Where to find the Ruins Map Fragment in Shadow of the Erdtree

The greatest mystery in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t the disappearance of the Empyrean, Miquella, or the origins of the universe, but how the heck you get the map fragment in the top left corner that covers the Ancient Ruins of Rauh.

This labyrinthine area in the northwest of the Shadow Realm is infuriating to navigate, especially without the help of your map.

However, you can actually unlock the map fragment for the Ancient Ruins of Rauh much earlier than you might think - before you even reach the main part of the area. Here's where to go!

Where to find the Ancient Ruins of Rauh map fragment for the top left corner

To unlock the northwestern part of the map in the top left corner, you need to visit the extremely missable “Rauh Base” sub-area, which is accessed through a small cave in Scadu Altus, just to the north of Moorth Ruins.

First, start at the Moorth Ruins Site of Grace, where you meet Dryleaf Dane after defeating Rellana, Twin Moon Knight.

Next, ride north a little to the small pond at the base of the cliff and you should see a statue where you can snag a Scadutree Fragment for your collection.

Hidden in the gloom behind this statue is a cave. Gallop inside and you find a slew of aggressive plants and perfumers, but stick to the path and you will eventually turn right and out into a wider clearing full of Gravebirds.

Ride northwest through this clearing towards the large cave opening on the other side and the scene will transition into a new area: Rauh Base. Rest at the Ancient Ruins Base Site of Grace on your right for an easy fast-travel point, then press onwards into the rest of the Rauh Base.

Past the viaduct-like archways in front of you, a giant, bow-wielding golem is waiting to make your life difficult, but you can use the debris to your right as cover from their fast-moving arrows.

Continue down the path and you will reach your prize: the Rauh Ruins map. This fragment unlocks the map for both the Rauh Base area and the Ancient Ruins of Rauh above, allowing you to navigate its complexities just a little bit easier.

So, all that time you spend peering off the edge of the floating islands in the Ancient Ruins, looking for side paths of hidden routes to an unseen area, where you needed to go was in a completely different place all along. Don’t feel bad if you spent a long time looking for this, I definitely did too!

While you’re down in the Rauh Base, there are some decent items, including more of the Scadutree, to collect as well as a unique boss to find and one of the most testing catacombs in the whole game to suffer through.