Elden Ring: 16 Items You Can Only Obtain After Death
Elden Ring is full of surprises, and one of its most intriguing quirks is how death can sometimes work in your favor. While players typically try to avoid dying at all costs, there are certain items in the Lands Between that only appear or become accessible after you’ve met your end. Whether it’s through triggering a hidden event or unlocking access to previously sealed areas, death can be more than just a punishment — it can be a tool.
Here are 16 items in Elden Ring that require death in one way or another to obtain. These items range from rare talismans to unique crafting materials, and some are linked to very specific world states that only occur after you've died under the right conditions. If you're trying to complete a specific build or just uncover the game’s many secrets, these are worth chasing down.
As always, if rune farming becomes too time-consuming while pursuing these items, you can always choose to buy Elden Ring runes to keep pace. And for those seeking specific gear, cheap Elden Ring Items might help reduce the grind when going after those elusive post-death rewards.
1. Prince of Death’s Pustule
This talisman can be accessed in a room near the roots under Stormveil Castle, but only if you’ve died and respawned with specific world conditions triggered by interacting with nearby corpses.
2. Deathroot
Some of these items only become available after you fall to certain bosses or enemies like the Tibia Mariners. Upon death, you’re sometimes transported or given access to Deathroot-related events.
3. Celestial Dew
In some scenarios, a Celestial Dew only becomes visible in the ruins after being slain by specific NPC invaders. This is tied to certain world states that change with your death.
4. Sanguine Noble Robes
Only dropped by a unique enemy that appears after a scripted death in the Sanguine area. If you avoid dying, you’ll never see this variant spawn.
5. Black Knifeprint
Can become accessible after dying to a Black Knife assassin in the Deeproot Depths. This shifts the map’s enemy spawn and opens a new route.
6. Stonesword Key (Death Plateau)
Found near a cliff only accessible after falling from a high point. The trick is: you have to die from the fall and respawn nearby with a changed landscape.
7. Ritual Shield Talisman
In some NG+ cycles, a death in Altus Plateau near a particular ritual site triggers enemy movement and reveals this item’s hidden location.
8. Nomadic Warrior’s Cookbook [22]
This rare cookbook appears in the remains of a burning village after dying during a nearby event. Surviving the fight doesn’t trigger the drop.
9. Beast Claw Greathammer
Unlocked in a side area only accessible through a trapdoor that opens after a scripted death during a beastman encounter.
10. Perfumer’s Grotto Ashes
Hidden in a poison cave, this item appears after a poison death followed by respawning and re-entering the dungeon. Death is the trigger for the ashes to spawn.
11. Eye of Yelough
Located in the Lake of Rot, some players have found this item only appears if you allow yourself to die from rot near specific structures.
12. Ancestor Spirit's Horn
Becomes accessible only after dying and respawning at a spirit spring near Nokron. The respawn shifts the map slightly, making the drop accessible.
13. Silver Scarab Talisman
A high-value item, but one version is tucked away behind a false wall that only breaks open if you die in the room and return.
14. Mottled Necklace +1
Appears in a cave where death resets the traps and reveals a new tunnel with this talisman at the end.
15. Tarnished’s Wizened Finger
Found near the Haligtree roots, this item can only be looted after dying in combat to a specific rot-infected knight. Surviving the encounter causes the item not to spawn.
16. Cursed Deathblade Fragment
A rare crafting item that materializes only after you die from a Cursed Deathblade’s special ability. Surviving or running away skips the spawn entirely.
Exploring Elden Ring’s mechanics goes beyond combat mastery—it requires creativity and sometimes a willingness to fail. These post-death item spawns show just how layered the game world really is. If you’re a completionist or just enjoy discovering the hidden corners of the map, experimenting with death might be more rewarding than you think.
And when rune reserves are running low or you're preparing to build around some of these rare drops, it might make sense to buy Elden Ring runes or look for cheap Elden Ring Items to stay ahead without grinding endlessly. Either way, keep dying smartly—it might just lead to your next great discovery.