Altus Plateau is one of the main and biggest regions to explore in Elden Ring. You will encounter a variety of different enemies here as well as several world bosses such as the Fallingstar Beast, Wormface, and Ancient Dragon Lansseax.
Depending on your prior actions and choices, you may also find several friendly NPCs in Altus Plateau who will lend a helping hand. There are a few dungeons here to beat as well, several loot to find, and secrets to uncover.
The amount of content Altus Plateau offers is why it is one of the hardest locations to access in Elden Ring. Due to its sheer size, there are several ways to enter Altus Plateau from all sides of the map.
It all comes down to you to decide which path to take as well as how soon you want to enter Altus Plateau in Elden Ring.
How to access the Altus Plateau region in Elden Ring
There are three ways to enter Altus Plateau in Elden Ring. The first and most common way is by activating the Grand Lift of Dectus. This involves finding two pieces of the Dectus Medallion.
Entering Altus Plateau through the Grand Lift of Dectus is a fairly long and demanding task. You are recommended to only start this after beating the Caelid region east of Limgrave.
Through the Grand Lift of Dectus
Both pieces of the Dectus Medallion are scattered around the region. You need to find each piece separately and bring it back to activate the Grand Lift of Dectus which can be found by following the Bellum Highway north in Liurnia.
Left Medallion
To find the left medallion, you must venture into Fort Faroth in Elden Ring. However, during your visit to the location, you will encounter several enemies. Although fighting them is an option, you can simply avoid them to save you time instead.
You can head straight past the white bats to the ladder that leads you to a chest with the left Medallion.
Right Medallion
The right medallion is found at Fort Haight, which is a place where you’ll come across several Knights that guard the area. Make your way through the Knights and use the ladder to reach the chest that holds the right piece of Medallion.
Once you have acquired both pieces of the medallion, make your way to the Grand Lift of Dectus.
After entering the castle, you will come across a platform with two statues below it. Stand on it to trigger a cut scene where the two pieces join, after which you will be able to access the Altus Plateau region in Elden Ring.
Through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice
Finding both pieces of the medallion is going to take a lot of time. Fortunately, there is another way of getting to the Altus Plateau in Elden Ring without needing to activate the Grand Lift of Dectus. You can also use this method to reach Altus Plateau early in the game.
Make your way to the Ravine-Veiled Village which lies on the northern side of Liurnia Lake. You will find three sets of ladders that lead into a tunnel. There, take the ladder on the left side and climb through the narrow path that leads to an elevator on the right.
The elevator will take you to the Ruin-Strewn Precipice. From here, follow the right edge of the cliff to find a Site of Grace and another elevator that you can use to reach the upper area.
On the right side of the Site of Grace, there is another elevator you can use to head up to the upper area. Head up the first set of stairs onto a platform with several enemies to fight.
Use the second set of stairs and go left towards a ladder which you can use to reach the platform above. Move to the right-most side to find a platform with a ladder on it.
Climb the ladder and reach the walkway above. Circle the walkway and reach the far end side to climb another ladder. Head back to the area and move right onto the platform to find an elevator leading you up to another Site of Grace. You can rest here for a while.
Head right from the Site of Grace to come across a door that leads you to Magma Wyrm Makar. Once you have defeated this boss, rest at the Site of Grace before taking the stairs to reach Altus Plateau in Elden Ring.
Through the secret route (Abductor Virgin method)
Apart from the two methods mentioned above, there is a secret route that leads to the Altus Plateau in Elden Ring. However, for that, you must travel to the lower section of the Raya Lucaria Waterwheel and intentionally get killed by the Abductor Virgin.
You will then spawn at the Volcano Manor where you have to defeat the Abductor Virgins, an optional boss fight in Elden Ring. Following that, you can easily access the Altus Plateau region.
Altus Plateau map fragment location
The map fragment of the Altus Plateau region can be found just north of the Altus Highway Junction Site of Grace in Elden Ring.
After crossing the Grand Lift of Dectus, keep following the road before reaching a junction. Take a left from here and keep going until you spot the stele. Interact with the monolith to get a map fragment to reveal the Altus Plateau topography map.
Take note that the road is going to have a few soldiers and undead for you to either kill or ignore.
