You’re riding through East Liurnia, following the road that hugs the cliffs, when you see it. A massive, lonely tower jutting out over the fog. That’s the Carian Study Hall. If you’ve played Elden Ring for more than ten minutes, you know that FromSoftware loves a good "magic library" level, but this place is a bit of a nightmare.
Honestly, the first time you walk in, it feels like a trap. It is.
This Carian Study Hall walkthrough isn't just about showing you where the loot is; it's about helping you keep your sanity while a teleporting NPC spams Great Oracular Bubbles and Magic Downpour at your face. Most players stumble in here way too early, get bullied by Preceptor Miriam, and leave frustrated. But there’s a trick to this place. Actually, there are two versions of it, and you can’t even see the "real" ending of the zone until you’ve progressed Ranni’s questline.
Getting Inside and the Miriam Problem
Before you even worry about the layout, check the pedestal at the entrance. You’ll see a prompt to "Examine pedestal." If you don't have the Carian Inverted Statue, you’re only seeing half the story. You get that statue from Ranni the Witch after giving her the Fingerslayer Blade from Nokron. But for now, let's assume you're just here to explore the "normal" version.
The moment you step onto the lift and head up, the music swells. It’s beautiful, scholarly, and immediately interrupted by a glintstone arrow to the chest.
Preceptor Miriam is the boss here, though she doesn't have a big health bar at the bottom of the screen. She’s an NPC invader-style enemy who teleports away every time you get her health down by about 25%. It's annoying. Truly. She uses the Loretta’s Greatbow spell, which can one-shot lower-vigor builds.
Surviving the First Floor
The ground floor is basically a circle. You’ve got ghostly scholars appearing out of thin air. They don't have much HP, but they can stagger you right as Miriam is lining up a shot.
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- Tip: Don't chase Miriam immediately. Clear the scholars first.
- Hide behind the bookshelves. They are your only friends.
- If you’re a melee build, you need to sprint. Close the gap, get one or two hits in, and watch her vanish in a puff of blue smoke.
Once she teleports, follow her up the stairs. She’ll move to the second-floor balcony. This is where things get dicey because the geometry is tighter. You’re fighting on narrow walkways while she rains down Magic Downpour. If you have a decent shield with high Magic Damage Negation (like the Carian Knight's Shield), use it.
The Secret of the Inverted Statue
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. You can spend hours clearing the rafters of the normal Study Hall, but you’ll eventually hit a dead end. You’ll see an elevator shaft you can't reach and a floor that looks like a ceiling.
That’s because the Carian Study Hall is a literal puzzle.
Once you have the Carian Inverted Statue from Ranni, you come back to that pedestal at the entrance. Place the statue. A cutscene triggers, the world groans, and the entire building flips upside down. Suddenly, you’re walking on the ceiling, and the "bottom" of the tower is now the "top."
Navigating the Inverted Tower
This is the most important part of any Carian Study Hall walkthrough because the platforming here is lethal. One wrong roll and you’re falling into the sky.
When you enter the inverted version, you’ll be on a ledge looking down into a massive void. Those chandeliers you saw earlier? Those are now your platforms.
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- Drop down carefully. Use the narrow ledges on the left side to descend toward the center.
- Miriam is back. Yes, she’s here again, even in the inverted version. She’s even more of a pain here because she has more space to kite you.
- The elevator trick. You need to reach the large circular platform in the center. This is actually the bottom of the elevator from the "normal" version.
Watch out for the Fingercreepers. The tiny spiders are fast, and the big ones will try to flick you off the edge. If you have Fire Grease or any fire spells, use them. Hands hate fire. It’s a classic FromSoft weakness that makes this section 100% easier.
Reaching the Divine Tower of Liurnia
The entire point of flipping this building upside down isn't just to satisfy a developer’s love for Inception. It’s the only way to reach the Divine Tower of Liurnia.
Once you navigate the rafters and the inverted elevators, you’ll find yourself at a large door that leads outside to a massive bridge. But wait. There’s a Godskin Noble on that bridge.
He’s not a boss, technically, but he’s tough. He’s fat, he’s fast, and he will do that annoying rolling attack that lasts way too long.
- Strategy: You can actually run past him if you’re fast enough, but he drops the Godskin Noble Set, which is great for high-resistance builds.
- The Reward: Inside the Divine Tower, you’ll find the Cursemark of Death.
This item is non-negotiable if you want to see Fia’s ending (The Age of the Duskborn) or finish Ranni’s questline. You’ll also find the Stargazer Heirloom, which boosts Intelligence by +5. For mages, that’s a massive get for this stage of the game.
Why Most Players Fail Here
The biggest mistake is trying to "fair fight" Preceptor Miriam. You can't. She’s designed to be a pest. If you’re struggling, use poison arrows or Scarlet Rot. You can tag her, hide behind a pillar, and watch her health tick down while she aimlessly fires arrows at the wood. It feels cheesy. It is cheesy. But in Elden Ring, cheese is often the intended flavor.
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Another thing: the rafters. In the inverted version, the collision detection on the wooden beams can be slippery. Don't jump unless you have to. Walking is safer. Also, keep your camera pointed down. The perspective shift in the inverted hall messes with your depth perception, making it easy to walk right off a ledge because you thought the floor was closer than it was.
Loot You Shouldn't Miss
Aside from the Cursemark, there are a few things tucked away:
- Cerulean Seed Talisman: Found in the normal version, up in the rafters. It increases FP restoration from your flasks.
- Carian Glintstone Staff: Found on a corpse near the second-floor elevator in the normal version. It’s one of the best staffs for sword-sorcery builds (like Carian Slicer).
Essential Checklist for the Study Hall
Don't leave until you've checked these boxes. It's a long trek back if you forget something.
- Beat Miriam in the normal version for the Magic Downpour spell.
- Beat Miriam in the inverted version for the Lucidity spell.
- Grab the Golden Rune [7] on the ledge near the inverted entrance.
- Collect the Cursemark of Death at the top of the Divine Tower.
- Activate the Site of Grace at the tower bridge so you never have to do the platforming again.
The Carian Study Hall is a vertical puzzle that rewards patience over aggression. If you rush, Miriam kills you. If you miss a jump, the gravity kills you. Take it slow, keep your shield up, and remember that the building is literally designed to be confusing.
Actionable Next Steps:
Head back to Ranni at Ranni's Rise in the Three Sisters sub-region. Now that you have the Cursemark of Death from the Divine Tower, you've cleared a major hurdle in her questline. This opens up the path to the Ainsel River Main and eventually the Lake of Rot. If you're looking for more power, ensure you have the Miniature Ranni doll from the coffin near the Ainsel River Main Site of Grace; you'll need to talk to it at a Grace point multiple times to progress.