Elden Ring: How to get the Gold Scarab Talisman
Here's how to survive Caelid’s Abandoned Cave dungeon to obtain Elden Ring's best talisman.
The Gold Scarab talisman is one of the best ways to level up and upgrade your gear quickly in Elden Ring, as it boosts the amount of runes you collect from defeating enemies by 20% while it’s equipped. This makes it perfect for farming runes in Elden Ring, but in order to get the Gold Scarab talisman, you’ll first need to brave a particularly nasty dungeon in The Lands Between and take down a mean pair of bosses.
In this guide, we'll tell you exactly where to find the Gold Scarab in Elden Ring and how to survive Caelid's scarlet rot-filled Abandoned Cave in order to get it - as well as some tips on how to defeat its Cleanrot Knight bosses, too.
On this page:
- Where to find the Gold Scarab talisman in Elden Ring
- Abandoned Cave walkthrough
- How to beat the Cleanrot Knights
Where to find the Gold Scarab talisman in Elden Ring
The Gold Scarab talisman is found inside the Abandoned Cave dungeon in Caelid. The quickest way to get to the Abandoned Cave is by warping to the 'Smoldering Wall' Site of Grace, before heading east. You might have to battle a couple of Caelid’s monstrous dog enemies (and potentially an Abductor Virgin, too) as you make your way to the edge of the ravine. You can see the Abandoned Caves exact location on the map below:
If you haven’t found the 'Smoldering Wall' Site of Grace yet, follow the path that leads into Caelid from Limgrave. As you travel along the main road that leads through the Caelem Ruins, you should eventually find a telescope marked by an icon on your map (there’s also a Finger Reader nearby). The 'Smoldering Wall' Site of Grace is just south of the Caelid telescope; you should find it easily by continuing along the path.
To access the Abandoned Cave itself, you’ll need to traverse a set of tree branches or roots that bridge the chasm. The Abandoned Cave entrance is about halfway down the far side of the cliff face if you walk directly east from the 'Smoldering Wall' Site of Grace. You should be able to spot a ledge that leads to the platform as you cross onto the roots from the right-hand side of the cliff edge - just be careful when walking across the trees as it’s easy to accidentally slip and fall to your death.
Abandoned Cave walkthrough
Once you’re inside the cave itself, make sure to rest at the 'Abandoned Cave' Site of Grace before venturing any further. This dungeon can be quite dangerous due to its dark surroundings (be sure to light that lantern!), the risk of scarlet rot from the pools on the the cave’s floor and erupting geysers, and the threat posed by Servant of Rot enemies and other nasty foes such as giant rats which can inflict effects such as more scarlet rot and poison.
Speaking of rot, immediately after the Site of Grace, you’ll have to drop down into the main cave. It’s filled with scarlet rot, so keep Preserving Boluses to hand to help bring your levels down (you can buy Preserving Boluses from the Nomadic Merchant near the 'Caelid Highway North' Site of Grace, or craft them yourself if you’ve picked up the Armorer's Cookbook (6) from the Siofra River region).
Several of the best Elden Ring armour sets such as the Mushroom Set and the Guardian Set also offer overall resistance against scarlet rot, with an early game choice being the Cleanrot armour set acquired by defeating Lesser Cleanrot Knights. As it happens, a number of Lesser Cleanrot Knights spawn at the nearby Swap of Aeonia in Caelid, so we'd recommend farming them for the armour set if you find your rot bar filling too quickly.
Exploring the Abandoned Cave fully will net you items including Aeonian Butterflies, Toxic Mushroom, Fire Grease and Dragonwound Grease, along with the Venomous Fang and Serpent Bow weapons, but if you’re looking to head straight to the Gold Scarab follow the path to the left of the deactivated Abductor Virgin.
Through here, you’ll need to dodge some scarlet rot geysers as you make your way down and follow the path past a Effigy of the Martyr summoning pool - feel free to bring in an ally if you’re a bit under-levelled. You'll then need to pass through a room with a large Miranda Flower, before finally climbing up the nearby ledge to enter into a tunnel that leads to the dungeon’s boss fight.
How to beat the Cleanrot Knights
You might recognise this pair of bosses, as they’re a souped-up variant of the Lesser Cleanrot Knights encountered elsewhere throughout The Lands Between. A single Cleanrot Knight with a spear also appears as the boss of the Stillwater Cave in Liurnia.
In Abandoned Cave, you’ll face one Cleanrot Knight armed with a spear and a second armed with a sickle. Facing opponents two-on-one can be a bit tricky, so using summoning a Spirit Ash or finding a fellow player to help even the odds is recommended if you’re feeling less confident.
Both knights are immune to scarlet rot, which is little surprise given the state of the caves and the river of rot in the boss arena itself, but their attacks can be interrupted if you go on the offensive quickly. The sickle knight can also temporarily buff both knights with extra fire resistance, so it may be easiest to use other elemental damage.
At the very start of the fight only the Cleanrot Knight with the spear will actually be present, kneeling in the centre of the arena, so trying to take it down as quickly as possible before its scythe-swinging friend arrives can be a good way to avoid becoming overwhelmed. If you do end up fighting both bosses at once, focus on the spear knight first.
Both Cleanrot Knights tend to be close-quarters attackers, so using ranged weapons or magic is a good way to stay out of danger entirely. However, watch out for the sickle knight’s ranged ability to shoot arcs of magical energy at you - these can be dodged by rolling through them or evading to the side. The sickle knight can also vomit scarlet rot, which can be avoided by moving to the side. If you do get puked on, use a Preserving Boluses to remove the risk of rot damage.
Once both of the Abandoned Cave’s Cleanrot Knight bosses have been defeated, you’ll immediately be rewarded with 7,000 runes and - most importantly - the Gold Scarab talisman. Equip it proudly and watch those bonus runes come rolling in.
That's everything you need to know about how to find and get the Gold Scarab talisman in Elden Ring. Remember, it can also be combined with the consumable Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot items, which grant an extra 30% rune boost for three minutes, allowing you to get even greater rune hauls, increasing your collected runes by over 50% during that time period.
Be sure to also check out our guide on the best talismans in Elden Ring, as well as our Elden Ring walkthrough if you need more help completing the game.