The Academy of Raya Lucaria is the second Legacy Dungeon that you can come across in Elden Ring. This dungeon features a demigod boss, in addition to many other challenges and perils. This page will contain walkthrough and guide information on how to reach the Academy, as well as information on all of the treasures and items that can be found inside, as well as tips for navigating the dungeon, and strategies for defeating the Academy’s formidable bosses.
How to Get to Academy of Raya Lucaria
You will be able to see the Academy of Raya Lucaria in the distance as soon as you step out of the backdoor of Stormveil Castle and into Liurnia of the Lakes; however, finding the Academy and actually entering the Academy are two separate challenges.
Obtaining a map of the surrounding area ought to be our primary objective. You can eventually reach a merchant and a new Site of Grace at the lake level by following the path to the left of the Site of Grace that is located on the Lake-Facing Cliffs. This path will take you past the church, the graveyard, and the Carian soldier’s camp.
The trail becomes more difficult to follow beyond this point, but thankfully, the map is only a short distance away, just to the north of this Site of Grace. If you head northward while following the shattered pieces of wall and the blue lanterns, you will eventually come across the map. However, you should exercise caution because a small army of mage foes is waiting in the shadows around the path.
After the map has been unlocked, you have the option of heading north and fighting your way through the Academy Gate Town in order to reach the dungeon entrance; however, there is a more expedient route. You’ll find the Site of Grace in the Laskyar Ruins if you continue along the path a short distance beyond the map marker. If you leave this location and travel in an easterly direction, you will come across the Purified Ruins. You must search through the ruins until you find a teleporter hidden inside one of the crumbling buildings. If you use the teleporter, you will be taken straight to the front gate, where you will find the switch to activate the South Raya Lucaria Gate Site of Grace.
Finding the Academy Glintstone Key
Getting into Stormveil is a completely different ballgame than getting into the Academy, as I’ve mentioned before. If you approach the magical barrier, it will tell you that you cannot pass through it. You can obtain the Meeting Place Map by pillaging the dead person lying next to the gate. This map will give you a clue as to where you can find the Academy Glintstone Key, which will allow you to enter the building.
If you compare the hint to the world map that you have, you will notice that the location of the meeting is a small island that is located on the west side of the Academy. Place a marker there, and ride your horse in a circle until you reach the location; however, be careful! A mighty Glintstone Dragon watches over this island as its protector. Either utilise your stealth skills to sneak in and steal the Academy Glintstone Key, or charge into the area on horseback and make a hasty exit as soon as you have it in your possession. In either case, you shouldn’t hang around to experience the wrath of the dragon.
Academy of Raya Lucaria Walkthrough
Visit the Site of Grace located at the South Raya Lucaria Gate and examine the seal to unlock the door to the dungeon. As soon as you enter, there is a second Site of Grace that you can activate. After that, head left and take the elevator up to enter the main part of the Academy.
When you reach the top of the elevator, turn left and walk through the garden that is in front of you. Once you have located the Magic Grease by descending the stairs located to your right, you should retrace your steps and ascend the tall staircase that is being watched over by two masked magicians. Remove them from the room, then open the door to enter a spacious open chapel.
You will notice another mage at the front of the room; however, as soon as you begin to approach them, marionette soldiers will ambush you from above. When dealing with these adversaries, exercise extreme caution! After taking some damage, they begin to malfunction and swing their weapons erratically, making it extremely difficult to strike a target with any kind of accuracy. Just take a step back and wait for them to fall over before launching another assault. After the foes have been vanquished, you can loot the Somber Smithing Stone [3] in the back of the chapel and the Golden Rune [2] in an alcove to the right of the pedestal. Both of these items are located in the same area.
In addition, there is a fictitious wall in this room that you are able to walk through at this very moment. After entering the building, turn right and follow the path until you reach the wall that connects to the corner. This will cause a small area to become visible, within which there is a Rune Arc.
When you leave the chapel through the door on the left, you will enter a hallway that leads to another Site of Grace. Here, you will be able to relax and get ready to face the challenging parts of the dungeon.
Church of the Cuckoo
You should immediately make your way to the opposite end of the corridor, where you will find a door that leads to an outdoor cemetery. Be wary of the zombies in this area as they prepare to lunge at you because they are densely populated with shambling zombies that have the ability to grab you and deplete your FP.
