When it comes to informing its player base, the developers at FromSoftware have a unique way of doing things. Throughout its history, the Soulsborne games have been designed to be purposely inscrutable, often unafraid to obscure vital items and even features behind hidden walls or inside of dungeons. FromSoftware’s latest masterpiece, the notoriously difficult but gorgeous Elden Ring, is no different, and almost delights in letting players walk right by game-breaking weapons and useful allies hidden away in its massive open world.
For many new players, one of the most brutal realizations of Elden Ring‘s unique action RPG mechanics will be that not only does each point put into leveling up a character matter, but that players can easily misplace points early on. Furthermore, building a powerful character in Elden Ring locks players into a certain playstyle, making it hard for someone who realizes later on that another strategy will work better for them. Luckily, players are, in fact, able to completely reset or “respec” a character’s stats — but like many things in Elden Ring, doing so takes effort.
The first step in even unlocking the ability to respec characters is to beat one of Elden Ring‘s major bosses, Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. This powerful adversary is the head of the Raya Lucaria Academy and the game’s next target after defeating the first main boss, Godrick the Grafted. Rennala is located in the aforementioned academy in the Liurnia of the Lakes region of the map. Although Liurnia is considered an early game area, the Raya Lucaria Academy itself is most certainly not. Filled with powerful sorcerers and difficult enemies, this is not a place for low-level characters. Players should level up in the surrounding area before trying to enter into its halls.
Once sufficiently leveled, players will need to defeat Rennala herself in a two-stage fight that is one of the most visually stunning parts of the game. After finally besting her in combat, Rennala will reappear in the Grand Library and bestow upon the player the Great Rune of the Unborn, which cannot be equipped, but instead allows players to reset the attributes of the character. It should be noted, though, that Elden Ring‘s respec options are limited to the class that players chose, so those who chose to build a Confessor will be stuck with the base attributes of that class, and those who chose a Wretch will have more options with regards to resetting stats.
However, although the ability to respec is now unlocked, that doesn’t necessarily mean that players are able to immediately do so. Respeccing a character requires a payment to Rennala in the form of a very limited item called a Larval Tear, one of which most players should have come across before fighting Rennala. Players can reset the character once for each Larval Tear found, but these items can be somewhat hard to stumble upon early on, making any reset of attributes a concept that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
One place close to the Academy where a Larval Tear can be found is in the southwest portion of Liurnia, in the Village of the Albinaurics. This village, located high above the toxic swamps, hides a Larval Tear laying on the ground outside of the abandoned houses. Also, players should take note that although Larval Tears may be rare, by focusing on exploring, they should be able to find several by the game’s midpoint, allowing more respec options than most players will need or want.
While Elden Ring doesn’t allow players to make mistakes in its challenging battles, it does allow mistakes in building a character. So feel free to try a scythe-wielding Faith build, or get weird with Arcane. Always remember that Rennala is waiting should things get too frustrating.
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