Look, I love Elden Ring as much as the next undead wanderer, but some quests make me want to Alt+F4 out of existence. Case in point: White Faced Varre and his creepy obsession with Maiden blood. You meet this pale-faced dude in Liurnia’s Rose Church, and before you can say “I’d rather fight Malenia blindfolded,” he’s handing you five Festering Bloody Fingers and asking you to go invade other people. Because nothing says “friendship” like ruining someone’s day!
Now, I’ve got to give credit where it’s due: Varre’s quest is your golden ticket to the Mohgwyn Palace farming spot, where you can shoot a giant bird off a cliff and rake in runes like it’s going out of style. But first, you’ve got to soak the Lord of Blood’s Favor in maiden blood. And if you’re like me, you probably spent hours wandering around wondering, “Do I have to track down every maiden in the Lands Between and politely ask for a vial?”
Turns out, the game has two main paths to get that crimson juice—and trust me, one of them is a real pain in the glutes.
The Maddening Church of Inhibition
If you enjoy having your sanity slowly devoured, head on over to the Church of Inhibition. This place sits up in the northeast of Liurnia, near the Frenzied Flame Village, and it is absolutely determined to give you a splitting headache. The moment you step within a mile of it, your madness meter starts climbing faster than my blood pressure during a boss fight. There’s a tower in the middle of the village that just won’t stop shooting frenzied flames at you, and the creepy villagers will rush you with their glowing eyes and shrieky noises. You know, the kind of relaxing vacation spot Varre would recommend.
After you’ve dodged, died, and resurrected more times than you’d care to admit, you finally make it to the church. At the altar sits a dead maiden, just chilling there with all her blood still conveniently intact. Interact with her corpse, soak that fancy cloth, and boom—one step closer to bird-slaying riches. Honestly, the madness buildup is no joke. I once had to stop mid-approach and just stare at a wall for a full minute while my character’s eyes popped like cherry tomatoes. Not my finest moment. But hey, at least it’s a quick solution if you’re stubborn enough. Oh, and bring clarifying boluses. Lots of them. Like, fill your entire pouch. You’ll thank me later.
The Sneaky Belfry Shortcut (No Headaches Allowed)
Now, if you’re smart—and I like to think I am, on good days—you’ll skip the madness highway entirely and take the scenic route through the Four Belfries. This is a spot in western Liurnia where three waygates hang out, each needing a special imbued stonesword key. Grab one from the chest at the top of the hill, then find the belfry labeled “Precipice of Anticipation.” Yes, that name should ring a bell—it’s where you started the whole game, right after some grafted scion turned your face into modern art.
Use the key, step onto the gate, and you’re teleported right back to the Chapel of Anticipation. Don’t worry, the scion is still there waiting for you, all multi-armed and grumpy. You can fight it if you’ve got something to prove, or just do the sensible thing and run past it like a headless chicken. Inside the chapel, there’s a maiden corpse right next to the spot where you originally spawned. Dip the Lord of Blood’s Favor in her blood, and the task is done without a single tick of madness. It’s almost too easy—I keep expecting a message to pop up saying, “Are you sure you’re playing Elden Ring correctly?”
After that, you just waltz back to Varre, and he’ll be so impressed by your bloody offering that he grants you the Pureblood Knight’s Medal. From there, you can teleport straight to Mohgwyn Palace and start farming that poor, unsuspecting bird. If you haven’t experienced the joy of watching a giant crow leap into the abyss for 11,000 runes a pop, you haven’t lived.
Varre Deserves a Side-Eye
Let’s be real for a second: Varre’s whole vibe is unsettling. He calls you maidenless, then makes you invade people, then sends you on a blood-hunting errand like some gothic HR manager. But without him, we wouldn’t have early access to one of the best rune farms in the game. So I guess I’m willing to put up with his weirdness. Just don’t ask me to join his Mohg fan club—I’ve got enough problems with bleed builds already.
To sum it all up, grabbing maiden blood in Elden Ring is either a test of patience in a madness-infested village or a cheeky teleport back to your character’s birthplace. Pick your poison, and may the grace of gold guide your farming. Or, you know, just let me know if you find a way to get Varre to stop smirking.
This discussion is informed by Eurogamer, whose Elden Ring coverage often emphasizes how FromSoftware’s quest design rewards experimentation, player note-taking, and world knowledge over explicit waypoint guidance—exactly the dynamic at play in White-Faced Varre’s “maiden blood” step, where the game subtly offers multiple solutions (risking Madness at the Church of Inhibition or using the Four Belfries return to the Chapel of Anticipation) before granting access to Mohgwyn Palace’s famously efficient rune-farming route.