For a useful early shortlist in Elden Ring, consider the Summonwater Village seal for the Green Turtle Talisman; the Stormveil Castle seal for the Godskin Prayerbook and Godslayer’s Seal if you use the related incantations; and the first Roundtable Hold seal for Crepus’s Black-Key Crossbow if you want a ranged weapon. Fringefolk Hero’s Grave can offer several rewards, but it costs two Stonesword Keys and opens a dungeon challenge. There is no universal best order: weigh the reward against its key cost and the route or challenge it unlocks.
How Imp Statue seals and Stonesword Keys work
Stonesword Keys are consumable items used to open Imp Statue seals. An opened seal may lead to loot, a dungeon, or an optional route. The Roundtable Guides checklist says a seal can require one or two keys and recommends inspecting the statue to see its requirement; many seals already have one key inserted. Roundtable Guides’ Stonesword Key checklist is a community guide, not an official game statistic.
Keys are limited, but that does not mean you must reserve every one for a single “correct” route. Roundtable Guides lists 81 obtainable Stonesword Keys, plus two possible Keepsake keys, compared with 46 keys required to open every seal. Those are the guide’s published item counts, not developer-published totals.
Imp Statue seals worth considering
| Seal | Reward or destination | Who should consider it | Cost or trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summonwater Village | Green Turtle Talisman | Characters that benefit from stamina recovery | The reviewed guides do not state the key cost. PC Gamer and Game8 list the reward. |
| Stormveil Castle | Godskin Prayerbook and Godslayer’s Seal | Characters interested in the associated Godslayer incantations | The reviewed guides do not state the key cost. PC Gamer says the prayerbook can be given to Brother Corhyn to learn the incantations. |
| Roundtable Hold, first seal | Crepus’s Black-Key Crossbow | Players looking for a ranged weapon | The reviewed guides do not state the key cost. PC Gamer describes it as useful for a ranged build. |
| Fringefolk Hero’s Grave | A dungeon with several rewards, including a talisman, a summonable NPC, and a Golden Seed | Players who want those rewards and are willing to tackle the dungeon | Requires two Stonesword Keys, according to the Roundtable Guides checklist; the dungeon challenge is part of the cost. |
| Roundtable Hold, second seal | Assassin’s Prayerbook | Characters for whom the prayerbook’s incantations are useful | The reviewed guides do not state the key cost. |
How to choose what to open first
- Inspect the seal. Check how many Stonesword Keys it requires before committing them.
- Match the reward to your character. A stamina-recovery talisman, ranged weapon, or incantation-related item is most valuable when it supports how you play.
- Account for what lies beyond the seal. A dungeon entrance such as Fringefolk Hero’s Grave asks you to take on more than a quick reward pickup; decide whether its challenge and rewards suit your current progression.
- Keep your options open. You can prioritize the rewards you want instead of following a fixed sequence; the published key counts leave more keys available than the minimum needed for every seal.
Why there is no universal best order
The strongest choice depends on your build, the number of keys you have, and whether you want to enter a dungeon or reach a more direct reward. The guides establish useful reward examples, but they do not provide a complete, current ranking of every seal for every build and progression stage. Treat the shortlist as conditional advice, not a definitive route.
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PC Gamer’s reward guide was published March 10, 2022, while Game8’s page was updated June 18, 2024. The recommendations above reflect the rewards reported by those guides; the available information does not establish a universal return for each key.
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