The Undertaker might look like another cool addition to the roster, but once you actually start playing her, it becomes clear she’s built with a surprisingly layered kit. If you’ve been checking out the latest update and wondering whether she’s worth investing a run into, here’s a full breakdown of how to unlock her, how her abilities work, and how to get the most mileage out of her unique strengths.
Unlocking the Undertaker and the First Surprise Encounter
You can unlock the Undertaker pretty early, and the whole process is straightforward once you know where to go. After defeating Gladius for the first time, head back to the Roundtable Hold and talk to the Iron Menial. From there, move to the small jar merchant’s new spot and step into the room behind him. This triggers an unexpected boss fight that you’re not required to win, leading into your first meeting with both the Undertaker and the Scholar. Simply speaking to them completes the unlock.
If you’re still leveling and gathering resources along the way, this is also a good moment in your playthrough to think ahead about rune farming routes. Some players like to stockpile elden ring runes early so they can experiment with builds as soon as a character like the Undertaker becomes available. Just don’t go overboard; the fun of this character is discovering how flexible she becomes when her kit starts to click.
Hammer Gameplay: Fast Chains, Heavy Breaks, and Smart Positioning
On paper, the Undertaker is “the hammer character.” In practice, she’s way more flexible. Her one‑handed light combo is surprisingly snappy for a hammer user, and the four‑hit chain is the backbone of her early- and mid-game damage. The fourth strike is especially potent because many of her relic lines and passives trigger off landing that final blow in a chain.
Two-handing changes things up with a more vertical, slower moveset that trades speed for punch. I found that one-handing works better when you’re aiming for pressure and stagger buildup, while two-handing shines when you want to slip in one or two big hits during safe windows.
There are also alternative hammer choices worth keeping an eye out for: anything with innate bleed (Spiked Club, Morning Star), anything that leans into Faith scaling (Envoy’s Horn), or something exotic like the Scepter of the All-Knowing if you’re running a team comp that can use its debuffs. Then there’s Marika’s Hammer, which feels almost tailor-made for her stats. If you pick that up during a run, switch immediately.
Stat Scaling and Weapon Options Beyond Hammers
Her A-scaling in Strength and Faith gives you multiple build paths. You can chase incantation buffs, lean into hybrid setups, or completely abandon hammers and go for colossal weapons. She’s surprisingly comfortable with colossal swords because her kit helps her trade effectively even against tanky enemies. Her B-scaling in Vigor also gives her great durability, a trait that matters more than you’d expect once you start using Trance aggressively.
Confluence, Trance, and Ultimate Trance: The Core of Her Kit
Her passive, Confluence, grants free ultimate casts when an ally uses theirs or when certain attacks occur. If you’re running in a group with multiple Undertakers, things get wild fast—every ult triggers another potential free one.
Her Trance skill is where the real gameplay depth shows up. When active, Trance gives:
– faster base movement like sprinting with zero cost
– a dash-style dodge
– increased combo power
– bonus toughness and small damage negation
– and, most importantly, a full stamina refill when timed at the end of a long combo
This combination turns her into a momentum-based fighter. The early loop becomes: full combo, pop Trance, refill stamina, and immediately repeat pressure. It’s fun, energetic, and uniquely aggressive.
The Ultimate Trance takes things further, giving her long-lasting invulnerability dashes that auto-trigger during the animation. It’s one of the strongest defensive tools any nightfarer has, and honestly feels like cheating in some boss fights.
Loathsome Hex: Ultimate Mobility and Aerial Pressure
Her ultimate attack lets you dash toward enemies—even airborne ones—with incredible tracking. It interrupts many targets and reaches ridiculous distances, letting you chain pressure across an arena. Its only drawback is terrain collision, so you’ll need to get used to reading the stage layout.
If you’re the type of player who likes high mobility and fast repositioning, this skill alone pushes the Undertaker into top‑tier territory.
Relic Choices and the Undertaker’s Build Identity
Her relics define the way she scales through a run. The Leather Monle Case is one you get early and boosts physical damage while any self‑applied incantation buff is active. This encourages you to pick up a seal and run something like Golden Vow or Flame, Grant Me Strength. It also benefits from spell duration bonuses built into the relic itself.
Later, the Glass Necklace becomes a standout core relic thanks to its ultimate-related bonuses and successive attack boosts. It’s one of the strongest relics for hammer chain builds or for colossal weapon trades.
If you’re experimenting with speedruns or quick resets, some players also like to use vendors to simplify their build prep. This is where I’ve seen people talk about services like buy elden ring runes u4gm instant delivery, and while I personally prefer the old-fashioned grind, I can understand the appeal. Just make sure you’re doing what feels fun for you. The whole point of the Undertaker is enjoying how her gameplay flows when she’s properly powered up.
Remembrance Storyline: Critical Steps to Avoid Softlocking
The remembrance chain for the Undertaker is longer than usual and easy to mess up if you’re not following the right order. The biggest warning is this: when you defeat Holster, you must drop the Dismembered Finger next to the body before interacting with it. Failing to do this forces another full attempt.
The rest of the sequence—finding the Scholar in the shifting earth event, returning to the garden, activating the new chapel altar—is mostly straightforward, but requires patience and map-checking. Stick to the order and you’ll unlock both her relic rewards and her skins smoothly.
Final Build Notes and Playstyle Tips
Once you’ve played a few runs, you’ll notice she has multiple viable paths:
– chain‑hit hammer builds that reward nonstop pressure
– colossal-weapon setups that lean into Trance trading
– hybrid Faith setups that use self-buffs for huge physical bonuses
– power-stance hammers when you want burst stagger potential
No matter what you choose, her kit rewards confidence and constant motion. She isn’t a slow, heavy bruiser—she’s a pressure specialist with tools that encourage staying in the fight rather than dancing around it.
Summary
The Undertaker is one of the most versatile characters added to the game so far. Her Trance system rewards aggressive play, her relics open up several viable build paths, and her weapon options are surprisingly broad for someone marketed as a hammer specialist. Whether you want fast combos, high stagger, huge trades, or aerial mobility, she can do it—and she’s just plain fun to run.
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