Step one is to turn right as soon as you enter the building. If you look over the edge, you will discover a hidden cliff below that has an item perched on it. Grab the Smithing Stone [4] by lowering yourself down. If you keep going along the ledge, you will eventually end up back on the main path.
Return to the door, but this time go to the left and walk along the higher ridge to reach a Grace Mimic that is perched atop a body next to a large grave. If you look over the edge of the ledge, you will notice another item below; however, you should be aware that it is protected by zombies. Drop down and eliminate all of the enemies there in order to retrieve the item, which is a Spellproof Dried Liver.
If you look behind these graves, you should be able to find a secret pathway that leads down. If you follow it, you will eventually come to a gap that you will need to leap across in order to access a hidden cave that is currently occupied by two marionette archers. After you have eliminated them, you will be able to seize the Marionette Soldier Ashes that they were guarding.
The area below contains a number of additional foes waiting in ambush, including zombies and a dog. It is my recommendation that you first concentrate on the dog and then steal the Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot that it was guarding. When all of the foes have been eliminated, you can begin climbing the hill, but before you do so, make sure to keep an eye on the left side of the path, where you will see some graves that have been pushed over to create a ramp. You’ll find another hidden pathway and a Golden Rune [4] if you can jump over them.
As you make your way up the path, not only will you run into more dogs, but you will also come across an Ash Scarab. As you pursue the scarab and attempt to kill it in order to obtain the Ash of War: Spectral Lance, watch out for attacks from the dogs. If you continue along this path until you reach its conclusion, you will find a new door that is guarded by additional dogs and larger zombies. After you have finished them off, head to the right of the door and look behind some graves on the left to find five mushrooms and two magic grease potions.
We have to find one more hidden way that leads to a very important object and then return here. You will need to walk backwards along the path and keep an eye out for a large grave that has a torch lit in front of it. If you turn around and look behind this grave, you will find that there is a ledge below it that contains an item that is being guarded by some zombies. To obtain the item, which is the complete Carian Knight Set, you must first drop down and eliminate the zombies in the area. If you have the stamina to wear it, this set will provide superior protection against magic than the majority of the other armour that you possess at this point.
When you have the armour in your possession, head to the left of the grave to locate a path that leads upwards. After reaching the very end of the path, where you will find a drop down that will grant you access to a Golden Rune [4], proceed to the nearby cave that will lead you back to the graveyard. From this vantage point, we can go back to the door we used earlier and proceed through it to access the lift, which is located in the same area as the other small cemetery.
Proceed into the cemetery before getting on the elevator. In this area, you will face a powerful Alabaster Lord who specialises in gravity spells and wields a sword as well. To our relief, not only does he move very slowly, but he also gives away a lot of information about his attacks. The standard tactic of guard countering is extremely effective, but I would advise you to back off whenever he begins charging up his gravity magic because it has the potential to easily break guards. Defeat him to claim the Gravity Well spell and the Somber Smithing Stone [3] that was on the grave he was guarding. Both of these items are located on the grave he was watching over.
We are free to head back to the elevator and board it at this point. Continue riding it until you reach the very top, where you will see access to a new area via a jump. On the left, there are some caves that have foes inside of them, and on the right, there is a building that contains a new Site of Grace. Caves hold a Crystal Dart five times over as well as a Golden Rune four times over. Once you have those things in your possession, proceed to the Site of Grace and rest there before continuing.
If you do choose to go to the bottom of the lift at this time, you will find the Abductor waiting for you in a shallow pool of water. You can find a few items here if you either kill the Abductor or manage to avoid him: The Longtail Cat Talisman, the Smithing Stone [5, and the Lost Ashes of War are the three items you require.
Schoolhouse Classroom
Take the stairs leading down from the Schoolhouse Classroom, but be careful to watch out for the mage warrior who is patrolling the connected hallway.
When it is safe to do so, proceed to the left of the room and look for the Conspectus Scroll on the dead body that is located there. You can get a Smithing Stone [4] if you open the door that’s next to the scroll, step out onto the balcony, and then open the door again.
