Elden Ring's rich, expansive world of The Lands Between offers plenty of new surprises and challenges for players to stumble upon during their journey. With FromSoftware's main focus being exploration, it's no secret that Elden Ring will have many more options to help the player out when compared to their previous installments.
One of the more significant changes to make its way into Elden Ring are the Stakes of Marika, which act as an optional checkpoint, letting you get right back into action if you so wish. Although, some aspects of the Stakes of Marika may not be apparent or can easily get overlooked.
Note: The information gathered below of the Stakes of Marika are based on Elden Ring's Network Test and can change before launch, though we don't believe they will.
The Basics
Stakes of Marika act as an additional checkpoint system to the primary Sites of Grace found around The Lands Between. However, unlike the Sites of Grace, Stakes of Marika don't offer the slew of choices present in your primary checkpoints.
A Stake of Marika essentially offers a way for you to respawn closer to where you met your unfortunate end, allowing you to get right back into the action. This system will allow you to potentially save your Runes without having to make an impossible run back to them from a Site of Grace.
Furthermore, some Stakes of Marika are immediately before the fog wall containing the boss that just annihilated you. You can choose to spawn at the Stake of Marika to seek instant retribution or head to a Site of Grace to cool off a bit before taking another stab at it.
Stake Of Marika FAQs
If you're wondering to yourself, "This is a FromSoftware game, what's the catch?" there genuinely isn't much of one, at least in the Network Test. While choosing a Stake of Marika as your respawn location does have some minor setbacks, they don't punish you for choosing them over a Site of Grace, which is excellent.
What Can You Do At A Stake Of Marika?
Nothing. Well, except respawn at them. Unlike Sites of Grace, Stakes of Marika are only checkpoints, meaning you will not be allowed to level up, equip new magic or Ashes of War, etc. As mentioned earlier, the benefit of respawning at a Stake of Marika is to be closer to where you just died or get back to a boss quicker.
Can You Fast Travel To A Stake Of Marika?
While Stakes of Marika are checkpoints, they aren't permanent ones and can only be chosen as your respawn point. Additionally, whenever you pass by a new Stake of Marika, the previous one will deactivate, making the new one take its place.
Where Are Stakes Of Marika Found?
Stakes of Marika are typically found inside mini-dungeons and deep within Legacy Dungeons. You will mainly find Stakes or Marika just before a boss room. At worst, the Stake of Marika will be a bit further away from the boss room, but nothing too unbearable. They will always be closer than a Site of Grace, however. You will also run into some Stakes of Marika out in the open world of The Lands Between, saving you from having to backtrack several minutes if you were heavily exploring.
But... What's The Catch?
As mentioned briefly earlier, there isn't any penalty or cost for choosing to revive at a Stake of Marika instead of a Site of Grace. Your Runes won't suddenly vanish, and you won't lose half your HP meter. The only cons present are the Stake of Marika's lack of an option to level up or manage your magic. However, we feel like that's a fair trade, especially when you put everything else into play and consider just how big The Lands Between is.