Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree - How To Get The Gourmet Scorpion Stew (2024)

Move over, boiled crab! Elden Ring has a new consumable that’s as delicious as it is protective. Shadow of the Erdtree has brought us the Gourment Scorpion Stew, a dish so full of flavor you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with those tiny prawns.

But one cannot simply reach into the Land of Shadow and pull out a delectable pot of scorpion meat. To request such a delicacy, you gotta know where to go and who to talk to, and most importantly, what you have to be wearing when you do. Your reward is a robust flavor sensation that protects as much as it delights.

First, Defeat The Divine Beast Dancing Lion

Before you can get the Gourmet Scorpion Stew, you're going to need a few key ingredients. The first of which is the Divine Beast Head , which you obtain by defeating the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, the boss of the Belurat Tower Settlement dungeon.

This is not an easy fight, especially as this is likely going to be one of the first bosses you battle in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. If you're having trouble, don't worry: we've got an entire guide on how to beat this beast.

Find Hornsent Gramdam, Get The Regular Scorpion Stew

Next, you'll need to find the Scorpion Stew's chef. That'd be Hornsent Grandam, a kindly old lady who wants to see Mesmer dead for what he did to her people. She's also old and blind (as evident from the horns sticking out of her eye sockets), and thus easily manipulated into giving away her family recipe.

To get to Hornsent Grandam, first find the Storeroom Key near the Small Private Altar site of grace. The details on where to go can be found in our guide to the Watchful Spirit incantation, but very briefly, you're looking for a room with a ladder beside a waterfall near the top of the settlement.

Here are a few images to get you there.

Once you've got the Storeroom Key, you can take it to open the door to Hornsent Grandam. Again from the Small Private Altar site of grace, head outside, turn left, and cross the bridge guarded by two spirits (who will attack once you get close enough).

Dispatch the spirits, and then open the door on your left at the end of the bridge. Hornsent Grandam is inside sitting on an altar.

However, Grandam won't just talk to any lowly tarnished who wanders in from the cold. You'll need to convince her that you're worthy of speaking to. To do that, put on the Divine Beast Head and then speak to her. She'll be convinced that you're the Divine Beast in the flesh and hand over her son for your protection (in the form of the Watchful Spirit incantation).

Keep talking to her after obtaining the Watchful Spirit Incantation, and she'll turn into a kindly old grandma who just wants to fill the bellies of anyone she meets. This eventually leads to her providing a lesser version of the Gourmet Scorpion Stew that isn't quite as healthful, delicious, or protective.

Like any grandma, Grandam will ensure that you’re always well-fed. If you’ve eaten your Scorpion Stew, return to Grandam and she’ll give you another one, free of charge.

How To Get The Gourmet Scorpion Stew

To get the Gourmet Scorpion Stew, you'll need to have received the regular Scorpion Stew from Grandam at least once and then killed Mesmer. Return to Grandam after killing Mesmer, and she'll rejoice in your victory by giving you the Gourmet Scorpion Stew.

To summarize, here are the steps you'll need to follow to obtain the Gourmet Scorpion Stew:

• Defeat the Divine Beast Dancing Lion
• Find the Storeroom Key
• Talk to Hornsent Grandam while wearing the Divine Beast Head, obtain Scorpion Stew
• Defeat Mesmer
• Talk to Hornsent Grandam again to receive the Gourmet Scorpion Stew

Analysis: Boiled Crab Or Gourmet Scorpion Stew?

So, what should you eat before heading into battle? Both boiled shellfish dishes and the scorpion stews are considered body buffs, so their effects don’t stack. Eating one will override the effects of the previous dish, so you’ll have to choose what you eat.

In general, the Boiled Prawn /Boiled Crabworks better for characters with lower healthor when enemies deal more damage (such as on higher NG+ difficulties). Up-front damage negation is more important when you have little health to spare and fights don’t last long enough for your health to regenerate.

Once you have a large health pool (at around 60 Vigor or so), the Gourmet Scorpion Stew becomes more appealing. The damage negation isn’t as pronounced, but the health you regenerate between hits is like a free Flask of Crimson Tears use.

That said, both boiled crab and prawn cost runes, and you only get a limited number of Gourmet Scorpion Stews. Before killing Mesmer, you have an effectively unlimited supply of free Scorpion Stew, so you might as well eat it if you didn’t plan to eat anything else.