Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
Though Elden Ring is filled with unforgiving enemies that will do just about everything in their power to kill you, the game does give you plenty of options to defend yourself, including allies that can aid you in battle. This includes Spirit Ashes, spectral summons that will fight alongside you in combat. One of the most sought-after are the Mimic Tear Ashes, which we can show you how to find in Elden Ring.
Warning: This guide contains light NPC and location spoilers for Elden Ring.
Before you can get the Mimic Tear Ashes, you need to start Ranni’s questline. To do this you will need to first defeat two bosses, with a potential third if you've already started a specific event:
If have already started the Radahn Festival, you'll need to defeat Starscourge Radahn before you can continue, as Ranni won't appear in her tower. If you haven't started the festival, you only need to defeat the aforementioned bosses. Resting at the Altus Plateau will trigger the Radahn Festival.
You also need to acquire a Stonesword Key. These can be found in various dungeons, or can be purchased from the Isolated Merchant and Nomadic Merchant in the Weeping Peninsula for 2,000 Runes. It can also be purchased from the Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold for 4,000 Runes.
Once you've defeated Rennala (the main boss of Liurnia of the Lakes), you can head to Ranni’s Rise, located west of Caria Manor (see map above). You will need to fight through Caria Manor to reach her tower. This manor is where you will fight Royal Knight Loretta. Once that boss is defeated, head towards the towers along the cliff in the west. Climb Ranni's Rise and speak with her on the top floor.
After you agree to Ranni’s offer, you will then need to make your way to Caelid and participate in the Radahn Festival. This will have you fighting Starscourge Radahn, after which, a star will fall and crash into the earth. Head to the Site of Grace at Fort Haight West in the Mistwood section of Limgrave.
From here, head northwest until you find a massive pit in the earth. Carefully make your way downwards into the pit until you reach the entryway shared above.
In this area, carefully drop down a couple of levels until you see another entryway. Head through and you’ll emerge on a rooftop in Nokron, Eternal City.
You’ll have to do some tight navigating as you hop through a couple of rooftops. There are also several enemies, but you should be able to sprint past them without much trouble.
You should find yourself on a small cliff on the perimeter of a building, with a massive window-like hole in the side that you can jump through. Enter here and head down the stairs to claim the Nokron, Eternal City Site of Grace.
From there, head straight forward into the courtyard, and then in the building on the other end on the right-hand side.
Once you follow the stairs down, you’ll see a massive golden fog door not too far ahead. Heads up that there are a couple more enemies before you reach the door, but they’re easily avoidable.
Go through the golden fog door and defeat the boss. This boss is actually a mimic of your character, with identical weapons, gear, and stats. If you want to manipulate it, consider taking off all your armor/weapons, and then quickly re-equipping them upon entry. The trick with re-equipping your gear is that you cannot be in an animation when trying to do it (like walking through the fog) and you cannot be getting hit by an enemy.
As soon as you interact with the fog, go into your Equipment menu and wait for the boxes to stop being grayed out. As soon as you can select it, equip your weapon. You may need to use the movement input (left thumbstick on controller) to move around in order to avoid the mimic's attacks while you get your gear back on. Consider kiting the mimic around the room until you're fully equipped.
Alternatively, go in completely naked and summon your Spirit Ashes to do the work for you! Spirits like the Skeletal Militiaman Ashes are quite good given that they will rise again unless the mimic kills them while they're on the ground. These can be found by defeating the Tibia Mariner boss located at the Summonwater Village to the northeast of Limgrave.
After you’ve defeated the boss, rest at the Mimic Tear Site of Grace and then follow the bridge ahead.
Once you reach the other side of the bridge, make a left turn through the destroyed section and follow the left-hand side of the cliff until you reach the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace.
From here, leap down onto the rooftop edge, head forward and then leap down again. This will take you to the Night’s Sacred Ground. Follow the path ahead, doing some more tight rooftop navigation, fighting more enemies, until you make your way into a large room. Make sure you loot the body and receive the Black Whetblade.
Head through the hall on the other side of the room and you’ll see a fog door. Use the Stonesword Key to open this door.
Kill the enemy inside, open the chest, and you’ll receive the Mimic Tear Ashes!
The Mimic Tear Ash summon allows you to essentially call on a duplicate of yourself to fight alongside you in battle. It’s one of the better Spirit Ash summons in the game, so it’s worth jumping through a couple hoops to get to.
That’s how you get the Mimic Tear Ashes in Elden Ring. For more help in FromSoftware’s open-world RPG, be sure to check out Shacknews’ Elden Ring strategy guide.