Mastering Elden Ring: A Comprehensive Guide to Unlocking the Prayer Room in Shadow of the Erdtree

Liam Alexander 31 Jul 2024

In the expansive world of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, players are often tasked with uncovering secrets, navigating treacherous terrains, and confronting formidable foes. One such challenge involves obtaining the elusive Prayer Room Key and accessing the Prayer Room itself. This guide will provide an exhaustive walkthrough to help you navigate through these tasks, step-by-step.

Getting Started with the Prayer Room Key

The Prayer Room Key is a crucial item that players need to unlock a special room located within the Church District of the Shadow Keep in Scadu Altus. However, acquiring this key is no easy feat and requires players to undergo a series of challenges. Understanding the importance of the Prayer Room Key and its location is the primary objective here.

Locating the Prayer Room Key

To get your hands on the Prayer Room Key, you must defeat Fire Knight Queelign in a second battle. If you first encountered him in Belurat, Tower Settlement, the rematch takes place in the Church of the Crusade in Scadu Altus. This church is situated to the north-west of the Highroad Cross Site of Grace, close to the soldier encampment before the Shadow Keep's entrance.

Fire Knight Queelign will reappear as an invader upon your arrival at the church. Defeating him will reward you with the Prayer Room Key. As his combat techniques can be quite challenging, ensuring you're fully prepared for battle with upgraded equipment and a strong strategy is highly advisable.

Navigating to the Prayer Room

After obtaining the key, your next task is to locate and access the Prayer Room within the Church District of the Shadow Keep. Note that the Church District can only be accessed from the east side of the Shadow Keep, near the Cathedral of Manus Metyr. Approaching from the main entrance is not an option.

Reaching the East Side of the Shadow Keep

To get to the Church District entrance, follow a guide or map that details the pathways leading to the east side. This is an essential step in your journey as the Church District corridor is pivotal not just for this quest but is also the only route to reach the Shadow Keep's boss, Messmer the Impaler.

Upon reaching the entrance, you will notice that the Church District is flooded initially, posing an added layer of difficulty to your navigation efforts. The flooded area introduces various platforming challenges, requiring precision and careful movement to avoid accidental deaths and loss of collected Runes.

Traversing the Flooded Church District

Starting your journey from the Site of Grace at the Church District Entrance, leap to the rooftop before you. You may encounter crabs scavenging on the rooftop; you can clear them out or proceed towards the western crumbled wall using a raised dormer ridge.

Continue around the building where you will face more crabs. Be cautious, however, as fire-based enemies will emerge from the ground, rushing toward you with explosive attacks. Maintaining a safe distance and attacking with long-range weapons is the best strategy to effectively deal with these enemies. After clearing this section, ascend the sloped wall and leap over to a platform adjacent to the keep's outer wall. Expect more fire enemies here; quickly navigate past them to another rooftop heading west. A Fire Knight stationed on this rooftop can prove to be a tough adversary, wielding potent fire spells and a large fire-infused sword. Employ dodge-rolling techniques to evade his attacks and strike strategically.

Critical Platforming Section

Upon defeating the Fire Knight, brace yourself for some heart-pounding platforming stunts. The ominous rumbling sounds are an indication of the challenges that lie ahead. From your current position, get a good run-up and leap to the large black arch to your left. Despite how daunting the jump may seem, it is certainly achievable with a full sprint.

Once on the arch, ascend and jump up to the roof above where you'll see an expansive hole. Drop down carefully onto the arching beams below, aligning yourself accurately to avoid falling into the water below. Navigate south along the beams and drop onto an upper floor ahead. Descend through another large hole in this room leading you to a corridor.

Accessing the Prayer Room

Here, turn around and follow the path leading to a small door within the flooded room. This door opens to the Prayer Room where you will find Fire Knight Queelign in a distressed state. Engage in conversation with him until all his dialogue options are exhausted.

Congratulations, reaching the Prayer Room unscathed is a significant achievement. Although you can't progress Fire Knight Queelign’s questline at this point, you will need to acquire one of two special items: the Iris of Occultation or the Iris of Grace to move forward. Once you have one of these items, ensure to return to Queelign to receive Queelign's Great Sword as a reward.

Additional Tips and Advice

In summary, acquiring and using the Prayer Room Key is a testament to a player’s perseverance, strategy, and skill in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. To enhance your gameplay, consider exploring various guides on what to do first in Shadow of the Erdtree and uncovering the locations of all bosses and Sites of Grace within the DLC. Preparation is key, and understanding the intricacies of each task will ultimately ensure your success in this immersive gaming experience.