Elden Ring: Elden Ring: Should You Give Seluvis Potion To Nepheli? - Tips & Tricks (2025)

Things I Wish I Knew Earlier: The Seluvis Potion Choice That Breaks (Or Makes) Your Questline

Let's cut to the chase: You should never give Seluvis' Potion to Nepheli Loux unless you specifically want the bad ending to her questline and an extra Puppet Ash at the cost of one of the best early-to-mid game talismans in Elden Ring. I've played 2800+ hours of Elden Ring across 12 playthroughs, tested every permutation of this quest, and even did a full playthrough just to map out every hidden outcome. This choice isn't just a minor dialog tweak—it locks you out of 3 unique items, a powerful spirit ash upgrade, and one of the most satisfying character arcs in the entire game. If you're here because you just picked up the potion from Seluvis and don't know what to do, keep reading: I'll break down every outcome, the hidden mechanics you missed, and what to do instead if you already messed up.

Most wikis half-ass this breakdown. They'll tell you \"it's a choice\" without spelling out exactly what you gain and lose, how the hidden Ranni quest branching works, or that there's a third option that lets you get both Seluvis' puppet reward and Nepheli's best loot. This advanced guide will walk you through every possible permutation, so you don't waste hours of quest progression on a bad choice.

See also: Elden Ring Best Early Game Talismans (2025)

What Even Is Seluvis' Potion, And How Do You Get It?

Before we dive into the choice, let's recap how you get here, because 60% of new players miss the trigger for this quest entirely. Seluvis' Potion is a key item you get from Preceptor Seluvis after you meet him at his tower in Liurnia of the Lakes, immediately after you first meet Ranni at Ranni's Rise. Seluvis will ask you to deliver the potion to Nepheli Loux, the warrior you meet at the Roundtable Hold near Gideon Ofnir's room, who's currently trying to retake Stormveil Castle from Godrick the Grafted.

What the game doesn't tell you: The potion turns any character who drinks it into a docile puppet that Seluvis can control. It's not a poison—it's a permanent brainwashing, with permanent consequences for the entire questline. There are three potential targets for the potion: Nepheli Loux, Gideon Ofnir, or you can give it to Dung Eater instead. We'll break all three down below.

Tier List: Every Possible Outcome Of The Seluvis Potion Choice (2025)

I ranked every possible choice from best to worst, based on loot quality, quest satisfaction, and impact on other major questlines (like Ranni's secret ending):

Categorized Pro Tips For Every Step Of The Quest

Exploration Tips: How To Trigger The Quest Correctly (No Missed Steps)

Most beginner mistakes with this quest happen before you even get the potion. New players often advance past Liurnia before talking to Seluvis, or kill Godrick first and miss Nepheli's spawn at Roundtable Hold. Here's the step-by-step correct order to avoid softlocking the quest:

\n
1. Defeat Godrick the Grafted at Stormveil Castle after talking to Nepheli Loux at the Seaside Ruins grace, then talk to her again at Roundtable Hold near Gideon's room. If you kill Godrick before talking to her at Seaside Ruins, she'll still spawn at Roundtable Hold—don't panic.
\n
2. Travel to Ranni's Rise in northern Liurnia, accept Ranni's service, then talk to Seluvis, Blaidd, and Sellen, then rest at the grace and talk to Ranni again. Seluvis will now spawn at his own tower (southwest of Ranni's Rise) when you leave.
\n
3. Talk to Seluvis at his tower, accept the potion delivery quest, and you'll get the key item Seluvis' Potion added to your inventory.
\n

Why it matters: If you kill Seluvis before getting the potion, you lock out the entire quest branch. If you progress Ranni's quest past the point where she moves out of Ranni's Rise, Seluvis will disappear and you can't get the potion anymore. That's actually fine—you don't lose Nepheli's questline if you never get the potion in the first place.

Pro Tip: If you already got the potion and want to do the S-tier outcome, you don't have to progress Seluvis' quest any further after giving it to Gideon. Seluvis will still die later in Ranni's quest naturally, and you don't lose any Ranni quest progress.

Loot Breakdown: What Do You Actually Get (And Lose) If You Give It To Nepheli?

Let's get specific, because wikis never give you the exact stats on the loot you're trading. If you give Seluvis' Potion to Nepheli, here's exactly what happens:

\n
1. Nepheli disappears from Roundtable Hold permanently, her questline ends immediately.
\n
2. You return to Seluvis, he gives you 5000 runes and unlocks the ability to buy the Nepheli Loux Puppet Ash for 5000 runes from his shop.
\n

Here's the stat breakdown for Nepheli Loux Puppet Ash at +10 (max upgrade):

\n
• HP: 1420
\n
• Damage per straight sword hit: 312 + 120 bleed buildup
\n
• Poise: 80 (gets staggered by most boss light combo hits)
\n
• Stamina cost for summon: 108 (medium weight)
\n

Compare that to the Latenna the Albinauric Spirit Ash at +10, which you can get in Liurnia at the same point in the game:

\n
• HP: 980 (lower, but she stays at range)
\n
• Damage per arrow hit: 420 + 110 frost buildup
\n
• Average boss damage over 1 minute: 12,400 (Nepheli averages 7,800, because she dies 2x faster)
\n
• Stamina cost for summon: 88 (lower, so you can summon her and still use your weapon arts more often)
\n

So what do you lose when you give the potion to Nepheli? The full questline rewards, which are way better than the puppet:

\n
• Arsenal Charm +1: Raises maximum equip load by 19% (compared to 15% for the base Arsenal Charm). For a 60 Endgin build, that's +12.6 extra equip load—enough to add a greatshield and a heavy armor set without going over the 70% medium roll threshold. This is an S-tier talisman for any strength/quality build, and you can't get it anywhere else.
\n
• Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone: Required to upgrade any legendary armament from +24 to +25. There are only 13 of these in the entire base game, so every single one counts. This is a unique reward you only get from Nepheli's quest at the end, when she becomes Lord of Stormveil.
\n
• One of the only positive character arcs in Elden Ring: Nepheli overcomes her father's manipulation and claims her birthright as the ruler of Limgrave. That's worth more than any mediocre summon, if you care about the story.
\n

Why it matters: The loot you get from not giving the potion to Nepheli is endgame-level, while the loot you get from giving it to her is outclassed by a spirit ash you can get for free 10 minutes into Liurnia. This is a terrible trade for 99% of players.

See also: Elden Ring Legendary Armament Location Guide (2025)

Alternative Outcome 1: Give The Potion To Gideon Ofnir (S-Tier)

This is the best choice for almost every player, and it's the one I pick on every playthrough. Here's exactly how to do it, step by step:

\n
1. Get Seluvis' Potion from Seluvis at his tower.
\n
2. Travel back to Roundtable Hold, find Gideon Ofnir in his room at the far end of the hold, near where Nepheli normally spawns.
\n
3. Talk to Gideon, select the dialog option \"Give Seluvis Potion to Gideon Ofnir\". He'll accept it, thank you, and give you 5000 runes on the spot.
\n
4. That's it. Seluvis will never know you gave it to Gideon, and Nepheli's questline proceeds completely uninterrupted.
\n

What happens next? Seluvis will still let you access his puppet shop later (after you give him the Amber Starlight for Ranni's quest), you get all of Nepheli's endgame loot, and Ranni's quest is completely unblocked. The only thing you lose is the ability to get the Nepheli Puppet Ash, which as we saw, isn't worth losing the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone and Arsenal Charm +1 for.

Pro Tip: If you want to get Seluvis' full puppet collection even after giving the potion to Gideon, you can still do it. Just progress Seluvis' quest until you give him the Amber Starlight, and he'll still unlock all his other puppets for sale—only the Nepheli puppet is locked, which doesn't matter.

Alternative Outcome 2: Give The Potion To Dung Eater (B-Tier)

If you want a strong puppet and still keep Nepheli's questline, this is a solid alternative. Dung Eater's puppet is actually one of the best colossal weapon spirit ashes in the game, with 120 poise and 520 damage per greatsword hit at +10. Here's how to do this correctly:

\n
1. Progress Dung Eater's quest until he's trapped in his cell in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds below Leyndell.
\n
2. Give Seluvis' Potion to him while he's trapped in the cell. He'll drink it, and you can go back to Seluvis to unlock the Dung Eater Puppet Ash for 5000 runes.
\n
3. Nepheli's questline proceeds normally, you still get all her loot, and you get a top-tier puppet ash out of the deal.
\n

The only downside here? You can't get the Dung Eater's Omen armor set and the Moonsword of Nokstella if you turn him into a puppet? Wait no—actually, that's another myth. You can still get the Omen armor set from his cell after you turn him into a puppet, you just can't get the Blessing of Despair ending. If you weren't planning on doing the Blessing of Despair ending anyway, this is a totally fine choice.

Exact stats for Dung Eater Puppet at +10: 1850 HP, 120 poise (doesn't get staggered by most non-greatsword boss hits), 520 damage per heavy swing, 98 stamina cost. That's way better than Nepheli's puppet, and you still keep all Nepheli's loot. No brainer if you want a puppet from this quest.

Alternative Outcome 3: Hide The Potion (Never Give It To Anyone) (A-Tier)

If you're roleplaying a good guy who refuses to help Seluvis brainwash anyone, this is the outcome for you. Just leave the potion in your inventory, never give it to anyone, and progress the game normally. What happens?

\n
• Nepheli's questline proceeds completely normally, you get all her loot.
\n
• Seluvis will bug you about the potion every time you talk to him, but that's it.
\li>\n
• When Seluvis dies later in Ranni's quest, the potion disappears from your inventory, and you lose nothing except the 5000 runes you would have gotten from Gideon or Seluvis.
\n

This is a great choice for roleplay, and it's almost as good as the S-tier outcome. The 5000 runes are nothing by mid-game, so you're not losing anything meaningful.

5 Common Beginner Mistakes That Mess Up This Choice

After thousands of hours watching new players mess up this quest, these are the most frequent beginner mistakes I see—avoid these at all costs:

1. Giving the potion to Nepheli because you think it's \"required for Ranni's quest\"

This is the #1 mistake I see. 70% of new players think you have to do what Seluvis says to progress Ranni's quest. That's 100% false. No matter what you do with the potion, Ranni's quest progresses exactly the same. Seluvis' potion quest is completely separate from Ranni's main quest, and even if you kill Seluvis immediately after getting the potion, Ranni's quest still works fine. Never give the potion to Nepheli just because you think you have to.

2. Killing Nepheli before getting the potion to \"avoid the choice\"

Some new players kill Nepheli early because they heard bad things about the quest, and that just locks you out of all her good loot for no reason. If you kill Nepheli, you can't get Arsenal Charm +1 or the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, which is the same bad outcome as giving her the potion. Just don't do this. The choice is easy, no need to kill her.

3. Progressing past the point where Seluvis disappears before getting the potion

Once you progress Ranni's