However, that’s not the end of it! If you look over the edge of the balcony, you will see that there is a ledge below you that you can drop down to. If you continue along this ledge all the way around the corner, you will come to a little patch of grass. You can reach a hidden path that leads back to the lift if you climb the rocks that have been piled up in the corner. Take care not to fall through any of the gaps in the path, and once you’ve reached the end, make sure to grab the Olvinus Glintstone Crown before descending to the lower level and returning to the Site of Grace room.
You will find two more mages if you go back into the hallway and follow it down in the opposite direction. After that, you will find a room full of mages and a large jar warrior if you continue down this hallway. If you do not succeed in drawing the jar warrior away from the mages, you run the risk of being stunned and locked in place by the onslaught of spells that they cast. Attack him when he is standing back up after avoiding the heavy slams that the jars are about to deliver. Then, sneak back into the room with the mages and start picking them off one at a time until the room is clear. Once it is, you will be able to loot the chest in the immediate area and obtain the Ritual Pot.
Proceed up the stairs and enter the large room that is located above us while we make our way to the door that is locked in just a moment. Backstab the mage who is standing in front of the stairs in a stealthy manner, but watch out for the other mages who are hiding behind him because once they see you, they will immediately begin casting spells at you. Hide yourself behind the pillars so that you are protected from the spells, and then when you notice a gap in the mages’ defences, rush in to attack them. After the area has been cleared, you can head out onto the balcony to retrieve the Furlcalling Finger Remedy, and then proceed to ascend the stairs, where you will find a boss room waiting for you at the very end of the hallway.
First things first, let’s talk about that locked door. There are four bookcases in the room that is connected to the hallway that leads to the boss, but only three of them actually contain any books. It is necessary to strike this one in order to expose a hidden passage that leads to another room that has a chest containing the Stonesword Key and the Comet spell.
After climbing the ladder located in the room’s corner and reaching the rafters, proceed towards the room’s entrance. You can see that there is a fake wall behind this one, and you can get behind it. Hidden behind the facade of the wall is a narrow passageway that leads to a chute that leads into yet another hidden chamber. You can retrieve the Graven School Talisman from the large pile of crystals that is located here. After that, you can unlock the door that was locked earlier and make your way back to the Jar Warrior corridor. If you feel like you need a break, return to the Site of Grace (but keep in mind that the foes will reappear), and then get ready to face the boss in the room we saw earlier.
Red Wolf of Radagon Boss Fight
It’s possible that the Red Wolf of Radagon will prove to be the most challenging foe yet. The Red Wolf is quick and powerful, just like the Lion we faced in Stormveil Keep. However, he takes things to the next level by throwing projectiles into the mix of his onslaught of attacks. Because his bite and claw attacks are fast and typically part of a multi-hit combo, you should not attempt to punish them unless you are positive that this is the very last attack the opponent will use.
In addition to that, the Red Wolf has the ability to conjure a magical sword, which it wields with its mouth. Thankfully, it is much simpler to anticipate and respond appropriately to these attacks in comparison to his more basic ones. You should be able to hit back with two to three attacks or a guard counter if you block the swings or dodge inward as he slahes in the direction of your opponent.
When he moves away from you, there is a good chance that he will cast one to three homing spells, which will pause for a brief period of time in the air before flying towards you. It is in your best interest to simply take a step back whenever there are in play, as you do not want to put yourself in danger of being hit by both the Wolf and his spells at the same time.
If you follow these instructions, you should be able to wear him down and defeat him, winning the Memory Stone he was holding as well as a brand new Site of Grace as your reward.
Debate Parlor
Prepare yourself for a lengthy journey because the Debate Parlor serves as the starting point for the sections of the Academy that contain the most items. The door in the back left corner of the parlour gives access to a large courtyard; use this door to leave the room.
As soon as you step out of the gate, immediately take a right turn and walk over to the ledge. Once you are there, walk all the way to the edge of the ledge, and peek around the corner to see a hidden path that leads to a ladder.
In order to reach the upper level of the debate chamber, descend onto the ledge and then climb the ladder. Make your way inside by climbing through the broken window. If you search through the rafters, you should be able to locate a Crystal Bud as well as a chest that contains the Radagon Icon. If you leave through the doorway that is close to the chest, you will find yourself on a balcony that looks out over a courtyard that contains two enemy mages.
