Here’s our guide on Gatekeeper Gostoc and why you’d be better off killing this NPC in your Elden Ring run.
Elden Ring is finally out, and just like past games by FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki, it has its fair share of bizarre NPCs. One of them is Gatekeeper Gostoc, located near the entrance of Stormveil Castle. If you’re playing with online functionalities on, you might see several player’s messages with the word “Traitor” near Gatekeeper Gostoc’s location, and for good reason.
Here’s why Elden Ring players all hate Gatekeeper Gostoc
Gatekeeper Gostoc has been recognized by Elden Ring players as the Rune thief. He’s the reason why every time you end up dying in Stormveil Castle, you only get a portion of the Runes back if you manage to backtrack and touch your bloodstain.
Furthermore, Gatekeeper Gostoc will follow you as you explore the castle, and most notably lock you up in a room at some point, a trap that can be deadly for inexperienced players. However, if you end up killing Gostoc straight away, you won’t have to deal with all that nor having your Runes getting stolen.
Why you should kill Gatekeeper Gostoc
If you kill Gostoc and give the Key Item he drops to the Twin Maiden at Roundtable Hold, you will be able to buy the items that he would’ve sold. This it also valid for nearly every other NPC in the game who can become a merchant.
Elden Ring has some of the hardest bosses in the Souls series, but some of the other gameplay elements iconic to the series were softened. Even if you end up killing some merchants NPCs in Elden Ring, you’ll always be able to buy their inventory from the Twin Maidens in Roundtable after giving them the Key Item the NPC dropped.
In other words, there are no downsides found so far by the players who killed Gostoc, so you’d be better off killing him. It will only make your first exploration of Stormveil smoother.
