Last updated: 4 July 2026

How to Respec Your Character in Elden Ring

Elden Ring lets you completely reallocate your stat points through a system called Rebirth — no new playthrough required. The catch: you must first defeat a major boss and then spend a rare consumable called a Larval Tear for each respec. Here is everything needed to unlock Rebirth, find Larval Tears, and get the most out of every reallocation.

01Unlocking Respec: Defeat Rennala

Respeccing is locked behind the second major shardbearer of the main story. Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon resides in the Grand Library at the end of the Academy of Raya Lucaria in central Liurnia of the Lakes. Reaching her requires progressing through the Academy and obtaining the Academy Glintstone Key.

Rennala is a two-phase boss. In phase one you must break the golden barrier by attacking the glowing students supporting it, then damage Rennala before it reforms. Phase two is a full magical duel where she summons allies and casts powerful sorceries; she is weak to physical damage and most vulnerable right after her summons are dispatched.

Once defeated, Rennala becomes a permanent, non-hostile NPC in the Grand Library. Her primary role for the rest of the run is granting Rebirth — the official name for respeccing.

02How to Use Rebirth (Step by Step)

Return to the Grand Library Site of Grace any time after defeating Rennala, speak to her, and select Rebirth. You will be prompted to offer one Larval Tear, after which a stat allocation screen opens — identical to character creation but starting from your class's base values.

1. Travel to the Grand Library Site of Grace inside Raya Lucaria Academy.
2. Approach Rennala and open her dialogue.
3. Select Rebirth from her menu options.
4. Confirm when prompted to spend one Larval Tear.
5. Redistribute all accumulated stat points across the eight attributes.
6. Confirm to lock it in — your level stays the same, only the distribution changes.

One limitation: you cannot drop a stat below your starting class's base value. Choose your new weapon or build first, then allocate accordingly — not the other way around.

03Larval Tears: What They Are and Why They Are Scarce

Larval Tears are finite per playthrough — there are roughly 18 in the base game plus more in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. They cannot be bought in unlimited quantities and do not respawn, so each respec consumes one permanently. Spending them carelessly mid-game can leave you stuck with a suboptimal build later.

The item's lore explains their rarity: Larval Tears are remnants of ancient silver tears that have assumed a solid form. Many are found on or near enemies that have stolen the form of other creatures — which is why shapeshifting enemies are a reliable source.

04Where to Find Larval Tears — Key Locations

The easiest tears to grab early are bought from merchants or looted from shapeshifting enemies. Some of the most accessible:

• Village of the Albinaurics (Liurnia): on a corpse in the small graveyard near the Folly on the Lake grace — an early, no-combat pickup.
• Agheel Lake South (Limgrave): an undead enemy on a cliff transforms into a Lesser Runebear when attacked; kill it for the tear.
• Siofra River merchant: the Nomadic Merchant sells one for 3,000 runes.
• Pidia, Carian Servant (Caria Manor): sells one for 3,000 runes.
• Nokron, Eternal City: the single best region — two on corpses plus two dropped by the Mimic Tear boss.
• Caelid (Caelid Highway South): a kneeling enemy transforms into a Troll; killing it yields a tear.
• Consecrated Snowfield: an enemy stuck in the snow transforms into a Lesser Runebear for another tear.

Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: additional Larval Tears appear in the Land of Shadow, several of them only at nighttime near spectral graveyards — set the time to night to make them visible.

05When Should You Actually Respec?

Rebirth is most valuable for meaningful build overhauls, not minor tweaks. Save it for situations like these:

• Fixing an early spread-thin build: consolidate scattered points into one scaling stat plus a healthy Vigor pool (50 Vigor is the practical endgame minimum).
• Swapping to a weapon with different scaling: reallocate to the new weapon's requirements cleanly instead of leveling a second stat from scratch.
• Transitioning to a magic or Faith build: respeccing into a dedicated caster at Rennala is thematically and mechanically sound.
• Preparing for PvP: optimise around the 125 or 150 soft-cap meta levels.
• Adapting to a tough boss: if a boss hard-counters your damage type, a brief respec can turn a wall into a winnable fight.

06Larval Tear Management Tips

Because tears are finite, treat each one as a meaningful resource to preserve flexibility for the parts of the game that demand it most.

• Buy the merchant tears (Siofra River and Pidia) early — 6,000 runes total is trivial by midgame and they are guaranteed with no combat.
• Prioritise Nokron after defeating Starscourge Radahn for the highest density of tears.
• Do not respec just to test a build against one or two bosses — think about your overall playstyle first.
• New Game+ resets Larval Tear availability, so stock unused tears before transitioning if you plan multiple cycles.
• In the DLC, set time to night before hunting spectral graveyard tears — they are invisible during the day.