Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: Impenetrable Thorns location

Feeling thorny

FromSoftware

The new Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Impenetrable Thorns spell is gaining traction among Soulslike fans, and for good reason. The unique Faith-scaling sorcerery deals multiple instances of damage and can inflict blood loss – at the expense of harming yourself. It might be new, but it’s still a thorn sorcery.

Our Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Impenetrable Thorns guide points out where to find the sorcery and how it works.

If you’re after more help, head over to our Shadow of the Erdtree guides hub, where you’ll find tips for completing Ansbach’s quest and explainers for how to duplicate Remembrances and deal with Furnace Golems

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: Impenetrable Thorns location

A rare quiet spot in Shadow Keep / FromSoftware/GLHF

Impenetrable Thorns is at the top of Shadow Keep in Scadu Altus. You can technically race there and get it shortly after setting foot in the Land of Shadow, if you skip Castle Ensis. However, you have to face some powerful enemies along the way. Finding enough Scadutree Fragments to raise your Scadutree Blessing to at least level eight is a good idea, so if you raid the keep and find you’re having trouble, take a detour and do that instead.

Make your way through Shadow Keep and enter the Specimen Storehouse. Climb to the fourth floor, then the seventh floor, and finally the Keep’s top, to the Site of Grace just outside Messmer’s chamber. Unless you’re incredibly confident, don’t challenge Messmer until your Scadutree Blessing is at level 10 or higher. 

Try not to die / FromSoftware/GLHF

Instead, walk back out to the landing, and take the stairs to your right. Deal with the Shades there, and look over the balcony’s edge. You might have to tilt the camera axis so it’s almost completely vertical, but what you’re looking for is another balcony with a bat perched on it. Carefully drop down to it – carefully, so you don’t miss the edge and die on the other balcony further down – and defeat the bat. 

Impenetrable Thorns is located on a corpse against the wall.

Make sure you've got some Faith / FromSoftware/GLHF

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: What does Impenetrable Thorns do?

Impenetrable Thorns, like other thorn sorceries, scales with Faith – not Intelligence – and you get better blood loss returns if your Arcane stat is higher. It's still a sorcery, though, so you need a staff to cast it. You also need 24 Faith, and one cast uses 18 FP.

Casting Impenetrable Thorns uses a small amount of your HP and builds your blood loss meter slightly, and it summons a pillar of dense thorns in front of you. It usually just hits one target, but if they’re clustered together, you might manage to affect more than one.

The thorns cause several instances of damage and build up a fair bit of the enemy’s blood loss meter, making it an excellent choice against large foes prone to the hemorrhage effect. That includes Messmer and Romina, Saint of the Bud, along with most humanoid foes as well. It’s a pretty useful spell for your arsenal, especially if you’re running a bleed build or have Lord of Blood’s Exultation.

Having good magic is all fine and well, but don't forget to level up your summons by tracking down Revered Spirit Ash locations, too.