If you’ve been working with Sorcerer Rogier on his quest-line, you will eventually learn of a dungeon holding an important item — the Black Knifeprint. This item is proof positive of a ritual that stole a fragment of Death, and is important lore. However, to track this item down, you need to navigate the Black Knife Catacombs, a dungeon with a very interesting completion path. Here’s how to find and complete the Black Knife Catacombs in Elden Ring.
Preparation and locating the dungeon
This dungeon is full of traps and respawning enemies, so you may wish to spend any Runes you have on hand to prevent loss. Furthermore, we recommend upgrading whichever Ashes ally you wish to use the most — Kaiden Sellsword is a good pick, but you can’t go wrong with the Wolves. Finally, make sure your weapon is upgraded as high as possible.
To locate the dungeon, head to Great Erdtree in the Lake of Liurnia zone — the dungeon is on the cliffside to the east of the tree, as shown in the image below. Hit up the Site of Grace and get ready to dive deep into this dungeon.
Before you reach the Summoning Pool, you will meet what is likely your first skeleton enemy in Elden Ring. Skeletons in Souls games tend to “respawn” if they aren’t truly defeated — after you crumble the skeleton, its corpse will glow bright blue, and it will form back up after a few seconds. Strike the corpse again to ensure it stays dead.
Starting your delve
Head to the south and begin dashing past the Skeletons forming up. Your target is a Gravekeeper — a humanoid in white robes carrying a blue torch, pictured above. These entities cause the Skeletons to respawn indefinitely, even if you strike their corpses. However, once you kill the Gravekeeper, all of its minions will also perish. You will find your first Gravekeeper in the room with the falling blades. After dispatching him, head back to the hallway you came from and open up the Stonesword Key door. This room holds two Skeleton enemies and the Rosus’ Axe, an Intelligence scaling axe that can summon your own Skeleton army.
Head back to the falling blade’s room and wait for the middle blade to come down. Once it’s in the ground, stand on top of it and ride it up to the alcove above. Keep your guard up as you’re riding the blade, as the archer skeletons will take pot-shots at you the entire time. Kill this Gravekeeper before hopping back down and exploring the path at the end of the blade room.
Deeper down you go
As you enter the next room, be wary of the skeleton hiding in a corner on the right. Head down the ladder afterward, but only after you’ve buffed up for a pair of tough fights — two Giant Crabs reside in these sewers, and they hit very hard. Head to the right part of the room first to spawn the first Crab, and deal with it however you can. Hugging their backs can help in avoiding attacks. Once you grab the item, head back to the main room to spawn the second Crab. Defeat it and head back up to the falling blades room.
Proceed down the hallway after riding one of the blades. Dash past the two Archer Skeletons and round the corner, being extra careful to avoid the Sword Skeleton on your right. Beeline straight for the Gravekeeper and destroy him with a jump attack — this will also eliminate the skeletons behind you. As you enter this next chamber, watch out for the Archer Skeleton on the right and the Sword Skeleton on the left. These do not have a Gravekeeper associated with them, so deal with them as you normally would. Do not jump down the hole on your right just yet, as we have a hidden boss to deal with first.
Boss: The Black Knife Assassin
Head west into the dead end and strike it with your weapon. For once, there is a hidden door here, and it leads to a boss room. We recommend summoning D, Hunter of the Dead, for this fight — he is an excellent distraction that puts out good damage. The Assassin has a lot of mobility, so finding the right window of opportunity to strike can be daunting. The biggest threat to watch out for is his grab attack. This attack has a short tell, so be on the lookout for when he swings out his left arm and stares at you. Dodge to the sides and counter-attack — and try to let D take aggro immediately after so you can get more jump attacks in. Your reward for besting this foe is the Black Knifeprint and the Assassin’s Cerulean Dagger.
Finishing up: The Cemetery Shade
Head back to the room with the hole and drop down. You will now be back in the sewers, but on the other side where the lever is. Be wary of the skeleton in the corner, who will animate as you’re activating the lever. Once you’ve looted the place, you’re done with the dungeon and ready to fight the (actual) boss — the Cemetery Shade.
This boss is equally quick as the Black Knife Assassin but more brittle. The Shade spawns alongside three skeletons which can be defeated easily. Aside from the fast spinning blade attack, the key mechanic to avoid is the green goo spit attack. This will immobilize you for several seconds, allowing the Shade to finish you off with a single combo. We recommend bringing your strongest Ashes summon to distract the Shade while you’ll deal with the Skeletons or vice versa. Your reward for defeating the Cemetery Shade is the Twinsage Sorcerer Ashes and a Deathroot.
