TL;DR
- Thops’s Barrier requires 18 Intelligence and creates magic-deflecting forcefields
- Complete Thops’ quest by obtaining two Academy Glintstone Keys in specific locations
- Strategic positioning and timing dramatically improve the spell’s defensive effectiveness
- The spell counters both sorceries and incantations in PVP and PVE encounters
- Proper quest completion yields one of Elden Ring’s most valuable defensive tools
For spellcasters seeking reliable magical defense, Thops’s Barrier provides an essential protective tool that can completely shift combat dynamics.
While Elden Ring features numerous offensive sorceries focused on damage output, strategic players understand the critical importance of defensive capabilities. Thops’s Barrier offers spell-users a distinct tactical advantage against magical assaults, transforming vulnerable casters into resilient combatants. This comprehensive guide details acquisition methods and advanced implementation strategies.
This defensive sorcery demands 18 Intelligence for casting and generates protective barriers that deflect incoming magical projectiles. Its utility extends across both player-versus-player engagements and challenging encounters with spell-casting enemies who employ relentless magical barrages.
The official item description provides insight into its significance:
The lifelong pursuit of Thops the Bluntstone. Creates a magic forcefield that deflects sorceries and incantations. Hold to continuously create barriers. Future generations will learn. They will know the foolishness of the sneering sorcerers who ridiculed this theory, little realizing that it was in fact a discovery worthy of a new conspectus of the academy.
Strategic application involves anticipating enemy spell patterns and deploying barriers preemptively. Unlike physical shields, this sorcery doesn’t consume stamina when deflecting magic, making it exceptionally efficient for prolonged magical engagements. The continuous casting feature allows sustained defense against rapid magical assaults.
Thops’s Barrier is located on Thops’s remains within Raya Lucaria Academy, the legacy dungeon situated in Liurnia of the Lakes. However, accessing this valuable sorcery requires completing his associated questline to trigger the necessary events.
Your initial encounter with Thops occurs at the Church of Irith [1] positioned in southern Liurnia of the Lakes region.
Church of Irith
He will specifically request an Academy Glintstone Key, though you cannot surrender your initial key since he acknowledges your requirement for academy access. Instead, retrieve the primary key from behind Glintstone Dragon Smarag [2] located slightly northward before proceeding to the academy entrance.
Glintstone Dragon Smarag
Glintstone Dragon Smarag
Upon entering the academy, navigate through the interior until reaching the rooftop traversal segment. You will eventually access the upper section of Church of the Cuckoo where the secondary Academy Glintstone Key hangs suspended from a chandelier [3].
The Academy Glintstone Key is hanging on a chandelier.
Thops’s Corpse
Common navigation errors include missing the subtle chandelier location and underestimating the rooftop pathway complexity. Allocate approximately 15-20 minutes for efficient key retrieval once inside the academy. Advanced players recommend completing this quest before confronting Rennala to maximize defensive capabilities during that challenging encounter.
Action Checklist
- Locate Thops at Church of Irith in southern Liurnia
- Retrieve first Glintstone Key from behind Glintstone Dragon Smarag
- Navigate Raya Lucaria Academy rooftops to Church of the Cuckoo
- Collect second key from chandelier in upper church section
- Return to Thops’s corpse in academy to claim the barrier sorcery
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Elden Ring: Where To Get Thops’s Barrier Master defensive sorcery with Thops's Barrier - complete quest guide and strategic applications for Elden Ring