You won’t have to play Elden Ring for long before you start finding glowing skulls. Unlike the other bones and body parts littering the landscape, these seem different. After all, their eye sockets emanate a sinister light visible across the darkness. What are you supposed to do with these skulls? Do they serve any purpose?
What Are the Glowing Skulls in Elden Ring?
The glowing skulls you’ll find scattered around the world of Elden Ring are called Pass Skulls. Their purpose isn’t for decoration; instead, they exist to give you currency. Breaking open a glowing skull will always reveal a Golden Rune [1], worth 200 Runes.
Glowing skulls are nothing more than an easy way to earn Runes. When you find one, break it open to uncover a Golden Rune. This item can be used from your inventory to grant you 200 Runes, or can be sold at a merchant for 200 Runes. Either way you cut it, each glowing skull is worth 200 Runes.
Don’t be in a rush to sell your Golden Runes, though. Since they’re held in your inventory as items, Golden Runes are not dropped when you die. This allows you to cash them out as needed without fear of losing them the next time you’re killed. This is an especially important distinction early in the game when death comes often. Make sure you only sell or use Golden Runes right before you spend them.
If you see a glowing skull in Elden Ring, crush it. Smash it with your weapon or stomp it with your spectral horse. Picking up the Golden Runes each skull drops will gradually help you buy new items and level up. It’s not an especially big boost, but it does add up over time. As such, these skulls are especially important to look out for new players still exploring the reaches of Limgrave.
