Elden Ring has many mysteries, some of which are still waiting to be uncovered. One of the more interesting aspects of the game, and one that is often overlooked, are the Great Runes. These nuggets of power can make or break builds and are all incredibly powerful once activated.

Early on, Great Runes are activated at a tower very near to where the boss guarding them is found. However, in the case of later bosses, like Praetor Rykard, The Lord Of Blasphemy, and Devourer Of Gods, his Rune is not activated anywhere near Mt. Gelmir. First, you must take a journey through the Sealed Tunnel in order to activate Rykard's Great Rune.

Updated October 2, 2023, by Sean Murray: Looking for how to activate Rykard's Great Rune? We got you covered with this refreshed guide that now has improved formatting and more links to other helpful Elden Ring topics.

How To Activate Rykard’s Great Rune

Once you have defeated Rykard, in order to activate Rykard’s Great Rune, you need to take it to the Altus Plateau and make your way toward the Divine Tower of West Altus.

This Divine Tower is well hidden, however, and it's tricky even to see it from a distance. In fact, there’s a secret hidden behind a dungeon that contains several illusory walls, and even a boss.

How To Find The Divine Tower Of West Altus

In order to get to the Divine Tower of West Altus, you will need to make your way to the Sealed Tunnel.

You can find the Sealed Tunnel by traveling to Outer Wall Phantom Tree and going down to the lake below the walls of Leyndell.

The Sealed Tunnel is tucked away in the southeast corner of the lake, and it's a straightforward dungeon to fight through. That being said, the dungeon does have some illusory walls, but they are all fairly obvious and shouldn’t cause too much trouble.

The Onyx Lord

The boss of the Sealed Tunnel is the Onyx Lord, who, at this point in the game, will be a wet wipe.

If you’ve explored Elden Ring even a little, you should have bumped into one of these guys at some point. They aren’t too difficult since they don’t have too much health, and since you are nearing late-game power, he’ll fold like a house of cards.

The Onyx Lord uses area-of-effect spells and wide swings to attack. Keep your distance and strike just as he finishes thrusting his sword into the ground.

Once the Onyx Lord is dead, head out the back entrance to the cave, and you’ll come across the Divine Tower. Open the door, ride the elevator, and activate the Rune.

What Does Rykard’s Great Rune Do

Activating Rykard’s Great Rune was an ordeal, but your reward is very much worth the effort. Unlike most of the other Great Runes that directly increase your stats, Rykard’s Great Rune heals you for every enemy killed.

The healing effect from the Great Rune stacks with other forms of life-steal.

The amount isn’t insignificant either, as each enemy will restore a whopping 80 HP plus seven percent of your maximum health pool. This amount has been adjusted and is no longer a flat value as it once was.

However, remember this effect activates only upon killing an enemy, not by dealing damage.

As such, you'll want to avoid using this Great Rune for boss fights, as it will provide no benefit unless there are smaller minions to kill during the fight.

Which Items To Pair With It

Rykard's Great Rune functions best when paired with items that also grant you some sort of life-steal effect, allowing you to regain tons of HP as you slash through enemies.

1. The Blasphemous Blade is a fantastic Boss Weapon gained from Rykard that also heals you when enemies die.
2. The Taker’s Cameo Talisman gives 30 HP plus three percent of your max HP upon defeating enemies.
3. The Greathorn Hammer will grant you another three percent HP per kill.
4. The Serpent God's Curved Sword heals 25 HP plus another 2.5 percent per kill. Can also be used in the off-hand to gain this effect.

These items should round out your build with Rykard's Great Rune and ensure you're an unstoppable killing machine as you tear through the mid and end-game.

Next: Elden Ring: Complete Guide And Walkthrough