Every Deathroot you find is a trade token for Gurranq, Beast Clergyman, the hungry beast in the Bestial Sanctum. Each root you hand him unlocks a new reward: Faith incantations, an Ash of War, a greathammer and, for the ninth, an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. There are only nine roots per playthrough, so this guide lists all of them in the order you will usually reach them, with what Gurranq gives back for each.
| Deathroot per playthrough | 9 |
| Main sources | 4 Tibia Mariners and 5 catacomb or dungeon chests |
| Trade to | Gurranq, Beast Clergyman (Bestial Sanctum, Dragonbarrow) |
| Fastest way to Gurranq | Waygate in eastern Limgrave, near the Third Church of Marika |
| Final reward | Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone (9th root) |
| Linked questline | D, Hunter of the Dead |
| Watch out | Gurranq turns hostile once, around the fifth root; do not kill him |
Where to find all 9 Deathroot
Four roots drop from Tibia Mariners, the ghostly boatmen who glide over the ground and summon skeletons. Kill the skeletons first only if they get in the way; the Mariner itself is the target, and the skeletons stay down once it dies. The other five sit in chests inside dungeons, usually right behind the boss.
| # | Region | Where | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Limgrave | Summonwater Village | Kill the Tibia Mariner in the flooded village |
| 2 | Limgrave | Deathtouched Catacombs (Stormhill) | Chest behind the Black Knife Assassin boss |
| 3 | Liurnia of the Lakes | Black Knife Catacombs | Chest at the end of the dungeon |
| 4 | Liurnia of the Lakes | Eastern Liurnia | Kill the Tibia Mariner on the eastern lakeshore |
| 5 | Altus Plateau | Wyndham Ruins | Kill the Tibia Mariner among the ruins |
| 6 | Mt. Gelmir | Gelmir Hero’s Grave | Chest after beating the Red Wolf of the Champion |
| 7 | Mountaintops of the Giants | Giants’ Mountaintop Catacombs | Chest after beating the Ulcerated Tree Spirit |
| 8 | Mountaintops of the Giants | Ledge between Castle Sol and the Snow Valley Ruins | Kill the Tibia Mariner |
| 9 | Haligtree route | Hidden Path to the Haligtree | Chest after beating the Stray Mimic Tear |
The last root needs the most progress: the Hidden Path to the Haligtree only opens after you use both halves of the Haligtree Secret Medallion at the Grand Lift of Rold. The same route leads on to Elphael, where the last two Seedbed Curses are.
Gurranq’s Deathroot rewards
Rewards are fixed by count, not by which root you bring. Hand them over one at a time and talk to him after each one.
| Roots given | Reward | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clawmark Seal and Beast Eye | Sacred seal and key item |
| 2 | Bestial Sling | Incantation |
| 3 | Bestial Vitality | Incantation |
| 4 | Ash of War: Beast’s Roar | Ash of War |
| 5 | Beast Claw | Incantation |
| 6 | Stone of Gurranq | Incantation |
| 7 | Beastclaw Greathammer | Weapon |
| 8 | Gurranq’s Beast Claw | Incantation |
| 9 | Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone | Upgrade material |
The Beast Eye from the first trade alerts you when a Deathroot is nearby, which helps with the Tibia Mariners. The beast incantations scale with Faith, so they slot into any Faith build.
How to reach Gurranq and trade Deathroot
- Pick up your first Deathroot. If you met D, Hunter of the Dead, he points you to the Bestial Sanctum himself.
- Go to eastern Limgrave and find the waygate hidden in the bushes near the Third Church of Marika, north of the Mistwood minor Erdtree.
- Step through it. It drops you at the Bestial Sanctum in Dragonbarrow; touch the Site of Grace outside.
- Knock on the sanctum door and give Gurranq one root. Repeat for each root you carry.
- When he lashes out (around the fifth root), deal some damage until he calms down, then rest at the grace and talk to him again. Killing him ends the trades.
Tips
- Do not rush the last root just for the stone: the ninth trade gives one of the scarce Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones, and killing Gurranq after the eighth trade drops one too, but you lose any trades left.
- Roots 1 and 2 are both in Limgrave, so you can unlock the Clawmark Seal and Bestial Sling very early.
- The Deathroot trades also move the D, Hunter of the Dead questline forward, since D sends you to Gurranq in the first place.
FAQ
How many Deathroot are there in Elden Ring?
Nine per playthrough: four from Tibia Mariners and five from dungeon chests. They do not respawn until New Game+.
What do you do with Deathroot?
Give them to Gurranq, Beast Clergyman in the Bestial Sanctum. Each root unlocks a reward, ending with an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone for the ninth.
Where is the first Deathroot?
The easiest early ones are in Limgrave: the Tibia Mariner at Summonwater Village and the chest behind the Black Knife Assassin in the Deathtouched Catacombs.
Source: locations and rewards checked against Fextralife’s Elden Ring wiki and eXputer.
Further reading: Deathroot and Gurranq, Beast Clergyman on the Fextralife Elden Ring wiki.