Elden Ring starts you with a nearly blank parchment. Every region stays a grey blur until you pick up its map fragment, and until then you are reading the terrain by eye. The good news: each fragment sits next to a stele, a tall stone slab that is already drawn on the unexplored map, and most of them are only a short ride from a main road. This guide lists all 19 base game fragments and the 5 Shadow of the Erdtree fragments, with the nearest Site of Grace, what you need to reach each one, and the order we recommend picking them up.
| Total fragments | 24 (19 base game, 5 Shadow of the Erdtree) |
| Overworld / underground | 14 overworld, 5 underground in the base game |
| How to spot them | The stele icon is drawn on the blank map before you own the fragment |
| First fragment | Limgrave, West, at the Gatefront Ruins |
| Gated fragments | Mountaintops West and East (Rold Medallion), Consecrated Snowfield (both Haligtree Secret Medallion halves), Mohgwyn Palace |
| Hardest DLC fragment | Abyss, only after beating Jori in the Darklight Catacombs |
| Missable? | No, every stele stays available for the whole playthrough |
How map fragments work
- Open the map and look for the small stele icon in an unrevealed region. That is where the fragment waits.
- Ride to the stele and interact with it (underground fragments usually lie on a corpse instead). The fragment goes into your Key Items.
- The region is drawn in at once, with roads, rivers and landmarks, but not with Sites of Grace or dungeons. You still have to discover those yourself.
- For the five underground areas, press the map view toggle to switch between the surface and the underground layer.
All Elden Ring map fragment locations (base game)
The table follows the natural order of a first playthrough, from Limgrave out to the late-game regions.
| Map fragment | Where to find it | Nearest Site of Grace |
|---|---|---|
| Map: Limgrave, West | On the stele at the Gatefront Ruins, close to the camp of Godrick’s soldiers south of Stormgate | Gatefront |
| Map: Limgrave, East | In the Mistwood, where a Runebear scratches its back on a tree | Mistwood Outskirts (head east) |
| Map: Weeping Peninsula | On the road south toward Castle Morne | Castle Morne Rampart |
| Map: Liurnia, East | On the flooded road north of the grace, with a pack of enemies around it | Liurnia Lake Shore |
| Map: Liurnia, North | At Academy Gate Town, on a grave-like stone; despite the name it is in central Liurnia | Academy Gate Town |
| Map: Liurnia, West | On a stele in an open field just north-east of the grace, in far northern Liurnia | Northern Liurnia Lake Shore |
| Map: Caelid | On a stele roughly in the middle of the Caelid Highway South, south-east of the grace | Caelid Highway South |
| Map: Dragonbarrow | East of the grace, south of the Divine Tower of Caelid | Dragonbarrow West |
| Map: Altus Plateau | North of the grace along the main road: take the north branch at the fork, not the east one | Altus Highway Junction |
| Map: Leyndell, Royal Capital | In the Capital Outskirts, under a stele near the grace | Outer Wall Phantom Tree |
| Map: Mt. Gelmir | Down the slope from the grace | Road of Iniquity |
| Map: Mountaintops of the Giants, West | Straight ahead after you step off the Grand Lift of Rold, on the right side of the path toward Zamor Ruins | Grand Lift of Rold |
| Map: Mountaintops of the Giants, East | Past the Freezing Lake: cross the great chain from the enemy camp south of the lake to the altar | Giant’s Gravepost |
| Map: Consecrated Snowfield | Follow the road north through the blizzard, drop down and cross the frozen river; the stele is ahead | Consecrated Snowfield |
| Map: Siofra River | Next to the staircase that leads up to Hallowhorn Grounds, east of the grace | Siofra River Bank |
| Map: Ainsel River | In the Uhr Palace Ruins, on a corpse by a column in the room with the Hermit Merchant | Ainsel River Downstream |
| Map: Lake of Rot | On a corpse at the water’s edge of the scarlet rot lake | Lake of Rot Shoreside |
| Map: Deeproot Depths | On a corpse under a gazebo, directly east of the grace | The Nameless Eternal City |
| Map: Mohgwyn Palace | On the climb toward the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum, past the blood Albinaurics who raise giant skeletons | Dynasty Mausoleum Entrance |
How to reach the gated base game maps
- Mountaintops of the Giants (West and East): the Grand Lift of Rold only moves once you hold the Rold Medallion, which Melina hands you after you defeat Morgott in Leyndell.
- Consecrated Snowfield: use both halves of the Haligtree Secret Medallion at the Grand Lift of Rold to unlock the hidden path.
- Mohgwyn Palace: use the Pureblood Knight’s Medal from White Mask Varre, or the teleporter in the Consecrated Snowfield.
