The Roundtable Hold serves as a HUB location in Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s open world role-playing game, where players can level up, upgrade their equipment, or find various quest lines, among other things. Such HUBs have existed in every Soulsborne game and in Sekiro to provide players with a retreat. However, the path to the Round Table Stronghold in Elden Ring is a bit more hidden than in other games.
First Mention of the Round Table (Elden Ring)
Very early in the game, the Tainted hear about the Roundtable Hold without even knowing what it is all about. When they come out of the tutorial area and take their first steps into the interlands, they find an NPC wearing a white mask and a kind of monk’s robe just a few meters away from them, next to a place of mercy. This is the white-faced Varre.
When the players approach the mysterious NPC, he tells them on the top of his head that they are stains and that they neither have a maiden, nor can they follow the guidance of the Mercy, nor have they received an invitation to the Roundtable Hold.
Without more specific information, the location mentioned seems like one of the so-called Legacy Dungeons that FromSoftware included in Elden Ring to give players the classic Soulsborne gameplay experience. The name „Round Table Stronghold“ seems just as cryptic as „Rod Mane Castle“ or „Storm Veil Castle“. Thus, many players move on without thinking about the Round Table and its wider meaning.
The Way to the Round Table: Elden Ring, Roundtable Hold
To get to the Roundtable Hold, players must have met two requirements. They must have already rested in three different places of grace in order to meet the NPC Melina. The young woman comes to the stained and explains to them that without a maiden, they have little chance of survival in the interlands. Because the players themselves do not have access to a maiden, Melina offers herself as an interim solution, allowing the stained to finally spend their collected runes at places of grace to level up. Players will also receive a summoner bell from Melina, which they can use to summon spirits and also the horse Stormwind.
After that, there are two different ways to the Roundtable Hold. The easier way is that players must have rested at least twelve times in a place of grace. This happens quite automatically, but the probability is quite high that players will rest very often at the place of grace in the first hours before the boss fight against Margit, the Cruel Mark, because the boss is quite hard and you usually die very often.
When players rest at the Place of Mercy for the twelfth time, for example to level up or to change equipment, Melina appears again. She apologizes to the stained for subjecting them to a test. Melina wanted to know what strength lies dormant in the players and she recognizes that the stained have a lot of potential. For this reason, she offers to take the players to the round table. If the players agree, they will automatically be teleported to the HUB.
Shorter and more hidden: path to the Roundtable Hold
The second, slightly faster path to the Roundtable Hold is also not obvious at first glance. Players must find a broken bridge in the climb to Storm Veil Castle, which is located just north of Storm Mound Hut. Following the collapsed rubble, players will find a path to follow a little further down. They will reach a new area called Liurnia of the Lakes and come to a place of grace on the cliffs overlooking the lake.
When players rest here, Melina will automatically appear, even if they haven’t rested more often in other places of grace. She will have the same dialogue with the players and take them to the Roundtable Hold. This path, however, skips the initial acquaintance with the NPC Roderika, who would actually be found in the Stormhill Hut. After the players have access to the Round Table Stronghold, Roderika will travel there on her own, even if you haven’t met her before.
About the Roundtable Hold (Elden Ring)
The Roundtable Hold is a zone where players cannot fight. Instead, they will find various interaction opportunities. Among other things, the eponymous Round Table is located in the center of the main room, with a large light of mercy shining above it. As usual, players can rest and level at the table or improve their healing bottles. However, in the Roundtable Hold they will also find a blacksmith and later the aforementioned Roderika, who will help them improve the spectral creatures they have collected.
Players can also meet NPCs like Fia, Diallos and Gideon Ofnir right at the beginning. Other NPCs will come to the Roundtable Hold later, after the Tainted have previously met them in the intermediate lands.
Even though players can perform many functions such as upgrading their character or upgrading their weapons outside of the Roundtable Hold, it is worth visiting the place more often. There are various locked doors in the hold, which can be opened either by reaching certain points in the main story of Elden Ring or by interacting with certain NPCs. After defeating Godrick the Transplanted at Storm Veil Castle, players must return to the Roundtable Hold to meet the Two Fingers for the first time to advance the story.
However, there are also some secrets to explore aside from the story, such as the gray mist gate in the basement or the audience room, which can only be reached by jumping from the balcony. That’s why it’s worth returning to the Roundtable Hold from time to time to see if new areas have opened up or new secrets have been revealed.