Something I always found interesting is according to the game map, the lake of rot is below the lake of Raya Lucaria. There are theories that that’s why the city is sinking into the water, if only there was a way to load the above ground and below ground areas to see how close they are to each other 🤔
One can also argue that Romina and her church sits above the lake as well when overlaying the Land of Shadow map with The Lands Between. It's quite possible that the Church of the Bud and the Grand Cloister found here were at one time part of the same complex; we know that Marika's sealing of the Land of Shadow resulted in a series of violent earthquakes. I think the presence of glintstone is a result of Astel falling to earth much later in the timeline.
@@Silveni we also know Rauh's territorial expansion throughout the early days of TLB could've had influence on the Ancestral Followers. From pulling W's with their world design yet again
@@Silvenigrand cloister has the same architecture of the ancient ruins found in the underground rivers where ancestoral followers hang around. The architecture in the grand cloister look far more ancient than the church where we fight Romina. Romina’s arena looks like it was built by the hornsent who built belurat.
@@Silveni I have seen 100 orientations of the two maps and only like 4 have been plausible, absolutely none of them were even on the west side of the map and also could not be logically for like 10 different reasons.
That crystal growth on the roof is cool because it is directly below Raya Lucaria. FS could have not added that and nobody would have noticed but they did just because detail. It also is interesting because glintstone ordinarily falls from the sky unless I am mistaken? So they must have built Raya Lucaria on top of what was the hugest deposit of glintstone for miles around. The worldbuilding is just amazing, they really know how to do it well
@@residentwievle4 And you are absolutely correct. The fungal wastes are an area in the indie game "Hollow Knight". Its pretty much a forest that has been overcome with infection, acids, and fungi. Not too dissimilar to what the rot has done to caelid in-game, honestly.
Lake of Rot is one of my favorite areas, it just also feels underdeveloped, and makes me wonder if there were bigger plans for it. The cut content of the rotten Ancestral Followers makes me think so.
Oh my God I was wondering the same thing, because the area with the chest with the shit loot in it at the I believe east corner, was definitely meant to be a elevator up to the raised pool area, it was a 1000% an abandoned area
felt like there should've been more ... and it is sad we lost the St Trina - lost caravan stuff too; there was some good lore content they decided to diverge from!
1:24 - In the 1.0 version of *_Elden Ring_* the Lake of Rot is populated by rot-inflicted Ancestral Followers. It's one of a number of significant differences from the release version, and he's the only remaining hold over. Really cool choice for an area to check out that I'd wondered about, especially since it seems like they might've planned to have that be an alternative entryway like Deeproot Depths has with the Three Fingers' passageway, but never finished it, and thus left it closed off but had a large map area dedicated to it.
That's very interesting, I might actually try and get downpatched versions of the game to compare some assets changes that happened on certain areas, there might be more subtle changes like these that flew under my radar.
@@Kami.Sensei 1.0 is _super_ interesting if you can get access to it. The only version I know of that's playable is from the on-disc version for PS5, so not sure how access to stuff for 1.0 works for PC. I played through it mainly for collecting items to look at which lore descriptions are complete but totally different, which ones are the same, & which ones are a rough first pass translation. Since I work in software development (not as a dev) it makes it a lot easier to get a sense of how the design & development shifted over time, so that I can know which sorts of intentional changes or purposeful omissions have weight when looking at lore and whatnot, and know which ones are likely just roadmap or other planning or QA slips, etc. As always, I extra appreciate your looks into these neat unreachable spots!
@@Kami.Sensei if I had to guess from the dead trees and ruins, there did not used to be a lake of rot here, and when it flooded the area somehow, all the followers died except the one with the immunity charm.
It would make sense considering what we (theoretically) know about Rauh and their expansion throughout TLB. The Followers are always seen around the Elden John archeology, so it would make sense for them to be here. Especially considering the sealed God of Rot having a scorpion stinger, and Romina having centipedal aspects, it makes me wonder (yet again) who/what the scorpion once was.
Now that I take a closer look at it, the background pools of Rot remind me a lot of the Danakil Depression, a very specific part of the Ethiopian desert which features extremely acidic brine pools of similar shape. It's a fascinatingly unique region on Earth, so I wouldn't be surprised if a creative spirit like Miyazaki took inspiration from it, especially considering the deadly nature of the Scarlet Rot.
This area, especially with that dam and pools, looks like farming area or water gardens of First Dynasty. This place could be once green and source of food for entire civilization, until water got stagnant and goddess of rot got sealed here.
Also reminds me of some of the hot springs at Yellowstone, many of them have shelves with colorful yet very hot and toxic waters host to a variety of extremophiles that thrive in it
@@westhunder_0 You know you couldn't say no either way. I couldn't either. We just gotta use the "Flame, Cleanse Me!" incantation afterwards and we're good I think.
I am absolutely certain the scorpion enemies from DLC were meant to be at this locale but Fromsoft had no time to finish them, and that original vision for Lake of Rot was much more ambitious than the finished product.
