Upgrade materials suck. Honestly, nothing kills the vibe of finding a legendary new weapon in Elden Ring faster than realizing you have exactly zero upgrade materials to make it viable. You’re standing there in the Shadow of the Erdtree or deep in the Leyndell sewers with a +0 Bloodhound’s Fang because you used all your resources on a whim three hours ago. It’s annoying. This is exactly why the somber smithing stone bell bearing isn't just a "nice to have" item; it is the fundamental backbone of any build that doesn't want to spend forty hours farming blue-skinned miners in a damp tunnel.
The system is simple, but missing even one can feel like a massive wall. You find a bearing, you take it to the Twin Maiden Husks in Roundtable Hold, and suddenly, you can just buy the stones. No more praying to the RNG gods. No more scouring the floor of every cave in Caelid. You just trade runes for power.
But getting them? That’s where things get messy. They aren't just lying on the side of the road in Limgrave. You’ve got to navigate some of the most frustrating platforming and boss fights FromSoftware has ever designed.
The Reality of Somber Smithing Stone Bell Bearing Locations
Getting your hands on the first few is actually pretty chill. You can basically stumble into them. But as you get higher up the chain—specifically looking for those rank 4 and 5 bearings—the game starts asking for blood.
The Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing [1] is your entry point. It's tucked away in the Sellia Crystal Tunnels. If you’ve played this game for more than five minutes, you probably know the "trap chest" in Dragon-Burnt Ruins that teleports you straight to this hellhole. If you’re low level, it’s a nightmare. But if you kill the Fallingstar Beast at the end, you unlock the ability to buy Somber 1 and 2 stones. It’s the first step to making your special weapons actually hurt things.
Then there’s the jump in difficulty.
By the time you’re hunting for the Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing [2], you’re heading to the Altus Plateau. You need to find the Altus Tunnel. It’s not a complex dungeon, but the twin Crystalian bosses at the end can be a genuine pain if you don’t have a striking weapon. Pro tip: stop using your katana on them. Grab a hammer, break their poise, and then the bearing is yours. This one unlocks Somber 3 and 4. Basically, the mid-game essentials.
Why Scaling Matters More Than You Think
A lot of players think they can just "skill" their way through the late game with a +4 weapon. You can't. The math just doesn't work. The difference between a +6 and a +9 special weapon is massive because of how scaling works. When you use a somber smithing stone bell bearing to bridge that gap, you’re not just increasing base damage. You’re increasing the letter grade of your attribute scaling. If your weapon goes from B to A in Strength, that's where the real damage lives.
Chasing the Late Game Bearings
This is where most people get stuck. The third bearing—the one that lets you buy Somber 5 and 6—is located in the First Church of Marika. It’s in the Mountaintops of the Giants. Just sitting there on a corpse outside. Easy, right? Well, getting to the Mountaintops requires beating Morgott, which is the first major "skill check" of the game’s second half.
The Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing [4] is even more of a trek. You have to reach Crumbling Farum Azula. This isn't a place you just "visit." You have to commit to the endgame. Once you’re there, near the Tempest-Facing Balcony, you’ll find it on a corpse. It unlocks Somber 7 and 8.
At this point, you’re essentially a god. Or at least, you should be.
- Reach the Dragon Temple Rooftop.
- Navigate the hawks and the lightning.
- Find the final Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing [5].
This last one is the big one. It allows the purchase of Somber Smithing Stone 9. It’s located in a small chapel-like area near the end of Farum Azula. Once you have this, the only thing standing between you and a maxed-out weapon is a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. And those? Those are limited. You can’t buy those, no matter how many bearings you find.
The Misconception About "Unlimited" Upgrades
People often hear "bell bearing" and think they can just max out every weapon in the game. That’s a trap. While you can buy infinite 1 through 9 stones, the final +10 upgrade material is a finite resource per playthrough. There are only a handful in the base game and a few more in the DLC.
Choose your +10 weapons wisely. Don't waste an Ancient Dragon stone on a weapon you only "sorta" like just because you have the lower-tier stones available in the shop.
