The sheer number of secrets and, more importantly, new items in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is staggering. One smaller mystery is the Prayer Room Key, found in a quiet corner of the map, unlocking a somewhat hidden door somewhere entirely different. We’ll go over where to find the Prayer Room Key and what it opens here.
Where You Find the Prayer Room Key in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
First and foremost, you’re not going to find the Prayer Room Key right off the bat. In order to reach the Scadu Altus, where the Key lives, you need to first go through Castle Ensis and beat its boss, Rellana, Twin Moon Knight. She’s one of the first real skill checks you’ll encounter in Shadow of the Erdtree, second only to the Divine Beast Dancing Lion (who you don’t actually need to fight anywhere near the start).
Once you reach Scadu Altus, finding where to get the Prayer Key is easy — actually getting it might not be. From the Highland Cross Site of Grace, itself just beyond the exit from Castle Ensis, head north until you reach the tents guarding the path leading toward the large, black keep in the distance. From there, turn left and head west toward the small church on the cliffside. This is the Church of the Crusade, and if you ride in on Torrent, you’ll notice that he despawns. When you go deeper into the ruin, you get invaded.
The invader, an NPC named Fire Knight Queelign, will arrive and attack with his flaming spear. He’s got about 10,000 HP, and as an NPC invader, he’s an input-reading bastard. That means hitting him with projectile spells, and even some melee attacks, can be difficult. Your best bet is to let him get just close enough that your weapon can hit him, but not the other way around. Beware of his random reaction jump attacks and his frankly insulting damage. Also, his weapon’s Ash of War extends its already impressive range, and he has a fire Incantation as well.
Defeating Queelign awards both the Flame Skewer Ash of War and the Prayer Room Key. In the event Queelign doesn’t appear in the Church of the Crusade, you’ll need to return to the Gravesite Plain and head west to the Belurat, Tower Settlement Legacy Dungeon.
Proceed through said dungeon (there’s only one good way forward, and it’s mostly up) until you come across your first enemy clad in golden armor and wielding two large, misshapen swords. Kill or avoid it, then head east, down the stairs toward a large, equally misshapen tree. There, you’ll also be greeted and invaded by Queelign. I’m unsure if you need to defeat him here to spawn him at the Church, but do both, just in case.
Where to Use the Prayer Room Key
If you want to actually use the Prayer Room Key, you’ll be heading to that imposing black castle, the Shadow Keep, in the northern part of Scadu Altus. There, you’ll need to find your way to the Church District, the waterlogged section on the castle’s east side. You can get there by navigating the Keep, but I think it’s better to head east of Castle Ensis, through the Moorth Ruins, and onto the plateau in the east of the Scadu Altus. It’s the one with the big church in it you can see from the entrance to the Altus.
Once on the plateau, head along the path north with the church on your left and continue through the large opening leading toward the Shadow Keep. You’ll come out at the base of the Church District. fall in the water here, and you’ll die, so it’s time for some Elden Ring platforming (TM).
Jump across to the first large roof, then the second further west, up onto the platform on the northern wall, past the red-robed enemy on the next roof, then onto the ramparts until you reach a hole in the ceiling. Drop down onto the cross-shaped support struts. There will be another platform below you with another hole broken into it. Drop down, and you’ll see the Prayer Room Key door to your right.
You can safely drop through the hole and take the path to the Prayer Room Key door. Inside waits the pitiful form of Queelign, quite at odds with his faith in Marika and Messmer. What you do with him from there is up to you.
And with that, you know where to find and what to do with the Prayer Room Key in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. As far as a secret goes in a FromSoftware game, it’s not a huge one, but if you don’t explore enough, you certainly won’t find it. For more on Shadow of the Erdtree and the base game, check out our Elden Ring guides hub, including the best invasion levels, where to find Comet Azur, and more.