You can tell they had a lot more planned out for the LoR since they made a massive area cleared out between the two raised steps (i think thats what they're called)
Lol i actually spent a non-trivial amount of time trying to access that area in game when it first released because my naivety allowed me to think FromSoft wouldn't place that large of a chekov's gun on the map if we weren't intended to access it or at least use that space in some capacity. What about the massive "mapped" areas surrounding the mountaintops of giants that-as far as i can tell-is only there to artificially make that area appear bigger than it really is. I'd assume the mountains don't actually stretch outwards nearly as far as the map would indicate.
I spent an abnormal amount of time in the Abyssal Woods thinking there had to be more to it than a few Winter Lanterns and couple of rats (spoiler alert, there's not).
The lonely ancestral follower was oddly left in, in the 1.00 version there were a unique version of the ancestral followers that look like they had been afflicted with scarlet rot, but in all versions after they’ve been replaced by the kindred of rot
It's weird because I remember playing when the game came out and swore all the kindred in the area now used to be ancestral followers, but I might be misrembering. Same with a random follower in the pool carrying the charm
@@fluffygab no you're right, the 1.0 version had rotten ancestral followers, they were removed in the day 1 patch and replaced with the kindred of rot. Zullie the Witch has a video about the subject.
I'd suggest that the area was populated by ancestral followers before the rot god was sealed there. The architecture of the ruins and the grand cloister are an exact match for the ruins they populate in other areas. There is only one survivor, because he was wearing the rot resistance horn charm, which he drops upon defeat.
As others have said, Lake of rot feels like another unfinished zone they just didn't have time for. Espially with that area behind the glintstone pillar. Thanks for another look around, I always wondered how far under lake of rot Astel was, I wasn't expecting him to be at the same elevation as Lake of rot though. If possible, could you go back to Midra's manse? I would love to how the inner floor plan lines up with the outer manse architecture. Is it actually one to one, or is the inner manse geometry actually smaller/a different layout than the abyssal woods version would suggest?
On the contrary, I'd be more inclined to think it was unfinished if there was more back there. The fact that they only put in what we can see from the lake below tells me it was never intended for the player to go up there. Generally, when an unfinished area gets cut, enough assets are left behind to suggest it was meant to be a playable area. DS1 has a lot of these, for example.
I'm guessing it's an extension of the ideas of stagnation we see with sekiro. The water in the lake is still and stagnant, and as such is a host for rot, whereas the waterfall is flowing and is clean by the time it lands. We even see this in the story of the outer god of rot, which was defeated by a warrior dressed in blue wielding a flowing sword.
@@evanholt1752 presumably the lake is where its actually sealed until Malenia blooms a third time. My first time there I was positive we were going to fight the rot god.
Very interesting to see the whole place without fog. It certainly is a lot smaller than I thought. Also, great use of Fungal Wastes for the background music.
Ohh...that void behind the pools is almost arena-shaped, isn't it? I wonder what they considered putting back there. Thank you for not attacking the creatures whilst they're set to 'chill', too.
I feel like there was supposed to be an outer god of rot boss fight in the empty area at the east side, but was scrapped due to time. Then they took that concept and turned it into Romina
It doesn't have to be abandoned for time, maybe we're meant to understand that perhaps there WAS something there, but for world building reasons it's now gone.
I wonder if Rot is just a part of the putrefaction. Reminds me of some alchemy stuff I heard once. I think it was like Rubido, Albido, Negro, and Cinitras. Or red, white, black, and gold. I wonder if those giant stone ships in DLC are like ancient precursors to the Jar Shaman. Oh furthermore. Butterflies! They mean rebirth and of course centipedes mean Death. Romina is certainly an interesting thing to observe. She's the embodiment of the balance.
I would love to see the early view of the lake of rot that you can access from the Ainsel River Well in Liurnia, but with the scarlet fog removed! Finding that balcony after fighting my way through an army of gigantic ants and a basilisk swarm was a really fun early memory of Elden Ring for me!
Yooooo this is the one I really wanted to see! Thank you for making this!!!! 👏👏👏 Also was NOT expecting astel's arena to just be chilling in the wall like that, now I'll never not be able to think about it when I come down here lol
There used to be more ancestral followers in the lake of rot, specifically in the area with the kindred of rot pests and that rot dagger, But were cut and we got what we got now Source: Zullie the witch (i think)
They also were special rotten variants which are found nowhere in the game now. From could have at least made the lone one rotten instead of just regular Ancestral Follower.
Great video, love the Gwyndolin appreciation. I always was curious about the rocky slopes up above so it's nice to see what it looks like. Also the giant waterfall is amusing since it's a façade to travel down. Cutscenes are the real means of transportation
Thanks for showing us all the details of some inaccessible areas. As a request, can you explore where the hole at the Hinderlands entrance leads to? I was wondering if it leads to the wood bridge area before the church at the base of the Scadutree. Thanks so much in advance!!
Great video! I always wonder what is behind the ashes in Leyndel after the tree burning. Also, Leyndell itself is a very large area with locked gates. I wonder what is behind them.
i always like how Fromsoft build setpieces you can't reach, like that plateau in the DLC, so when you're higher up in the Ruin of Ruah you can still see the top of it.
