Church of the Bud in Elden Ring.
Screenshot by The Escapist.

Where to Go after Beating Messmer in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

The trees must go.

So you’ve defeated Messmer in the Shadow Keep, and you need to know where to go next. Here’s where you should go next after beating Messmer in Elden Ring.

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Image of a map highlighting West Rampart in the Shadow Keep of Elden Ring.
Screenshot by The Escapist.

After beating Messmer in Elden Ring, head to the Church of the Bud in the Rauh Ancient Ruins to burn the Sealing Tree and progress to the end of the Shadow of the Erdtree story. But note! Doing this is the point of no return, so if you haven’t started on any of the NPC quests, like Thiollier’s, do those first.

To reach the Church of the Bud you need to go to the Ancient Ruins. To reach the Ancient Ruins, go to the Dark Chamber Entrance Site of Grace right before Messmer. Below that, you can find a bridge that has one of his guards and a massive gate. Use the small door to the right of the gate to find the Rauh Ancient Ruins pathway. You will have to start at the Viaduct Minor Tower and work your way southwest to the very top of the ruins. If you don’t have the map fragments for the area yet, I suggest collecting them.

When you reach the Church of the Bud, you still need to kill Romina, which is another major Remembrance boss. Compared to Messmer, it should be much easier and then you can make your way to the Sealing Tree at the end of the church. Just keep in mind that burning the tree will effectively end all quest lines you have going and will open up the final pathway in the DLC, but this is next major step after beating Messmer in Elden Ring. When you’re ready, set the flames and prepare for the worst.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is available now.

Elden Ring is available now on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.


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Image of Dan Wenerowicz
Dan Wenerowicz
Dan has been writing gaming guides, features and news for four years after graduating with a BA in writing. You can find him endlessly covering COD, Diablo 4, and any major releases. Otherwise he's cooking up another opinion piece.