Last updated: 3 July 2026

Elden Ring Rune Farming Guide — Best Spots at Every Stage

Stuck on a boss in Elden Ring and desperately under-levelled? Or just want to reach your target build stats without the slow grind? Rune farming is the answer — and the difference between knowing a good spot and not knowing one is often hours of time saved. This guide covers the best rune-farming locations from the very start of the game through late-game, including the famous Mohgwyn Palace method.

01Early Game: Stormhill and Gatefront Ruins (Levels 1–30)

Before you reach the first major boss, the open area around Stormhill and the Gatefront Ruins is reliable grinding territory. The Knight at the Gatefront Ruins Camp — the one patrolling alone near the Site of Grace — drops roughly 300–400 runes per kill and can be pulled without aggroing the whole camp. Kill, rest at the nearby Site of Grace, repeat.

A more efficient early route is to follow the road north from Gatefront toward Stormveil: multiple knight-type enemies patrol in a tight loop and can be lured and killed individually. Expect 1,000–3,000 runes per full loop depending on your combat efficiency. This range is enough to push a starting class from level 1 to around level 20–25 in a session.

At this stage, equipping the Gold Scarab talisman (found in Abandoned Cave, Caelid, later in the game) or consuming a Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot (craftable or found as loot) boosts rune acquisition by 20% and 30% respectively. The Fowl Foot lasts 3 minutes in real time — pop one right before starting a farming run for a meaningful yield increase.

02Mid-Game: Bird on the Cliff — Mohgwyn Palace (Levels 30–60)

The single most famous rune farm in Elden Ring is the Palace Approach Ledge Road Site of Grace in Mohgwyn Palace. A giant bird patrols a cliffside nearby. Hit it with a ranged attack or a thrown item — it charges off the cliff and dies, dropping 11,000+ runes with no Golden Scarab. With the scarab equipped, it yields over 13,000 runes.

One kill per 30–45 seconds of resting at the grace and walking to position makes this roughly 20,000–25,000 runes per minute once you find the rhythm. At level 50 you need around 8,000 runes per level — this bird pays for a full level every 30 seconds.

To reach Mohgwyn Palace early (before defeating Mohg himself), follow White-Faced Varré's questline: accept his offer at the First Step, then defeat Godrick or one of the other shardbearers, exhaust Varré's dialogue at the Rose Church in Liurnia, invade three times for his quest item, and receive the Pureblood Knight's Medal which teleports you directly to Mohgwyn Palace. This is accessible as early as level 30–40 and skips a lot of the intended midgame.

• Required item: anything with ranged reach — bow, crossbow, a Throwing Dagger works
• Setup: rest at Palace Approach Ledge Road → walk south along the ledge → aggro the bird → it charges off the edge
• Runes per kill: ~11,000 base; ~13,000 with Gold Scarab; ~14,300 with Gold Scarab + Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot
• Runes per hour: approximately 1–1.5 million at consistent pace

03Late-Game: Albinauric Village (Levels 60–100)

If you do not want to use the Varré shortcut, or you want a farming spot with more engagement, the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum inside Mohgwyn Palace itself has a dense cluster of Albinauric enemies near the Palace Approach Ledge Road. These are slow, passive enemies that can be killed quickly with area-of-effect attacks.

With the Sacred Relic Sword's Wave of Gold Ash of War, you can clear the entire Albinauric cluster in one sweep. The Sacred Relic Sword is obtained by trading the Elden Remembrance with Finger Reader Enia at Roundtable Hold after defeating the Elden Beast — making this a true endgame farming method. A single Wave of Gold sweep through the Albinauric cluster yields 40,000–50,000 runes per pass with Gold Scarab equipped.

Full loop: rest at Palace Approach Ledge Road → walk down into the cluster → cast Wave of Gold → rest again. Under 60 seconds per loop, around 2.5–3 million runes per hour — significantly faster than the bird farm for players with access to it.

04Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: Specimen Storehouse Method

If you own the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, the Specimen Storehouse in the Shadow Keep offers the highest rune density in the game. The area contains many high-value enemies in tight quarters. Clearing from the Storehouse Back Section Site of Grace to the elevator and back yields enormous runes per run.

Even more efficient: an Aging Untouchable enemy near the Storehouse Back Section grace drops 40,000+ runes per kill and can be killed in under 10 seconds with a proper build. These enemies are large, slow, and attack infrequently — you can stay on the offensive consistently. With the Gold Scarab this approaches 50,000 runes per 30 seconds.

Note that this requires DLC access and at minimum the Specimen Storehouse area unlocked, which is mid-way through the DLC's main content.

05Multipliers: Maximising Every Farming Run

Rune income scales multiplicatively with item buffs. Stack these for maximum yield:

• Gold Scarab talisman (+20% runes): found in Abandoned Cave in Caelid. Requires reaching and clearing a scarlet rot cave — challenging early, but accessible by level 40–50. Worth every effort.
• Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot (+30% runes, 3 min): craftable with the Missionary's Cookbook [3] (found at the Fourth Church of Marika, Altus Plateau) using 1 Rowa Fruit, 1 Four-Toed Fowl Foot, 1 Gold Firefly. Both buffs stack multiplicatively — together they give +56% rune income.
• Comet Azur or AOE spells: for mages, AoE damage allows clearing large groups simultaneously, turning a 10-enemy run into a single cast. Scaling your damage output multiplies effective runes-per-hour more than item buffs alone.
• Spirit Ashes: bringing strong summons (Mimic Tear, Black Knife Tiche, Lhutel the Headless) into farming areas lets you clear enemies you might otherwise struggle with, maintaining a faster loop.

06What to Do With Runes: Smart Spending

Stockpiling runes without spending them is risky — you lose everything on death. Key principles for smart rune management:

• Level when you have enough: don't save for multiple levels at once unless you're mid-boss run. Die once and lose 40,000 runes you could have spent.
• Spend on your primary attribute first: determine your target build (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, Arcane) and reach its softcap (60 for most damage stats) before spreading points.
• Don't neglect Vigor: 40 Vigor (approximately 1,400 HP) is the practical minimum for surviving most bosses. 60 Vigor (roughly 1,900 HP) covers almost everything in the base game.
• Endurance for equip load: if your weapons + armour pushes you over medium load (70% of your equip load stat), add Endurance levels to maintain medium roll speed. Heavy rolls are a significant disadvantage.