How to get to the Academy in Elden Ring

As you progress in Elden Ring, which mainly means getting past Stormveil Castle, you will find more and more content to explore. Perhaps one of the most interesting pieces of this exploration is the Academy of Raya Lucaria. This is a somewhat hidden location that you can’t find by blowing straight through the main story. For those that choose to wander off the beaten path, and try to explore the Academy, you’ll be duly compensated in Elden Ring.

The Academy of Raya Lucaria is an institute of sorcery. The inhabitants here are all of the magical variety, using spells to attack instead of melee weapons — like you’ve seen for the most part until this part of the game. You’ll also face some challenging bosses, gather some useful loot and encounter interesting platforming objectives.

Of course, none of that can be accomplished if you don’t get to the Academy first.

Getting to the Academy in Elden Ring

In order to make your way to the Academy, you will need to be in Liurnia of the Lakes. This is the region due north of Stormveil Castle. If you follow the main road into the northwest region, toward a foggy lake, you can pick up the map of North Liurnia.

If you keep heading northwest, you’ll run into a location with drowned buildings. Continue to follow the road it lays out and you’ll eventually reach a military encampment, which guards the bridge to the Academy. Defeat all of the enemies there and head up to the bridge with the giant, blue protective shield.

Before you get to the shield, pick up the item that’s on the dead body. This will be a map of a meeting place, to which you need to find the coordinates. Luckily, the map has an outline of where you need to go. You’re basically looking for the first island directly west of the Academy’s island.

On the island, there will be a dragon called the Glintstone Dragon Smarag. Fighting it is optional, as all you need is to loot the dead body behind it. This will give you the Glintstone Academy Key, which you can use to open the protective shield to the grounds.

Now, just fast travel back to the bridge’s Site of Grace, use the key on the barrier and you’ll be inside of the Academy. We recommend going straight into the building and not through the smaller blue barrier that’s found within the grounds. This leads you out to a new location. If you head inside the building, you’ll begin the Academy questline.