To hit enemies as hard as possible, you’ll need to upgrade your weapons in Elden Ring. To do so, you’ll need an upgrade material called Smithing Stones. There is a high concentration of this material in a few places.
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Loot the Limgrave Tunnels for Many Smithing Stones
An early-game dungeon that is worth checking out, despite being quite out of the way, is the Limgrave Tunnels. In this mine, you’ll appropriately find many miners—all of whom will be digging up basic Smithing Stones. You won’t find Smithing Stones [2] or Smithing Stones [3] here, however, there are plenty of Smithing Stones [1] to loot.
Throughout the mine, you’ll find miners digging at yellowish rocks in the cavern walls. These pale rocks are Smithing Stones, which you can pick up if you’re close enough. However, the miners will get pretty angry if you steal the ore they just dug out and will attack you. As such, you’re better off taking each miner out before looting the Smithing Stones. Just be warned: these miners are pretty tough despite their appearance. They all can take quite a beating, and their pickaxes can deal a fair bit of damage.
Near the bottom of the Limgrave Tunnels, you’ll find a golden fog gate that leads to a boss fight. Here resides the Stonedigger Troll; a particularly huge troll who wields a great club. You can thankfully summon an Ash of War ally in this boss fight, which will make the battle much easier. Overall, because of the easy boss (therefore easy Runes) and lots of upgrade materials, you should definitely check out the Limgrave Tunnels early in your Elden Ring adventures.
Location of the Limgrave Tunnels
The quickest and easiest way to get to the Limgrave Tunnels is from the Agheel Lake North Site of Grace. From there, travel southwest and go downhill into the swampy lake. This is pretty close to where Flying Dragon Agheel is located, so try to be stealthy if you haven’t defeated them yet. There’s thankfully a Site of Grace within the entrance to this dungeon if you head down the elevator. If you need a visual guide to locate the Limgrave Tunnels, check out the video below:
Farm the Imps in Murkwater Catacombs for Smithing Stones
There aren’t too many enemies that drop Smithing Stones, however, the Imps in the Murkwater Catacombs do. The drop rate is pretty low—only around 10%—however, there are lots of Imps to farm down here. The Imps have a chance to drop Smithing Stones [1] but no higher tier ones.
This dungeon is also home to another relatively easy boss: the Grave Warden Duelist. This humanoid foe will wield 2 hammers aggressively, though does not do much damage with each hit and telegraphs their moves clearly.
Location of the Murkwater Catacombs
The Murkwater Catacombs are in the northeast part of the Limgrave West map. The entrance to the dungeon can only be reached from above. You should start from the Murkwater Coast Site of Grace and then go north. You’ll find large stone platforms that will let you jump down safely. There will also be an ominous statue near the top of the stone platforms that you’ll use to descend. Interacting with the statue will cause it to shoot white beams of light from its eyes that will point you directly towards the entrance of the Murkwater Catacombs.
If you need a visual guide to locate the Murkwater Catacombs, check out the video below:
Other Places You Can Find Smithing Stones
The aforementioned locations are some of the best places to find lots of Smithing Stones [1], however, they are far from the only places. The Limgrave Tunnels and Murkwater Catacombs are just some easy spots to loot and farm in the early parts of your Elden Ring adventures. There are Smithing Stones scattered all over the world—especially along the main route that the game leads you. Just keep your eyes peeled and be sure to explore areas thoroughly.
