Dying is a common mechanic found in RPGs. There is a penalty system that activates whenever a player dies. While there are games where failure is not death, and death is not failure, it can still feel unfair to keep losing your hard-earned items. FromSoftware’s titles have been known for their tendency to make the players ‘die’ a lot. Therefore, there is not much to be done.
Elden Ring lets you take on many enemies and bosses where even a small mistake can lead to death. It is completely fine to die continuously while battling a tough boss. However, every death costs you in the form of runes. This can feel extremely punishing, specifically when you have a decent stack of these runes before dying.
An Elden Ring player can save their runes by using Sacrificial Twigs. It is worth mentioning that the twig counts as a consumable and will be lost in the place of runes upon death. An NPC also steals 10% of the player’s runes when they die. To stop him, you must go to Stormveil Castle and defeat Gatekeeper Gostoc.
There are multiple methods of gaining Sacrificial Twigs in the open world of Elden Ring. It is recommended not to die in the first place. However, Elden Ring is a title from the same company that made Dark Souls thus; it makes sense even if you die a lot.
What Happens When You Die in Elden Ring
You will get used to dying in Elden Ring much earlier than expected. While you will face a small death penalty, it is generally not that punishing. You will most likely be able to retrieve the lost items.
When you die in the game, your character will drop all its runes and respawn at full HP at the last checkpoint. These checkpoints are your most recent Site of Grace. Alternatively, you can use the nearest Stake of Marike as your respawn location. However, this method has a distance constraint, as you won’t be able to spawn close to your enemies.
You can increase your vitality to gain some sort of resistance to death. If you die, you will lose all the runes collected up to that point. However, this is not the end for them; you can return to your recent respawn point, where you can claim them all.
It is worth mentioning that if you die again before collecting your dropped runes, then those runes will be lost forever. Therefore, try to play extremely safe before reaching your last death point. You will be leaving bloodstains on the place of your death. Upon touching those, the player can see their death cam.
How to Use Sacrificial Twigs in Elden Ring
As mentioned, a sacrificial twig can prevent you from dropping any runes upon death. It is considered a talisman item, generally used to boost various stats. Here is an official lore description for this item:
“A talisman fashioned from a dried twig, so slender that it might snap at the slightest touch.
Prevent rune loss upon death, but will be lost itself in exchange.
Believed to be a twig pruned from the Erdtree long ago.”
The effect of this item is automatic and will automatically be triggered whenever the player dies while having the twig in his/her inventory.
Where Are Sacrificial Twigs In Elden Ring?
The Isolated Merchant at the sleeping peninsula can buy the sacrificial twig. The sale price for this talisman is 3,000 Runes, which might sound a bit steep. However, it is all worth it, considering the passive effect.
If you have no trouble retrieving your runes, it might not be a worthwhile investment. But if you want to skip the hassle of dealing with unneeded chores, try purchasing one; you might like it a lot.
Isolated Merchant (Weeping Peninsula)
This merchant sits in a hut at the southwest corner of the Weeping Peninsula. If you have not yet discovered this location, you should try going southwest from the Fourth Church of Marika.
This site of grace is unlocked rather easily during your adventures. With that said, here is everything that the merchant sells, including the Sacrificial Twigs:
| Item | Price |
| Lantern | 1800 Runes |
| Arteria Leaf | 1000 Runes |
| Sonesword Key | 2000 Runes |
| Zweihander | 3500 Runes |
| Lost Ashes of War | 3000 Runes |
| Arrow | 20 Runes |
| Great Arrow | 300 Runes |
| Bolt | 40 Runes |
| Ballista Bolt | 300 Runes |
| Sacrificial Twig | 3000 Runes |
| Note: Walking Mausoleum | 600 Runes |
Worst Ways to Die in Elden Ring
Not all deaths are equal in Elden Ring. Some can feel exceptionally daunting, while others can pass by like a breeze. In the world of Elden Ring, dying is commonplace.
Therefore it is all about picking your poison. Here are some of the worst ways to die in Elden Ring:
- Getting Devoured in a Statue: You’ve heard that right; a pendulum statue-like boss in Elden Ring can pull you into itself to devour you.
- Getting Disconnected by the Sheer Damage: A recent bug from Elden Ring has disconnected the players from the game upon dying at the hands of Raya Lucaria Sorcerer.
- The Horse Glitch: A recent glitch in the game teleports you into the sky to dematerialize and die whenever you try to spawn your horse.
While there are a lot of ways that can feel gruesome and disturbing, nothing beats the mentioned three. Retrieving your runes will be hard, especially when you die from glitches and bugs. Therefore, keep a sacrificial twig with you just in case.