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Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Ymir questline walkthroughA full walkthrough of Count Ymir’s questline in the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr
A full walkthrough of Count Ymir’s questline in the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
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Count Ymir questline steps
Below is a summary of all the steps for completing Ymir’s questline in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree:
There’s a fair bit of dancing back and forth across the Land Of Shadow for this quest, and a few of the areas are really quite challenging to reach. So below, we’ll walk you through each of these steps so you can finish Ymir’s questline with ease.
How to start Ymir’s quest
Follow this path to reach the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr and begin Ymir’s questline. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Where to find Count Ymir
After that, head to the Moorth Ruins in the centre of the Scadu Altus. Towards the south side of the Ruins, you’ll see a giant hole in the ground. Carefully parkour down the hole to the very bottom, and follow the path out to reach Bonny Village.
From Bonny Village, cross the two bridges and then follow the main path up to the Church District HighroadSite Of Grace. You’ll have to defeat or evade aFurnace Golemas you travel north up the path.
Once you reach the Church District Highroad Site Of Grace, the path forks. Take the left path through the forest, and you’ll soon arrive at the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr.
Receiving the first Ruins Map
Feel free to rest first at the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr Site Of Grace, and then go and speak to Count Ymir himself. He’ll welcome you and offer you two things right off the bat: aHole-Laden Necklace, and aRuins Map. You can view the Ruins Map in your inventory if you like; it crudely describes the location of the ruins to be the Finger Ruins Of Rhia, situated in the south between the Cerulean Coast and the Jagged Peak.
While you’re here you can speak to Ymir again and ask him about Glintstone Sorcery. You can read his dialogue below:
You can also purchase a variety ofSorceriesfrom Ymir at any point. He’ll have more Sorceries to offer in his shop once you complete the second Ruins Map.
Reload the area to get new dialogue
One more thing to do before you go off in search of the Ruins highlighted in Ymir’s map: reload the area, and enter the throne room again. You’ll hear Ymir say the following words as you approach:
Swordhand Of Night Jolán appears in Ymir’s throne room when you reload the area. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Where is Jolán in Elden Ring?
After speaking to Ymir, talk to the armoured knight who has newly appeared next to the righthand pillar as you enter the throne room. She won’t say much, but she will warn you not to cross Ymir.
Once you’ve spoken to her, you can talk to Ymir and mention that you met her. He’ll introduce her as Swordhand Of Night Jolán.
Ruins Map (1st) location
Follow this path to reach the Finger Ruins Of Rhia via the Cerulean Coast. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Getting to the Finger Ruins Of Rhia
Now it’s time to head to the Ruin on Ymir’s map. To get there,head to the Cerulean Coastand proceed down to the sandy beach on the south coast. Head east along the beach, and you’ll see a massive slab of some ancient ruin sticking out of the ground at an angle.
Climb up this ruin and past it, down the path to the right. There you’ll find the Finger Ruins Of Rhia Site Of Grace.
Sound the Hanging Bell
There are three Finger Ruins in Shadow Of The Erdtree. To complete Ymir’s questline you must sound the Hanging Bell at all three of them. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
The next step in Ymir’s quest is to use that Hole-Laden Necklace Ymir gave you to sound theHanging Bellat the end of the Finger Ruins. The place is crawling with Fingercreepers and Finger Sorcery-casting worms, so be careful not to draw too much attention at once. But otherwise, you should be able to reach the centre of the Finger Ruins without much difficulty.
In the centre of the circle of stone fingers, you’ll see one finger that’s hanging down towards you. Walk up and interact with it to sound the Hanging Bell. Doing so will award you with theCrimson Seed Talisman +1.
Returning to the Cathedral
Return to Ymir and he will give you the second Ruins Map, which points to the far north. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Speak to Ymir and Jolán again
Fast travel back to the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr, and speak with Ymir. He’ll be very pleased with you, and award you with aBeloved Stardust Talisman, and a second Ruins Map.
