Elden Ring: Where to Find Every Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone

Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones are what take a regular weapon from +24 to +25, and their Somber counterparts do the same for special weapons. A single playthrough only offers a limited number of them, and a good share are tucked into out-of-the-way corners, locked behind questlines, or held by bosses that hit hard. If you are planning a build around two or three weapons, knowing where every stone sits before you commit is the difference between finishing with a maxed loadout and finishing one upgrade short.

Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones — Base Game

The base game offers thirteen, and most of them cluster in the late-game regions:

• Complete Nepheli Loux's questline and speak with her at the Stormveil throne.
• Complete the same questline, then buy one directly from Gatekeeper Gostoc at the Stormveil throne.
• Push Sorceress Sellen's questline to its end, choose to help Jerren defeat Sellen in front of the library, then talk to Jerren. Because the chain is so involved, this is the one stone worth skipping if you are rushing through on later cycles.
• Complete the Beast Clergyman Gurranq questline, or simply kill him.
• Giants' Mountaintop — inside the giant skull south of the Church of Repose.
• Consecrated Snowfield (Depths) — at night, defeat the two Night's Cavalry escorting the caravan in the south.
• Yelough Anix Tunnel — on the bottom level.
• Consecrated Snowfield — in the eastern cave, climb the frozen waterfall above the river.
• Crumbling Farum Azula, Crumbling Beast Grave — defeat the nameless Ancient Dragon ahead of you.
• Crumbling Farum Azula, Dragon Temple Altar — head forward to the top of the great spiral staircase, follow the white stone pillars and loot it where the beastmen are.
• Crumbling Farum Azula, Dragon Temple (Rooftop) — head forward and defeat the wounded Ancient Dragon.
• Miquella's Haligtree, Haligtree Town (Plaza) — behind it, at the altar where the Lionine Misbegotten worships.
• Miquella's Haligtree, Haligtree Town Great Stage — head forward, climb down the ladder, take the staircase on the left and open the chest.

Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones — Shadow of the Erdtree

The DLC adds eight more, several of which sit directly on the critical path:

• Gravesite Plain, Lava Tube Ruined Forge — at the forge altar.
• Gravesite Plain, Dragon's Pit — defeat the Magma Wyrm inside.
• Gravesite Plain, Pillar Path Waypoint (Midpoint) — south, climb a Suppressing Pillar and open the chest.
• Jagged Peak (Midpoint) — defeat Ancient Dragon Senessax on the way there.
• Jagged Peak (Midpoint) — pick it up on the path toward the Frenzied Dragon's seat.
• Scadu Altus, Starfall Ruined Forge — at the forge altar.
• Taylew Ruined Forge below Rauh — at the forge altar.
• Taylew Ruined Forge below Rauh — with the iron pillar mechanism left untriggered, climb to the very top of the pillar and loot it on the left where the two forge golems stand. If you have already triggered the mechanism, a lever on the other side resets it.

Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones — Base Game

• Village of the Albinaurics: after obtaining the Haligtree Secret Medallion, defeat the boss inside the crystal tunnel beside the Lake of Liurnia, continue on to the Slumbering Wolf's Shack, speak with Latenna for her spirit ash, then finish her questline at the Apostate Derelict in the Consecrated Snowfield.
• Mohgwyn Palace, Mausoleum (Midpoint) — open the chest ahead, guarded by an Albinauric and a Sanguine Noble.
• Crumbling Farum Azula, Dragon Temple (Rooftop) — head forward and loot it inside the pavilion behind the wounded Ancient Dragon.
• Consecrated Snowfield (Depths) — defeat the invading red phantom Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater, in the north.
• Advance Millicent's questline and, at the end, choose to help her defeat her sisters; after obtaining the Unalloyed Gold Needle and defeating Malenia, investigate the large flower.
• Miquella's Haligtree, Prayer Room — head forward to the rampart on the right and loot the corpse behind the Putrid Avatar.
• Miquella's Haligtree, Prayer Room — head forward to the end, drop to the courtyard with the pavilion on the right, follow the beam up and left, and open the chest in the room.
• Leyndell, Ashen Capital — pick it up in front of the fortress where the Roundtable Hold originally stood.

Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones — Shadow of the Erdtree

• Gravesite Plain — defeat the Ghostflame Dragon boss in the lake west of the north end of the Greatbridge.
• Cerulean Coast — defeat the Ghostflame Dragon boss in the southwest.
• Jagged Peak (Midpoint) — defeat Ancient Dragon Senessax on the way there.
• Jagged Peak (Midpoint) — head forward, and on the second spirit stream updraft land on the area behind you to the north, then continue and pick it up.
• Scadu Altus, Mus Ruins — defeat the Ghostflame Dragon boss to the south.
• Enir-Ilim, Purification Room antechamber — turn back, ride the elevator down, continue forward and pick it up at the broken staircase.

What to Prioritise

Because the count is fixed per cycle, decide early which weapon deserves a maxed upgrade and let the rest sit at +24, where the performance gap is small. Stones tied to questlines are the ones to plan around: Nepheli's chain is short enough to finish during a normal Stormveil visit, while Sellen's and Millicent's are long, easy to break, and worth following only if you want the items they give beyond the stone. Every Ghostflame Dragon and both Ancient Dragon Senessax encounters are repeatable in the sense that they are straightforward boss fights rather than missable pickups, so they are the safest sources to save for last.