Can’t figure out how to open the big door that’s “locked by some contraption”? This guide will show you how and step you through the dungeon. If you already know where the dungeon’s located, and have already figured it all out, except for how to open the door, then here’s the one paragraph answer to your question:
How To Open The Door “Locked By Some Contraption” in Stormfoot Catacombs?
After climbing the stairs in the second fire machine hallway, instead of continuing straight on to the room with the two goblins and the Wandering Nobleman Ash, turn left before the hallway and drop down onto the ledge below. This will now put you on the correct level to access the lever, which opens the door. You’ll find it located underneath the statue in the middle of the platform. Be careful of the goblin hiding in the shadows at the end of the platform.
Still not sure how to do it? Check out the video below:
Need a bit of help with the rest of the dungeon? Our walkthrough below might be helpful for you:
Stormfoot Catacombs Step-By-Step Guide
How To Find Stormfoot Catacombs
If you’ve somehow stumbled onto this guide before actually finding this guide. You may be looking for information on how to get to the dungeon. If so, you’re in luck. The Stormfoot Catacombs are very easy to reach as they’re within a quick walking distance of the first Site of Grace in Limgrave. You can watch the start of the video above or see the pics below to locate the dungeon. The gist of it is, you just walk in a North Westerly direction and you’ll find them at the base of the cliffs that you’ll eventually bump into.
You know when you’ve made it to the dungeon when you see this entryway in the cliff face (only the door will be closed when you first find it:
How To Make It Through Stormfoot Catacombs
When you open the cliff-face door to Stormfoot Catacombs, you’ll find a Site of Grace almost immediately. Make sure you rest here a moment to refill your flasks and to allow you to resurrect at the site if you die.
Walk down the stairs from the Site of Grace and you’ll find a room in front of you and a path to your right. Head into the room in front of you, being careful of the two Jade Goblins. One goblin will be facing you at the back of the room, while one is waiting to ambush you around the corner to your left.
This will be the only enemy type you face throughout the dungeon (apart from the boss). They’re fairly easy, especially one at a time. the only thing you have to be careful of is the bleed effect their attacks build up on you. If this meter fills up completely you’ll take a decent chunk of damage in one go as you bleed out. So make sure to keep your HP topped up with your Flask of Crimson Tears, and try to avoid getting hit too much by the little buggers.
After dispatching these first two goblins, take the path behind you branching right, head down the steps and you’ll come to a locked door. Turn left and walk down the stairs. The statue you can see on the second storey of the room you’re walking into has the lever for opening the locked door on the other side of it. So we’ll be following a circuitous route that will lead us back to this room, only one level up. There’s another goblin on the second storey here who will jump down and attack as you enter the room.
Continue on through a narrow corridor that opens out to a room with a path to the right. Don’t head immediately down that path, as you’ll soon realise it has fire exploding out of it intermittently. You’ll also find there’s a goblin crouched in the top right hand corner of the ceiling, waiting to jump down on you when you get close.
Defeat the ambushing goblin and then time a run down the fire corridor in the space between the blasts. You can stop safely in the entranceway to the right, midway down the corridor. That passage to the right also has a fire machine blasting down it though, so your safe space is just in the doorway between the two.
Wait for your gap in the fire again and then run down past the fire machine and out of the path of it’s flames. Behind the flame machine you’ll find a corpse with an item to loot. That item is the Prattling Pate “Hello”. A terrifying malformed face that emits a deep booming “hello” when used. It’s likely going to be useful later on in a quest which I’ve yet to figure out. I’ll update this guide when I’ve learnt its use. While you’re here next to the flame machine, hit it with your weapon to turn it off.
Now that you’ve turned off the first flame machine you can safely walk back down that corridor and turn left into the second flame corridor. As with the first fire run, you’ll need to wait for your gap and then run to an opening near the end of the corridor to your right. Then in the next gap you can continue right to the end to hit the machine and shut it off.
In this room behind the machine you’ll see two goblins on the wall ahead. Beware, there is also one waiting in the shadows on the ground on the right and left side of that end area. And an even more hidden one on the wall up to the left. So five in total. Once you’ve dispatched them make sure to harvest the Grave Glovewort which you can use to buff your Ash companions.
Once you’ve turned off the fire machine, defeated the goblins and harvested the Grave Glovewort, walk back to the archway that you sheltered in on your run down the corridor just earlier. Climb the ladder you find here.
When you get to the top of this ladder you’ll be greeted by two more goblins. One facing you at the end of the room, and one waiting to ambush behind you, directly to your left. We’ll be coming back to this room in a minute, as the lever to open the locked door is below you and you can reach it by dropping down to a ledge on your left, at the end of the room. But for now, defeat the goblins and continue on.
In the next room you’ll find another two goblins. Once again there’s one facing you at the end of the room and one waiting to ambush you on the side. Once you’ve defeated these guys, make sure to loot the item on the corpse on your left. It’s the Wandering Noble Ashes which lets you conjure a group of five zombies to assist during combat.
Head back now to the previous room and drop down onto the ledge of the balcony below.
You’ll find one final goblin waiting for you in the shadows at the end of this ledge. After felling this one, you can pull on the lever in front of the statue and the previously locked door will open. Drop down from your ledge to the room below and head up the stairs and you’ll be back in front of the now open door. If you walk through that door and down the stairs you’ll find a boss fog.
How To Defeat The Stormfoot Catacombs Boss: Erdtree Burial Watchdog
There’s not much to this boss. The Erdtree Burial Watchdog only has two modes. One where it attacks you with it’s large sword, stomping manoeuvre and fire tail, and the other (when you’ve reduced it’s health enough) when it also spews fire at you.
You can beat it fairly easily by rolling forward and under when it leaps at you and staying clear of its fire attacks. The main thing to watch out for is its fire tail when you’re attacking from behind (see pics below). To see how you can defeat it watch the end of the video at the start of this guide.
You can check out my other Elden Ring articles here:
- Elden Ring: Thops Questline [Complete Guide] + Maps
- Elden Ring: Cliffbottom Catacombs [Ultimate Guide]
- Elden Ring: How To Make It Safely Down to Limgrave Beach and Find The Haligdrake Talisman
- Elden Ring: The Easy Way To Make It Through Fringefolk Heroβs Grave
- Elden Ring: Minor Erdtree Catacombs [Ultimate Guide]
- Elden Ring: Village of the Albinaurics Walkthrough [Complete Guide]
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