Should you Imbibe Nectar in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree?

Want to know what happens if you imbibe St. Trina's nectar in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? It's a very sensible question to ask, since you only just heard one of the new characters in Shadow Of The Erdtree tell you that if you imbibe the nectar, it'll kill you. But is that true? Is there any reason to do it anyway? These questions are so very Elden Ring, aren't they?

In this guide, we'll explain whether or not you should imbibe the Nectar in Shadow Of The Erdtree as part of the questline involving Thiollier and St. Trina. We'll walk you through the consequences for either action ("Imbibe Nectar" or "Leave"), and what it means for everyone involved, so you can make the right decision for your Elden Ring DLC playthrough.

NOTE: heavy quest spoilers lie beyond this point! If you're wondering how to get to this point in the story, check out our guide to the Thiollier questline in Shadow Of The Erdtree.

Should you imbibe Nectar in Shadow Of The Erdtree?

Yes, you should imbibe St. Trina's Nectar in the Garden Of Deep Purple in Shadow Of The Erdtree. Doing so will kill you as Thiollier explained. However, it's a necessary death, and you won't lose anything important. You'll receive the "YOU DIED" text, and then you'll respawn at the nearby Site Of Grace, with your lost runes available to pick up in front of you.

So, why should you imbibe the nectar? Because it's important for both Thiollier's and St. Trina's questlines that you do. Nothing happens if you only imbibe the nectar once, twice, or three times. But if you imbibe the nectar four times in a row, then St. Trina will begin to speak to you while you're "dead", imparting information about Miquella - the key character of the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC.

If you imbibe nectar four times, St. Trina will say:

"Make Miquella stop... Don't turn the poor thing into a god..."

If you imbibe nectar five times, St. Trina will say:

"Godhood would be Miquella's prison. A caged divinity... is beyond saving."

If you imbibe nectar six times, St. Trina will say:

"You must kill Miquella... Grant him forgiveness."

After the sixth time, there's no more new dialogue, so you don't have to imbibe St. Trina's nectar again after this. However, from the fourth imbibition onwards, you can speak to Thiollier in the Garden Of Deep Purple and attempt to pass on St. Trina's words. Thiollier will react with anger, thinking that you're lying to him. And if you press the matter by attempting to pass on St. Trina's words again, then the next time you reload this area Thiollier will invade you and attempt to fight you.

Defeating Thiollier will give you the final reward of his quest: St. Trina's Smile, a talisman which increases your attack power when sleep is in the vicinity. Shortly thereafter, Thiollier will die. St. Trina herself will remain until you beat the final boss, after which you can return to obtain the final reward of her quest: St. Trina's Blossom, a flower you can place in your Helmet slot to increase your max FP.

What happens if you don't imbibe the Nectar?

If you choose not to imbibe St. Trina's Nectar, nothing good happens. In fact, nothing happens at all. You are free to leave Thiollier and St. Trina as they are in the Garden Of Deep Purple, and their questlines will not progress.

You are free to return and imbibe the nectar later on if you change your mind. However, once you reach the penultimate fight of the main story (just beyond the Cleansing Chamber Anteroom Site Of Grace), Thiollier will disappear from the map, locking you out of his quest ending. You can still imbibe the nectar to receive St. Trina's dialogue, but you will be unable to pass on your words to Thiollier, and therefore will be unable to receive the St. Trina's Smile Talisman as a result of Thiollier's invasion.

So to summarise: you should imbibe St. Trina's Nectar six times in a row to fully complete the questlines of both Thiollier and St. Trina herself. Each time you imbibe the nectar it will kill your character, but this is necessary for the quest's advancement.

That wraps up this guide on whether you should imbibe St. Trina's nectar in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. If you've yet to reach this point below the Stone Coffin Fissure, then you'll need to defeat a fairly challenging boss. To make sure you're prepared, consult our guide on the various Scadutree Fragment locations in the Land Of Shadow, as well as our guides on the best weapons, best builds, best spells, and best armor sets in Elden Ring.