I always thought that Rot was the reason Liurnia was sinking. Raya Lucaria looks like substantial chunks are missing, and the surrounding town is no more. The Liurnian war could've left everything in ruin, sure, but we see untouched buildings in the bog. And, judging by the map, the Academy itself stands right on the stone pillar and that huge glintstone deposit. Looks like the academy will eventually sink too. Maybe the Rot is the reason Rennala is broken, mages are hostile and juveniles are reduced with each rebirth? Maybe the Rot even whispered sweat musings to Azur and Lusat? Did any of them even know the danger they were in? Also, as a sidenote, the hind wall of the Lake of Rot makes me think they planned something a little more dramatic for the Dragonkin we find westward. It always seemed a little out of place, maybe they wanted to create a dedicated arena, like with the Nokstella one. Rot seems like a significant deity, shame they didn't expand on it further.
I was actually going to make a video about this place, but never did. I'm glad someone took the time to make this! Great job! You should also check out the area in Deeproot Depths right behind Godwyns arena, there are some interesting things back there as well!
not to be cheeky or anything but i think in a Zullie vid she pointed out that the lone ancestral follower was supposed to be a rotted ancestral ofllower but for some reason was made into a normal one. and the bug people at the end of the lake of rot were supposed to be rotted ancestral followers too.
One time while messing with noclip there it seemed to be just floating in the void, I was planning to check the Map ID of it in Map studio for a future video but got busy with DLC content. I might make a video about that.
When I arrived in this area about a year and a half ago, I was outraged to see this region on the map but not be able to reach it at all. I spent an hour trying to figure out how to get to it. I don't understand why fromsoftware left this area on the map if it is inaccessible. I believe there are no other areas in the game that appear so clearly on the map but are inaccessible. Maybe they planned something for this area, gave up at the last minute and ended up leaving part of it built, but appearing entirely on the map.
One of my favorite areas in the game because it’s so weird and so so ancient, an even more ancient city than some of the rest, so far beneath the planet
Given the God of Rot's "Divine Essence" is apparently sealed under this lake, i could easily see this clearly carved out but unmodeled part of the lake being set aside early for more Rot God related stuff. Probably got cut for time or for leaving things vague or something.
At least that question is answered, kept thinking I had to go back there and figure out what all those pools were about... though I did miss that pickup by the dam. Damn.
These crystals are cosmic, and deities come from outer space, this lake is the place where the god of rot is imprisoned. It turns out that the god of rot fell into the lake of Raya Lucaria, the magicians imprisoned him there, or he was stuck there on his own, and built their academy over the place of his fall, i.e. deposits of magic crystals.
It is trivial. Mushroom Armor Set, Immunizing Horn Charm, Flame Cleanse Me, Beast-Repelling Torch (keeps basilisks docile), and Blessed Dew Talisman to recover the minor HP damage from Flame Cleanse Me.
Hours of collecting items? It not like you have to farm for any of those. They're all just laying around. But fine, you can all rot in your damn swamp. I hate this community.
there's a mini boss on top of the area that lifts from below the rot. if you pause at 2:28 on the video, off to the right there is another obelisk shape sticking out of the rot lake- there's another pressure plate at it's base, you can ride that up and find the foe!
That circular void in the back of the layered pools area makes me think the Putrescent Knight could have originally been planned to be in the lake of rot pools or something. It definitely feels like a boss room area to me.
Interesting design choice in having Astel’s arena render relatively close to the coffin teleporter. They could’ve added a hallway and just let us walk there tbh. But I suppose this was more ambient and atmospheric.
I was in this area just last night lol i still remember my first blind playthrough not knowing about Flame Cleanse Me and encountering the Ulcerated Tree Spirit below the grace
This reminds me of what they did with the Abyssal Woods, where there’s a large swath of map behind Midra’s Manse that’s just empty space. It’s less noticeable here in the base game because of the sheer scale of the combined over and underworld areas, but more apparent in the DLC, especially compared to the size of the dungeon it’s directly behind.
@@Cannon6969 Raya Lucaria was just built over the glintstone cluster, the question is why is that there? In the dlc we stop miquella right out of the gate, and we know in the lore that someone trapped the rot god. We know from the primal glintstone that they can hold souls. It sure looks like something stepped out of the divine gate, was trapped in glintstone, and the rot continues to emanate from it.
I always found it funny about this lake of rot, how when you reach the ulcerated tree spirit at the bottom, you can just chill under the whole waterfall without being rotted xD like "this is fine!"
I always find my self wishing to see you on the map when you warp in areas that are not accesible. e.g. when you were on the terraces I wished you opened the map once so that I could see the player circle and compare it with the map you showed us originally. other than that, very nice work!
The Lake of Rot isn't just a poison swamp. Look around, at the architecture and structures. It's all very similar to Uhl Palace Ruins, especially the massive statues of the bearded man holding a tablet. These ruins are also present above-ground in Liurnia, where a lot of Ancestral Followers are present. I can't exactly say that the white stone architecture in the Nokron area is the same as the rest of Uhl's, but it seems similar. Regardless, the Followers have a connection to the Uhl dynasty, hence the lone Follower in the Lake of Rot.
Given how much detail was included in the map, I do think it's very plausible that they were gonna let you explore those pools as well, but probably didn't have enough time to finish it. Lake of Rot already feels relatively barren as is so
Considering how almost everywhere can be accessed by the player in this game, I like to think they were originally gonna put stuff on those cliffs but then just left it out of bounds because they figured no-one would want to go up there.