You can also optionally speak to Ymir again and pick the option, “Ask about the nature of the world.” Ymir’s dialogue follows:
After that, you can choose “Ask about Miquella”:
Beyond this interesting dialogue, you can speak to Jolán again, and this time she’ll be slightly more welcoming of you. Crucially, Jolán will now be an optionalsummon against Messmerwhen you face him within The Shadow Keep. This is in addition toHornsent(depending if youassisted Ledaor not against him).
Finger Ruins of Miyr location
Reload the area and interact with Ymir’s empty throne to reveal a ladder below the Cathedral. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Reload and interact with the empty throne
Reload the area once you’ve finished chatting, and enter the throne room of the Cathedral again. This time, Ymir is nowhere to be seen (he’ll actually be outside in the graveyard, west of the throne). You can overhear him say:
Turns out, there’s a button at the base of the throne which, when pressed, will move the entire throne out of the way to reveal a ladder leading down below the Cathedral. Descend the ladder, and you’ll find yourself inside the hiddenFinger Ruins Of Miyr.
Swordhand Of Night Anna invades you as you walk down the path towards the Hanging Bell. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Swordhand Of Night Anna
Once you’ve dispatched Anna, you’ll obtain herClaws Of Night, and you can progress ahead and down to the left to receive theFinger-Weaver’s Cookbook [2]. Beyond that, there’s nothing else to do down here for now.
Reporting back to Jolán and Ymir
Reload the area and go speak to Jolán. Tell her about Anna, and she’ll thank you for bringing it to her attention but say little more on the matter.
Ymir is also back on his throne, so you can speak to him again. He’ll merely ask you to put aside what you saw down there. “The stars will reveal the truth, in time.”
Ruins Map (2nd) location
Follow this path to reach the Finger Ruins Of Dheo from the Shadow Keep Back Gate. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Entering the Hinterlands
It will likely be much later in the game before you reach the next Finger Ruins in Ymir’s questline, because you first need toreach the Hinterlandsin the top-right of the map, via the gigantic Shadow Keep legacy dungeon.
The entrance to the Hinterlands is found next to the Shadow Keep, Back Gate Site Of Grace. In the adjoining room is a statue of Marika. To enter the Hinterlands you must perform the"O Mother" Gesturein front of the statue. The “O Mother” Gesture can be found to the north of Bonny Village in Scadu Altus (travel through the village until you pass the large gulf separating the region, then turn north and interact with the headless corpse to obtain thegesture).
Additionally, to gain access to the Shadow Keep, Back Gate Site Of Grace and the upper loft areas of the keep, you must firstdrain the water in the Church District. We have a handy guide to theChurch Districtbut essentially, you must platform across the rooftops in this region and pull a lever to drain the water away. Doing so will reveal areas like the Tree-Worship Passage (where you can pick up an Iris of Grace, which you may need later in this questline) and the back sections of the Storehouse.
When all that’s done, you can head through the Hinterlands towards the second Finger Ruins.
The Finger Ruins Of Dheo
The second Finger Ruins are almost identical to the first, so you should know what you’re getting into this time. Again, lots of Fingercreepers and sorcery worms. Head straight to the centre and interact with the hanging finger to sound the Hanging Bell. This time, you’ll receive aCerulean Seed Talisman +1for your troubles.
Report back to Ymir and Jolán
Head back to the Cathedral and speak to Ymir. He’ll be very pleased with you once again for sounding the Hanging Bell at the second Ruins. He’ll give you a third and final Ruins Map as a result and will additionally havethree new Glintstone Sorcerieson offer in his shop. You can also optionally ask him once again about the nature of the world, to which he’ll respond:
You can also speak to Jolán again, and she’ll open up slightly more than before, speaking about Ymir as a bright star “upon the black canvas of the night”.
Ruins Map (3rd) location
The third and final Finger Ruins and the ones you’ve already discovered beneath the Cathedral itself. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Enter the Finger Ruins beneath the Cathedral again
If you take a look at the third and final Ruins Map that Ymir gave you, it’ll point towards a familiar location: the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr itself. Reload the area and you’ll find that once again Ymir is gone, allowing you to interact with the throne and descend once again into the hidden Finger Ruins Of Miyr.
