Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is full of more or less well-hidden puzzles, like the Sleeping Furnace Golem, the Statue of Marika or the Abyssal Woods. It’s almost impossible to tell if you missed something or not with the Chalice of the Occult Tree, and we scratched our heads for a while too, but here are some answers.
How to reach the Chalice of the Occult Tree?
This is one of the most difficult destinations to reach on the map. It is advisable to collect the Map Fragments, and follow our routes in order to approach this place. In summary, you have to go through the East of Altus Occulte, with the Cathedral of Manus Metyr, among others.
The objective is to go through the eastern entrance of the Black Castle. Once in the flooded religious district, look for a elevator that will take you to a previously inaccessible section of the Specimen Warehouse. Climb the huge ladder, then go through the hole in the wall to reach the outside of the tower, and finally, the ceiling beams.
This will take you to another opening to the outside, and an elevator down to the Black Castle Backgate, with a Fading Grace Site.
The next step is by far the most difficult, as you will have to defeat Commander Gaius, a formidable boss. Once this boss is killed, all you have to do is follow the road to the northwest, to reach the chalice.
What should be done at the Chalice of the Occult Tree?
The obvious answer is to pick up the 5 Occult Tree Splinters located in front of the Chalice. This is by far the largest amount of splinters that can be collected in one location. Various crafting materials can be collected in the area as well, such as Shadowflowers and Blessed Bones.
Unfortunately, that’s all for now. There’s no indication that there’s a secret in the area, or no one has discovered it. It’s possible that the studio had something planned for this area, but it was cut before the DLC was released. Many quests suffered the same fate in the base game for example.
It is possible that an update, or a future DLC will fix this, but at the moment, nothing has been announced. All you have to do is be patient, and go explore another area.
