find all the Deathroot locations, as well as their rewards and how to beat Gurranq, who has something of a... violent episode in the middle of the process.

With that in mind here are all the Elden Ring Deathroot locations, where they're foudn and how they're used. Faith-build players in particular should keep this in mind, as Gurranq's status as a Clergyman means he can really help you out. 

All Elden Ring Deathroot locations

Elden Ring deathroot locations gurranq

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

There's a total of eight Deathroots located around Elden Ring, but most of these are quite hard to get, even when you know where they are. Deathroots are, as you might have guessed, associated with powerful necromantic magics, so players will find them usually after undead boss fights or in catacombs filled with angry skeletons. There's also quite a few of them possessed by the recurring Tibia Mariner boss fights spread across the game. Whichever you think you can get, check out the list below and map above to find all the Deathroots - it's a big process that'll take you through the whole game.

  1. Dropped by the Tibia Mariner boss fight at Summonwater Village.
  2. Dropped by the Tibia Mariner boss fight outside the Carian Study Hall tower.
  3. Dropped by the Tibia Mariner boss fight at Wyndham Ruins, on the border between the Altus Plateau and Mt. Gelmir.
  4. Dropped by the Tibia Mariner boss fight in the graveyard on the higher ridge South of Castle Sol.
  5. Dropped by the Red Wolf of the Champion boss fight at the Gelmir Hero's Grave, the entrance to which is on a grassy plain at the higher points of the mountains.
  6. In a chest inside the Deathtouched Catacombs in Limgrave, behind the Black Knife Assassin boss fight.
  7. In a chest inside the Black Knife Catacombs in Liurnia, behind the Cemetery Shade boss fight.
  8. In a chest inside the Giants' Mountaintops Catacombs in, unsurprisingly, Mountaintops of the Giants, behind the Ulcerated Tree Spirit boss fight.
  9. In a chest inside the secret catacombs within the Hidden Path to the Haligtree in between the Grand Lift of Rold and the Consecrated Snowfields, behind the Stray Mimic Tear boss fight. To find the Catacombs, drop down off the main staircase where the railing is broken to land on an invisible path, then follow them down, using either player messages, Rainbow Stones or Glowstones to check you're on safe, invisible ground and won't drop to your death.

The Tibia Mariners themselves are relatively manageable as boss fights go, as by the time you've unlocked the areas they're in, you're usually at a level ready to take them on. As a rule though, you want to focus on them and not their summoned skeletons, using Torrent to back away whenever they lean back for a big area-of-effect attack, then scout the local area whenever they teleport to a new location.

These Deathroots will get you a lot of good gear, and the important thing is that after getting your first one, you can speak to the Beast Clergyman (explained below) to get the Beast Eye, a special item that, simply by being in your inventory, will alert you to any nearby Deathroots with the message "the Beast Eye quivers". Once it does so, it's time to start searching around, as there's a Deathroot located nearby.

Elden Ring Deathroot uses

Elden Ring deathroot locations gurranq

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Once you have a Deathroot, head back to the Roundtable Hold and talk to D, Hunter of the Dead, the armoured figure who's sitting at the table itself (if he's not there, check the cemetery West of Summonwater Village). He's pretty taciturn, but if you have a Deathroot, he'll mark a location on your map in East Limgrave - a portal to a friend of his.

This portal will take you to the giant mass of fur and teeth known as Gurranq, Beast Clergyman, in the Bestial Sanctum in the Northernmost point of Dragonbarrow. Despite looking terrifying, Gurranq just wants your Deathroots (for now), and will give you a reward for each one brought to him. These rewards are generally Faith-based in nature, as Gurranq specialises in a particular kind of animal magic. Don't worry about conserving your Deathroots - they literally can't be used for any purpose but this one.

Deathroot rewards

Elden Ring deathroot locations gurranq

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Gurranq gives a reward for each of the Deathroots handed over, though the fourth one has… something of a catch associated with it, which we'll address below. Whenever you find one, simply teleport to the Site of Grace nearest to him and hand it over. You'll get these rewards in this order.

  1. Clawmark Seal (Faith Catalyst) and Beast Eye (Key Item)
  2. Bestial Sling (Incantation)
  3. Bestial Vitality (Incantation)
  4. Beast's Roar (Ash of War) and a boss fight of sorts
  5. Beast Claw (Incantation)
  6. Stone of Gurranq (Incantation)
  7. Beastclaw Greathammer (Warhammer weapon)
  8. Gurranq's Beast Claw (Incantation)
  9. Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone (rare upgrade material)

Gurranq boss fight

Elden Ring deathroot locations gurranq

(Image credit: FromSoftware)
Boost your runes!

Elden Ring golden scarab runes cleanrot knights

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Looking to boost the runes you get from combat? Check our guide on how to get the Elden Ring Golden Scarab, a talisman that boosts Rune income!

The boss fight is actually with Gurranq himself, because while it's fine to enjoy Deathroots in moderation, the Beast Clergyman struggles to handle his and ends up going temporarily feral under their influence. Let's not mince words - he's a proper monster when this happens, moving incredibly quickly with a combination of sudden strikes and wide-spread ranged attacks. Even seasoned players can be killed in a single hit, and his magic can still do damage even with your shield up. A lot of tips here are reflected in a late-game mandatory boss fight, which we go over in our guide on how to beat Maliketh in Elden Ring.

The good news is that you don't need to beat him - once you take away about a fifth of his health, he'll suddenly scream and pass out. The next time you visit the Sanctum, he'll be back to normal like it never happened, accepting further Deathroots without the temporary loss of sanity. 

The best thing you can do in the fight is distract him with Ash Spirit Summons. The high-end ones can do a lot of damage and keep his attention while you fire ranged attacks, or at least come in from behind for quick slashes. You'll want to be fast in this confrontation - Gurranq can punch through any defence easily, so shields won't help much here.

If you're careful/lucky, you could also aggro the giant monster gargoyle angel on the door, the Black Kindred Blade, and provoke it into attacking through the doorway. If you manage it while Gurranq is in range, it'll hit him for massive damage, though the difficulty in setting up this combo might not be any more difficult than just hitting him yourself.

Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.

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