Unlocking the secrets of Elden Ring Nightreign hinges on one elusive item: the Stonesword Key. This rare and coveted key grants entry to Evergaols, mysterious arenas where powerful bosses await and rich rewards lie in wait. Whether looted from hidden chests, purchased from rare merchants, or earned through relentless exploration, obtaining these keys is your gateway to rune farming and legendary gear. Ready to break the seal and unleash your full potential? Here’s how to find Stonesword Keys and conquer Evergaol in Elden Ring Nightreign.
Farming runes is a crucial part of the gameplay loop in this game, but some locations are better than others. By having at least one Stonesword Key, you can access Evergaol – some of the best spots for obtaining runes (and better equipment). One Stonesword Key can make a difference and lead your team to victory when facing the final boss of an expedition.
In our Elden Ring Nightreign guide, you can learn how to get Stonesword Keys and how to unlock Evergaol with it.
How to get Stonesword Keys in Elden Ring Nightreign
In Elden Ring Nightreign, Stonesword Keys are rare consumable items essential for unlocking Evergaols, special boss arenas that offer valuable rune rewards. You can obtain these keys primarily by looting chests found behind altars in Great Churches and at the top floors of Forts, often near where knight bosses stand. Additionally, some merchants, such as the Spirit Merchant in the Township or Church, may sell a Stonesword Key for 6,000 runes, though availability is limited. There is also a rare relic that guarantees a Stonesword Key at the start of each expedition, but acquiring it depends on luck. Using a Stonesword Key on an Imp statue near an Evergaol consumes the key and grants access to challenging bosses, making these keys highly valuable for rune farming and progression in the game.
Like many other items in Elden Ring Nightreign, you can only get Stonesword Keys by looting boxes, and chests, or buying them from merchants. They are rare-tier items, and as far as our testing has shown, there aren’t specific places that have a higher chance of dropping Stonesword Keys.
When it comes to buying Stonesword Keys from merchants, you will also need a little bit of luck. Not every merchant will have one in stock for you. But if they do, the merchant will only have one and you’ll need 6,000 runes to buy it.
Because Stonesword Keys are considered consumables in Elden Ring Nightreign, they occupy one slot of your pouch. And they don’t transfer between matches, so you’re wasting runes – and a chance of earning powerful weapons – if you don’t use it.
How to use Stonesword Keys to unlock Evergaol
To use Stonesword Keys to unlock Evergaols in Elden Ring Nightreign, first locate an Evergaol on your map, which is marked by a filled gray or deep blue concentric circle icon. Near each Evergaol, you will find an Imp statue. With a Stonesword Key in your inventory, interact with this statue to unlock the Evergaol and summon the boss inside. Defeating the boss grants valuable runes and potentially rare rewards. Each Stonesword Key can only be used once per Evergaol, so consider exploring different Evergaols if you have multiple keys. This method is an effective way to farm runes and obtain powerful items in the game.
If you have a Stonesword Key, you’re able to unlock an Evergaol, one of the key locations Limveld.
To find an Evergaol, open your map and look for an icon of a filled gray circle. Since there are usually many on the map, pick the closest one to the route you’ve established.
Next to an Evergaol arena, there is always an Imp Statue. Interact with it when you have a Stonesword Key in your inventory to summon a boss. You can’t know for sure which boss you’re invoking, but they aren’t typically as challenging as the final bosses of each day.
Using the Stonesword Key in an Evergaol is a great way to farm runes – you can get around 20,000 runes from defeating the boss – and they may also drop Rare weapons or passive abilities. But this process can only be done once per Evergaol. If your team has more Stonesword Keys, you should look for arenas you haven’t visited yet.
What hidden locations might hold the rarest Stonesword Keys in Nightreign
The rarest Stonesword Keys in Elden Ring Nightreign are often found in hidden or hard-to-reach locations such as:
-
Behind illusory bookshelves in Raya Lucaria Academy, where attacking the bookshelf reveals a hidden room with a key on a corpse.
-
Inside treasure chests in secluded towers or caves, like the tower northwest of Academy Gate Town or the Academy Crystal Cave, which is locked behind a stone imp.
-
At the end of sloped archway platforms north of Worshipper’s Woods, accessible only by precise platforming.
-
On corpses in precarious spots such as wooden platforms outside Stormhill Shack or behind ballistas on the Bridge of Sacrifice in Limgrave.
-
In hidden cages within dungeons like Gaol Cave in Caelid.
-
In remote or dangerous areas like the Frenzied Flame Village walls or The Shaded Castle rock formations, requiring careful exploration and platforming.
-
Looting from breakable containers and world chests in Great Churches and Forts, which have a higher chance of containing Stonesword Keys.
-
Occasionally, rare relics dropped by legendary bosses can grant the ability to start expeditions with a Stonesword Key, making these relics among the rarest sources.
These locations demand thorough exploration, keen observation for illusory walls, and sometimes mastery of platforming to access the rarest Stonesword Keys needed to unlock Evergaols.
Could the illusory bookshelf behind Raya Lucaria hide more rare Stonesword Keys in Nightreign
Yes, the illusory bookshelf behind the corpse in the room just left of the Schoolhouse Classroom Site of Grace in Raya Lucaria Academy can hide a rare Stonesword Key in Elden Ring Nightreign. This secret is well-known among explorers of the academy, rewarding players who attack the seemingly empty bookshelf with a Stonesword Key on the corpse behind it. While this is one confirmed location, Raya Lucaria features multiple illusory walls and secret areas, but the bookshelf behind the corpse is the primary spot known to yield a Stonesword Key rather than multiple keys from the same illusion. Therefore, while the academy has several hidden illusions, this particular bookshelf is a unique and valuable source of a rare Stonesword Key.