In an earlier version of the game the temple with Rot Kin was full of ancestral followers. It’s possible this guy was left over when that was changed or an intentional nod to the older concept.
.. this video just made me wish we could summon Torrent in the Lake of Rot. I despise the gameplay of the Lake of Rot but god is it a cool area. I'm definitely with the opinion/theory that the rot pools to the east were supposed to be an area we could go to, but got cut due to development constraints.
Maybe that void area that isnt rendered between the pools of VERY red Rot is where the god of rot was supposed to be Sealed. Its runoff is welling up from those spots and flowing into those pools, filling the lake of Rot. It makes sense conce those pools are a lot brighter
It's very likely that the unaccessible spot shown on the map is where the corpse or body of the fell god of rot is located it, which was sealed away by Malenia's mentor, who was a blind swordsman, hence why Malenia is so good at fighting even without eyesight, and yet Malenia was mysteriously born with the scarlet rot, so Radagon probably got infected with it, but dispelled it by giving birth to Malenia with Marika, and Miquella was there to probably ease Malenia's pain and suffering in exchange for being protected by Malenia, while still being deceptively strong, with Blinding Strengh, even though he was forever cursed to stay in a prepubescent body. These are all my theories, so take it with a grain of sodium chloride.
Interesting perspective...I guess only possible on PC, there should be a Tarnished Excommunicated for connsole players who cannot enjoy such forays other than vicariously....but a pleasant and enlightening tour of rot....of forvan incantation to dispeĺl fog/rain...darkness we have
I know they never would but I was expecting some sort of horrific rotted eldritch beast to be hidden somewhere behind the rot pools, something creepy and weird like that seems on brand
That ancestral follower is probably just a leftover, since there exists a rotted variant of them, so they were placed here at one point but removed for reasons
Probably already been mentioned but there are more ancestral followers in Ver1.0 down near the coffin, there replaced by the rot followers after updating.
Something I always found interesting is according to the game map, the lake of rot is below the lake of Raya Lucaria. There are theories that that’s why the city is sinking into the water, if only there was a way to load the above ground and below ground areas to see how close they are to each other 🤔
If you go to the lake of rot overlook in Ainsel, you can see a giant pillar of crystal right under where Raya Lucaria is
One can also argue that Romina and her church sits above the lake as well when overlaying the Land of Shadow map with The Lands Between. It's quite possible that the Church of the Bud and the Grand Cloister found here were at one time part of the same complex; we know that Marika's sealing of the Land of Shadow resulted in a series of violent earthquakes.
I think the presence of glintstone is a result of Astel falling to earth much later in the timeline.
@@Silveni we also know Rauh's territorial expansion throughout the early days of TLB could've had influence on the Ancestral Followers. From pulling W's with their world design yet again
@@Silvenigrand cloister has the same architecture of the ancient ruins found in the underground rivers where ancestoral followers hang around. The architecture in the grand cloister look far more ancient than the church where we fight Romina. Romina’s arena looks like it was built by the hornsent who built belurat.
@@Silveni I have seen 100 orientations of the two maps and only like 4 have been plausible, absolutely none of them were even on the west side of the map and also could not be logically for like 10 different reasons.
That crystal growth on the roof is cool because it is directly below Raya Lucaria. FS could have not added that and nobody would have noticed but they did just because detail. It also is interesting because glintstone ordinarily falls from the sky unless I am mistaken? So they must have built Raya Lucaria on top of what was the hugest deposit of glintstone for miles around. The worldbuilding is just amazing, they really know how to do it well
there's a glintstone mine right bellow Raya Lucaria, that's why
@@LorenzoLame80085several glintstone mines, some in Caelid too, probably why Sellia was founded there
One of the many reasons why I love Miyazaki games
The world design is the main reason these games are so great. Bosses and all the other things are secondary.
thats also probably why Liurnia is slowly sinking into the lake
Fungal Wastes' music fits perfectly in this area👌
I gotta give credit to the composer, this track definitely sounds like the ‘mushroom area’.
@@residentwievle4 And you are absolutely correct. The fungal wastes are an area in the indie game "Hollow Knight". Its pretty much a forest that has been overcome with infection, acids, and fungi. Not too dissimilar to what the rot has done to caelid in-game, honestly.
@@bananajoe8412 I’ve done a few play throughs of hollow knight, it instantly became one of my favorite games ever.
Came to the comments to say the same thing.
Lake of Rot is one of my favorite areas, it just also feels underdeveloped, and makes me wonder if there were bigger plans for it. The cut content of the rotten Ancestral Followers makes me think so.
Oh my God I was wondering the same thing, because the area with the chest with the shit loot in it at the I believe east corner, was definitely meant to be a elevator up to the raised pool area, it was a 1000% an abandoned area
Lost Izalith all over again
@@silberneseele67Not even close to that half baked
felt like there should've been more ...
and it is sad we lost the St Trina - lost caravan stuff too; there was some good lore content they decided to diverge from!
Lake of Izalith
1:24 - In the 1.0 version of *_Elden Ring_* the Lake of Rot is populated by rot-inflicted Ancestral Followers. It's one of a number of significant differences from the release version, and he's the only remaining hold over.
