Respecing is a massive part of any Souls game. Thankfully, you can respec in Elden Ring pretty early on. For those new to the series, respecing is the reallocation of your stats. Basically, you get all your stat points back and are free to redistribute them however you'd like. So, if you want to give magic a try but have been pumping strength and dexterity, respecing allows you to take those stat points out of strength/dex and put them into mind, faith, and intelligence. So, how do you respec in Elden Ring, what materials do you need, and is there a limit to how many times you can respec your character?
How to respec in Elden Ring
You're finding all these cool magic weapons, but you don't have the stat requirements to wield them. Don't worry. You can respec your character to wield magic weapons like the Crystal Sword or dex weapons like the Sacred Butcher's Knife. While the ability to respec in Elden Ring comes early on (following the most logical way to progress the main story), it doesn't come without complex challenges. You'll be fighting dragons, trudging through swamp water, and defeating Elden Ring's version of the Deacons of the Deep before you can even think of respecing your character.
Step 1: Reach Raya Lucaria's Academy in the middle of Liurnia Lake. You'll need to find the Academy Glinstone Key to enter the area. It's guarded by a dragon on an island in the lake. If you're looking at the map, it's the island directly west of Raya Lucaria's Academy. You don't have to kill the dragon to get the key. Once you anger the beast, ride up to where it was sleeping and grab the items. Among them is the Glinstone Key.
Step 2: Fight your way through the Academy, killing masked mages and one aggressive sentient jar warrior. You'll eventually stumble upon a mandatory boss fight to progress further into the Academy. The Red Wolf of Radagon should remind some keen Dark Souls fans of old boss battles.
Step 3: After defeating the Red Wolf, keep pushing forward. Head up the curved staircase, avoid the giant balls of death, and defeat the scripted NPC invasion at the top of the stairs. Be careful; this NPC has the most accurate parry we've ever seen. You can cheese him by luring him back out to the stairs and letting the giant balls of death do what they do best.
Step 4: Head up the lift behind the NPC to find the Renalla, Queen of the Full Moon boss fight. Defeat Renalla and speak with her to respec your character. Select the rebirth option from the list provided.
How many times can you respec in Elden Ring?
You can infinitely respec your character in Elden Ring as long as you have Larval Tears to spend. These unique items are incredibly rare, especially in the early game. For that reason, players shouldn't respec unless they've established a solid plan for completely reshaping their character. For instance, don't waste a Larval Tear if you're trying to bump one stat a few points to wield a particular weapon. You're better off grinding runes.
You must reallocate all your stats until you reach your current level. Furthermore, you cannot lower any stats below their initial starting level. That's why many experienced Souls players choose the deprived class (the Wretch in Elden Ring). The Wretch starts at level one, whereas other classes start at level nine or 10. When it comes time to respec, you're not limited to your base stats, thus having extra points to reallocate.
Other than respecing, Renalla can also alter your appearance for free. If you're looking to change the way you look, you can either speak with her or head back to Roundtable Hold. There's a mirror in the room next to the blacksmith, the same room with the creepy woman who needs a hug.
Where to find Larval Tears in Elden Ring
Larval Tears are the key to respecing your character in Elden Ring. As mentioned, they're incredibly rare, so you shouldn't waste one unless you're confident you wish to respec. Here's where to find a few:
- In the graveyard in the Village of the Albinaurics. This area is located south of the Academy, past the poison water and perched high in the cliffs.
- The nomadic merchant in the Siofra River sells one for 3,000 runes.
- There are two corpses in Nokron, Eternal City, and both provide you with a Larval Tear. One is inside a stone building. The other is in a gazebo.
- A ghost in the graveyard east of Caria Manor has one. However, you must defeat Royal Knight Loretta to access this area. Interact with the ghost in the chair, and they'll drop the tear along with a few other items.
- They're dropped by Silver Tear enemies (which are basically Diddo, the Pokemon). They disguise themselves as inanimate objects in Elden Ring. You'll encounter them in the Eternal City later in the game.
- You can buy one from Pidia, a merchant in Caria Manor. He's on a balcony above the Manor Lower-Level site of grace. However, the balcony can only be accessed by dropping down from the cliffs behind it, west of the Three Sisters. The map location is depicted above.
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