Elden Ring is chock-full of interesting puzzles and enigmas, but few can compare to the mystery at the base of Freezing Lake.
The awesome thing is that explorers will often get hefty rewards upon solving some of the more elusive mysteries in the Lands Between, and it’s certainly true of this puzzle. This guide will help you navigate and solve the Heretical Rise puzzle in Elden Ring.
Step 1: Find The Invisible Bridge Near the Freezing Lake Site of Grace
Most players find out about this puzzle through an Imp statue near the Heretical Rise tower. The door to the tower is shut tight with only the Imp statue as a clue as to how to enter. Interacting with the statue prompts this vague text: “Falling snow marks something unseen.” This is the full extent of clues and hints the game gives, so we’ll help guide you in the direction of what to do from here on out.
Go to the Freezing Lake Site of Grace to the east of Castle Sol and across from the Heretical Rise tower. You need to go to a broken bridge on the cliff above the Freezing Lake Site of Grace.
Undead archers are guarding a portion of the broken bridge; you can ignore them as you race to the edge of the bridge.
These enemies respawn due to a Necromancer enemy in the area; you need to take out the main Necromancer to stop them from respawning. Your destination is the edge of the broken bridge directly across from the Heretical Rise tower.
Step 2: Traversing the Invisible Bridge
Yes, you’re looking at an invisible bridge that is connected to the Heretical Rise tower on the other side. Your goal is to cross the bridge to the tower. As the Imp text hinted at, the falling snow hits the invisible bridge letting you see the path to take. Take a step forward and you won’t fall. You don’t need to worry about straggling archers when solving this puzzle since their arrows can’t reach you while on the invisible portion of the bridge.
This bridge is actually pretty wide, but be wary and use Rainbow Stones or other waypoint items to help you know where it’s okay to step. Setting Rainbow Stones in front of your character is the most reliable way to know where it’s safe to walk.
Another reliable method for getting across the invisible bridge is signs from other online players. If you have online enabled, you’ll probably see a couple of bloodstains along the invisible bridge. But if you don’t have online enabled, you can just fire arrows around you to see where they stick. If the arrow stops in mid-air and doesn’t descend below you, that means it has hit the ‘surface’ of the invisible bridge.
Follow any of these methods to get safely across without falling to your death. Eventually, you’ll get to the wall of the tower and there will be nowhere else to go. Turn around to the left and you’ll see white powdered snow leading upwards.
There is an invisible walkway turning upwards to the balcony of the tower. This walkway has clear snow indicating where it’s okay to walk on. Just follow the snow or use signs and items to light the way forward.
Step 3: Fighting Through Heretical Rise
Congrats, you’ve reached a visible surface again! Upon getting to the balcony, you’ll be welcomed with an official Heretical Rise prompt text. Now you just have to explore the tower that was locked to you earlier.
The balcony room has two Marionette Soldiers waiting in ambush. Their swings are erratic, so guard or dodge well. At this point, you can teleport across Sites of Grace with the comfort of knowing the front door is finally open.
Take the elevator up and fight the Marionette on the stairs. The final room at the very top has one of the best Sorcery spells in all of Elden Ring. This is your reward for solving this puzzle and braving the invisible bridge. The Sorcery is called Founding Rain of Stars and it does devastating area damage to enemies. But you need to be a very high-level mage to use it, as it requires a hefty 52 in intelligence.
Well, that’s everything you need to know about solving the Heretical Rise puzzle in Elden Ring. Check out our wealth of Elden Ring guides and features right here on Twinfinite.
