Early Rune Farming in Elden Ring: Best Spots and Routes

The most reliable rune farm in the early game is the Warmaster's Shack field in Stormhill, and in the mid game it is Greyoll's Dragonbarrow in Caelid or Deeproot Depths. The most lucrative farm is the crow at Palace Approach Ledge-Road in Mohgwyn Palace, which pays about 11,000 runes per kill once you can unlock it.

All amounts here are approximate. They come from wiki and guide listings and change with New Game+, equipped boosts and how many enemies you kill per run.

Best rune farming spots in Elden Ring by stage

The per-run figures for Gatefront, Third Church, Dragonbarrow Fork, Across the Roots and the crow come from the Fextralife Runes page. The Bestial Sanctum road figure is GGRecon's, and it is a separate route from the Dragonbarrow Fork run.

How to farm runes in Limgrave early

Warmaster's Shack. Ride north from the Gatefront area, past Stormgate, to the grace outside the shack. Guides describe five trolls in the open field south of it, each worth around 1,000 runes. They are not chained, so they will chase you. Fight them one at a time from horseback, then rest to respawn them. MP1st suggests moving on at about level 40, when the grind slows down.

Gatefront Ruins. A run around the ruins pays about 1,200 runes if you also beat the mounted Godrick Knight. It pays less than the field behind the shack but sits close to where many players are anyway.

Third Church of Marika. Fextralife lists one troll outside the grace at about 1,000 runes.

Troll caravan near the bridge. MP1st also describes a caravan pulled by two chained trolls southeast of the main gate, worth around 2,000 runes per pass. They can't chase you, so attack their legs from Torrent and watch for the mounted escort.

Rune farming in Liurnia without much effort

Near the Liurnia Highway North grace, spectral soldiers and a giant fight each other in front of you. Move forward to trigger them, step back while they fight, then collect what you earn. GGRecon calls this a few thousand runes. Fextralife lists about 1,000 per run for a spectral battle in Liurnia without naming this grace, so treat the yield as uncertain. It suits low effort more than speed.

Best mid game rune farming spots

Greyoll's Dragonbarrow. You can reach this from Limgrave by the sending gate northeast of the Third Church of Marika, which drops you at the Bestial Sanctum. A Black Blade Kindred guards the area below, so skirt along the wall instead of fighting it. From there, ride down the road toward the bridge and strike the dozen or so smaller enemies from Torrent, then rest to reset. GGRecon puts them at 600 to 1,000 runes each. The bigger Fextralife run is a separate late-game loop from the Dragonbarrow Fork grace, against 16 poisoned Guardians with 983 HP each, or 31 if you continue along the upper cliff. This is a much tougher region than Limgrave, so expect a dangerous loop at low level.

Across the Roots, Deeproot Depths. To reach the zone, rest in the coffin after defeating the Valiant Gargoyle in Siofra Aqueduct. Go to the northern section, climb the roots up and east, and rest at Across the Roots. Fextralife lists around 21,000 runes per run from the Broken Statues there.

Windmill Village. Head east from the Road of Iniquity grace in northern Altus Plateau. Gameluster reports about 280 runes per Celebrant or Rotten Stray, roughly 8,000 for a full clear, and a more focused run of 3,000 to 4,000 in under a minute. Many Celebrants won't attack until provoked, which helps at lower levels. Its suggested level for an easy run is 75 or higher.

Elder Dragon Greyoll. This is a one-time payout rather than a farm, with Fextralife's boss page listing 50,000 runes plus 3,470 for each smaller dragon, and its Runes page giving about 75,000 near Fort Faroth.

How to reach Mohgwyn Palace for the crow farm

There are two routes:

• Varré's questline. Earn a Great Rune, usually Godrick's, meet the Two Fingers, and return to Varré at Rose Church in southwest Liurnia. Complete three invasions, either against other players or through the Magnus the Beast Claw sign at Writheblood Ruins (added in 1.06). Soak his Lord of Blood's Favor in maiden's blood, such as at the Church of Inhibition, then return it and speak to him again for the Pureblood Knight's Medal. Do not kill Varré, or the quest cannot be finished.
• The Snowfield waygate. Northwest of Yelough Anix Ruins in the Consecrated Snowfield, a waygate activates after you kill a Sanguine Noble invader. This route comes much later in the game.

Once inside, ride to the Palace Approach Ledge-Road grace. From the cliff edge, hit a Blistered Giant Crow with an arrow or spell. It charges you, falls off the edge, and awards around 11,000 runes. Rest and repeat. The boosts below multiply that to about 14,300 with a Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot and 17,200 with the Gold Scarab as well.

Which items increase rune gain?

Together they reach about 56%, because the boosts multiply. The foot's effect continues when you rest at a grace but ends if you fast travel, which suits a rest-and-repeat loop. New Game+ also pays much more, with Fextralife citing double enemy rewards.

How to protect your runes when you die

Dying drops all carried runes on the spot. You get one trip back, marked on your compass and map. Die again first and that pile is gone for good.

• Spend often. Once Melina has accepted you as a guide, you can level at any Site of Grace. Do this before a dangerous trip so there is less to lose.
• Wear a Sacrificial Twig. The talisman is destroyed instead of your runes dropping. You can buy three from the Isolated Merchant on the Weeping Peninsula at 3,000 runes each, and Patches sells one at Murkwater Cave. It does not protect against Death Blight.
• Use a Twiggy Cracked Tear. This briefly prevents rune loss on death and takes priority over the twig.
• Hold rune items. Golden Runes and similar items are not lost when you die and only pay out when consumed, so you can save them until you are next to a grace.
• Watch for Stakes of Marika. If you die near one of these fixed markers, you can choose to respawn there instead of at a Site of Grace, which shortens your retrieval run.

If you are saving for a build, the best early weapons list shows which stat targets to level toward.

Did patches change rune farming?

The wiki's Patch Notes page shows no direct nerf to the crow. Patch 1.12 changed one Mohgwyn-related thing, removing its summon pools from the Small Golden Effigy's distant option. Bug fixes in 1.13 and 1.14 restored rune gains in cases where kills paid nothing. The official Patch 1.17 notes mention no rune gain changes.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to get runes early?

Warmaster's Shack is a dependable choice for new characters, with enemies paying about 1,000 each next to a Site of Grace. Dragonbarrow pays more but carries much more risk.

How early can you reach Mohgwyn Palace?

Varré's route needs a Great Rune first, usually Godrick's, and you must reach Rose Church in Liurnia. That makes it possible well before the Consecrated Snowfield, but you then need to survive the ride and enemies inside the palace.

Does a Sacrificial Twig work more than once?

No. It breaks the first time it saves your runes, so buy several and put a new one on before risky fights. It also won't save you against Death Blight, which still drops your runes.