If you peer over the edge of the balcony’s right side ledge, you will see a mage and some jar warriors protecting a valuable item. You must descend and eliminate all of the foes in order to retrieve the Cracked Pot and the Living Jar Shard that they were guarding.
Take the stairs down to the courtyard below, then immediately begin climbing the pile of rubble in front of you to reach the next platform, which is absolutely crawling with adversaries. Immediately direct your focus to the two mages who are observing you from a higher level. They are looking down at you. Ignore all of the other foes and rush up the next set of stairs so you can deal with them as soon as you step into their line of sight. They will begin casting spells on you as soon as you come into their line of sight.
After you have finished off the first two mages in the room at the bottom of the staircase, you should direct your attention to the third one who is hiding in the adjacent room. First, clear the area of the more vulnerable foes that have gathered here, and then search the interior of the room for the Glintstone Whetblade.
The final step is to ascend the staircase that is located directly across from the room where you will face off against the final mage and find a Golden Rune [2]. If you go back to the highest level, the area where you fought the two mages, you will find a door that is locked. If you look down from the balcony that is to the left of the door, you will see a platform that you can descend to. A mage will be in front of you and another will be behind you, so watch out that you don’t get caught in the crossfire between their spell barrages. After they have been eliminated, return to the courtyard by descending the stairs and unlocking the door leading there.
After entering the building, immediately make your way to the fountain located in the middle of the courtyard. There, you will find a Stonesword Key. The Abductor is visible to you from this vantage point. If it detects your presence, it will come closer to the fountain and make an attempt to attack you. Go back through the door that you just opened and continue climbing the stairs until you reach the top balcony. There, you will find a dead end and a Golden Rune [3]. What you should do instead is go back through the door that you just opened.
If you look down, you should be able to see a roof that you can drop down to. If you look down from the roof, you will see a grassy ledge below with a crystal crab that has a strange appearance. You can obtain a Karolos Glintstone Crown by lowering yourself down and killing the crab. If you continue along this ledge, you will eventually come across a Golden Tree that has another Golden Seed that you can loot. While you are over here, the abductor should ignore you, so quickly return to the door that was left open and climb back up onto the roof from where you came.
This time, we’re going to make a beeline for the bell tower off in the distance by running along the roof. There are two marionette soldiers waiting for you in this area. Because of the confined nature of the rooftop, their malfunctions pose an increased risk; therefore, you should approach them with extreme caution and don’t be afraid to retreat if necessary. Check the ledge to the left of the ladder before climbing it; there is a Golden Rune there [4]. Do this before you ascend the ladder.
A rooftop path can be accessed from the top of the ladder, and it leads directly to the bell tower. However, you should proceed with caution because there is a mage waiting at the end of the path, as well as three flying marionette soldiers waiting to ambush you. You can avoid being overwhelmed by a group of four foes all at once by approaching slowly and drawing them out so that you can take them on one at a time. Grab the five Crystal Darts that are scattered along the path, then investigate the area behind the bell tower to locate the five Meteor Bolts.
To get past this point, we are going to have to engage in some precise jumping and dropping. You will find a roof just below the back of the bell tower that you can drop down to, and then from that roof you will be able to drop down one more level to reach another brief section of roof. If you turn your head to the left, you will notice that there is a sizable space between the roof you are currently on and the roof that is adjacent to you but lower down. To get over this gap, you will need to execute a running jump that is extremely precise, and it also seems to help if you jump from the highest point of the higher roof towards the lower point of the lower roof. It may take a few tries, so be careful if you are carrying a lot of runes if you want to succeed.
When you reach the other side, turn around and look to the left; there, you will see a sequence of descending roofs defended by a variety of marionette soldiers. If you continue all the way down this path, you will eventually arrive at the bottom, which is where you will find the entrance into the bell tower. When you enter the building, you must be cautious because there are two more marionette soldiers hiding inside waiting to ambush you.
Once all of them have been eliminated, you will be able to ascend the ladder all the way to the top of the tower, where you will find a chest containing the Full Moon Crossbow. You will want to make a running jump off the western edge of the bell tower and land on the roof below when you get to this point. You can continue descending one more roof from here to reach a dead body that contains a Smithing Stone [4].
