Information and walkthrough for the Deathtouched Catacombs location in Elden Ring, including details about how to defeat the Black Knife Assassin and obtain the Uchigatana and the Assassin’s Crimson Dagger.
How to Find Deathtouched Catacombs¶
The Deathtouched Catacombs can be found northeast of the Warmaster’s Shack, but to reach it you’ll need to head north, then east to reach the cliffs overlooking the entrance to the catacombs, which you can safely descend by double jump while mounted on Torrent. The mounted Godrick Knight that holds the Ash of War: Golden Vow can be found patrolling near these cliffs.
The actual entrance to the catacombs is somewhat secluded by some trees near the cliff face into which the catacombs are built. A ghost can be found sitting outside of the catacombs, and the glow he emits may help you find the entrance easier.
Best Loot in the Deathtouched Catacombs¶
Item | Location |
---|---|
Assassin’s Crimson Dagger | Defeat the Black Knife Assassin. |
Deathroot | Defeat the Black Knife Assassin, then loot a chest in the chamber where you fought the boss. |
Uchigatana | Loot from a corpse at the edge of an elevated walkway. |
Enemies in the Deathtouched Catacombs¶
Enemies | Runes | Drops | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Black Knife Assassin BOSS | 1600 | Assassin’s Crimson Dagger | Optional Boss. |
Skeleton | 62 | Arrow x5, Human Bone Shard, Longbow, Mushroom, Scimitar, Scripture Wooden Shield, Smoldering Butterfly | Drops Vary by Enemy Armament |
How to Complete the Deathtouched Catacombs¶
The Deathtouched Catacombs are a pretty short dungeon, potentially complicated by the nuisance undead that dwell within.
Enter the catacombs and descend the stairs to find the Deathtouched Catacombs Site of Grace, then continue downstairs to reach a small chamber with sealed doors to the west and stairs down to the south. The doors to the west are sealed, so ignore them and head downstairs to the south, where you’ll find the undead that infests these catacombs: Skeletons.
Skeletons are weak, fragile foes that are nonetheless surprisingly quite agile - they’re one of the few enemies in the game you might not be staggered by with less than 100 Poise! Skeletons come armed with either a Longbow, a Scimitar, or a Scimitar and a Scripture Wooden Shield - their armaments, as usual, determine what they can drop.
What makes Skeletons tedious are their tendency to lurk disassembled on the floor, and when defeated in combat, to return to that state temporarily before reanimating at full health. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution - hit them again when they’re scattered on the floor and they won’t rise again. They won’t drop any loot or runes unless you deal the coup de grace, and while it’s possible to explore the area by running past the Skeletons, it’s much less tedious to just put them down for good.
With that out of the way, put down any Skeletons that rise to challenge you as you explore. Start out by heading downstairs to the south and turn west to find two doorways. Go through the smaller, northern one to reach a small chamber, then turn south to reach another, larger chamber. Put down several Longbow-armed Skeletons, loot a corpse to score an Uchigatana, then drop down to the west and fight your way west into a room with a lever. When you’ve smashed the Skeletons pestering you, pull the lever, then return east and north to reach the formerly sealed doors west of the Site of Grace.
Go through the doors and you’ll shortly find yourself confronted by the dungeon’s boss, the Black Knife Assassin. Use summons and the battle should be all but won already, as the boss doesn’t have great AoE and is easily staggered, making them ill-suited for responding to distractions. The Black Knife Assassin is susceptible to physical damage (slash and thrust) and not well protected against magic, fire and lightning, either. Once defeated, the Black Knife Assassin will drop the Assassin’s Crimson Dagger. You can also then loot a chest to obtain a Deathroot.
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