Upgrading weapons in Elden Ring can be made easier by acquiring all Smithing Stone Miner's Bell Bearings to make Smithing Stones available for sale.

Upgrading most weapons in Elden Ring will require players to gather a lot of Smithing Stones, which can become available to buy at the Twin Maiden Husks if players find all the Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearings. As players level up and explore the Lands Between, they will undoubtedly come across various ranks of Smithing Stones in Elden Ring. These can often be found as loot in the game’s many locations but can also be farmed by killing specific enemies. However, by acquiring the Somber Stone Miner’s Bells Bearings, players will unlock the ability to buy Smithing Stones at a fair price, making the process of upgrading armaments much less troublesome.

There are a total of nine ranks of Smithing Stones in Elden Ring, and fully upgrading a weapon to +25 will require players to gather 12 of each, except for the last rank, which requires a single rare Smithing Stone called an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. As players explore Elden Ring and find several armaments they might want to use, acquiring the ability to buy upgrade materials will provide a lot of versatility regarding their choice of equipment.

Elden Ring possesses four Smithing Stone Miner’s Bells Bearings, which can be given to the Twin Maiden Husks to allow players to buy certain ranks of Smithing Stones. Each Miner’s Bell Bearing will unlock two specific ranks of Smithing Stones for a total of eight, as Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones cannot be repeatedly bought in the game. These Miner’s Bell Bearings are spread across the Lands Between and might require players to defeat a couple of bosses in Elden Ring to unlock all four.

Where To Find Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [1] In Elden Ring

The first Miner’s Bell Bearing is found in Liurnia of the Lakes and will require players to defeat the Crystalean boss in the Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel. Although this boss might seem intimidating at first, it is very accessible, as the trick to defeating it is breaking its poise. Crystalean bosses are very resistant to most forms of damage. However, after breaking their poise, they become brittle and more susceptible to all attacks.

To break an enemy's poise, players should keep performing charged attacks and jumping heavy attacks. It is important that players keep up the pressure, as enemies will slowly recover their poise over time in Elden Ring. After breaking the Crystalean's poise, players will be able to perform a critical hit to do massive damage and permanently lower its defenses. After that, players can either fight it as they usually would or continue to break its poise to get some more critical hits.

Where To Find Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [2] In Elden Ring

To acquire the second Miner’s Bell Bearing, players will first need to get to Altus Plateau by acquiring the two medallions or going through the Ravine-Veiled Village in Liurnia of the Lakes. Obtaining the medallions will require players to travel across the map, but it is ultimately easier than the alternative as they won’t have to defeat a boss to get both pieces. The first half can be found on a chest in Fort Haight in eastern Limgrave, and the second half in Fort Faroth, located in the easternmost region in Elden Ring, Caelid.

Getting to the Sealed Tunnel after that should be relatively straightforward as all enemies can be avoided with the help of Torrent. Arriving at the mine, players should notice a peculiar-looking wall to the west of the Site of Grace. Hitting or rolling through that wall will reveal it to be illusory and will unlock the way forward into the mines. From here, players can simply hug the right side and proceed through the tunnel to quickly find a chest containing the second Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing.

Where To Find Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [3] In Elden Ring

The third Miner’s Bell is located in one of the hardest regions to reach in Elden Ring, the Mountaintops of the Giants. Accessing this area will require players to first complete Leyndell, the Royal Capital, which translates to defeating the golden shade of Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, and Morgott, the Omen King. After that, players must head east towards the Forbidden Lands and use the Rold Medallion that Melina gifts to ride the Grand Lift of Rold all the way to the Mountaintops of the Giants.

Players should then proceed northeast to find the Zamor Ruins while attempting to avoid the many Knights of Zamor that roam the area. Finally, in the southwest section of the ruins, players should find stairs leading underground to a steel door. Opening the door and looting the chest inside will net players the third Miner’s Bell Bearing, allowing them to buy Smithing Stones [5] and [6].

Where To Find Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing [4] In Elden Ring

The final Miner’s Bell Bearing is the most straightforward one that players will get, as it is looted from a non-optional boss in Elden Ring, the Godskin Duo. This boss can be found very late in the game, in the northern part of Crumbling Farum Azula. As players enter the Dragon Temple, the boss fight will trigger when they approach the stairs at the end of the room. Defeating the Godskin Duo will reward players with the Ash of War: Black Flame Tornado and the final Smithing Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing.

Where To Buy An Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone In Elden Ring

Although there is no Miner's Bell Bearing in Elden Ring that will make Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones sellable with the Twin Maiden Husks, it is possible to buy one from Gatekeeper Gostoc. This NPC can be found very early in Elden Ring, as players arrive at Stormveil Castle, but many players often kill him because if he is left alive, he will steal some of the player's runes every time they die. However, those who show restraint against Gostoc will eventually be rewarded, as an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone can be bought from him for 20 000 runes after players complete Nepheli's questline. As there are only 13 Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones that can be acquired in the game per run, players that wish to fully upgrade a variety of armaments would do well to spare the rune thief. If left alive, Gostoc can eventually be found in Godrick's Throneroom as a merchant in Elden Ring.

Next: Elden Ring: Complete Walkthrough, Boss Strategies & Build Guides

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.