Stormveil Castle information

Stormveil Castle
Screenshot of the front gate and outer wall of Stormveil Castle.
Created by	FromSoftware
Genre	Fantasy
In-universe information
Type	Castle
Location	Limgrave

Stormveil Castle is a fictional castle depicted in the 2022 action role-playing video game and soulslike Elden Ring developed by FromSoftware. It is the game's first "legacy dungeon", a self-contained dungeon crawl designed to be reminiscent of earlier games in the Dark Souls series. As such, it also functions as a tutorial for the game's mechanics. Located in the Limgrave area of the Lands Between, the continent upon which Elden Ring is set, Stormveil's ruler, Godrick the Grafted, is a demigod who has fallen into disrepute due to his practice of "grafting", a form of biological augmentation using the severed body parts of other beings. The castle is seen covered in organic thorns and pockmarks, signs that it is being consumed from beneath by Godwyn, a former demigod who has become the "Prince of Death" in his undead state. All of its soldiers and guards have long since lost their minds following the shattering of the Elden Ring.

While the castle can be skipped using a hidden route, defeating Godrick is necessary to claim one of the Great Runes, items that bestow power on the player character and are needed to continue the game's storyline. Other notable characters first seen in Stormveil include the boss Margit the Fell, who guards the castle's front gate, Nepheli Loux, a female warrior from the Badlands, Sorcerer Rogier, a traveling magician, and Gatekeeper Gostoc, a scheming and greedy castle servant.

Stormveil has been praised by critics as one of the best-designed areas in Elden Ring and FromSoftware games as a whole, calling it both a highly-effective tutorial and a vehicle for the game's lore. Certain enemies within Stormveil Castle have also been singled out as particularly challenging foes, such as the castle's trademark Warhawks, huge and deadly birds of prey that can toss explosive barrels.