How to complete the Dung Eater quest in Elden Ring

The Elden Ring Dung Eater quest is one of the shorter sidequests in the Lands Between but it can be tricky, especially if you're after Dung Eater summon rather than the Mending Rune. If you're stuck on one of the quest steps, or just want to be prepared ahead of time, this guide covers what you need to know about this unsavoury NPC.

Completing this quest will get you a new armor set, and more importantly, an item required for one of the Elden Ring endings. You can meet the Dung Eater pretty early on in the game, though you won't be able to start his quest until you've picked up your first Seedbed Curse—usually when you reach the Royal Capital. So if you're trying to figure out how to get started, here's how to complete the Elden Ring Dung Eater quest.  

Dung Eater quest summary

Here is a brief summary of the steps to complete Dung Eater's quest. You can find more detailed explanations in the relevant sections below:

• Meet Dung Eater in Roundtable Hold. The door to his room will unlock once you reach Altus Plateau.
• Find one of the six Seedbed Curses and speak to him again to receive the Sewer Gaol Key.
• Head to the Subterranean Shunning Grounds below Leyndell and tell Dung Eater to leave his cell.
• Return to his room at Roundtable Hold to find a message.
• Defeat Dung Eater at the outer moat outside Leyndell.
• Speak to Dung Eater again at Roundtable Hold.
• Locate five Seedbed Curses and return to his cell in the Subterranean Shunning Grounds and hand them over. Or you can choose to give him the Seluvis Potion.

Location

Elden Ring Dung Eater location: Roundtable Hold

You'll first meet the Dung Eater in Roundtable Hold, though you won't have access to his room until you've reached Altus Plateau. This can be done either by collecting both halves of the Dectus medallion and using the lift or bypassing the lift entirely and making your way up the side of the cliff through the mines where you need to defeat the Magma Wyrm Makar boss to proceed.

Whichever method you choose to get to Altus Plateau, the Dung Eater is found in the previously locked room, just past the Twin Maiden Husks merchant. He's hard to miss as he looks like a hostile NPC invader.

Seedbed Curse

Seedbed Curse locations: Where to find one

You can talk to him as soon as you gain access to his room, though you won't be able to progress his questline until you find the first Seedbed Curse. There are six of these in total—with one being missable—and you need to find five to complete the quest later on. For now though, you just need one to continue.

Here are the Seedbed Curse locations:

• Volcano Manor: From the Temple of Eiglay Site of Grace, make your way towards Rya's hiding spot—detailed in Rya's quest guide—but instead of taking the elevator to the floor below, head along the path to the right. In the building at the end, take another door on the right then head up the stairs to find a fog door that requires a Stonesword Key to open. The Seedbed Curse is on a corpse at the bottom.
• Leyndell, Royal Capital: At the top of the round building directly east of the Leyndell Catacombs Site of Grace on the map.
• Outer moat, Leyndell (missable): Looted from Blackguard Big Boggart if you've progressed his questline.
• Leyndell, Royal Capital: Find one inside what would be the Dung Eater's room in the Fortified Manor. You can reach the second floor through the door on the southern side.
• Elphael Brace of the Haligtree: Can be found by traveling north then west from the Prayer Room Site of Grace. Looted from a corpse in a chair on a ledge.
• Elphael Brace of the Haligtree: Again from the Prayer Room Site of Grace, head north but make your way down the stairs that double back on your right. When you find the room at the bottom, hop over the railing to the right of the door and drop to the platform below. It's in the dark hall at the bottom of the stairs on a corpse.

Once you've grabbed your first Seedbed Curse item, head back to Roundtable Hold and talk to Dung Eater again. He'll have some more dialogue for you and he'll hand over the Sewer Gaol Key.

Sewer Gaol Key

Where to use the Sewer Gaol Key

Now that you have access to the sewers, you need to head to the Subterranean Shunning Grounds via a well in the Leyndell, Royal Capital. From the Avenue Balcony Site of Grace, head northwest down the steps and out of the door. Follow the road and hop over the railing to the left and you should see the well among the ruins.

