Elden Ring is chock-full of secrets and alternate routes for players to take, which allows for exploration in any direction regardless of the "correct order" of doing things. It's a truly open world game that doesn't hold your hand or tell you where to go, and it's very possible to skip entire sections of the game to access places meant for higher-level players.
One of these shortcuts is between Limgrave and Liurnia of the Lakes. Normally in Elden Ring players get to this western, flooded area of the world by going through Stormveil and Godrick the Grafted. With this strategy, you can skip that whole sordid place (and its relentless sword-birds) to instead progress through another open world area and get to Raya Lucaria sooner.
Updated August 1st, 2023: Stormveil Castle marks the first massive gate that players will face on their journey through The Lands Between. The imposing structure houses both Margit and Godrick, two difficult bosses that can be quite difficult to defeat for new players. Thankfully, there is a way to skip Stormveil Castle for those that don't want to face the duo, or simply want to grind enough levels to have a better chance at defeating them. To better show players how to skip Stormveil Castle, the following guide has been updated with a handy video outlining the path.
A Shortcut To Liurnia Of The Lakes
There are a lot of reasons one might want to skip Stormveil Castle, like avoiding the Castle's Sword Birds who rival dogs and rats as the most annoying enemies of all time. Past Stormveil Castle is a foggy, water-logged area called Liurnia of the Lakes that also acts as the location of the Academy of Raya Lucaria.
Sorcerers and magic-users will find this shortcut incredibly useful as they gain access to a number of new Sorceries, Staffs, and other items and abilities that enhance an FP-centric build. While other builds won't benefit quite the same way, Liurnia of the Lakes is a beautiful new setting for open-world leveling, which helps a lot in beating tough bosses upon your return to Stormveil Castle.
How To Skip Stormveil Castle In Elden Ring
To skip Stormveil Castle entirely, head to the Stormhill Shack just a short ride up the road from the Gatefront Site of Lost Grace through a valley of Godrick Soldiers and a Giant. From here go directly north until you pass under the large bridge leading away from Stormveil Castle. You should come to another ruined bridge after passing through some obscuring vegetation.
There is a Finger Reader here you can talk to, who hints at the location of a very important item. She claims that the bridge to Liurnia is out and that Stormveil can be traversed to get there, but in fact, the bridge is not completely impassable. Head to the very end of the ruined bridge and look down to see a series of ledges that you can jump down. Head down here and travel towards the cliff wall to find a secret path leading to Liurnia of the Lakes and the Church of Irith without having to deal with Stormveil Castle at all.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.