Optional dungeons are an important part of Elden Ring and while they’re not always fun to traverse, they do reward players with valuable items for completing them. Well, at least some of them do. Catacombs can be pretty boring at times and hero graves are almost always infuriating, but crystal tunnels are generally worth delving into. Just as its name indicates, Yelough Anix Tunnel is indeed one such crystal tunnel.

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Yelough Anix Tunnel is one of the better dungeons in Elden Ring since it’s relatively short, easy to traverse, and rewards you with several powerful items. That said, the tunnel is home to several strong enemies and simply reaching the dungeon is quite time-consuming, so you’ll definitely need to work hard for those sweet rewards.

How To Reach The Yelough Anix Tunnel

Yelough Anix Tunnel in Consecrated Snowfield

The Yelough Anix Tunnel is located in the Consecrated Snowfield, a secret area west of the Mountaintops of the Giants. You can reach the area by activating the Grand Lift of Rold using the two halves of the Secret Haligtree Medallion. After entering the area, head north for a bit until you reach the Consecrated Snowfield Site of Grace. From there, you can either head northwest through the mist or continue north until you reach the Inner Consecrated Snowfield Site of Grace and make your way southwest from there.

The tunnel is difficult to spot from afar, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for the Yelough Anix Ruins and use them as a landmark. The ruins are worth your time as well, but you can skip them and come back later if the tunnel is your main priority. Go through or around the ruins, and you’ll stumble across a narrow road that leads into the mountain. Go inside the cave and take the lift down to begin exploring the Yelough Anix Tunnel

Yelough Anix Tunnel Walkthrough

Yelough Anix Tunnel entrance

Head down the tunnel until you reach a cavern with a wooden door. The door can’t be opened right now, so look to your left to find a hole that allows you to go deeper into the tunnel. Make your way down the hole and prepare to be ambushed by two of the seemingly-dead miners as soon as you reach the bottom. If you want to play it safe, you can use target-locking and kill both of them while standing on the platform above. Grab the 3x Freezing Grease and the Smithing Stone (8) and proceed down the next tunnel. Prepare to be ambushed by a miner attacking from the right as soon as you exit the tunnel.

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In the same room, you’ll find two additional miners along with a Golden Rune (10). Take the short jump over the chasm to find a short tunnel leading to another cavern on the other side. Kill the miner and grab the Somber Smithing Stone (8) along with the 6x Explosive Stone Clump before making your way up the ladder. There are two other miners on this floor, including one that will attack you from behind. Dispatch both of them (preferably by taking care of the ambusher first) and collect the Somber Smithing Stone (8) before proceeding up the next ladder.

Onyx Lord in Yelough Anix Tunnel

Once you reach the top floor you’ll find a tunnel leading to a cavern that contains a gravity portal. The portal will spawn an Onyx Lord as soon as you get close. This is a pretty strong enemy that uses gravity Sorceries, but he shouldn't pose much of a threat to you at this point in the game. Dispatch the Onyx Lord and look around the room to find a Somber Smithing Stone (9) along with a Hero’s Rune (5). Make your way to the next room and open the wooden door that was previously blocked.

At this point, you can either proceed to the boss room or head through the wooden door and backtrack until you reach the cavern with the small chasm again. If you choose the latter option, instead of jumping to the other side use the nearby ladder to make your way to the bottom floor. Turn around to find a small room with two miners and a corpse holding a Rune Arc. Head back and you’ll notice another gravity portal. This portal spawns an Alabaster Lord, an enemy more or less identical to the Onyx Lord you fought earlier. Once defeated, he’ll drop the Alabaster Lord’s Sword, provided you don’t already have it. Look around the cavern to find 2x Smithing Stone (8) and a valuable Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.

If you haven’t tackled the boss earlier now would be a good time to do so. You can go back to the Site of Grace if you need to prepare, but make sure to take the shortcut on the way back because the Onyx Lord and the Alabaster Lord are not considered bosses and will both respawn if you reset the dungeon. The boss of Yelough Anix Tunel is Astel, Stars of Darkness, a stronger version of Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, the boss found in the Lake of Rot’s Grand Cloister. The boss looks very intimidating but is slow and you can see it telegraphing its attacks from a mile away. Once defeated, the boss will drop the Meteorite of Astel, one of the best Soriceries in Elden Ring.

Next: Elden Ring: Sellia Crystal Tunnel Walkthrough