Cave of the Forlorn is a location in the Consecrated Snowfield in Elden Ring and the home of the Misbegotten Crusader which drops the Golden Order Greatsword. The cave also contains some rare crafting items. As part of our Elden Ring guide, we're going to explain how to complete Cave of the Forlorn.

How Do You Complete Cave of the Forlorn in Elden Ring?

On this page, we're going to reveal how to complete Cave of the Forlorn. We'll include the location, a walkthrough, and any additional information, like item drops.

Cave of the Forlorn Location: How to Find It

The Cave of the Forlorn entrance is tucked away on the eastern end of the frozen river in the Consecrated Snowfield, southeast of Ordina, Liturgical Town. The entrance can be difficult to spot courtesy of a Giant Land Octopus that sits right in front of the doorway. While you don’t have to take the Land Octopus out before entering, you will have to give up two Stonesword Keys to open the gate that bars entry.

Cave of the Forlorn: Walkthrough

After entering the Cave of the Forlorn for the first time, take care to stay on the elevated area and swing around to activate the Site of Grace before dropping down. Once you’ve activated it, go ahead and drop down to find a corpse immediately ahead that holds a Golden Rune [7], and continue eastward to head deeper into the ice-filled cave.

Soon after passing the Summoning Pool, there’s another corpse on the ice here holding some Freezing Grease, and there’s a Misbegotten enemy resting here that you can sneak up on. Instead of continuing to the east, head toward an opening to the north first, but make sure you’re prepared for a pretty tough fight. It leads out to a chamber that contains two more Misbegotten enemies and a few rats which are hard to deal with all at once. If you do manage to deal with all of them, your reward awaits in an opening along the eastern wall where you’ll get some more Freezing Grease.

Head back out to the chamber just before this one, and continue to the east this time. Your attention will likely be drawn to the glowing purple item to the north, but approach cautiously as it’s defended by two Misbegottens. Fortunately, they can be snuck up on to get the upper hand, and the Nascent Butterfly on the corpse will be yours once you’ve dealt with them. The opposite side of this chamber has a Golden Rune [10] you should pick up before continuing to the east, navigating around some large ice structures, and eventually emerging to another chamber with an icy floor.

There are two Miquella’s Lilies growing on either side of this chamber’s entryway, and two more tucked behind the large ice structure that can be picked prior to moving onward. To reach the glowing item from the corpse leaning over the ledge, hop up the stone steps along the first ice structure, and perform a running jump across the gap to reach the other structure and get a Hero’s Rune [2] for your troubles. With that done and dusted, continue into the passageway to the north and pick another Miquella’s Lily along the way.

Crouch as you enter this next area as there’s a sleeping Misbegotten you can take out if you so wish before continuing along the only path forward which leads out to another open area with an icy floor. You’ll likely notice two more sleeping Misbegotten foes here, but there’s actually a third that’ll fly around and pelt you with arrows if you aren’t careful. As soon as you engage one of the enemies, try to stay out of the flying Misbegotten’s line of sight so you can focus on taking them out without being bothered by the arrows. Once all three have been eliminated, it’s safe to grab the Spiritflame Arrows and Rune Arc that sit to the east.

Next, backtrack out to the area with the large ice structures we ascended earlier. As you reenter this area, look toward the west to spot an opening which is our next destination. There are a couple more Miquella’s Lilies here, one along the ground floor and another atop the ice structure here. After grabbing the Lily at the top of the structure, jump across to the other side and follow this snowy path around to a series of descending platforms.

Gradually descend along the cascading platforms and drop into the chasm they lead you to. After dropping down, head through the opening to the southwest and do battle with the glowing jellyfish you may have spotted earlier beneath the ice. There are five jellyfish in this first area, the final three of which defend a few items: Thawfrost Boluses, Crystal Darts, and a few more Miquella’s Lilies.

Once you’ve grabbed it all, continue through the short western passage where you’ll encounter a few more jellyfish to take out, but mind the hole that’s behind them. Don’t drop into it before grabbing some more Thawfrost Boluses off the corpse leaning against the wall. Carefully drop into the hole once you’re ready, aiming for the nearest ledge. Continue dropping down onto each successive ledge, be sure to stop and grab the Freezing Grease on the ledge with the corpse, and drop down the rest of the way to reach this cave’s mist gate and the Misbegotten Crusader that drops the Golden Order Greatsword when defeated.

Cave of the Forlorn: Item Drops and Loot

Do you have any tips and tricks for how to complete Cave of the Forlorn in Elden Ring? Let us know in the comments section below, and check out our Elden Ring guide for more information.