- Lake of Rot: bring Preserving Boluses or a scarlet rot cure; the walk along the shore is short but the lake punishes slow players.
- Ainsel River: the fastest way in is the Ainsel River Well by the Eastern Tableland grace in Liurnia. Ride the lift down, follow the ant cave to the big cavern, then take the second lift down by the Sluice Gate grace and head north-west into the Uhr Palace Ruins.
Shadow of the Erdtree map fragment locations
The Realm of Shadow uses the same system with five fragments. They are spread out much more than in the base game, so it pays to grab them early: the DLC map is layered and hard to read without them.
| Map fragment | Where to find it | Nearest Site of Grace |
|---|---|---|
| Map: Gravesite Plain | A short ride north-east of where you arrive, before the Scorched Ruins | Gravesite Plain |
| Map: Scadu Altus | Keep riding forward from the grace on the high road; you reach it after Castle Ensis | Highroad Cross |
| Map: Southern Shore | South of the grace, past the Ghostflame Dragon, at a bend in the road | Cerulean Coast |
| Map: Rauh Ruins | Through the cave beside the pond north-east of Moorth Ruins, then along the canyon of Rauh Base; just outside the Temple Town Ruins | Moorth Ruins, then Ancient Ruins Base |
| Map: Abyss | Beside a column in the Abyssal Woods, past the Darklight Catacombs, by the Abandoned Church | Darklight Catacombs area |
Route to the Southern Shore map
- Start at the Castle Front grace in Gravesite Plain and follow the sloping path south toward the poison flowers.
- Go through the Ellac River Cave and come out on the Ellac River.
- Follow the river south, past the waterfall, into the Cerulean Coast.
- The fragment lies just beyond the Ghostflame Dragon. You can ride past the dragon on Torrent if you do not want the fight yet.
Route to the Abyss map
- Reach the Darklight Catacombs from the Recluses’ River below Shadow Keep.
- Clear the catacombs and defeat Jori, Elder Inquisitor. The arena exit is the only way into the Abyssal Woods.
- Walk through the archway into the woods and head south to the Abandoned Church. The fragment is beside a column nearby.
- The woods are full of Madness-inducing enemies, so stay quiet and keep your distance.
While you explore the Realm of Shadow, pick up every Scadutree Fragment and Revered Spirit Ash on the way: see our Scadutree Fragment locations and Revered Spirit Ash locations guides.
Best order to collect the map fragments
| Stage | Fragments | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Opening hours | Limgrave West and East, Weeping Peninsula, Siofra River | All reachable in the first couple of hours on Torrent |
| After Stormveil | Liurnia East, North and West, Ainsel River, Lake of Rot | Ride the Liurnia lake edge first, then go underground |
| Side trip | Caelid, Dragonbarrow | Ride on the highway; the Caelid stele is right on the road |
| Mid game | Altus Plateau, Mt. Gelmir, Leyndell, Deeproot Depths | The Leyndell stele is outside the walls, so you can grab it before entering the capital |
| Late game | Mountaintops West and East, Consecrated Snowfield, Mohgwyn Palace | Needs Morgott defeated and the medallions |
| Shadow of the Erdtree | Gravesite Plain, Scadu Altus, Southern Shore, Rauh Ruins, Abyss | Gravesite Plain first, then Scadu Altus after Castle Ensis |
Many of these roads also lead to key upgrade items, so combine the trip with our Golden Seed and Sacred Tear locations and Stonesword Key locations guides. The Divine Towers you pass in Caelid and Liurnia are where you activate your Great Runes, covered in Elden Ring Great Runes.
Related: best rune farming spots, many of which are much easier to find once the map is filled in, and our Cracked Pot locations guide for the pots hidden in Jarburg, Laskyar Ruins and the Auriza Side Tomb.
FAQ
How many map fragments are in Elden Ring?
There are 24 in total: 19 in the base game (14 overworld and 5 underground) and 5 in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Can you miss a map fragment?
No. The steles never disappear, so you can come back for any fragment later in the same playthrough. Some are simply locked behind progress, such as the Rold Medallion for the Mountaintops.
Do map fragments show Sites of Grace and dungeons?
No. A fragment draws the terrain, roads and landmark names, but Sites of Grace, caves and catacombs only appear once you find them yourself.
Where is the Liurnia North map?
At Academy Gate Town in central Liurnia, right by the Site of Grace of the same name. The name is misleading: the map it reveals covers the middle of the lake region, while the Liurnia, West fragment is the one in the far north.
Source: every location checked against Fextralife’s Elden Ring wiki plus at least one of Game8, PCGamesN, Dexerto and GGRecon. Where guides gave conflicting directions, we kept only the details they agree on.
Further reading: Maps on the Fextralife Elden Ring wiki.