Managing Your Runes
Buying these stones isn't cheap. Buying a full set of stones to take a weapon from +0 to +9 costs a significant amount of runes.
- Somber 1 & 2: 2,000 / 3,000 runes
- Somber 3 & 4: 4,000 / 6,000 runes
- Somber 5 & 6: 9,000 / 12,000 runes
- Somber 7, 8, & 9: 16,000 / 20,000 / 25,000 runes
If you’re doing the math, that’s nearly 100,000 runes just to get one weapon to +9. If you’re trying to experiment with different builds—maybe moving from a Moonveil setup to a Rivers of Blood or a Blasphemous Blade—you’re going to need a reliable rune farm. Most people head to the Mohgwyn Palace approach ledge for this. It’s the fastest way to fund your upgrade addiction.
Dealing with the Twin Maiden Husks
The Twin Maiden Husks are your best friends. They are also terrifying. When you hand over a somber smithing stone bell bearing, the change is permanent for that "journey" or playthrough.
👉 See also: Final Fantasy 14 Tomestones: How to Actually Spend Your Time (and Currency) Without Burning Out
One thing that changed in a patch a while back: Bell Bearings now carry over to New Game Plus. This was a massive quality-of-life update. In the early days of Elden Ring, you had to find all of them again every single time you started a new journey. Now? If you find them once, you keep the shop access forever. It makes starting NG+ feel way less like a chore and more like a victory lap.
The DLC Factor
With the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, the demand for these stones skyrocketed. The DLC introduces dozens of new "special" weapons that require Somber stones. If you go into the Land of Shadow without having found the main game bearings, you’re going to have a bad time. You'll find plenty of high-level stones in the DLC world, but being able to just buy them at the Hold allows you to test new weapons the second you pick them up.
Imagine finding the Spear of the Impaler and having to go back to a mine in Limgrave to farm stones. Nobody wants that.
A Note on Common Glitches and Missing Items
Sometimes, players report that they've turned in a bearing but the stones aren't showing up. Usually, this is just a navigation error in the shop menu. The stones are grouped. If you don't see them under the general "Purchase" tab, check the specific "Bell Bearing" sub-menus.
Also, if you kill an NPC who happens to be a merchant (like Iji the blacksmith), they drop a bell bearing. This isn't a somber smithing stone bell bearing in the traditional sense, but it allows you to buy their specific stock from the Twin Maidens. Iji, specifically, sells Somber 1-4. If you’re too lazy to go to the tunnels, you could kill him, but honestly, why would you do that to the big guy? Just go to the tunnels.
How to Optimize Your Path
If you want to be efficient, don't hunt these one by one as you need them.
First, hit the Sellia Crystal Tunnel early. You can do this at level 1 if you're fast. Second, once you reach Altus, hit that tunnel immediately. Don't wait. Having the ability to buy up to +4 is the difference between struggling with the Draconic Tree Sentinel and breezing through him.
By the time you hit the Mountaintops, you should have the third bearing. The fourth and fifth are endgame rewards. They are meant to be the "reward" for surviving the final stretch of the game.
Moving Forward With Your Build
Don't hoard your stones. Once you have the bearings, stones are a renewable resource. The only thing that isn't renewable is your time. Use the shop. Experiment with that weird Greatsword you found in a chest. Test the scaling on that one seal you thought looked cool.
The true power of the bell bearing system isn't just about making one weapon strong; it’s about the freedom to change your mind. Elden Ring is a long game. You shouldn't be married to a single weapon for 100 hours just because you're afraid of running out of materials.
Next Steps for Your Playthrough:
- Check your inventory for any "Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing" you haven't turned in yet.
- Head to the Twin Maiden Husks and hand them over.
- If you're missing a specific rank, look at your map. If the Mountaintops or Farum Azula are grayed out, that’s your next destination.
- Go to Mohgwyn Palace, grab some runes, and stock up on at least 10 of each stone rank. It’ll save you the trip later.
- Save your Ancient Dragon Somber Smithing Stones for the final +10 upgrade only after you've tested the weapon at +9.