I stumbled on this spot completely by accident during my first Elden Ring playthrough, when I was sprinting away from a giant crow that was chasing me down the northern Caelid cliff edge. I tripped over a half-buried stone pillar and fell into a hidden crevice I’d never noticed before, and had no idea what I’d found until I opened the first glowing chest inside. That spot is where winds meet ill gotten wealth, one of the most underrated hidden locations in the entire game, packed with mid-game loot that can cut hours off your grind for levels and better gear. Most players never find it, since it’s not marked on the default map and the entrance is partially hidden by rot vines, but it’s accessible even for players as low as level 30 with minimal preparation.
Where Winds Meet Ill Gotten Wealth: Exact Location and How to Reach It
The spot sits right on the border between northern Caelid and eastern Limgrave, less than a minute’s run from the Smoldering Church Site of Grace. If you haven’t unlocked that grace yet, you can reach it by heading east from the Summonwater Village Outskirts grace in Limgrave, crossing the small stone bridge that leads into Caelid, and sticking to the north cliff edge until you see the burnt-out church building. You don’t need any special items to access this spot, though I recommend bringing at least two neutralizing boluses if you’re prone to brushing against rot vines, and a fast weapon to deal with the small patrolling dog pack that hangs around the entrance.
Once you spawn at Smoldering Church, face east and walk along the cliff edge, ignoring the rot dogs and giant bats that spawn further inland. You’ll see a line of crumbling grey stone pillars sticking out of the ground after about 30 seconds of walking, and you’ll hear a loud howling wind sound getting louder as you get closer. The entrance is a narrow crevice in the cliff face right behind the tallest pillar, partially covered by red rot vines. You can either cut through the vines with a weapon or run straight through them—rot buildup from that short exposure won’t kill you even if you don’t have boluses, as long as you keep moving once you’re inside.
The cave inside is short, only about 100 feet long, but it’s packed with hidden traps and enemies that can catch new players off guard. Don’t sprint straight through the first tunnel, even if you’re trying to outrun rot buildup, or you’ll trigger the first set of floor traps before you see them coming.
Top Loot and Rewards You Can Unlock Here
The best part about this hidden spot is that all the loot is guaranteed, no random drops required (outside of one rare optional incantation). You can walk away with enough useful gear to make your entire mid-game run way smoother, even if you only spend 10 minutes clearing the cave. The full list of guaranteed rewards you’ll find here includes:
The Ill-Gotten Wealth talisman alone is worth the trip, especially if you like farming runes to level up before taking on major bosses. Pair it with a Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot and you’ll get 30% extra runes from every kill, which cuts down farming time by almost a third. The Rotten Greataxe is also a fantastic option for strength builds, especially if you’re planning to fight Starscourge Radahn soon—its scarlet rot buildup will chew through his huge health bar faster than most other weapons you can get that early in the game.
There’s also a small coven of three rot priests that spawn in the back of the cave if you walk past the final chest. Kill them fast before they teleport away, and you have a 70% chance to get the Swarm of Flies incantation, a fast, low-cost scarlet rot spell that works incredibly well for both PvE and PvP. It’s not a guaranteed drop, but it’s worth sticking around to fight the priests even if you already have all the guaranteed loot.
Common Traps and Enemies to Watch Out For
The cave looks simple at first glance, but it’s full of cheap tricks that can send you back to your last grace before you even get to the good loot. The first hazard is the set of poison dart floor traps in the first 20 feet of the tunnel. Look for discolored, slightly raised stone tiles on the ground, and step around them—each trap shoots three darts that inflict poison buildup, which stacks with any scarlet rot you might have picked up at the entrance.
When you pick up the first Golden Rune [7] that’s sitting on a stone pedestal halfway down the tunnel, three Revenant enemies will spawn right behind you. These are the fast, teleporting enemies that scream and attack with long bladed arms, and they’re incredibly annoying to fight alone if you don’t know their weakness. Use a holy damage weapon or incantation to stun them easily, since Revenants take 50% extra damage from holy and will get staggered by even weak holy attacks. If you don’t have any holy gear, equip a fast striking weapon like a dagger or straight sword and aim for their heads, and consider summoning a low-cost spirit ash like the Lone Wolves to distract them while you attack.
The last trap is right next to the chest holding the Ill-Gotten Wealth talisman. There’s a small pressure plate on the ground directly in front of the chest, and if you step on it, a giant boulder will roll down the tunnel and knock you off the cliff at the back of the cave, killing you instantly. Walk around the left side of the chest to avoid the plate, and you’ll be fine. I learned that one the hard way my first run, right after I’d beaten the Revenants and thought I was home free.
Pro Tips to Make Your Run Smooth and Profitable
If you’re coming to this spot at level 30-40, which is the earliest I’d recommend it, there are a few small tricks that will make your run way easier. First, equip the Blue Dancer Charm if you have it—it boosts your attack speed when you’re carrying a light load, so you can stun lock the Revenants with fast attacks before they get a chance to teleport. If you don’t have the charm, just unequip any heavy armor you don’t need before you enter the cave, so you can roll fast and avoid their attacks.
Clear all small enemies first before looting anything, no matter how tempting the glowing chests look. There are three small rot slimes hiding in the corners of the first tunnel, and if you trigger the Revenant spawn while they’re still alive, you’ll get surrounded and overwhelmed in seconds. Take 30 seconds to kill the slimes first, and you’ll have a clear space to fight the Revenants without distractions.
Once you grab the Ill-Gotten Wealth talisman, equip it immediately. All the enemies you kill on your way out of the cave, plus any enemies you fight on your way back to the Site of Grace, will give you extra runes right away. If you stop to farm the rot dogs near the Smoldering Church for 10 minutes after you leave, you’ll walk away with enough runes for two or three level ups, on top of all the loot you grabbed inside the cave.
You can also come back to this spot as many times as you want to farm runes. The enemies respawn every time you rest at a Site of Grace, and their respawn rate is faster here than most other spots in Caelid. If you pair the Ill-Gotten Wealth talisman with a Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot, you can farm almost 20,000 runes every 10 minutes, which is way faster than most other mid-game farming spots. Just make sure you don’t trigger the boulder trap when you come back for repeat runs, it’s easy to forget it’s there when you’re in a hurry to farm.
Most players spend hours grinding runes in Liurnia or running around Limgrave looking for better weapons, and they never even realize this tiny hidden cave exists. Where winds meet ill gotten wealth is one of those little hidden gems that makes exploring the Lands Between so rewarding, and the loot you get here will carry you through almost all of the mid-game content without any extra grinding. Next time you’re in the Caelid area, take two minutes to run over to the cliff edge behind the Smoldering Church—it’s well worth the short trip, even if you hate dealing with scarlet rot.
