Lamenter's Gaol walkthrough - Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree

Looking for a full rundown of Lamenter's Gaol in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? Like the other gaol mini-dungeons in Elden Ring's DLC Shadow Of The Erdtree, Lamenter's Gaol is full of chains, disturbing shadows, jars, and lots of creepy innards emerging from those jars. As its namesake might indicate, however, this gaol stands out from Belurat Gaol and Bonny Gaol with ominous moans that echo from the walls and threaten to wreck your Tarnished's conviction.

Slap on your best helm and get ready to ignore the lamentations that give this dungeon its name. In this guide, we'll explain exactly what you need to do to conquer Lamenter's Gaol and clear its frightening corridors of enemies.

Lamenter's Gaol walkthrough

You'll need to access Charo's Hidden Grave first to enter Lamenter's Gaol. From the Charo's Hidden Grave Site of Grace, ride Torrent towards the northwest past the waters containing the Death Rite Bird. Eventually you'll come across scattered cages on the ground that mark the gaol's entrance.

Upon entering, head down the pathway and you'll see a locked metal gate. You need a key to pass through, so turn east, kill the Shadow that lurks there, and keep going until you reach a room on your right where a Shadow ambushes you. Pick up the Frozen Maggot on the ground and explore the neighbouring room. Two more Shadows await, plus a treasure chest with the Gaol Upper Level key, which you'll need to progress.

Before we go back to use the key on that metal gate, head to the passageway you haven't explored yet. You'll be in a larger room with a narrow bridge overlooking a chasm. Take out the Shadows on the other side, and watch out for the creepy Jar Innard that tries to throw fleshy projectiles at you in the next room. You see a tortured spirit kneeling on the ground; talk to it and it'll curse the sound of that "wretched lamentation." Right next to the spirit is a Prattling Pate "Lamentation", which can be used to emit a blissful moan - very appropriate for this mournful dungeon.

Go back the way you came to the gate and use the Gaol Upper Level key to open it. Climb down the ladder, and you'll enter a large chamber marked by several branching passageways and whitish, icy ground. A Jar Innards will dash out from your right. Make short work of it and explore the room it came from. You'll find two Shadows there and a Chilling Perfume Bottle. Head back to the northwest room of the large chamber; there's a gate here that can be opened and leads to a ladder that goes down into a pit in the ground.

You're now in the sewer caverns beneath Lamenter's Gaol. You'll spot two giant rats after you touch the ground. Kill them and explore these tunnels thoroughly; they're not too large, but they're full of more rats to contend with. You can pick up a Clarifying Horn Charm +2 Talisman here in a tunnel that ends in a grate, as well as 2 Innard Meat.

Go back up the ladder when you're done with the sewers and return to the large chamber with the branching passageways and icy ground. From the exit of the room with the ladder, you should see an elevated platform that leads to another room. A Jar Innard awaits on top; kill it and enter the room. Keep moving and the ground will suddenly collapse beneath you, knocking you down into an area full of Shadows. Roll to keep from getting grabbed and dispatch these miscreants. When they're dead, exit to come across a thin staircase attached to a right wall overlooking a large pit, and another Shadow sitting by the stair.

Climb the stairs, taking out the Shadows along the way. Skip the first doorway you see; we'll come back to it soon enough. The second doorway has a Frozen Maggot in front of it and leads to a room with a gap in the floor; jump over it and progress until you step out into a giant chamber full of dead bodies piled into massive mountains. Living Jars will be teetering back and forth atop one of the mountains; climb it and grab the Hefty Cracked Pot that lies on the corpse in between them. Then explore the grounds around the corpse mountain - other Living Jars will come alive to attack you here, so be sure to use the auto targeting to determine what is and what isn't an enemy amongst all of the jars littered about. A Living Jar Shard is on a corpse here, and a chest contains the Gaol Lower Level key.

Now that you've got the second key you need to progress, retrace your steps the way you came, as it's time to enter the first doorway we skipped. Inside you'll find a room with Two Shadows and a Call of Tibia. There'a also another room here that seemingly leads to a dead end - but actually, it's an illusory wall! Attack or roll into it and you'll be at a gate that can be opened with the Gaol Lower Level Key. Tricky, tricky!

The next room has a Shadow Realm Rune [4] and a Lamenting Visage on the ground. Keep going up the next stairs you come across, watching out for the Jar Innard who tries to ambush you from the left, and progress until you reach an outcropping overlooking an earlier section of the dungeon. Jump down, take out the Jar Innard and open the metal door to reach a room with a ladder. Go down and you'll be in front of the boss door.

How to defeat the Lamenter's Gaol Catacombs boss

The boss of Lamenter's Gaol is Lamenter, a nimble, annoying bastard who repeatedly summons up to seven clones to attack you over the course of a lengthy battle. This will be a fight of attrition and patience more than anything else, and the best way to start it is by running up and slapping Lamenter back and forth a few times. Eventually he'll wail and disappear. When he appears next, he'll be with his clones.

Target the clones one by one and quickly kill them. They only take a single hit to dispatch, and if you happen to target the real Lamenter, re-target a clone until they're all gone. Ultimately, you want to ensure that there are no clones remaining before Lamenter disappears and summons a new batch. If some remain, a little Lamenter mask will appear around your Tarnished's head. You'll instantly die if seven masks ever appear around you, and these stacks do not expire. So while the clones might be a major pain, it's well worth your time to kill them before focusing on the real Lamenter.

A good summon can help make this fight less tedious by taking out Lamenter's clones for you. If you don't use summons, then keep in mind that Lamenter is weak to Lighting and Physical damage, but strong against Fire, Holy, and Magic. Spells like Adula's Moonblade or Great Glintstone Shard that can take out a large group will also come in handy.

Upon defeating Lamenter, you'll get 160,000 Runes and Lamenter's Mask. A teleporter will appear to take you back to the start of the dungeon.

That finishes our look at Lamenter's Gaol. For more Elden Ring: Shadow of The Erdtree dungeon walkthroughs, take a look at our guides to the Ruined Forge Lava Intake, Taylew's Ruined Forge, the Fog Rift Catacombs, and the Darklight Catacombs. If you'd rather read up on reaching tricky areas of the Shadow Realm, check out our guides for getting to the Cerulean Coast, the Cathedral of Manus Metyr, Charo's Hidden Grave, and the Stone Coffin Fissure.