Groveside Cave is one of the first mini-dungeons that you’ll come across in Elden Ring and it’s also a great place for players to get the hand of the game’s tricky combat against a fairly simple boss.
Located in Limgrave and accessible from the getgo, Groveside Cave is home to the Beastman of Farum Azula, who players can take on and beat for Runes and unique loot.
Whether you’re a new Souls player or a returning veteran, this is a great place to start, and here’s everything you need to know about this location in Elden Ring.
How to find the Groveside Cave
Groveside Cave can be found directly north of the Church of Elleh in Limgrave. Enter the cave and you will see a pack of wolves guarding some items.
If you hop down off the ledge to the wolves you can take them out and loot the area or alternatively head past the ledge descending to your left and reach them that way.
Once you’ve got all the loot you’ll want to head further into the cave to the right this time where you’ll see a fog door.
How to beat the Beastman of Farum Azula
Beating the Beastman of Farum Azula is extremely easy, as you’d expect given how early into Elden Ring you can encounter this boss.
The Beastman only has melee attacks so you won’t need to worry about dodging projectiles in this fight. Given this is the case, if you’re a caster then you’ll want to make as much distance between yourself and the boss casting away until they are vanquished. For melee players, there is more to keep in mind.
The best way to take Beastman out with melee is to take advantage of the openings and land jumping heavy attacks. The boss’s attacks are very telegraphed so make sure to roll before impact.
One of the most common combinations he uses has a combination of three hits with a fourth coming after a short delay. Once all four of these attacks have missed, now is your chance to land a shot. You can see this combination coming when he lifts his sword behind his back with one arm.
Another combination that he will use a lot is a three or four sword swipe before jumping in the air and crashing back down with his blade. Simply roll away from this attack and you’ll have another opening to land a shot while his weapon is stuck in the ground.
The third combination to be wary of begins with a six-swipe combination. Like other combinations, when he jumps into the air get ready to roll and land your counter.
One of the last moves you’ll want to watch out for is something he will use at distance, beginning with a thrust attack to close distance and followed by a spinning swipe. You can jump over this attack to avoid taking damage and then land a shot of your own.
While there are a few other combinations you should be able to easily avoid them and land your own shut once there is an opening. It’s good practice in this fight to roll immediately after landing a shot to avoid any damage.
This early Elden Ring fight is all about maintaining a decent distance, timing rolls, and having the patience to only strike when it’s actually safe to do so.
