Elden Ring Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones locations
Looking to take your weapon to the next, and final, level? Here's where to get Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones or Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones in Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree.
Update: We've updated this page to feature some locations of Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. These can be found at the end of the guide.
Elden Ring is full of treacherous lands to travel across, abominable foes to beat, and interesting items to line your pockets with. With Shadow of the Erdtree, things get even more perilous. That said, some items are a lot more elusive than others, with plenty of things being easy to miss as you explore The Lands Between.
A dainty and limited resource in Elden Ring are Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones. These are used to upgrade weapons to their max level, are limited in availability, and are hard to come by until the late-game. Without further ado, here's plenty of Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations in Elden Ring, so you can find them with ease.
What are Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones in Elden Ring?
Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones (and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones) are a rare item in Elden Ring that typically takes a lot of legwork to get ahold of. The former, Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones, can be used at a blacksmith to upgrade a normal weapon to its maximum level of +25. The latter, Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones, can be used to upgrade a special weapon to its maximum level of +10.
As a result, these resources can be rather hard to obtain. It also doesn't help that there are just eight Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and 13 Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones available in a single playthrough of Elden Ring. Fortunately, we've detailed some places you can get your Tarnished hands on them below.
Elden Ring Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations
Nepheli Loux's questline
Players that successfully complete Nepheli Loux's questline, and then proceed to meet her in Godrick the Grafted's Throne Room at Stormveil Castle will be rewarded with an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
On top of that, if Gatekeeper Gostoc is still alive and kicking when you go to meet Nepheli here, you'll also be able to purchase a second Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone from him. Best hope you've plenty of Runes, though, as it'll also cost 20,000 Runes to purchase.
Sorceress Sellen's questline
During Sorceress Sellen's questline, you'll meet a character known as Witch Hunter Jerren. Towards the very end of the questline, a choice between Sellen and Jerren will be presented to you in which you'll need to fight one of them, with the aid of the other.
Choose to fight Sellen with the help of Jerren. Your reward will be an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. This does mean that you'll miss out on the Shard Spiral spell, though, which we're a pretty big fan of.
Mountaintops of the Giants
The easiest place to get an Ancient Dragon Smith Stone is just south of the Church of Repose in the East of the Mountaintops of the Giants.
Look up to the left of the church and there's a skull shaped rock up on the hill next to it.
Inside the mouth of the skull is an item, which turns out to be an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
You can grab it without triggering the giant birds enemies nearby, but it's inadvisable to stick around.
Beast Clergyman, Gurranq
You know all that Deathroot you've been casually feeding to Gurranq over in the Bestial Sanctum? Well, if you feed him a total of 9 Deathroot over the course of time, he'll give you an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
Gurranq also won't give you any more rewards after this.
Miquella's Haligtree effigy and boss
While the Haligtree is a relatively hidden area in The Lands Between, you might as well grab this Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone if you wind up there.
Near the Haligtree Town Plaza Site of Grace, you'll see an effigy guarded by a Misbegotten. There is a corpse here that you can loot the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone from.
You'll also encounter a boss fight with someone on horseback while in the Haligtree; you won't be able to miss it if you're keen on advancing through the area. Once you've felled them, there'll be a chest just up ahead containing another Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
Crumbling Farum Azula dragon
Once you make your way to the Crumbling Farum Azula, it won't be long before the Farum Azula Dragon shows up for a fight. Once they scarper, scour the area; they'll drop an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone amongst the ruins during their unfriendly visit.
Elden Ring Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations
Latenna's questline
To take your Somber Smithing Stone hungry weapon to the top tier, you need a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
One guaranteed way to get one is to complete a simple, but high-level quest.
First, you need to complete the Lakeside Crystal Cave in the southwest of Liurnia.
After you have defeated the boss, you access a secret area behind the cave where you speak to Latenna, who wants to be returned to her Haligtree home.
Much later in the game, visit Apostate Derelict in the extreme northwest of the Consecrated Snowfield after you've used the Haligtree medallion to reach it.
As a thank you, Latenna will gift you a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
Anastasia, Tarnished Eater
You may or may not have already ran into this NPC Invader, Anastasia, Tarnished Eater. She appears a couple of times during our adventure across The Lands Between, and she's never pleased to see us.
She'll appear by a river near Ordina, Liturgical Town for another fight once you get there. Take on the fight, and if you beat her, she'll drop a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. Easy work.
We're moving onto Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones found in Shadow of the Erdtree now. So, here's your spoiler warning! Note that we haven't added any images below as to avoid the risk of spoilers, but their are details of the locations you find these upgrade materials.
Shadow of the Erdtree Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations
We've found three Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones so far in Shadow of the Erdtree. Here's where you can grab them, with the one at the Suppressing Pillar being the easiest yo get your hands on.
- One Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone is found in a chest atop the Suppressing Pillar (accessible from Pillar Path Waypoint Site of Grace).
- One Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone can be found inside Ruined Forge Lava Intake, at the very end of the dungeon where the exit and Anvil Hammer is.
- One Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone is dropped by Ancient Dragon Senessex, on the way to the summit of Jagged Peak.
- One Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone is a reward at the very end of the Ruined Forge of Starfall Past in Scadu Altus.
Shadow of the Erdtree Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations
We've found four Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones in Shadow of the Erdtree, and while Senessax is a tough fight, the rest of these are relatively easy to grab.
- One Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone found just after Jagged Peak Mountainside Site of Grace.
- One Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone is dropped by Ancient Dragon Senessex, on the way to the summit of Jagged Peak.
- One Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone is dropped by the Ghostflame Dragon in Gravesite Plain.
- One Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone is dropped by the Ghostflame Dragon at Cerulean Coast.
That's all we've got for Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones in Elden Ring so far, but we'll make sure to update this page when we learn or more locations for these highly-coveted resources. For more on The Lands Between, take a look at the best weapons and best incantations to kit your character out with.