Here, the Swordhand Of Night Anna will invade unless you have already defeated her earlier in the questline. Head to the end of the pathway and sound the Hanging Bell there. Make sure you’re geared up for a boss fightbeforehandhowever, as you’ll be instantly teleported to a new Remembrance boss: Metyr, Mother Of Fingers.
Sound the Hanging Bell to teleport to the boss arena of Metyr, Mother Of Fingers. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Metyr, Mother Of Fingers
During her second stage, a black hole-like sphere will appear above her rear end, and she’ll start to use fairly powerful area-of-effect Sorceries to force you back. Try to look for an opening to get back to her chest and continue whaling away at her.
During Metyr’s second stage, watch out for the large area-of-effect attacks emanating from the black hole above her. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Metyr also appears to be fairly susceptible to bleed, so using a weapon with a decent ability to combo together attacks will help here. I usedMiladywith a blood infusion, and beat Metyr first time.
Once Metyr is defeated, you’ll gain her Remembrance (as well as a whopping 420,000 Runes), and you’re free to return to the Cathedral via fast travel. Don’t bother spending any time exploring the Finger-Birthing Grounds apart from to rest at the Site Of Grace; there’s nothing to find down here.
Facing Jolán and Ymir
Defeat Swordhand Of Night Jolán
Jolán is a more potent Swordhand Of Night than her sister Anna; she wields a katana with a powerful unique skill reminiscent ofMalenia’s waterfowl dance, and while not nearly as deadly, it can still ruin your day.
Thankfully, she telegraphs this one formidable attack very obviously with a wing stance first, so you can back off to avoid the attack before whaling away at her in the manner of your choosing.
Once Jolán has been defeated, Ymir will enter the fray as the new Mother Of Fingers. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Defeat Count Ymir, Mother Of Fingers
As Jolán falls, Count Ymir will appear next to his throne as the new wannabe Mother Of Fingers now that Metyr has been slain. He is capable of summoning Fingercreepers, and his other skills mostly revolve around sporadic teleportation and casting finger Sorceries which, thankfully, aren’t too difficult to dodge as long as you wait for the right moment.
Should you use Iris of Grace or Iris of Occultation?
Speak to Jolán on the floor, and she’ll call out to Ymir, saying that she can’t see the stars in the night sky. At this point, you have a choice: you can either use anIris Of Graceon her, or use anIris Of Occultation.
These two items can be used for multiple quests; the other isFire Knight Queelign’s quest, who gives you thePrayer Room Key.
If you don’t have them, there are 2 Irises Of Occultation and 2 Irises of Grace in the DLC. You can get an Iris of Occultation as a drop from the Omenkiller underneath the Fort Of Reprimand or from theUlcerated Tree Spiritin the Church District of The Shadow Keep (needs to be drained first). Meanwhile, you can find an Iris Of Grace inside the Jar-filled area at the bottom of the Specimen Storehouse in The Shadow Keep or within the Tree-Worship Passage (accessible via the Church District once it is drained).
If you use the Iris Of Grace
If you use the Iris Of Grace on Jolán, then you will receive the Swordhand Of Night JolánSpirit Ashas Jolán fades away forever. As far as last words go, they’re not themostuplifting:
The Jolán Spirit Ash throws further light on her nebulous fate:
If you choose this path, you can also receive the Jolán And Anna Spirit Ash in the next step.
If you use the Iris Of Occultation
If you use the Iris Of Occultation on Jolán, then you’ll receive the Sword Of Night, her unique Katana (and far better prize, in my humble opinion). Effectively, using the Iris Of Occultation will give her a more natural death, but one which ends with total blackness - an ending that feels more natural to a Swordhand of Night than blinding light:
Of the two rewards, the Sword of Night is a Katana with a C Dexterity scaling that requires 11Strengthand 20Dexterityto wield. It has passive Bleed buildup (45) and cannot be infused with Ashes of War. Its Weapon Skill is called the Witching Hour Slash and allows the Tarnished to perform the same unblockable slash combos that Jolán has just inflicted on you. In comparison, the Swordhand Of Night Jolán Spirit Ash costs 86 FP to summon, allowing Jolán to aid you in battle and perform stance-damaging attacks on foes. This can then be combined into a more powerful Sprirt Ash with an additional summon if you follow the next steps in this guide.
