How to transform the Stone-Sheathed Sword in ER Shadow of the Erdtree

Here’s how to transform your Stone-Sheathed Sword into the Sword of Darkness or Sword of Light in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion introduced plenty of new weapons to the game for Tarnished to experiment with, and while many stand out as being the latest overpowered weapon to fell foes with, others stand out for the unique way in which you get your hands on them. Namely, the Stone-Sheathed Sword and its counterparts, the Sword of Darkness and Sword of Light .

The Stone-Sheathed Sword is unique in that the weapon can be transformed into another weapon entirely using various altars around the Realm of Shadow. And when you tire of the Sword of Darkness? Well, you can transform it into the Sword of Light. Not a fan of that? You can transform it back again! To help you out with getting your hands on this weapon and using it, here’s how to transform the Stone-Sheathed Sword in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree .

• How to transform the Stone-Sheathed Sword
• Where to get the Stone Sheathed Sword: Fog-Rift Catacombs Altar
• Where to get the Sword of Darkness: Ruins of Unte Altar
• Where to get the Sword of Light: Ancient Ruins of Rauh Altar
• How to switch between Sword of Darkness and Sword of Light

How to transform the Stone-Sheathed Sword in ER Shadow of the Erdtree

First things first when it comes to the Stone-Sheathed Sword in Shadow of the Erdtree, there are three possible altars that you can collect it from.

Depending on where you collect the weapon from first, the remaining two altars will be turned into transformative altars , allowing you to change the Stone-Sheathed Sword into the Sword of Darkness or Sword of Light. The first altar will serve no future purpose after the weapon has been retrieved.

Additionally, the order that you visit the remaining two altars in will determine which altar does which function ; the first that you visit of the two will turn the Stone-Sheathed Sword into the Sword of Darkness, while the second will transform it into the Sword of Light.

In my experience, I first found the Stone-Sheathed Sword at the Ruins of Unte, and now must venture to Fog Rift Catacombs or Ancient Ruins of Rauh if I wish to transform the weapon. I recommend grabbing the weapon from Fog Rift Catacombs first instead, solely so you don’t have to return there ever again once you’re done with the place.

Where to get the Stone Sheathed Sword: Fog-Rift Catacombs Altar

Starting with the Fog Rift Catacombs’ altar so you don’t make the same mistake I did, you’ll find this particular dungeon along a path to the northwest of Castle Ensis front gate .

Fog Rift Catacombs is found along a path to the left of Castle Ensis’ main entrance. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

You want to make your way through the dungeon — avoiding ceiling spike traps and gargoyles galore — until you come to a room lined with multiple ceiling spike traps and with a coffin at the end. A sorcerer will stand by this coffin alongside multiple gargoyles.

Make your way over to the sorcerer and kill them, then face the railing in front of the coffin and bait the spike trap. As it comes down, you should notice a small box in the side of the trap that you can climb into. This will drop you off at a chest containing the Blinkbolt Ash of War.

Hop inside this spike trap, and then hop on top of it. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

Next, jump on top of the same spike trap we traveled up here in. To the far right, you’ll see another room, and inside, you’ll find the altar we’ve been looking for. Collect the Stone-Sheathed Sword from here.

Where to get the Sword of Darkness: Ruins of Unte Altar

The Ruins of Unte is accessed via Shadow Keep’s Castle Watering Hole, and to get here, you’ll need to go down the ladder in the Keep’s main plaza. This is where multiple burning boats and Militiaman enemies can be found. If you’re lost, we detail the route in our guide to Abyssal Woods .

Our next altar is at the Ruins of Unte, near Shadow Keep. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

Continue past the Domain of Dragons painting and down another ladder to reach the Castle Watering Hole Site of Grace, with the Ruins of Unte just up ahead.

To gain entrance to the Ruins, you have two options. The first is by waking up the Furnace Golem blocking the gate by throwing a Hefty Furnace Pot into its brazier .

Then, you can enter the Ruins and loot the place quickly, or kill the Golem to be able to explore freely.

Wake up the Furnace Golem by throwing a Hefty Furnace Pot into his brazier. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

The second way of entering the ruins is by climbing the crumbling wall to the northeast of it. You can actually use Torrent to jump up the ledges here and head on inside, allowing you to loot the area without any trouble.

You will need to fast travel out of the area if you have not awoken the Furnace Golem at its entrance, though.

Instead of waking the Furnace Golem up, you can climb inside the Ruins. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

Where to get the Sword of Light: Ancient Ruins of Rauh Altar

Last, but not least, we’re going to pay a visit to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh’s altar and transform our Sword of Darkness into a Sword of Light.

The third and final altar is in Ancient Ruins of Rauh. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

To get here, start from the Church of the Bud Main Entrance Site of Grace. If you’ve any trouble getting here or are yet to visit the region, here’s where to get the map fragment , and our walkthrough of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh .

From the Grace, hop on Torrent and jump onto the roof of the gazebo to the east. Hop down from the gazebo and go straight into the ruins on your left.

Jump onto the roof of this gazebo using Torrent, and then go into the ruins on your left. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

After the corridor, take a right and go down the elevator. Keep left along the following corridor and you’ll soon be outside again, at what looks to be a dead end. In front of you will be a broken bridge that leads straight to the altar we need, but how do we get there?

Walk across the invisible bridge to reach the altar. |Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

Well, the good news is that this bridge isn’t broken whatsoever, and is just invisible. So, run across the bridge and straight to the altar to turn your sword into the Sword of Light. That’s all three altars visited!

How to switch between Sword of Darkness and Sword of Light in Shadow of the Erdtree

As previously mentioned, you can visit all three altars in any order that you want in Shadow of the Erdtree. Just remember that the first altar you visit will give you the Stone-Sheathed Sword, the second altar you find will then be used to transform the weapon into the Sword of Darkness, and the third altar you find will then be used to transform the weapon into the Sword of Light.

If you do this in a different order to the one outlined here, I highly recommend making a note of what you did and where, in case you wish to transform the Stone-Sheathed Sword again at a later date. The latter two altars are the ones you’ll want to make a note of and mark on your map for future use.

One final thing to note is that after transforming the Stone-Sheathed Sword, you cannot revert it back to its original state; you can only switch the weapon between being the Sword of Darkness and Sword of Light at altars afterwards.

For more on Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, take a look at how to get your hands on an anti-dragon katana , how to get an impressive Faith twinblade known as Euporia , and how to get your hands on Dryleaf Arts .

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