Really cool choice for an area to check out that I'd wondered about, especially since it seems like they might've planned to have that be an alternative entryway like Deeproot Depths has with the Three Fingers' passageway, but never finished it, and thus left it closed off but had a large map area dedicated to it.
That's very interesting, I might actually try and get downpatched versions of the game to compare some assets changes that happened on certain areas, there might be more subtle changes like these that flew under my radar.
@@Kami.Sensei 1.0 is _super_ interesting if you can get access to it. The only version I know of that's playable is from the on-disc version for PS5, so not sure how access to stuff for 1.0 works for PC.
I played through it mainly for collecting items to look at which lore descriptions are complete but totally different, which ones are the same, & which ones are a rough first pass translation. Since I work in software development (not as a dev) it makes it a lot easier to get a sense of how the design & development shifted over time, so that I can know which sorts of intentional changes or purposeful omissions have weight when looking at lore and whatnot, and know which ones are likely just roadmap or other planning or QA slips, etc.
As always, I extra appreciate your looks into these neat unreachable spots!
@@Kami.Sensei if I had to guess from the dead trees and ruins, there did not used to be a lake of rot here, and when it flooded the area somehow, all the followers died except the one with the immunity charm.
It would make sense considering what we (theoretically) know about Rauh and their expansion throughout TLB. The Followers are always seen around the Elden John archeology, so it would make sense for them to be here.
Especially considering the sealed God of Rot having a scorpion stinger, and Romina having centipedal aspects, it makes me wonder (yet again) who/what the scorpion once was.
@@Kami.Sensei furthermore, the boss was an ancestor spirit
Now that I take a closer look at it, the background pools of Rot remind me a lot of the Danakil Depression, a very specific part of the Ethiopian desert which features extremely acidic brine pools of similar shape. It's a fascinatingly unique region on Earth, so I wouldn't be surprised if a creative spirit like Miyazaki took inspiration from it, especially considering the deadly nature of the Scarlet Rot.
This area, especially with that dam and pools, looks like farming area or water gardens of First Dynasty. This place could be once green and source of food for entire civilization, until water got stagnant and goddess of rot got sealed here.
Also reminds me of some of the hot springs at Yellowstone, many of them have shelves with colorful yet very hot and toxic waters host to a variety of extremophiles that thrive in it
I’d say it’s more likely Lake Natron. The lake is red and dangerous that petrify animals
Looks like Cappadocia in Turkey, too
@@Sonarchgood gravy. Yeah I’d say you’re right.
The rot terraces suggest hot springs, so maybe there would have been a bubbling source of rot once planned up there.
Q
How... relaxing...
You climb up there and find Malenia taking a bath.
I wish
Yes please give me that rotussy.
I'll fckin marry her and have kids before having to fight her anyday
@@sandboy5880relatable but still 💀
@@westhunder_0
You know you couldn't say no either way.
I couldn't either.
We just gotta use the "Flame, Cleanse Me!" incantation afterwards and we're good I think.
I am absolutely certain the scorpion enemies from DLC were meant to be at this locale but Fromsoft had no time to finish them, and that original vision for Lake of Rot was much more ambitious than the finished product.
Wish they had more time to do more with the base game and the dlc. We could’ve gotten so much stuff.
Agreed😊
You can tell they had a lot more planned out for the LoR since they made a massive area cleared out between the two raised steps (i think thats what they're called)
People say this but that extra development time would've just gone to giving every human npc unique feet models that can only be accessed with cheats
@@tylerlackey1175 The hideo kojima touch
Lol i actually spent a non-trivial amount of time trying to access that area in game when it first released because my naivety allowed me to think FromSoft wouldn't place that large of a chekov's gun on the map if we weren't intended to access it or at least use that space in some capacity. What about the massive "mapped" areas surrounding the mountaintops of giants that-as far as i can tell-is only there to artificially make that area appear bigger than it really is. I'd assume the mountains don't actually stretch outwards nearly as far as the map would indicate.
I spent an abnormal amount of time in the Abyssal Woods thinking there had to be more to it than a few Winter Lanterns and couple of rats (spoiler alert, there's not).
The lonely ancestral follower was oddly left in, in the 1.00 version there were a unique version of the ancestral followers that look like they had been afflicted with scarlet rot, but in all versions after they’ve been replaced by the kindred of rot
It's weird because I remember playing when the game came out and swore all the kindred in the area now used to be ancestral followers, but I might be misrembering. Same with a random follower in the pool carrying the charm
@@fluffygab no you're right, the 1.0 version had rotten ancestral followers, they were removed in the day 1 patch and replaced with the kindred of rot. Zullie the Witch has a video about the subject.
That left over ancestral followers still holds a talisman
I'd suggest that the area was populated by ancestral followers before the rot god was sealed there. The architecture of the ruins and the grand cloister are an exact match for the ruins they populate in other areas. There is only one survivor, because he was wearing the rot resistance horn charm, which he drops upon defeat.
This is like the one and only question I've had about ER since release, so happy someone is trying to answer it.
As others have said, Lake of rot feels like another unfinished zone they just didn't have time for. Espially with that area behind the glintstone pillar. Thanks for another look around, I always wondered how far under lake of rot Astel was, I wasn't expecting him to be at the same elevation as Lake of rot though.
