Who Is Dung Eater and Where Do You Find Him in Elden Ring?
Dung Eater shows up at Roundtable Hold once you’ve rested at any Site of Grace on the Altus Plateau. Before that, the side room near the Twin Maiden Husks where he sits is empty, which is why it can feel like his door never opens. He’s a killer who defiles corpses so the dead are reborn cursed, and he wants your help spreading that curse. Talk to him empty-handed and he’ll dismiss you. Carry a Seedbed Curse and the questline starts.
Here’s the part almost nobody flags early enough: if you’ve already given Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade, Seluvis is gone, and so is the Seluvis’s Potion route for Dung Eater. The same goes if you’ve already given the potion to Nepheli or Gideon. That doesn’t stop you from finishing his quest with Seedbed Curses, but it does close the Dung Eater Puppet option.
What Do You Need Before Starting the Dungeater Questline? (Requirements Checklist)
| Requirement | Why It Matters | Where to Get It |
|---|---|---|
| Access to Altus Plateau | Dung Eater won’t speak to you at all before this point | Reach it via the Grand Lift of Dectus or the Volcano Manor path |
| 1st Seedbed Curse | Required to open his first dialogue and receive the Sewer-Gaol Key | Found in Leyndell and other late-game areas |
| Sewer-Gaol Key | Grants access to his prison cell in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds | Given automatically after the first conversation |
| 5 total Seedbed Curses, OR Seluvis’s Potion | Determines which of the two endings you receive | Curses scattered around Leyndell, potion from Seluvis’s questline in Ranni’s storyline |
Decide your route before you start hoarding curses. If you want the Dung Eater Puppet, you only need one Seedbed Curse to start the quest, then Seluvis’s Potion. If you want his ending, you’ll need five, and two of the six are in Leyndell, which turns into the Ashen Capital after you beat Maliketh.
Dung Eater Questline Step by Step (Full Walkthrough)
Here’s the full sequence, in order. Steps 5 through 8 involve a story beat and an invasion fight, so treat this as your spoiler line if you’d rather experience it blind.
- Rest at any Site of Grace on the Altus Plateau so Dung Eater appears at Roundtable Hold.
- Grab a Seedbed Curse. The closest is in Leyndell: take the first elevator down from the East Capital Rampart grace, climb the ladder in the building with the Perfumer, and it’s on a seated corpse up top.
- Talk to Dung Eater at Roundtable Hold with the curse in your inventory. He’ll hand you the Sewer-Gaol Key.
- Head into the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds through the well near the Avenue Balcony grace, find his cell, unlock it, and choose “Leave your gaol” when you talk to him.
- Return to Roundtable Hold. His seat is empty, with a note telling you to come to the outer moat.
- If you befriended Blackguard Big Boggart in Liurnia, he’ll be at the moat now. Talk to him first if you want the Seedbed Curse he drops.
- Go to the moat northwest of the Capital Rampart grace and wade toward the middle. Beat Dung Eater’s invasion to get the Sword of Milos.
- Return to Roundtable Hold and talk to him. He’ll ask you to defile his body with more curses.
- Go back to his body in the Shunning-Grounds and either give him Seedbed Curses until he’s consumed five, or give him Seluvis’s Potion.
How Many Seedbed Curses Do You Need for the Dungeater Questline?
You need 5 total Seedbed Curses to complete the full Blessing of Despair ending, and one of those five is already spent triggering the very first conversation. The remaining four are concentrated heavily around Leyndell, with a handful in other late-game zones. Because Elden Ring has gone through several balance and quest-timing patches since launch, double check you’re following the most current Dung Eater walkthrough before committing to a curse count, since exact drop locations occasionally shift between versions.
If you’re aiming for the potion shortcut instead, you can stop collecting curses entirely once you’ve used your first one and skip straight to Seluvis’s questline.
Dung Eater Questline Endings, Explained (Which One Should You Pick?)
Dung Eater’s questline has two outcomes, and only one of them leads to an ending. The fork happens at his body in the Shunning-Grounds, after the moat invasion.
| Route | What You Do | What You Get | What You Lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedbed Curses | Give his body five Seedbed Curses | Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, used at the end of the game for the Blessing of Despair ending, plus the Omen set after you reload the area | Nothing, this is the full quest |
| Seluvis’s Potion | Give his body the potion instead | Dung Eater Puppet from Seluvis, plus the Omen set | The Mending Rune and his ending, for that playthrough |
The Omen set is on both routes. On the curse route, it shows up after you reload the area where he dies. On the potion route, wait for his dialogue to finish, then kill him in his chair.