The next step is to execute a running jump off the left side of this roof in order to land on the same adjacent roof that we made that difficult jump to earlier. This time, you need to move forward and jump across the rooftops in a careful manner until you reach another tower that has a cracked open wooden floor. The Lazuli Glintstone Crown can be obtained by descending through the floor and continuing to descend until you reach the platform containing another crystal crab.
Continue to descend until you reach the bottom of the pit, where you will discover some crabs guarding a Somber Smithing Stone [4]. Leave this room and climb the ladder that’s right outside to get a better view of the surrounding area.
You can reach yet another small tower with an item, an Imbued Sword Key, if you climb to the top of the ladder and then traverse a narrow section of the roof to get there. You can make your way to the tower directly next to this one by jumping to it [3], where you will find a Smithing Stone.
After climbing back up the ladder, you will notice another sizable structure that is accessible via jumping from this ledge. At this point, you have reached the highest point of the Church of the Cuckoo. It is imperative that you remove these marionette soldiers from the roof before you proceed to walk around the area. There are two of them. Be wary of the assaults made by the flying marionette soldiers if you walk along the left side of the roof. You will be ambushed by both of them if you take this route. In addition, a Magic Grease x2 can be found on one of the connected rooftops in the neighbourhood.
Climb through the window and you will end up on the rafters above the church if you do it correctly. You can obtain a Golden Rune by making your way carefully to the body that is dangling from the rafters and looting it [3]. Once you’ve reached the next set of rafters, descend to the lower level, and search for the chandelier that has an item hanging from it. Drop down to the chandelier in a careful manner in order to obtain the second Academy Glintstone Key.
There ought to be a passageway directly beneath you that’s being watched over by some additional academy mages. After you have vanquished every one of them, locate the ladder and kick it to create a shortcut that will take you to the Church of Cuckoo below. If you search the walkway thoroughly, you should find a dead body that is holding the spell to shatter the crystal. You will need to look for a door that leads to an outdoor balcony in order to find yet another crystal crab. This particular crystal crab will drop the Twinsage Glintstone Crown if you kill it.
Get back on the walkway that’s above the church, and this time look for the other exit, which should lead you to a long hallway that’s guarded by a perfumer armed with a crossbow. Stay out of the way of his exploding bolts and move in close so you can attack him. Guard counters are effective; however, he hops around quite a bit, so your best bet is to try to pin him against a wall so he cannot escape.
After you have vanquished him, proceed to the opposite end of the hall to find a small room filled with crystals. It is in this room that you will find Azur’s Glintstone Staff. In spite of everything, we were only unable to acquire one item, which was a Golden Rune [3] that was located on a rooftop that was guarded by marionette soldiers below a challenging roof gap jump. You can still go and get it if you want to do another round of jumping, but other than that, you have all of the important items!
After completing the quest involving jumping, we are now prepared to enter the room containing the boss. Go back to the courtyard and head in the direction of the ledge on the right side of the room. This ledge is the one that is closest to the floating staircase. You can get to the stairs by using the narrow walkways, but you need to be careful when walking on them. When you make an attempt to climb higher, a massive iron ball will come rolling down. Pay attention to the way that it rebounds between the railings, and attempt to fit through the small openings that are scattered around the perimeter.
Pass through the door at the top of the staircase, then continue down the hall until you reach the courtyard on the other side of the building. You will face off against a formidable Carian Knight in this area. On both the offensive and defensive, he is a formidable opponent. If you try to attack him without thinking, he will easily parry your attack, but if you just try to block, he will break through your guard with relentless swings. If you try to attack him without thinking, he will easily parry your attack. The good news is that you can easily turn his overzealous swings back on him by parrying his attacks and giving him a taste of his own medicine. However, the bad news is that this will require more effort on your part.
You might get lucky and see him put his shield away in favour of his staff, which will provide you with an opportunity to attack him while he is unable to defend himself. Be extremely wary of the potent magical spells that he is capable of casting at you during this time. Make an effort to force him into a corner and keep him pinned there with attacks until he is vanquished. Your hard work has been rewarded with the Shield of the Carian Knight.
