Elden Ring Tombsward Catacombs walkthrough
Plus, how to beat the Cemetery Shade boss.
The Tombsward Catacombs in Elden Ring are a location on the Peninsula of Tears.
There are plenty of Skeletons waiting for you in these Elden Ring Catacombs, so make sure you're prepared before you head in. Also, the boss waiting for you at the end packs a punch.
Here's our Elden Ring Tombsward Catacombs walkthrough and how to beat the Cemetery Shade Boss.
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Elden Ring Tombsward Catacombs walkthrough
You can find the entrance to the Tombsward Catacombs at the point marked on the map below (north of the Low Earth Tree), look northwest and you should see some jellyfish on the rock face below you. They mark the entrance.
![elden ring tombsward catacombs entrance map location](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/elden-ring-tombsward-catacombs-entrance-map-location.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp)
Activate the Site of Grace 'Catacombs of the Tomb Forest' behind the entrance and you will come straight to a room that requires a Swordstone Key to open. Defeat the skeletons and you will find the Nomadic Warrior's Handbook 9 (unlocks: Grolltopf).
![elden ring jellyfish at entrance to tombsward catacombs](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/elden-ring-jellyfish-at-entrance-to-tombsward-catacombs.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp)
![elden ring player collecting Nomadic Warrior's Handbook 9](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/elden-ring-player-collecting-Nomadic-Warrior's-Handbook-9.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp)
The left passage will take you to the boss door. Continue through the catacombs to the right, past more skeletons and back into a larger chamber. Take care of the skeleton archers, collect the materials and continue to the left.
You will come to a corridor that is secured with a flamethrower. Take cover in the alcove halfway down on the right and take 5x Human Bone Shards from the corpse.
![elden ring tombsward catacombs flamethrower corridor](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/elden-ring-tombsward-catacombs-flamethrower-corridor.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp)
In the room with the flamethrower, continue left into a chamber where you first kill the skeletons and then take the talking head: 'Thank you' from the corpse. Then go back to the flamethrower and hit the pillar with the goblin heads to lower it.
Go upstairs, take the golden rune (2) from the corpse and cross the next room. After a few more skeletons, you will reach the lever for the heavy door towards the boss.
![elden ring player in tombsward catacombs corridor](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/elden-ring-player-in-tombsward-catacombs-corridor.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp)
How to beat the Tombsward Catacombs Cemetery Shade Boss in Elden Ring
You should encounter the Cemetery Shade for the first time on the Peninsula of Tears in this very dungeon.
If it happens anywhere else, you'll be in Liurnia in the Black Knife Catacombs. The graveyard schemes there are much more violent and have massive skeletal support.
![elden ring player vs tombsward catacombs cemetery shade boss](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/elden-ring-player-vs-tombsward-catacombs-cemetery-shade-boss.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp)
The boss in the Tombsward Catacombs starts off well. Nevertheless, don't get caught up in close combat for too long. The Shade deals bleeding damage and has a few flailing attacks in store, which first eat up shields and then the red bar.
Its Spit Trap that announces itself with a green orb above his head is also really nasty. Avoid it, otherwise it will keep you trapped for agonizing seconds.
![elden ring player in spit trap by cemetery shade in tombsward catacombs](https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/elden-ring-player-in-spit-trap-by-cemetery-shade-in-tombsward-catacombs.jpg?width=690&quality=75&format=jpg&auto=webp)
Your rewards for defeating the Cemetery Shade in the Tombsward Catacombs are 2200 Runes and the ashes of Lhutel the Headless.
Need more help? Jump back to our list of Elden Ring bosses or our Elden Ring walkthrough.