Elden Ring is an absolutely massive open-world game filled to the brim with secrets, new items to find, hidden pathways, and exciting locations that can completely change how you go about playing. Of course, finding all of that can be a daunting task, especially in the beginning of the game while you’re still trying to get your bearings. But one item aims to make life much easier on you: Map Fragments.
At first, your map looks like a blurry mess, but finding your very first Map Fragment will fill in a large area with significantly more detail and provide you with a better understanding of your surroundings. Once you can see where to go more clearly, you’ll have a much easier time seeking out notable points of interest and making use of map markers.
Finding the first Map Fragment
The West Limgrave Map Fragment rests at the base of a tall stone slab called a Guide Stele located at the north side of the Gateside Ruins. While getting to the ruins is very easy, you may find surviving the encounters there a bit challenging so early in your journey.
To find the Gateside Ruins, head northeast from the Site of Grace located where you emerge from the tutorial into Limgrave. As you follow the road in that direction, you’ll pass through a forest and emerge on the other side with the large encampment in front of you. It’s home to a handful of cool items–including the first Map Fragment–and a hell of a lot of bad guys.
Gateside Ruins
In order to be able to comfortably explore this camp, you’ll want to clear it of soldiers first. To do so could be a bit of an undertaking if you haven’t leveled up any yet, but it’s doable. Most notably, you’ll want to do your best to stealth into the center of the camp and kill the trumpet-wielding soldier first, as he will alert the entire camp of your presence if he sees you. If that happens, your best bet will be to run away and reset the area, or hope that you have a weapon that can deal ranged damage or large vertical melee attacks to mow down huge packs of soldiers.
Once you’ve cleared the camp, you can loot the West Limgrave Map Fragment from the aforementioned Guide Stele. While you’re at the Gateside Ruins, go ahead and search the two nearby carriages for the Flail and Lordsworn’s Greatsword. Afterward, find the underground chamber in the camp and open the treasure chest there for the Ash of War: Storm Stomp.
There are many more Map Fragments to find in order to flesh out the remainder of your map of The Lands Between. But now that the first section of Limgrave is much more clearly defined, you should be well on your way to acclimating to some of the ways you’ll navigate Elden Ring’s explorable space. Learn more about From Software’s latest game in our Elden Ring tips for beginners. You can also use our guides hub for even more help.
Source: Gamespot
