Where can you buy Smithing Stones in ‘Elden Ring?’

Building a character that suits your playstyle is one of the best ways to succeed in Elden Ring. As far as the actual character goes, it’s helpful to have an endpoint in mind, whether you want to end up as a barbarian smashing all and sundry with a hammer or casting complex and powerful spells to take down enemies.

A lot of this is down to smart choices of what character attributes to level-up, though almost as important is making sure you’re not just wielding the right weapon for the job, but upgrading it as you go. This can be more difficult than it first appears, as you’ll need Smithing Stones to do it.

These can be found across the Lands Between, though most players will be craving a merchant that just sells them to save the trouble of exploring dangerous areas. Fortunately, there is a way to get a merchant in the Roundtable Hold to sell as many Smithing Stones [1] and [2] as you have runes for, though you’ll need to down a tricky boss to do it.

This is “Crystalian,” who resides at the very bottom of Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel in the north of the Liurnia of the Lakes region. This is located here:

Crystalian isn’t a particularly difficult boss, though can be made easier by simply equipping a blunt weapon to smash off its crystal armor. Once it’s defeated, you’ll receive the Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing, which you can give to the Twin Maiden Husk storekeepers in Roundtable Hold in order to get them selling Smithing Stones.

Later in the game, things get a little more straightforward. The West Liuria region is home to Iji the Blacksmith, who lives on the road to Caria Manor. He’ll sell you Somber Smithing Stones that can raise the stats of unique weapons, though you can also find Somber Stone Miner’s Bell Bearings at the West Mountaintops of the Giants later in the game that unlocks them for sale in Roundtable Hold.

Upgrading your weapon is a very quick way to boost your damage, especially now that Ashes of War allow you to alter weapons’ attribute scaling as you see fit. I’m about halfway through the game and still using my starting weapon, as thanks to paying attention to its stats and diligently upgrading it, it’s still very viable for combat.

So, find what weapon works best for you, learn its intricacies, and don’t forget to visit the blacksmiths.