You've been there. You are standing in front of a boss in Elden Ring, your weapon is hitting like a wet noodle, and you realize you’re stuck at +6. It’s frustrating. To get those elite special weapons up to +7 or +8, you need the Somberstone Bell Bearing 3. Honestly, it's one of the most annoying items to track down if you aren't looking in the right corner of the map.
Most players stumble through Caelid or Liurnia thinking they’ll just find it on a corpse. They won't. This specific item is tucked away in a region that feels like a frozen nightmare.
The Somberstone Bell Bearing 3 is the gatekeeper. Once you hand it over to the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold, the game changes. You can finally buy Somber Smithing Stones 5 and 6 infinitely. No more farming weird miners in tunnels. No more praying for a random drop from a giant. Just cold, hard runes for high-level upgrades.
Where the Somberstone Bell Bearing 3 is Actually Hiding
First off, forget the early game areas. You need to get to the Mountaintops of the Giants. If you haven't beaten Morgott in Leyndell yet, you aren't getting this item. Period.
Once you’ve got that Rold Medallion and took the lift up, the world gets white and blurry. You’re looking for the First Church of Marika. It’s located in the southeast portion of the frozen lake. It sounds simple. It isn't. The lake is home to Borealis the Freezing Fog, a dragon that literally obscures your vision with a blizzard.
Don't fight the dragon if you don't have to. Just ride Torrent like your life depends on it.
The Specific Location Details
Look for the church ruins. Outside the front entrance, there’s a lone corpse sitting there. That’s your target. Pick it up, and you’ll have the Somberstone Bell Bearing 3 in your inventory.
It’s almost comedic how such a pivotal item for late-game builds is just sitting on a dead guy in the snow while a dragon screams in the background. Most people miss it because they are too busy trying not to get frostbitten or eaten.
Why This Specific Bell Bearing Matters So Much
Special weapons—the ones you upgrade with Somber stones—usually have unique Ashes of War. Think Rivers of Blood, Moonveil, or the Blasphemous Blade. These aren't just swords; they are the core of your build.
By the time you reach the Mountaintops, the difficulty spikes. Hard. If your weapon is still sitting at +5 or +6 because you were stingy with your resources, the trash mobs will start feeling like bosses. The Somberstone Bell Bearing 3 allows you to bring all your experimental weapons up to a competitive level.
Breaking the Resource Scarcity
Before you get this bearing, you’re probably hoarding stones. You find one Somber Smithing Stone 6 and you treat it like a family heirloom. You’re afraid to use it on the "wrong" weapon.
Once the Twin Maiden Husks have this bearing, that fear vanishes.
- Somber Smithing Stone (5) costs 9,000 Runes.
- Somber Smithing Stone (6) costs 12,000 Runes.
Yeah, it’s expensive. But in the late game, 12,000 runes is basically pocket change from a few kills in Mohgwyn Palace.
The Frustrating Path to the First Church of Marika
Let’s talk about the actual navigation. Getting to the church isn't a straight line. You have to cross the long, narrow stone bridge from the Zamor Ruins. It’s windy. It’s loud.
Once you hit the Freezing Lake Site of Grace, head northeast. If the screen turns white and you hear a roar, Borealis is active. Honestly, just stay to the right side of the lake bank. The church is a massive landmark; you can’t really miss the physical structure, only the item if you’re panicking.
Inside the church, you also find a Sacred Flask upgrade. It’s a two-for-one deal of pure progression.
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Common Mistakes and Misconceptions
A lot of players confuse the different bell bearings. They go to the Ravine-Veiled Village or the Altus Tunnel expecting the Somberstone Bell Bearing 3 because that's where the regular Smithing Stone bearings are.
Somber stones follow a different logic.
Also, some people think they can sequence-break to get this early. You really can’t. Unless you are using glitches to skip the Leyndell seal, the game hard-locks this item behind the mid-to-late game transition. It is a reward for surviving the capital.
Nuance in Weapon Scaling
Is it worth the runes?
If you are a quality build or a mage, the jump from stone 4 to stone 6 is where your scaling usually hits a "soft cap" jump. The base damage increase is significant. For example, a +6 Moonveil vs a +4 Moonveil is the difference between two-shotting an oven knight and getting flattened by one.
The Somberstone Bell Bearing 3 is essentially the game's way of saying "Okay, the tutorial is over. Let's see what you can actually do."
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
Don't just read about it. Go get it.
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- Defeat Morgott, the Omen King in Leyndell to receive the Medallion of Rold.
- Take the Grand Lift of Rold up to the Mountaintops of the Giants.
- Follow the main path past the Zamor Ruins until you hit the massive frozen lake.
- Ride Torrent along the southern edge of the lake to avoid the dragon's breath.
- Enter the First Church of Marika and loot the corpse right outside the door.
- Fast travel back to the Roundtable Hold and offer the bearing to the Twin Maiden Husks.
- Farm the Albinaurics at the Palace Approach Ledge-Road if you need the 21,000 runes required to buy one of each stone.
Having an infinite supply of these stones means you can test the Dark Moon Greatsword or the Sacred Relic Sword without feeling like you're "wasting" materials. It's the ultimate freedom for build-crafting in the final acts of the game.