If possible, could you go back to Midra's manse? I would love to how the inner floor plan lines up with the outer manse architecture. Is it actually one to one, or is the inner manse geometry actually smaller/a different layout than the abyssal woods version would suggest?
On the contrary, I'd be more inclined to think it was unfinished if there was more back there. The fact that they only put in what we can see from the lake below tells me it was never intended for the player to go up there. Generally, when an unfinished area gets cut, enough assets are left behind to suggest it was meant to be a playable area. DS1 has a lot of these, for example.
Always wondered how UNDER the waterfall that runs off from the lake of rot is a pristine, flawless underground pool of normal water.
I'm guessing it's an extension of the ideas of stagnation we see with sekiro. The water in the lake is still and stagnant, and as such is a host for rot, whereas the waterfall is flowing and is clean by the time it lands. We even see this in the story of the outer god of rot, which was defeated by a warrior dressed in blue wielding a flowing sword.
@@evanholt1752 presumably the lake is where its actually sealed until Malenia blooms a third time. My first time there I was positive we were going to fight the rot god.
Very interesting to see the whole place without fog. It certainly is a lot smaller than I thought. Also, great use of Fungal Wastes for the background music.
Ohh...that void behind the pools is almost arena-shaped, isn't it? I wonder what they considered putting back there. Thank you for not attacking the creatures whilst they're set to 'chill', too.
I always wanted more to do in the lake of rot. It’s so lore dense and unique and it sucks that it’s over in 30 mins.
I feel like there was supposed to be an outer god of rot boss fight in the empty area at the east side, but was scrapped due to time. Then they took that concept and turned it into Romina
It doesn't have to be abandoned for time, maybe we're meant to understand that perhaps there WAS something there, but for world building reasons it's now gone.
I wonder if Rot is just a part of the putrefaction. Reminds me of some alchemy stuff I heard once. I think it was like Rubido, Albido, Negro, and Cinitras. Or red, white, black, and gold. I wonder if those giant stone ships in DLC are like ancient precursors to the Jar Shaman.
Oh furthermore. Butterflies! They mean rebirth and of course centipedes mean Death. Romina is certainly an interesting thing to observe. She's the embodiment of the balance.
Never noticed her being both and how thet represents the scarlet rot. Nice catch bro!
I would love to see the early view of the lake of rot that you can access from the Ainsel River Well in Liurnia, but with the scarlet fog removed! Finding that balcony after fighting my way through an army of gigantic ants and a basilisk swarm was a really fun early memory of Elden Ring for me!
Yooooo this is the one I really wanted to see! Thank you for making this!!!! 👏👏👏
Also was NOT expecting astel's arena to just be chilling in the wall like that, now I'll never not be able to think about it when I come down here lol
The transition at 0:28 was cool
There used to be more ancestral followers in the lake of rot, specifically in the area with the kindred of rot pests and that rot dagger, But were cut and we got what we got now
Source: Zullie the witch (i think)
They also were special rotten variants which are found nowhere in the game now. From could have at least made the lone one rotten instead of just regular Ancestral Follower.
Great video, love the Gwyndolin appreciation. I always was curious about the rocky slopes up above so it's nice to see what it looks like. Also the giant waterfall is amusing since it's a façade to travel down. Cutscenes are the real means of transportation
Thanks for showing us all the details of some inaccessible areas.
As a request, can you explore where the hole at the Hinderlands entrance leads to? I was wondering if it leads to the wood bridge area before the church at the base of the Scadutree.
Thanks so much in advance!!
Great video! I always wonder what is behind the ashes in Leyndel after the tree burning. Also, Leyndell itself is a very large area with locked gates. I wonder what is behind them.
AND if it could be connected to Shadow Keep anyhow. I wonder if any parts of Leyndell fit to any part of Shadow Keep.
@@eloryansuavo I think the Nameless Eternal City fits quite well.
Been wanting to know more about this area, and finally got to see it! Thanks a lot!
i always like how Fromsoft build setpieces you can't reach, like that plateau in the DLC, so when you're higher up in the Ruin of Ruah you can still see the top of it.
That’s crazy! I just looked at the map wondering this exact same thing!
I always thought that Rot was the reason Liurnia was sinking. Raya Lucaria looks like substantial chunks are missing, and the surrounding town is no more. The Liurnian war could've left everything in ruin, sure, but we see untouched buildings in the bog. And, judging by the map, the Academy itself stands right on the stone pillar and that huge glintstone deposit. Looks like the academy will eventually sink too. Maybe the Rot is the reason Rennala is broken, mages are hostile and juveniles are reduced with each rebirth? Maybe the Rot even whispered sweat musings to Azur and Lusat? Did any of them even know the danger they were in?
Also, as a sidenote, the hind wall of the Lake of Rot makes me think they planned something a little more dramatic for the Dragonkin we find westward. It always seemed a little out of place, maybe they wanted to create a dedicated arena, like with the Nokstella one. Rot seems like a significant deity, shame they didn't expand on it further.
Taking a peek around Leyndell and the base of the Erdtree would be cool!
Is that… the Fungal Wastes ost from Hollow knight I hear?
