Unlocking the map in Elden Ring is one of the first steps in a massive adventure. When the game starts, players have no way to navigate, and the map screen shows a dark void punctuated by Sites of Grace. However, as players gather more and more map fragments, they’ll reveal the massive world and the numerous places it contains to explore.
How do you unlock the map in Elden Ring with map fragments?
Players unlock the map in Elden Ring by finding map fragments. Each of these unlocks a chunk of the overall map and shows each region’s major roads and landmarks. The first is relatively easy to find, but getting it will be one of the first challenges of the game. Northeast of the Church of Elleh, players will find Gatefront. A contingent of Godrick’s Soldiers guards this area, and a map fragment is in their midst.
Each map is marked by a unique roadside tablet which makes it fairly easy to spot them at a distance. They’re also the only thing that gets marked on the map in regions that you haven’t got the fragment for. When players get close enough to a map tablet, it’ll be marked as a little icon. So, players in a region they haven’t grabbed the map for can check the world map and see if they can spot the icon.
One thing to note is that a few maps aren’t found near tablets. The Ainsel and Siofra Rivers are located underground, and players will find these maps as regularly placed items, sans tablet. There may be further maps that are placed like this as well, but we’re still exploring.
So, finding the map for a region is something players should do as soon as possible. It’s an incredibly useful resource and helps tremendously in navigation, especially when looking for Smithing Stones and Glovewort.
