How to alter armor in Elden Ring

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Wondering if you can alter armor in Elden Ring? There are a ton of cool-looking outfits in FromSoftware's new open-world RPG that you can find as treasure, or as random drops from enemies. You'll certainly feel the same NPC envy you had in Dark Souls, wondering how long it will be before you can pilfer another character's armor set.

But certain armor types can also be "altered". Once you find the Tailoring Tools and the Sewing Needle, you'll be able to tweak some armor sets to your preference. In this guide, I'll show you where to find the Tailoring Tools and the Sewing Needle and how to alter armor, since the process can be a little confusing.

elden ring coastal cove map location — (Image credit: FromSoftware)

Where to find the Sewing Needle and Tailoring Tools in Elden Ring

You can get both the Sewing Needle and the Tailoring Tools in West Limgrave, by defeating the Demi-Human Chiefs boss in the Coastal Cove dungeon to the south-west of the Stranded Graveyard. Like most Elden Ring bosses, the boss here is a little tricky because there are two of them and they're quite aggressive, but if you take them on one-by-one or summon Old Knight Istvan at the entrance, you'll be fine. This dungeon is also important since it unlocks access to that island in the southwest.

Elden Ring: How to alter armor

When you have the Tailoring Tools and Needle, you'll be able alter certain armor sets at any Site of Grace for a small cost in runes. It might be confusing at first, since it's likely that no armor sets will appear in your list, but once you have an armor set you can alter, you'll spot it there. There are more needles in the game, but this basic one seems to only let you remove capes from certain armor sets. Presumably the other needles will let you do other stuff, as it is with the rest of the game's crafting. You may also find armor sets with "altered" in their name, and this means they are the second variation without the cape.

I'll be sure to update this guide when we find more needles and what they can do.

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Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.