*Truly Perfection*
Wasn’t expecting Hollow Knight music for an Elden Ring video, but I love it! Two of my fav games :D
That is what bothered me since day 1. Thank you!
I was actually going to make a video about this place, but never did. I'm glad someone took the time to make this! Great job! You should also check out the area in Deeproot Depths right behind Godwyns arena, there are some interesting things back there as well!
lake of rot feels like lost izalith. both undeveloped
In this case let's be glad there's not more.
@@Ahrpigiwell you could at least wish those place to be developed more fun instead of being a shit show as it is now
The random enemy walking alone in the rot water actually drops an item that gives better immunity... The fact that he's just chilling is a hint!
not to be cheeky or anything but i think in a Zullie vid she pointed out that the lone ancestral follower was supposed to be a rotted ancestral ofllower but for some reason was made into a normal one. and the bug people at the end of the lake of rot were supposed to be rotted ancestral followers too.
I remember checking here for someone on Reddit. Sad I couldn't land anywhere
The background music is soothing bro!!
3:13 man I thought those were mushrooms
I always wondered where in the game world they physically store the round table hold. Where are we teleporting? High in the sky? Below the ocean?
Into the Erdtree.
One time while messing with noclip there it seemed to be just floating in the void, I was planning to check the Map ID of it in Map studio for a future video but got busy with DLC content. I might make a video about that.
@@Kami.Senseiplease do!
so this has got to be where "rotten crystal" for the various weapons comes from.
When I arrived in this area about a year and a half ago, I was outraged to see this region on the map but not be able to reach it at all. I spent an hour trying to figure out how to get to it. I don't understand why fromsoftware left this area on the map if it is inaccessible. I believe there are no other areas in the game that appear so clearly on the map but are inaccessible. Maybe they planned something for this area, gave up at the last minute and ended up leaving part of it built, but appearing entirely on the map.
Looking it that place defogged, it really looks better idk why, maybe because i can actually see it, but the cave makes the fog make sense
I really hope someone decides to rework those terraced rot pools into an accessible area for a mod someday.
Nicely done. I think a lot of us were wondering what we may have missed down there. Mostly due to that fog.
One of my favorite areas in the game because it’s so weird and so so ancient, an even more ancient city than some of the rest, so far beneath the planet
Until you have to walk through it with only 5 flasks and a dragonkin soldier chasing behind you.
Given the God of Rot's "Divine Essence" is apparently sealed under this lake, i could easily see this clearly carved out but unmodeled part of the lake being set aside early for more Rot God related stuff. Probably got cut for time or for leaving things vague or something.
In the thumbnail the outline looks like Ontario and I was like yah the lake of rot looks like the sort of place you'd find ontario
At least that question is answered, kept thinking I had to go back there and figure out what all those pools were about... though I did miss that pickup by the dam. Damn.
Great video, you earned a new suscriber
It would’ve been so cool if there was a quest line to flood the lake of rot with running water from the damn
These crystals are cosmic, and deities come from outer space, this lake is the place where the god of rot is imprisoned. It turns out that the god of rot fell into the lake of Raya Lucaria, the magicians imprisoned him there, or he was stuck there on his own, and built their academy over the place of his fall, i.e. deposits of magic crystals.
The fact that there's a mushroom crown out there is a good way for the game to call you a dickhead for being there
Very fun yet informative video 👍
Also isn't this where markiplier is filming tht movie??
This area would be so trivial if you could actually use Torrent 😢
It wouldn't be a Miyazaki game if he made skipping the poison swamps that easy 😆
It is trivial. Mushroom Armor Set, Immunizing Horn Charm, Flame Cleanse Me, Beast-Repelling Torch (keeps basilisks docile), and Blessed Dew Talisman to recover the minor HP damage from Flame Cleanse Me.
@@jonathanprince707 hours of gathering items but trivial lol
@@Actual_Gabe shh let the boy feel proud about himself. He'll grow.
Hours of collecting items? It not like you have to farm for any of those. They're all just laying around.
But fine, you can all rot in your damn swamp.
I hate this community.
This is going to be the entrance to the next DLC! I’m putting my money on it 😎
there's a mini boss on top of the area that lifts from below the rot.
if you pause at 2:28 on the video, off to the right there is another obelisk shape sticking out of the rot lake- there's another pressure plate at it's base, you can ride that up and find the foe!
the fog removal was neat you didn’t have to edit it in a cool way but you did those kind of details are awesome 🥹
That circular void in the back of the layered pools area makes me think the Putrescent Knight could have originally been planned to be in the lake of rot pools or something. It definitely feels like a boss room area to me.
Interesting design choice in having Astel’s arena render relatively close to the coffin teleporter.
They could’ve added a hallway and just let us walk there tbh. But I suppose this was more ambient and atmospheric.
I was in this area just last night lol i still remember my first blind playthrough not knowing about Flame Cleanse Me and encountering the Ulcerated Tree Spirit below the grace
One of the coolest quests and areas in the game
"Thank you Kami" We all say in unison
Hello our new Zullie the witch. Nice to see videos like this.
