You're stuck. Maybe you just beat Godrick or you’re finally pushing through the Liurnia of the Lakes, and suddenly your weapon feels like a wet noodle. You’ve got the Smithing Stone 1s coming out of your ears, but the 3s and 4s? Those are ghosting you. It’s one of the biggest bottlenecks in Elden Ring. Honestly, trying to farm individual stones from miners in tunnels is a special kind of hell that nobody should have to endure for more than ten minutes. That’s why Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 2 is arguably the most important mid-game item you’ll hunt down.
Once you hand this over to the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold, the game fundamentally shifts. You stop being a scavenger. You become a customer.
Getting your hands on it isn’t exactly a walk in the park, though. It’s tucked away in a place that many players run right past because the Raya Lucaria Academy is so distracting. But if you want to take your armament to +12 without losing your mind, you need to head to the Sealed Tunnel.
Where to Actually Find the Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 2
Location matters. You aren't going to find this in Limgrave or the Caelid wilds. You need to reach the Altus Plateau.
Most people get there via the Grand Lift of Dectus, assuming they found both halves of the medallion. If you didn't, you probably took the "coward's path" through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice, which—let's be real—is actually way more fun because of the Magma Wyrm fight. Regardless of how you get to the plateau, your destination is the moat surrounding the Capital City, Leyndell. Look for the Sealed Tunnel. It’s tucked into the southern end of the lake/moat area right outside the city walls.
The entrance is a bit of a trick.
It looks like a standard, boring cave. There’s a Site of Grace right at the start. You might think, "Oh, just another mine." But the Sealed Tunnel is full of illusory walls. If you aren't hitting every suspicious-looking dead end, you're going to get frustrated fast. The Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 2 is inside a chest. You don't even have to kill the area boss (an Onyx Lord) to get the bell bearing itself, though you should probably finish the dungeon anyway for the extra loot.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Clash of Clans Archer Queen is Still the Most Important Hero in the Game
Just past the first illusory wall behind the chest in the first room, you’ll find a path leading deeper. The chest containing our prize is tucked away behind some crates and a secret wall early on. Open it, grab the item, and get out of there if you're under-leveled. Or stay and fight the exploding stones. Your call.
The Economy of Upgrades: What This Bell Actually Unlocks
What does it do? It lets you buy Smithing Stone (3) and Smithing Stone (4).
This is huge.
Up to this point, you've likely been relying on the Iji, the War Counselor, to buy a limited supply of stones, or you’ve been praying for drops. Once the Twin Maiden Husks have this bell, you can buy these stones infinitely.
- Smithing Stone (3): Takes your gear from +6 to +9.
- Smithing Stone (4): Takes your gear from +9 to +12.
Think about the math for a second. To get a single weapon from +6 to +12, you need 12 of each stone. If you're dual-wielding Katana or hammers, double that. 24 of each. If you're trying to experiment with different builds—maybe you want to try a faith-scaling Claymore instead of your Dexterity build—you're looking at dozens and dozens of stones. Buying them for 2,400 and 3,600 runes respectively is a steal compared to the time wasted farming them from those annoying imps or glintstone miners.
Why People Miss This and Get Stuck
The difficulty curve in Elden Ring isn't just about boss health bars. It's about weapon scaling. If you enter Leyndell with a +6 weapon, you are going to have a miserable time. The Knights there have high poise and even higher damage output. You need that +12 power spike just to keep the playing field level.
🔗 Read more: Hogwarts Legacy PS5: Why the Magic Still Holds Up in 2026
The "Sealed Tunnel" name is literal. It’s easy to overlook because it’s on the lower level of the Altus Plateau geography. If you’re just following the golden rays of grace toward the city gates, you’ll stay on the high ridges and never even see the entrance to the tunnel down in the water.
Also, the illusory walls. FromSoftware loves them. This dungeon is basically "Illusory Wall: The Game." If you aren't playing online and seeing the "Liar ahead" or "Hidden path ahead" messages from other players, you might just walk into the first room, see a dead end, and leave. Don't do that. Hit the walls. Roll into them. Do whatever you have to do.
Strategic Runebanking for Your Upgrades
Once you have the Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 2, your next problem is money. Runes.
By the time you reach Altus, you should have access to the Mohgwyn Palace approach (the famous bird-shooting or Albinauric-farming spot) via White Mask Varre’s questline. If you haven't done that, do it. It’s the fastest way to fund your gear upgrades. Spending 50,000 runes to fully upgrade a new weapon to +12 feels like a lot until you realize you can earn that in three minutes of farming.
Having the ability to buy stones changes how you play. It encourages experimentation. Most players stick to one weapon because they're afraid of "wasting" stones. With the bell bearing, that fear vanishes. Want to see if the Bloodhound's Fang is actually better than your current curved sword? Buy the stones. Try it out.
Common Misconceptions About Bell Bearings
A lot of players think if they go into New Game Plus (NG+), they lose their bell bearings. That used to be true. It sucked. You’d have to go find the Sealed Tunnel all over again in your second playthrough.
💡 You might also like: Little Big Planet Still Feels Like a Fever Dream 18 Years Later
Thankfully, FromSoftware patched this.
Now, bell bearing unlocks for smithing stones carry over. If you find Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 2 now, the Twin Maidens will still have those stones in stock when you start your next journey. This makes it a "one and done" hunt. You find it once, and you’re set for the rest of your Elden Ring career on that character.
Another thing: this bell bearing only covers "regular" stones. If you’re using a Special Weapon (the ones that use Somber Smithing Stones), this item does nothing for you. You need the Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing 2 for that, which is located in the Altus Tunnel—a completely different dungeon nearby. Don't get them confused. Regular stones are for standard weapons that you can swap Ashes of War on. Somber stones are for those unique, flashy boss weapons.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
Stop banging your head against the wall with a low-level weapon. Follow these steps to fix your damage output immediately.
- Fast travel to the Outer Wall Phantom Tree Site of Grace in Altus Plateau.
- Ride south down into the moat area. Avoid the giant gargoyle if you aren't feeling spicy.
- Locate the Sealed Tunnel at the very end of the watery ravine.
- Attack the first wall in the room with the Site of Grace to reveal the path.
- Look for the chest behind some breakable objects in the first major cavern area—this contains the Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 2.
- Teleport to Roundtable Hold and offer the bell to the Twin Maiden Husks.
- Farm the Albinaurics or the bird in Mohgwyn Palace for about 10 minutes to stock up on runes.
- Buy 12 of each stone (3 and 4) to instantly boost any standard weapon to +12.
This is the point in the game where your "build" actually starts to become a build. Before +12, you're just a person with a sword. After +12, the scaling from your Strength, Dexterity, or Magic stats actually starts to matter. Go get the bell, buy the stones, and stop worrying about resource scarcity. The Lands Between are hard enough without you handicapping your own damage.