How to get the Sword of Light and the Sword of Darkness in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

The Sword of Light and the Sword of Darkness are some of the best unique weapons in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. You will be able to unlock these swords by getting your hands on a Stone-Sheathed Sword, and then transforming them at their respective altars.

However, as you can get just one Stone-Sheathed Sword per playthrough, you will only get to carry one of these swords at a time. Fortunately, you will be able to switch between the two by just taking the swords to the altars.

Here is a guide that goes over how you will be able to unlock the Sword of Light and Sword of Darkness in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

Note: You can get the Stone-Sheathed Sword from one of the three Altars in Fog Rift Catacombs, Ruins of Unte, or Ancient Ruins of Rauh. Depending on where you are getting it from, the other two altars will transform into the Altar of Sword of Darkness and the Altar of Sword of Light. However, we recommend that you pick up the base sword from the Fog Rift Catacombs to make the altar in Unte the spot to transform the weapons into the Sword of Darkness and let the one in Rauh be for the Sword of Light.

How to get the Stone-Sheathed Sword in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

To get the Sword of Light and Sword of Darkness, the first thing that you will need to do is to get the base weapon which is the Stone-Sheathed Sword. You will be able to obtain this from the Fog Rift Catacombs which is located to the southeast of Rauh Ruins and you can get there by heading north from Castle Ensis.

Once you have made your way into the catacombs you will need to navigate your way through the various spike traps that fall from the ceiling. You will eventually drop to a room with more traps, and you can move past it into a lift on the west to head down.

As you make your way further into the catacombs, you will eventually come across a big room with a Death Priest in it. You will need to take him down, but be wary of the projectiles and use the alcoves to block his damage,

As you keep moving you will reach a raised area, from there head north, and then stand at the edge. You will notice an alcove, head there to find a spike wall slamming down. Hop on it as it does, and then reach the top to notice another large alcove on the right.

Make your way to it to find an altar and the Stone-Sheathed Sword. The Legendary weapon in itself is not that impressive. To make the most of it you will need to transform it into either the Sword of Light or Sword of Darkness after finding their respective altars in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

Where to find the Sword of Light’s Altar in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?

To get the Sword of Light you will need to find its altar which is in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. To get there you will need to head west from the Shadow Keep. Then take the lift down from the Specimen Storage tower and cross the bridge to reach the ruins.

Head west from the easter part of the ruins till you come to a broken-down bridge. You can use it to cross over to the western side, where there is a Furnace Golem. You can choose to take it down or run past it, to reach a Site of Grace.

Now make your way to the interior of the ruins and then climb up a flight of stairs here you will meet a Shadow Undead and then two Horned Warriors guarding a Revered Spirit Ash.

Just run past them to the northwest till you reach a section that is covered in scarlet rot. You will have to make your way through it and then take a right till you come across a large statue and many Kindred of Rot.

Heading northeast from here you will come across some broken pillar and a bridge that seems to be broken. The bridge is actually invisible, so make sure you have some Rainbow Stones handy to be able to cross it.

Keep walking straight and you will come out at the other side to spot an altar. Interact with it and you will get the option to “Raise the Stone-Sheathed Sword to the light.”

Sword of Light base stats in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Base Stats:

Where to find the Sword of Darkness’ Altar in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?

To find the Altar of the Sword of Darkness, you will need to make your way below the Shadow Keep. You can do this by beating the Golden Hippopotamus at the Main Gate and then getting to the drawbridge that leads into Specimen Storage.

However, do not head across the bridge. Instead, go right and then head to an area with small boats that are aflame and reach the ladder that goes further inward. 

Follow the passage that leads into an underground waterfall and then climb up the chamber to find the “The Domain of Dragons” painting.

From there head right and hit the blank wall which will reveal a secret passage with a coffin inside it. This coffin will lead you to the Ruins of Unte which is one of the areas that you will need to visit to gain access to the Abyssal Woods.

You will find a secret area that is being guarded by an inactive Furnace Golem. However, it will activate once you get near it. So you can either choose to use Torrent to double jump over the east wall and make your way in, or you can take the Golem out.

The Golem’s feet do not come with any armor, hence, heavy attacks to it, with large weapons will break its poise. Once it’s down just throw a Hefty Fire Pot in the furnace to take it out.

Once you are inside the ruins you will find the Altar of Darkness. Interact with it to turn the Stone-Sheathed Sword into the Sword of Darkness.

Sword of Darkness base stats in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Can you swap between Sword of Darkness and Sword of Light in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?

Before you reach NG+ and finally get two Stone-Sheathed Swords, you will be able to swap between the Sword of Light and Sword of Darkness. Just take them to the respective Altars and you will be able to turn Ligh into Dark and Dark into Light whenever you want.

On NG+ you will be able to powerstance both weapons once you acquire them in FromSoftware‘s latest expansion.