Key takeaways
- Stillwater Cave is a self-contained optional dungeon in southern Liurnia, not a wider subregion or a route into another major area.
- Its only named checkpoint is the Stillwater Cave Site of Grace.
- The cave is dominated by poison, shallow toxic water and enemies that attack from ledges or ceilings.
- The Sage Hood, Sage Robe and Sage Trousers are found together in a flooded chamber guarded by bats and rot-afflicted spellcasters.
- The final boss is a Cleanrot Knight, whose defeat awards the Winged Sword Insignia.
- Carry poison-curing items, especially Neutralising Boluses, or be prepared to retreat to the Site of Grace.
Overview
Base game, Liurnia of the Lakes Spoiler warning: This guide covers the cave’s enemies, loot, boss and reward.
Stillwater Cave is an optional cave dungeon at the southern edge of Liurnia of the Lakes. Its entrance lies beneath the cliffs south-east of the Lake-Facing Cliffs area, close to the point where Liurnia opens out beyond Stormveil Castle. The cave is short, but its flooded passages, poison pools, narrow ledges and concealed flying enemies make it more dangerous than its size suggests.
The main rewards are the Sage armour set and the Winged Sword Insignia talisman. The latter is obtained by defeating the cave’s boss, a Cleanrot Knight, and raises attack power with successive attacks.
Overview
Stillwater Cave is a minor dungeon built around a broad, partially flooded cavern system. The entrance descends quickly to a Site of Grace, after which the route divides around pools of poisonous water. Much of the cave can be crossed without standing in the poison for long, but the safest paths often require jumps between ledges or careful movement around the walls.
The cave’s inhabitants are associated with rot and poison. Servants of Rot, sometimes described in guides as fungal sorcerers, fire poison projectiles from protected positions. Bats hang from ceilings in dark chambers, while larger winged enemies can punish players who rush into the open. Miranda Flowers and other poisonous growths occupy some of the lower sections. The location’s enemy and item records include Giant Bats, Singing Bats, a Chanting Winged Dame, Servants of Rot, Miranda Sprouts and a Giant Miranda Sprout.
Stillwater Cave has no ordinary NPC residents, merchants or quest-givers. It is an exploration and combat location rather than a settlement.
Location and access
The entrance is in southern Liurnia of the Lakes, below the cliffs south-east of the Lake-Facing Cliffs Site of Grace. From the Liurnia lake level, travel towards the southern cliff line and look for the cave mouth near the water and the surrounding jellyfish. The cave entrance is not reached through a separate quest or key item.
Torrent is useful for reaching the area, but the dungeon itself is entered on foot. The entrance may be approached without fighting every nearby outdoor enemy.
Included area
The scope of Stillwater Cave is limited to the cave dungeon itself:
The nearby Lake-Facing Cliffs, Liurnia lake, surrounding jellyfish and Stormveil Castle are neighbouring locations, not subareas of Stillwater Cave.
There are two practical approaches
| Name | Details |
|---|---|
| From Lake-Facing Cliffs | descend towards the lake, then follow the southern cliff base. |
| From the Liurnia Lake Shore area | travel south-east along the shallow lake edge until the cliff wall closes in and the cave entrance becomes visible. |
Named directory
Checkpoints and facilities
The Site of Grace is near the entrance. A Summoning Pool is found further inside, and a Stake of Marika stands near the later approach to the boss. These facilities do not represent separate subareas.
Enemies
Enemy naming varies between guides and database sources. “Fungal Sorcerer” is a descriptive label sometimes used for the poison-casting Servants of Rot, rather than a separate confirmed named enemy type in the location directory.
Loot and collectibles
The cave’s most important fixed rewards are the Sage set and Winged Sword Insignia. Other pickups include runes, ammunition, consumables, crafting materials and Glowstones. Individual minor pickups can be easy to miss because several lie on corpses near poison pools or across gaps.
Equipment
The three Sage pieces are found together in the flooded chamber occupied by bats and Servants of Rot. The set is light armour and is particularly useful for players who want to preserve equipment load while improving magical protection.
The Winged Sword Insignia is dropped by the Cleanrot Knight. Its effect raises attack power with successive attacks, making it more naturally suited to fast weapons, paired weapons and builds that maintain pressure rather than relying on one large hit.
Fixed pickups
Some walkthroughs record slightly different descriptions of individual corpse placements, so use the route below rather than relying only on the pickup names. The Sage pieces, Serpent Arrows and Golden Rune [5] are in the upper flooded chamber. Golden Rune [3] is close to the early ledge and the cave’s Summoning Pool, while Golden Rune [4] is reached by dropping into a lower poison-filled section.
