The Minor Erdtree Catacombs is a mini-dungeon that can be found in the decaying Caelid region of Elden Ring’s map. Like Caelid itself, this catacomb is filled with danger. Amongst these dangers are plenty of imps, scarlet rot, and not one but two Erdtree Burial Watchdogs as the dungeon’s boss to contend with.
This is one of the more tricky versions of dungeons bearing the ‘catacombs’ name. As with other catacomb dungeons in Elden Ring, the correct path through may not be immediately clear. Follow our guide to make it through the Minor Erdtree Catacombs in one piece and confront the two burial watchdogs with confidence!
Minor Erdtree Catacombs Overview
| Minor Erdtree Catacombs Overview | |
|---|---|
| Boss | 2 x Erdtree Burial Watchdogs |
| Enemies | Imps |
| Notable Loot | Mad Pumpkin Head Spirit Ashes |
This dungeon can be found behind the minor erdtree in Caelid, in the area where the Erdtree Avatar fight for this location begins. You can enter this dungeon before or after taking on that particular boss fight.
The Minor Erdtree Catacombs consists of a short but deadly dungeon with some backtracking involved to get to the boss fight. There are imps scattered throughout the dungeon wielding a variety of weapons. Some of these are hiding in particularly sneaky places, so be sure to keep a watchful eye as you move throughout the dungeon. Equipping a torch may be useful as it can get quite dark.
Dungeon Guide
As soon as you move beyond the site of grace and turn the corner, you’ll be attacked by an imp. Take them out, then move straight onto the button-activated elevator, which will take you down to a room with an eastern and western corridor.
Head through the eastern corridor first and run quickly across the red liquid, as this will give you the scarlet rot status effect (which quickly damages you) if you're not quick enough. On the other side, you'll find some glovewort here, which is useful for upgrading your spirit ashes. Once you've acquired the items in this room, head back the way you came and return to the room with the elevator.
Go through the western corridor, arriving in a square room. Defeat all the imps and then move onto the next room, with a lever in front of a statue.
In the next room, be careful of imp hiding at the corners of the door and one that will drop from the ceiling. Once they're taken care of, pull the lever in front of the statue to open a heavy door somewhere else in the dungeon.
Backtrack to the room with the elevator. Step on the switch and then roll off - you need to go through the gap that emerges underneath the elevator. An imp is waiting to attack you below, so be careful and try and immediately roll once you land.
To reach the boss, you'll need to speed through another room of scarlet rot goo. Run across this room and turn the corner to find a door between two statues. Go through the door and down the steps to find the mist you'll need to traverse to take on the dungeon's boss: two Erdtree Burial Watchdogs.
Boss Guide
This boss generally requires a similar strategy as the other Erdtree Burial Watchdogs, except there are two of them! One brandishes a sword whilst one has a staff and can cast ranged spells.
One of the ideal strategies for this boss is to summon a spirit using your spirit ashes to distract and damage one of the Erdtree Burial Watchdogs whilst you deal with the other. This way, you can deal with them one at a time. You'll probably want to deal damage to the staff-wielding watchdog first, as this one has the potential to do more damage with their ranged capabilities.
Otherwise, stay out of range of their slamming attacks using sprinting and dodge rolls and used ranged attacks where you can. Both watchdogs give a small window where you can attack them from behind after slamming their weapons into the ground. Don't let them corner you and continue to create distance whenever possible. Once you defeat them, they'll drop the Mad Pumpkin Head Ashes - an incredibly powerful spirit that you can now summon!
