Activating Rykard’s Great Rune in Elden Ring: A Step-by-Step Guide

After you vanquish Rykard, the Lord of Blasphemy, who takes the form of a massive serpent, you’ll acquire Rykard’s Great Rune. To activate it, head to the Divine Tower of West Altus. This remarkable rune grants you health regeneration with every enemy defeat while you remain alive.

If you happen to perish, you’ll need to use a Rune Arc to reactivate its full power. Just equipping Rykard’s Great Rune alone won’t provide any benefits in Elden Ring.

Location to Activate Rykard’s Great Rune

To activate Rykard’s Great Rune, make your way to the Divine Tower of West Altus. Located near the fringes of Leyndell Royal Capital is the Sealed Tunnel. You can reach the tunnel entrance by navigating the hillside path that runs alongside the capital.

The tunnel entrance lies next to a shallow river, as depicted on the Elden Ring map above. You should be able to navigate through the tunnel just as you would in any other you’ve encountered thus far.

Begin in the tunnel by descending an elevator, dispatching the miners, and confronting the boss. However, there’s an alternate route here that leads to a new structure at the back of the tunnel—the Divine Tower of West Altus.

To discover this secret passage, turn right after activating the grace site within the tunnel and break through the illusory wall.

There are numerous illusory walls lining the corridor, and breaking through all of them will lead you to a deep well populated with sprawling branches. Make your way down these branches carefully.

From that point, the path is clear, and you shouldn’t have any trouble finding your way out. Upon reaching the divine tower, simply ascend to the top and activate Rykard’s Great Rune in Elden Ring.

What Are the Effects of Rykard’s Great Rune?

Just like other Great Runes, you won’t activate it just by equipping it. You’ll need to equip it and then consume a Rune Arc to benefit from its effects. If you die, these effects will vanish, requiring you to use another Rune Arc to reactivate the Great Rune. If this step is skipped, the Great Rune will not function.

Rykard’s Great Rune aids in HP recovery upon the defeat of enemies, allowing you to tackle hordes of foes without depleting your flask charges.

Moreover, since many open-world bosses are accompanied by smaller enemies, you can defeat them to replenish some health if you’re running low on flask charges.