This reminds me of what they did with the Abyssal Woods, where there’s a large swath of map behind Midra’s Manse that’s just empty space. It’s less noticeable here in the base game because of the sheer scale of the combined over and underworld areas, but more apparent in the DLC, especially compared to the size of the dungeon it’s directly behind.
3:38...that pool is the exact shape of the state I live in, Virginia. Kind of fitting that it sits in the Lake of Rot.
3:34 maybe a stretch, but this looks like the divine gate
That’s a huge stretch. That’s just the area under Raya Lucaria, and from this angle it’s supposed to not be viewed.
@@Cannon6969 Raya Lucaria was just built over the glintstone cluster, the question is why is that there? In the dlc we stop miquella right out of the gate, and we know in the lore that someone trapped the rot god. We know from the primal glintstone that they can hold souls. It sure looks like something stepped out of the divine gate, was trapped in glintstone, and the rot continues to emanate from it.
I always found it funny about this lake of rot, how when you reach the ulcerated tree spirit at the bottom, you can just chill under the whole waterfall without being rotted xD like "this is fine!"
Lake of rot and the Grand Cloister is terrifying, to think there's an outer god just underneath us sealed away 😮
I always find my self wishing to see you on the map when you warp in areas that are not accesible.
e.g. when you were on the terraces I wished you opened the map once so that I could see the player circle and compare it with the map you showed us originally.
other than that, very nice work!
For the first time, I noticed what appears to be a city skyline in the stars behind Astel. Likely remnants of the Eternal City that Astel destroyed.
The Lake of Rot isn't just a poison swamp. Look around, at the architecture and structures. It's all very similar to Uhl Palace Ruins, especially the massive statues of the bearded man holding a tablet. These ruins are also present above-ground in Liurnia, where a lot of Ancestral Followers are present. I can't exactly say that the white stone architecture in the Nokron area is the same as the rest of Uhl's, but it seems similar. Regardless, the Followers have a connection to the Uhl dynasty, hence the lone Follower in the Lake of Rot.
My guess is it's future DLC for the Land of Reeds, and this is where all the blood of that land accumulates to rot
"Ever wondered what those pools on the northwest side looked like?"
"I've got some pools on the east side to show you."
Carian Study Hall has always had me curious with its shenanigans.
Given how much detail was included in the map, I do think it's very plausible that they were gonna let you explore those pools as well, but probably didn't have enough time to finish it. Lake of Rot already feels relatively barren as is so
Considering how almost everywhere can be accessed by the player in this game, I like to think they were originally gonna put stuff on those cliffs but then just left it out of bounds because they figured no-one would want to go up there.
In an earlier version of the game the temple with Rot Kin was full of ancestral followers. It’s possible this guy was left over when that was changed or an intentional nod to the older concept.
.. this video just made me wish we could summon Torrent in the Lake of Rot.
I despise the gameplay of the Lake of Rot but god is it a cool area. I'm definitely with the opinion/theory that the rot pools to the east were supposed to be an area we could go to, but got cut due to development constraints.
Perfect music choice
Really cool cid! Can you clear the view from stormhill over the central sea/lake? Always wanted to see the view from there
Why does the fungal wastes ost from hollow knight fit so well in this😂
Perfect music choice my dude
Maybe that void area that isnt rendered between the pools of VERY red Rot is where the god of rot was supposed to be Sealed. Its runoff is welling up from those spots and flowing into those pools, filling the lake of Rot. It makes sense conce those pools are a lot brighter
It's very likely that the unaccessible spot shown on the map is where the corpse or body of the fell god of rot is located it, which was sealed away by Malenia's mentor, who was a blind swordsman, hence why Malenia is so good at fighting even without eyesight, and yet Malenia was mysteriously born with the scarlet rot, so Radagon probably got infected with it, but dispelled it by giving birth to Malenia with Marika, and Miquella was there to probably ease Malenia's pain and suffering in exchange for being protected by Malenia, while still being deceptively strong, with Blinding Strengh, even though he was forever cursed to stay in a prepubescent body.
These are all my theories, so take it with a grain of sodium chloride.
Can you check out the random pieces of land that spawn next to the haligtree? Please ive been wondering for so long what they are like!!!
Interesting perspective...I guess only possible on PC, there should be a Tarnished Excommunicated for connsole players who cannot enjoy such forays other than vicariously....but a pleasant and enlightening tour of rot....of forvan incantation to dispeĺl fog/rain...darkness we have
I know they never would but I was expecting some sort of horrific rotted eldritch beast to be hidden somewhere behind the rot pools, something creepy and weird like that seems on brand
On a somewhat related note, my brain convinced itself that The lake of Rot or rot liquid in general is Tomato soup
Thank you for hear my suggestion! :)
Seeing you ride torrent in the lake of rot got me punching the air
That ancestral follower is probably just a leftover, since there exists a rotted variant of them, so they were placed here at one point but removed for reasons
Its crazy that deathblight basilisks are immune to rot. Big lore implications
Thank you for wonderful insight!
Hi, my name is Gwyndolin, and today I'll be your guide to the Lands Between.
Probably already been mentioned but there are more ancestral followers in Ver1.0 down near the coffin, there replaced by the rot followers after updating.
Without the fog, I'm reminded of the Hell level in THUG 2. Not sure why, lacks the statues or buildings, but bells have been rung.