Crafting materials
Material placements are distributed through the cave and are not all required for progression. The cave’s moss and poison-related materials fit its broader crafting theme, including poison cures and poison-based consumables.
Walkthrough
1. Activate the Site of Grace
Enter the cave and activate Stillwater Cave Site of Grace immediately. The first chamber opens over poisonous water, with ledges forming the safest route. Do not sprint blindly through the darkness, as bats may be hanging above the path or hidden around corners.
A torch or another light source is useful. It makes the ledges, corpse locations and ceiling enemies easier to identify, although it occupies an equipment slot.
2. Clear the first poison casters
Follow the upper route and deal with the first Servant of Rot. Additional casters attack from across a gap. Try to eliminate the nearest enemy before attempting the jump, since poison projectiles can interrupt the jump or force you into the water.
The early Golden Rune [3] is near the route towards the Summoning Pool. Activate the pool if you intend to use cooperative help, then continue along the upper ledges.
3. Search the flooded chamber
Proceed into the darker chamber and watch the ceiling. Giant Bats and Singing Bats can remain passive until you move underneath them. Pull them back into a narrow passage where possible, rather than fighting several at once above the poison.
The flooded chamber contains the Sage set, Serpent Arrows and Golden Rune [5]. Search the corpse thoroughly to collect:
This is the cave’s main exploration reward, so do not simply follow the lower route to the boss and leave.
4. Return and explore the side ledges
After collecting the armour, retrace the route and take the alternative ledges. A group of bats and poison casters guards Glowstones. Another corpse can be reached by dropping into a lower area containing Golden Rune [4]. The drop is safer if the enemies around the landing area have already been cleared.
Avoid lingering in poison. Poison buildup is manageable, but the slowed movement and limited visibility make it easy to be hit by another projectile while attempting to escape.
5. Descend towards the boss
Continue through the ledges and tunnels until the route begins to descend towards the cave’s lower watercourse. You will pass the Stake of Marika before reaching a chamber where several Servants of Rot can be approached from behind.
Stealth is effective here. The enemies often face away from the approach, allowing backstabs or charged attacks before they can begin casting. At the lower waterfall, search for Poison Grease before entering the final passage.
The boss fog lies beyond the wooden walkway and poison-filled approach. A Summoning Pool and Stake of Marika make this section more forgiving than the entrance, but poison management is still important.
3. Search the flooded chamber
- 01Sage Hood
- 02Sage Robe
- 03Sage Trousers
Cleanrot Knight
The Cleanrot Knight is a single-enemy boss encounter in a cramped, partially flooded arena. The fight is notable because the boss’s attacks can apply Scarlet Rot, while the surrounding water and limited movement make it harder to create distance.
Main dangers
The Knight can be staggered, making charged heavy attacks, jumping attacks and weapons with strong poise damage valuable. Fast weapons can also benefit from the Winged Sword Insignia once it has been obtained, although that reward comes after this fight.
Practical strategy
Defeating the Cleanrot Knight awards the Winged Sword Insignia. The boss does not unlock a new route or alter the surrounding Liurnia map.
Practical strategy
- 01Enter with Neutralising Boluses or another method of dealing with poison, and keep Scarlet Rot cures available if you have them.
- 02Move towards a clearer section of the arena instead of fighting in the deepest water.
- 03Stay near the Knight’s side rather than directly in front of the spear.
- 04Punish recovery animations with jumping attacks or charged heavies.
- 05Roll away from the area attack that creates blades, rather than trying to trade through it.
- 06If using ranged attacks or sorcery, maintain enough distance to avoid the initial lunge and keep the Knight from cornering you.
Hazards and preparation
Poison
Poison is the cave’s constant environmental threat. The pools are not always necessary to cross, but some loot requires a short descent into them. Poison buildup does not usually kill quickly, but it can continue draining health while you are fighting bats or spellcasters.
Vertical ambushes
Bats are often positioned above the player’s normal sightline. Looking up before entering a new chamber prevents several avoidable ambushes. Pull enemies into previously cleared tunnels where possible.
Gaps and jumps
Some routes require jumping between ledges. Poison casters can interrupt these jumps, so eliminate or distract them first. Do not assume that every visible corpse is intended to be reached from the nearest ledge. If a drop looks unsafe, explore the surrounding upper path before committing.
Progression and missability
Stillwater Cave is available as soon as the player reaches Liurnia. It is not gated by a boss, quest, Stonesword Key or story flag. The cave can therefore be completed early, late or ignored entirely.
The rewards are not permanently missable in the normal base-game progression. The Sage set remains available in the flooded chamber until collected, and the Winged Sword Insignia remains available from the Cleanrot Knight. The dungeon does not have a known quest-state variation that changes its contents.