Elden Ring is host to a number of new gameplay systems compared to the Dark Souls series, and one of them is the Flask of Wondrous Physick. Unlike the Flask of Crimson Tears and the Flask of Cerulean Tears, which have a large number of charges and either heal you or replenishe your focus points, the Flask of Wondrous Physick is a single-use item (you can refill it at Sites of Grace) that can have a number of different effects on your character depending on how you choose to customize it.
Unfortunately, though, you don't start Elden Ring with the Flask of Wondrous Physick, and you won't have many ways to customize the flask once you do get it, either. Don't worry, though, because in this guide we'll go over where to get the Flask of Wondrous Physick, where you can get additional Crystal Tears to create more customized elixirs, and all of the different Crystal Tear types available in the game.
Elden Ring: Flask of Wondrous Physick location
While the Flask of Wondrous Physick isn't available to players at the start of Elden Ring, it's relatively easy to get to its location soon after you begin a new playthrough. You'll find it (along with a Sacred Tear that will improve the effectiveness of your other flasks) in the ruins of the Third Church of Marika, which is located on the northeastern edge of Limgrave. The location of the church on Elden Ring's map is shown above.
Note that when you obtain the Flask of Wondrous Physick, you'll also be given a Crystal Tear as well: the Crimson Crystal Tear. Crystal Tears are the items you need to customize the effects of your flask while sitting at a Site of Grace, and you can equip up to two on your Flask of Wondrous Physick. As you explore the Lands Between, you'll come across numerous other types of Crystal Tears.
Elden Ring: How to find Crystal Tears
Crystal Tears are rare items, but one consistent way to collect more of them is to defeat the minibosses located near the base of Minor Erdtrees throughout the Lands Between. Each major area in the game has a Minor Erdtree in it, which is shown as a large tree icon on your map. The minibosses located in these areas have relatively high health and do a lot of damage, but they're generally not too difficult to take down once you learn their attack patterns. Once you kill the miniboss protecting each Minor Erdtree, you'll be rewarded with a variety of two or three Crystal Tears.
Aside from killing Minor Erdtree minibosses, Crystal Tears can also occasionally be found as special rewards for killing dungeon minibosses or when opening hidden treasure chests located in various areas throughout the Lands Between. You won't often get Crystal Tears from these sources (you're more likely to get Ashes of War, Spirit Ash Summons, or new weapons) but there are a handful of them that you can find this way.
Elden Ring: All Crystal Tear types
There are tons of different Crystal Tear types that you can find in Elden Ring, and each one has a unique effect that changes the buffs provided by your Flask of Wondrous Physick. Here's a table that shows each Crystal Tear we've found so far, as well as what the effects of each of them are.
| Crystal Tear | Effect |
|---|---|
| Crimson Crystal Tear | Restores 50% of max HP |
| Crimsonspill Crystal Tear | Provides a temporary max HP buff |
| Crimsonburst Crystal Tear | Slowly restores HP over a long period of time |
| Cerulean Crystal Tear | Restores 50% of max FP |
| Greenburst Crystal Tear | Provides a temporary stamina recovery speed buff |
| Strength-knot Crystal Tear | Provides temporary damage buff |
| Speckled Hardtear | Raises ailment resistances and cures status effects |
| Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear | Provides a temporary buff to magic damage |
| Fire-Shrouding Cracked Tear | Provides a temporary buff to fire damage |
| Lightning-Shrouding Cracked Tear | Provides a temporary buff to lightning damage |
| Holy-Shrouding Cracked Tear | Provides a temporary buff to holy damage |
| Ruptured Crystal Tear | Causes the user to explode, damaging themselves and nearby enemies |
| Opaline Bubbletear | Provides a temporary buff to damage resistances |
Elden Ring is finally here, and it's available for $60 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC. It's one of the best Xbox games you can play right now if you're a fan of challenging RPGs, and we strongly recommend it.
Elden Ring ... oh, Elden Ring!
Elden Ring is FromSoftware's latest fantasy epic, featuring a focus on open-ended design in a universe created by both FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin.