Climb down the ladder then take the first door on your left, to the northeast. Head down another ladder and keep following the tunnel around to the right. Ignore the opening on your right when you see it and proceed straight ahead and down the stairs to enter the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds. Head through the door and you'll find yourself on a platform with a ladder to the left. Climb down here then look out for a door on your left. This is the Underground Roadside Site of Grace, so activate it and rest if you need to before the next leg of the journey.

Head back out the door and continue northeast along the main tunnel. You'll reach a point where three huge grates are covering the ground, but the one on the left has a gap. Drop down here and turn left, following the tunnel past rats and poison enemies until you find the ladder at the end.

Climb here and turn right. You can use the Sewer Gaol Key on the door ahead of you. Dung Eater is inside, so talk to him and choose "Leave your gaol!" when the option is presented. Exhaust his dialogue, then it's time to return to Roundtable Hold.

Outer moat

Fight the Dung Eater in the outer moat at Leyndell

When you return to the Roundtable Hold, you'll find that the Dung Eater is missing from his usual room. However, there is a message that tells you to find him in the outer moat, just outside Leyndell, Capital City.

If you're planning to get a Seedbed Curse from Blackguard Big Boggart, you should make sure you've progressed the first part of Rya's quest and bought her necklace from him in Liurnia of the Lakes. Buying Boiled Prawns from him afterwards earns his trust so that he moves to the outer moat area.

Speak to Boggart just to the north of the spot marked on the map above and exhaust his dialogue before continuing with the next step. Now reload the area and speak to Boggart once more to get the Dung Eater to invade you.

Fight and defeat the Dung Eater in the outer moat to receive the Sword of Milos, then return to Roundtable Hold and talk to him in his room. He'll tell you to bring more Seedbed Curses to his real body, which is located in the cell where you found him in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds.

Choice: Puppet or Mending Rune

How to get the Dung Eater summon or the Mending Rune

When you return to Dung Eater's "real" body in the sewers, you'll have a choice to make. Only one will let you finish Dung Eater's quest and get you the item required for a certain ending.

If you want to get the item for the ending and complete the Dung Eater's quest, interact with Dung Eater to offer the Seedbed Curses. After offering him five he will reward you with the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, the item required for one of the endings.

If you've picked up the potion from Seluvis which was meant for Nepheli, you can use it on him here instead of giving him the Seedbed Curses. Doing so will allow you to get the Dung Eater Puppet summon from Seluvis.

Dung Eater puppet: How to buy it from Seluvis

If you chose to give Dung Eater the potion to get his puppet from Seluvis, there are a few steps you'll need to go through to get it to appear:

• Find the hidden cellar located between Ranni's Rise and Renna's Rise behind Caria Manor. Interact with the message near the back wall.
• Speak to Seluvis at his tower and ask about his chambers and he'll offer to sell you a puppet. Buy one of them.
• If you've done this step previously and Seluvis doesn't offer to sell you more puppets, or if the Dung Eater puppet isn't listed, leave the area and collect five Starlight Shards.
• Return to Seluvis and the Dung Eater puppet should be listed.

Note: It does seem to be possible to get Dung Eater's puppet, even if you've progressed Ranni's quest past the point where you give her the Fingerslaying Blade from Nokron. If you spoke to Seluvis before this point and confronted him about the hidden cellar, you should be able to examine his corpse to access the puppet shop.

Omen set

How to get the Dung Eater armor

It's possible to get Dung Eater's Omen set regardless of whether you choose to finish his quest with the Seedbed Curses or give him Seluvis's potion.

If you hand over the five Seedbed Curses and get the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, reload the area and make your way back to Dung Eater's cell. You can loot the Omen set from his corpse.

If you choose to get the Dung Eater puppet instead, use Seluvis's potion and he'll pass out. Wait for a second or two, then kill him to get the Omen set to drop. The puppet will still be available to purchase from Seluvis.

Elden Ring guide: Conquer the Lands Between
Elden Ring bosses: How to beat them
Elden Ring map fragments: Reveal the world
Elden Ring weapons: Arm yourself
Elden Ring armor: The best sets