Life Lessons – Easily Complete Count Ymir’s Questline in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree
Looking for the Sword of Night? You will need to do Count Ymir a few favors before you get your hands on it.
Elden Ring’s DLC expansion Shadow of the Erdtree brings its players to the Land of Shadow, with new threats to face down and mysteries to solve. Among those mysteries is a questline that’s dedicated to the murky origins of the Two Fingers and their role in guiding the Tarnished towards the title of Elden Lord.
A key character to this questline is Count Ymir, a glintstone sorcerer found in the cathedral of Manus Metyr in the Scuda Altus region of the Land of Shadow. He guides the Tarnished to specific locations in the area, providing them with a bit of history about the Two Fingers while harboring a secret of his own.
The Study of the Stars
Count Ymir’s knowledge of glintstone sorcery comes from his extensive knowledge of the stars, which he believes are the source of all life in the Lands Between and their shadowy counterpart. He welcomes the Tarnished upon their first encounter, sharing his knowledge of how the Two Fingers have been misguided by the Greater Will and implores them to seek the truth regarding their guidance.
SUGGESTED: Life Lessons – Easily Complete Thiollier’s Questline in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree
He is joined by his trusted bodyguard Jolan, who is also an important part of this questline despite having no role in it until its very end. With a memorable boss encounter and a crucial choice regarding Jolan’s fate waiting for the Tarnished at the finish line, it’s time to get started.
Life Lessons – Easily Complete Count Ymir’s Questline in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree
To begin with, you must unlock access to the Scuda Altus region in the Land of Shadow, either by defeating RelLana at Castle Ensis or via the Fort of Reprimand in the Gravesite Plains. You will need to head east from Bonny Village and approach the Shadow Keep from the Church District in order to reach the Cathedral of Manus Metyr. Note that approaching the area triggers the breaking of Miquella’s Great Rune which progresses all other questlines in the region.
SUGGESTED: Bosses Be Gone: How to Defeat Putrescent Knight in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree
Your first conversation with Ymir ends with him asking you to pay the Finger Ruins of Rhia a visit to blow the horn at their center. This is a step that you will have to repeat at two other locations on the map and he gives you the Hole-Laden Necklace you will need in order to do so. The Ruins can be accessed from the Cerulean Coast, West Site of Grace by following the coastline until you can climb on over a structure to find them.
The next step is to return to Ymir and obtain the map to your next location. You could reload the area to find and speak to Jolan and also head into the graveyard west of her location to witness some dialogue from Ymir in order to learn more about his motivations.
The next horn you need to blow can be found in the Finger Ruins of Dheo which can only be accessed via the Hinterlands. For this, you will need to grab the O, Mother gesture from Bonny Village in Scadu Altus and use it in front of the statue of Marika found next to the Shadow Keep, Back Gate Site of Grace. You can find this area by navigating to the top of the Specimen Storehouse and using the lifts there to make your way to it.
Watch your step in these ruins as the enemies here can devastate your health bar if you’re not careful! With the horn sounded, return to Ymir and speak to him and Jolan to further the quest. He provides you with a map to the third location you need to visit, which is thankfully right under the cathedral.
To access it, reload the area to find Ymir in the graveyard once again. Return to his throne to examine it and find a hidden path to the Finger Ruins of Miyr where the final horn is located. While it’s quite a short trek, you will be invaded by Swordhand of Night Anna, Jolan’s lost sister. Defeat her and sound the horn to be teleported to a boss fight with Metyr, Mother of Fingers.
After the fight, return to the cathedral to find that Jolan and Ymir are not very pleased with how things have turned out. You will need to defeat them in quick succession, facing Jolan first before you take on Ymir. They should not give you too much trouble as they are both easily staggered and a weapon like the Rivers of Blood can tear through them with ease.
This effectively ends the questline although there is one last step for you to take. Reload the area and find Jolan slumped on the ground at her usual location. Talk to her and you can present her with an Iris of Grace to gain her Spirit Ashes or an Iris of Occultation to obtain the Sword of Night to use in combat. Both of these items can be found by exploring the Shadow Keep.
Note that you can combine Jolan’s ashes with her sister’s at the secret upper floor in Rabbath’s Rise which you can access via the Shaman Village in the Hinterlands. This allows you to summon both of them in boss battles, synergizing very well with Bleed builds as their weapons both come with native Blood build-up on them. Either way, you are now done with Ymir’s questline and are rewarded with all of his gear along with the Remembrance from Metyr.
With Ymir out of the way and Miquella’s Great Rune being broken, you may want to turn your attention to Lord Ansbach and Freyja’s questline or take on other bosses in the area like Commander Gaius. Either way, our Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree guides have you covered.
