Being able to find the Elden Ring Glintstone Key is a vital part of getting into the Raya Lucaria Academy, which requires the Meeting Place map to locate. The key is hidden, the connection to the academy isn't clear and the map is hard to read. So there's a lot to work out. However, it's also a vital part of progressing the story passage through the Raya Lucaria Academy is a critical part of the main path.
Aaand there's also an encounter with the Glintstone Dragon Smarag which can be a long and arduous boss battle if you don't know about sneaking around behind them to avoid the fight altogether. Once you do get the key and get in the Academy you'll also have to deal with one of the Elden Ring main bosses that you have to defeat to progress. (Technically you can skip them but it means fighting a harder boss instead for a crucial item, and missing out on the Elden Ring respec system).
To help you get through all this, we're going to show you how to find the Glintstone key, get into the Raya Lucaria Academy and deal with the boss you'll find inside. All of which starts with working out where the Meeting Place map is sending you in Elden Ring...
The Elden Ring Glintstone Key location
The Elden Ring Glintstone Key for Raya Lucaria Academy is located in the lakes to the West of the building itself, though narrowing it down beyond that requires you to do a bit of treasure hunting. And yes, this is necessary for getting inside - there's no access to the Academy without a Glintstone Key, as the building is effectively in magical lockdown and only the Key will break through it.
Finding the Elden Ring Glintstone Key is very difficult (though not impossible) without a certain piece of knowledge: the Meeting Place Map. Approaching the Academy from the South will have you come across a massive gateway blocked by a blue magical seal, one that none of your spells or weapons can breach. However, there'll also be a corpse leaning against it with an item, the Meeting Place Map. You can pick it up and read it in your inventory with the Square or X button, depending on your controller.
Elden Ring Meeting Place map
The Elden Ring meeting place map gives a very rough indicator of where to look, a crude drawing of the local environment that can be easy to get wrong. However, we've marked exactly where you should be going on the map above - an unnamed outcropping of rock in the lake West of the Academy. Ride there on Torrent, but stay alert for the local enemies, including a new and very big one...
How to deal with Glintstone Dragon Smarag and get the Glintstone Key
If you're heading into the Academy, knowing how to beat the Red Wolf of Radagon in Elden Ring, the first boss, will definitely help!
We recommend approaching this rock from the South, but be careful. There's a boss sleeping in front of it, presumably the reason that the meeting never took place. This is the Glintstone Dragon Smarag, a cursed creature even more powerful than Swamp Dragon Agheel in Limgrave. Luckily you can get the Glintstone Key without ever fighting Smarag - crouch down and slowly approach, then walk behind Smarag to the space between it and the rock. It will wake up as you get closer, but that doesn't mean it knows you're there - as long as you're behind Smarag, it should remain oblivious.
The Glintstone Key is behind Smarag among several other items, on a corpse wearing a large bearded stone mask. Grab the Key and go - you don't need to fight Smarag, so either sneak away or make a break for it on Torrent. Come back to this fight later when you feel you're ready.
There's also mention of a second Glintstone Key if you went to the Church of Irith earlier and spoke to the lowly sorcerer Thops. Thops wants his own key, but won't accept this one (as it'd stop you from getting into the Academy yourself). To find out how you can get him a spare and earn some unique rewards, check out our Elden Ring Thops questline guide where we've laid out all the important details in a comprehensive walkthrough.
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