If you want my opinion,you should use the Iris Of Occultation on Jolán. You get a better prize, and it also seems like a slightly morally better ending to Jolán’s character. But the choice, as always, is yours.
How to get the Jolán and Anna ashes
One optional extra to Count Ymir’s questline is to jump down onto the balcony at the very top of Rabbath’s Rise via the Hinterlands. Rabbath’s Rise is located quite close to the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr, but its topmost section is unreachable until you enter the Hinterlands.
From the first Hinterland Site Of Grace, travel southeast to the Shaman Village (this area will be flocked with wildflowers). Travel to the furthest edge of the village, past the buildings (southeast) to the spot that overlooks the cliff. You should be able to use Torrent to climb down onto the platform below. Continue towards a spectacular view of the Cathedral of Manus Metyr and descend to another platform. Continue northeast, climbing down the ledges until you come to the top of Rabbath’s Rise and a balcony below.
Jump from the Hinterlands down onto the top floor of Rabbath’s Rise in Scadu Altus, and you’ll come across a puppet of Anna. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Drop down onto the balcony, and you’ll immediately see how this detour pertains to Ymir’s questline. Inside this level of the tower is a walkway, and on the walkway is a lifelessPuppet of Anna- the one who invaded you in the Finger Ruins Of Miyr beneath the Cathedral.
If you chose to use the Iris Of Grace on Jolán in order to obtain the Swordhand Of Night Jolán Spirit Ash, then you can now interact with the puppet of Anna to receive another Spirit Ash: “Jolán And Anna”. This Spirit Ash summons both Jolán and Anna at once, at the cost of 144 FP. The item description sheds further light on their sad lives:
You cannot obtain the Jolán and Anna combined Spirit Ash if you chose to use the Iris Of Occultation on Jolán in the Cathedral. This reward is only possible if you used the Iris Of Grace.
Loot the Cherishing Fingers Sorcery from the Cathedral graveyard
Head to the graveyard in the Cathedral to loot the final reward for Ymir’s questline. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
One final step: now that Count Ymir is dead, head west through the exit right next to where Jolán always stood, and you’ll come out into a small graveyard. At one of the graves on the right-hand side you’ll see a new item. Loot it to obtain theCherishing Fingers Sorcerythat Ymir used in the fight against you.
Count Ymir questline rewards
You can get some very nifty rewards from fully completing Ymir’s quest. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
In addition, you’ll have gained the ability to purchase from Ymir (or from the Twin Maiden Husks using Ymir’s Bell Bearing) a variety of Finger Sorceries which were added to Elden Ring with the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC. Overall, a questline well worth seeing through to the very end!
Count Ymir questline explained
Count Ymir’s intentions aren’t exactly the most honourable. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
And Ymir was not impressed with the “tangled mess” that was the Mother Of Fingers. He saw it more or less as the cause of all the suffering that the Golden Order brought (particularly within the Land Of Shadow). He said it plainly with his words: “Marika, and the fingers that guided her, were unsound from the start”, but in truth “it is their mother who is damaged and unhinged.”
So, ever-ambitious Ymir resolved to become the new Mother Of Fingers. To this end, he employed the Tarnished - that’s you - to sound the bells in the various Finger Ruins in order to reach Metyr, Mother Of Fingers and slay it once and for all. With that done, Ymir uses his Swordhands Of Night to attempt to slay you, and when they fail, he himself tries (and fails) to finish the job as the new (short-lived) Mother Of Fingers.
That brings Ymir’s full questline in Elden Ring to a close. If you’re looking to finish other notable Shadow Of The Erdtree quests, check out our similar walkthrough on theThiollier questline. We’ve also got guides for theLeda questlineandMoore questline. Alternatively, check out our guides on thebest weaponsandbest buildsin Elden Ring, along with our primer on the8 new weapon types in Shadow Of The Erdtree.