What Happens If You Give Dung Eater Seluvis’s Potion Instead?
Giving Dung Eater Seluvis’s Potion ends his quest without the Mending Rune and turns him into the Dung Eater Puppet, which Seluvis then sells for 5 Starlight Shards. You can only give it to his body in the Shunning-Grounds after you’ve beaten his moat invasion and he’s started asking for curses.
If the option isn’t there, one of these is usually why:
- You haven’t beaten the moat invasion yet.
- You already gave the potion to Nepheli or Gideon.
- Seluvis is dead, which happens once you give Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade.
That last one is the trap. Plan your Ranni and Dung Eater progress together, because the Fingerslayer Blade decision quietly closes the puppet route.
Can You Still Do the Dung Eater Quest After Burning the Erdtree? (Answering the #1 Confusion)
The short answer is that ending choices tied to burning the Erdtree happen at the very end of the game, well after the Dung Eater questline resolves, so there’s no confirmed conflict between finishing his quest and choosing that path. That said, this is exactly the kind of patch-sensitive interaction that shifts across Elden Ring updates and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, so treat it as a “should be fine, verify before you commit” answer rather than an absolute guarantee if you’re deep into a specific ending run.
Why Isn’t Dung Eater Invading Me at the Outer Moat? (Common Fixes)
Dung Eater’s questline has two outcomes, and only one of them leads to an ending. The fork happens at his body in the Shunning-Grounds, after the moat invasion.
| Route | What You Do | What You Get | What You Lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedbed Curses | Give his body five Seedbed Curses | Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, used at the end of the game for the Blessing of Despair ending, plus the Omen set after you reload the area | Nothing, this is the full quest |
| Seluvis’s Potion | Give his body the potion instead | Dung Eater Puppet from Seluvis, plus the Omen set | The Mending Rune and his ending, for that playthrough |
The Omen set is on both routes. On the curse route, it shows up after you reload the area where he dies. On the potion route, wait for his dialogue to finish, then kill him in his chair.
Is the Dungeater Questline Worth Doing? What You Actually Get
Yes, especially if you want every ending or a heavy armor set with serious poise. Here’s what the questline actually pays out:
- Sword of Milos: dropped when you beat his invasion at the outer moat.
- Dung Eater summon for Mohg, the Omen: available after the moat invasion.
- Omen armor set: available on either route.
- Mending Rune of the Fell Curse (curse route only): it doesn’t buff your character. Its only job is unlocking the Blessing of Despair ending, one of Elden Ring’s six endings, when you use it after the final boss.
- Dung Eater Puppet (potion route only): a spirit ash you buy from Seluvis.
If you only care about gear, the potion route gets you there with less curse hunting. If you’re working toward every ending, the curse route is the only way to see his.
FAQ
How do you start the Dung Eater questline in Elden Ring?
You need access to Altus Plateau and at least one Seedbed Curse in your inventory. Once you have both, speak to Dung Eater in his locked cell in Roundtable Hold, past Twin Maiden Husks. He’ll give you the Sewer-Gaol Key, which opens his actual prison in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds and kicks off the rest of the questline.
Is the Dung Eater questline worth doing?
Yes. You get the Sword of Milos, the Omen armor set, and a Dung Eater summon for Mohg, the Omen, plus either the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse or the Dung Eater Puppet, depending on your route.
What does the Dung Eater questline reward you with?
The Seedbed Curse route gives you the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, which unlocks the Blessing of Despair ending. The potion route gives you the Dung Eater Puppet from Seluvis. Both routes let you collect the Omen set and the Sword of Milos.
Can you complete the Dung Eater questline after burning the Erdtree?
Usually, yes. Burning the Erdtree happens at the Forge of the Giants, and Leyndell only turns into the Ashen Capital after you beat Maliketh. You can still reach his body through the Ashen Capital, but you need five Seedbed Curses, so grab both Leyndell curses before Maliketh.
What’s the fastest way to finish the dungeater questline?
Give him Seluvis’s Potion after the moat invasion instead of collecting five curses. You’ll get the Dung Eater Puppet, but you lose the Mending Rune and his ending. It isn’t available if Seluvis is already dead.
The single most useful thing to take from all of this is that Dung Eater’s fork isn’t buried at the end. Pick your route before you collect a second curse. If you want the Blessing of Despair ending, plan around five curses and the Maliketh cutoff. If you’d rather have the puppet, check that Seluvis is still alive first. Either way, you walk away with the Omen set and the Sword of Milos.
