Elden Ring's vast world is filled with challenges, and acquiring enough runes to level up your Tarnished is a constant pursuit. While exploring and defeating enemies provides a steady stream, dedicated rune farming is often necessary to progress efficiently. One popular method focuses on farming birds, offering a relatively low-risk and consistent rune yield. This guide delves into the best locations and strategies for maximizing your bird rune farming in Elden Ring.
Where are the Best Places to Farm Birds for Runes?
Several locations in the Lands Between offer high concentrations of birds, making them ideal farming spots. The best choice depends on your current progress and preferred playstyle.
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Early Game: The area surrounding the Church of Elleh and the starting area provides a decent amount of birds, ideal for early-game rune farming. These birds are relatively weak, making them easy targets even for lower-level characters.
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Mid-Game: The Liurnia of the Lakes region boasts several areas with numerous birds, especially around the various lakes and cliffs. Be aware of the increased enemy density in this area.
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Late Game: While fewer concentrated bird populations exist in the late game, areas like Crumbling Farum Azula still offer opportunities, though the risk is significantly higher due to stronger enemies present. Focusing on bird farming in late game isn't generally recommended due to the availability of far more efficient farming methods.
What are the Most Efficient Bird Farming Strategies?
Simply killing birds individually can be tedious. To maximize your rune farming efficiency, consider these strategies:
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Spirit Ashes: Utilizing Spirit Ashes, particularly those with area-of-effect attacks, allows you to eliminate multiple birds simultaneously. This significantly speeds up the process. Experiment with different Ashes to find those that effectively clear out bird flocks.
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Sorceries/Incantions: Spells with area-of-effect damage, such as fireballs or lightning bolts, are extremely effective at clearing out groups of birds quickly. Consider investing in a spell build if you plan on utilizing this method extensively.
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Weapon Arts: Certain weapons possess weapon arts that can deal area-of-effect damage. These can be exceptionally useful for quickly eliminating large flocks of birds.
How to Maximize Rune Gain from Bird Farming
While birds might not offer the highest rune yield per kill compared to some bosses or high-level enemies, efficient strategies can still lead to impressive gains.
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Golden Scarab Rune: Equip a Golden Scarab talisman to increase rune acquisition rate. This passive boost significantly improves your overall rune gain over time.
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Use Consumables: Consumables like the Marika's Soreseal temporarily boost rune acquisition. While these effects are temporary, they add up over repeated farming sessions.
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Farming Cycles: Don't forget to return to a safe location and rest at a Site of Grace to respawn the birds before continuing. Efficiently managing your farming cycle can dramatically affect your overall rune yield.
Are there other good rune farming spots besides birds?
Yes, absolutely! While bird farming offers a relatively low-risk method, several other highly efficient farming locations exist in Elden Ring. These often involve defeating stronger enemies or utilizing specific strategies for maximized rune gain, but they usually provide significantly more runes per run. Some examples include farming the various bosses, utilizing specific enemy strategies and locations, and using glitches. The optimal farming method depends heavily on your character's build and the stage of the game you're in.
What are the risks associated with bird farming?
While generally safe, bird farming isn't entirely without risk. Depending on your location, other enemies might interfere, potentially interrupting your farming run. Additionally, some areas with high bird concentrations might have other, more dangerous enemies nearby, requiring careful positioning and strategy.
Is bird rune farming the most efficient method?
No, bird farming is generally not considered the most efficient method of rune farming in Elden Ring, especially in the late game. Other methods, such as farming specific high-level enemies or bosses, offer a much higher rune yield per hour. However, bird farming provides a relatively safe and consistent method for accumulating runes, particularly useful for early-to-mid-game players.
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of bird rune farming in Elden Ring. Remember to adapt the strategies mentioned here to suit your playstyle and progression in the game. Happy hunting, Tarnished!
