How to Reach Mohgwyn Palace Early in Elden Ring (Varré's Quest, Online or Offline)

Mohgwyn Palace is a late-game area – but Varré's questline can take you there after the first major boss. Here's every step, plus the classic rune-farming spot.

Mohgwyn Palace is one of the last places most players see in Elden Ring – a blood-soaked underground realm full of enemies far above an early character's level. But there's a back door. By following the questline of White Mask Varré, you can be teleported straight into the palace surprisingly early, and use it to farm runes faster than almost anywhere else in the game.

Before you start

• Defeat Godrick the Grafted at Stormveil Castle.
• Speak to Finger Reader Enia at Roundtable Hold after Godrick falls.
• Have access to Liurnia of the Lakes, where most of the quest takes place.

Varré is the masked man you meet at the very start of the game by the First Step site of grace. Talking to him early helps, but his quest really begins once you meet him again in Liurnia.

Step-by-step: Varré's quest

1. Find Varré at the Rose Church. It's on a small island in Liurnia, south of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. Talk to him, and when he asks about something at the Roundtable Hold, answer "They didn't seem right." He gives you five Festering Bloody Fingers.
2. Complete three invasions – or do the offline alternative.
   • Online: use the Festering Bloody Fingers to invade other players three times. You don't have to win; you just have to invade.
   • Offline: travel to the Writheblood Ruins on the Altus Plateau, use the red summon sign there to invade NPC Magnus the Beast Claw, and defeat him.
3. Return to Varré at the Rose Church and agree to join his order. He hands you the Lord of Blood's Favor, a cloth that has to be soaked in a maiden's blood.
4. Go to the Church of Inhibition in eastern Liurnia. Use the Lord of Blood's Favor on the corpse inside the church. Watch out: the nearby Frenzied Flame Tower area can inflict madness, so don't linger.
5. Return to Varré once more. He gives you the Bloody Finger and – the real prize – the Pureblood Knight's Medal.
6. Use the Pureblood Knight's Medal. It's a reusable item that teleports you directly to Mohgwyn Palace.

What to expect when you arrive

You arrive deep underground, far from the main palace, in an area with enemies tuned for a late-game character. Don't try to explore everything right away. Instead, activate the nearby site of grace so you can return to it, then head toward the farming spot below.

If you return later, you can also fight Varré himself near the Mausoleum Dynasty Midpoint area by using an invasion sign – beating him rewards you with his weapon.

The rune-farming spot

From the arrival point, ride through the forest and canyon until you find the next site of grace. Nearby, on a slope, a group of sleeping albinauric enemies sit by the path. Each one is worth around 2,000 runes, and clearing the group can net roughly 40,000 runes in two to three minutes. Rest at the site of grace to reset them and repeat.

A few guards patrol the area; their attacks are slow and easy to dodge. Many players use a sweeping weapon skill to hit the whole group at once, but even backstabs work for low-level characters.

Boost your income

• Golden Scarab talisman – increases runes gained from defeated enemies.
• Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot – a consumable that temporarily boosts runes earned.

Is it worth doing early?

Rushing levels can make the early and mid game noticeably easier, and the medal stays useful for the rest of your playthrough. The trade-off is that over-leveling can flatten some of the challenge in areas like Liurnia and Caelid. A sensible middle ground: do the quest, farm until a few problem bosses feel fair, then continue exploring normally.

Common mistakes

• Giving the wrong answer at the Rose Church. Say "They didn't seem right" when Varré asks about the Roundtable Hold.
• Skipping the Church of Inhibition. The medal won't appear until the cloth has been soaked.
• Wandering off at Mohgwyn. Everything there hits hard at low levels. Stick to the farming route.
• Forgetting the site of grace. Activate it on arrival so you can always return quickly.

Varré's quest is one of Elden Ring's best-kept shortcuts. A few hours of detours in Liurnia buys you a permanent ticket to one of the most efficient rune farms in the Lands Between.

This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.