You can proceed forward and take the elevator to reach the boss from here, but there is one more location that we need to investigate first. Go instead through the exit on the left side into the garden area where there is one mage hiding in the corner, some weak enemies caring for the plants, and a Golden Rune [4]. If you continue along this path, you will eventually enter a long hallway. This hallway will lead you to the doorway that was locked above the courtyard a long time ago. Turn it on, then make your way back to the garden.
You will find a thin ledge that connects this garden to the room that is adjacent to where you retrieved the Golden Rune if you return to the spot where you retrieved it. You can get inside by using the ledge, and then you can unlock the door from the inside.
Once you have returned to the room and climbed to the top of the ladder, you will find another mage in addition to one of the warriors wearing pumpkin hats. Obtain the Glintstone Scarab from the chest in this room, then leap off the balcony near the chest and land on the awning above the portal to get to the location where the Golden Rune [7] is hidden. After you have vanquished the foes in this area, the boulders will stop rolling, and you will be able to proceed down the staircase to loot the Smithing Stone [5], the Furlcalling Finger Remedy, and the Crystal Darts that are down there.
Now that this final bit of business has been taken care of, we are prepared to ride the elevator up to meet with the manager of Raya Lucaria.
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon Boss Fight Guide
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, is the second Elden Lord that the majority of players will most likely run into. She is a formidable sorceress who presides over the Raya Lucaria Academy and is an extremely difficult Elden Ring Boss to take on.
This fight is split into two parts, with the first part being more of a challenge than an actual fight. Rennala will hover in the air above you while her minions attack you on the ground below with flying books and flame breath. You have to look around the room to determine which of her minions is singing, then you have to go and attack that minion to put an end to their song, which will then cause another minion to begin singing.
When you have defeated three of Rennala’s minions, her protective shell will shatter, and she will fall to the ground. During this time, you will have the opportunity to launch some attacks at her before she returns to the air. When you see her constructing her spell, be sure to take cover behind some cover because she is going to cause a magical explosion before she rises again. Repeat this process until her health bar is empty, at which point you will advance to the next phase.
In the second phase of the battle, Rennala will engage you head-on using every one of her spells. These are the following:
A magical laser that she telegraphs by will first call forth a sizable magic orb, which will then contract into her hand before being aimed directly at you. You can avoid this by rolling to the left or right at the last second before she fires.
A volley of homing crystals that acts in a manner similar to that of a magical shotgun. If the end of her staff begins to spike up, you will know that this is going to happen. As long as you aren’t standing directly in front of them while they chase you, you should be able to easily side step around them.
A volley of homing missiles with a more sluggish movement speed that is typically called into play when she avoids your attacks. Similar to the homing crystals, these can be easily avoided by simply taking a side step or rolling into them before they make contact with the player.
A mighty arrow of magical origin. Just before she lets this one loose, she lifts her feet off the ground ever-so-slightly. You can avoid this by simply dodging towards her as the spell comes towards you. This will allow you to avoid being affected by the spell.
This one is like a magical boomerang; it flies towards you and then spins around you for a few seconds, hitting you multiple times and wearing you down before flying back to her.
As part of her signature move, she first floats into the air, then she envelops herself in a miniature moon before crashing back down to the ground. After that, the moon falls towards the earth and collides with it, which results in a tremendous detonation. When you see this coming, the best thing you can do is get out of there as fast as you can.
As you can see, the fundamental tactic in this scenario is to continuously move from one location to another. You should maintain a constant pattern of strafing around her in the midrange, as this will give you the time to respond to her spells and charge in when an opportunity presents itself. The magic laser and the magic bolt are the most harmful of these spells; as a result, you should focus your attention primarily on avoiding them.
As soon as her health drops below approximately half, she will start calling upon a variety of Ash Spirits to assist her in combat. When it comes to dodging, these make things even more complicated, so your best bet is to just run away for the 15–30 seconds that the spirit persists for, then run in and attack her during the downtime between them. She possesses the ability to call forth trolls, dragons, a Bloodhound Knight, and wolves. Because her summon animation has a long cooldown, you should capitalise on the opportunity to land two or three strikes if you are in the right position.
You will receive the Remembrance of the Full Moon Queen and the Great Rune of the Unborn as rewards for defeating her. After the fight, you will be transported back to the room where the original boss was located. Here, you can have a conversation with Rennala to alter your appearance, and if you have a Larval Tear, you can also respec your character.