How To Find the Hidden Cave Entrance in Absolum

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Zafari's Tip
Screenshot by Prima Games

After being betrayed by Zafari and her crew, she’ll make it up to you by pointing to a secret entrance located at the start of your run’s initial node. This secret area has a few key benefits, but if you’re struggling to find the cave entrance, I have you covered.

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Find the Hidden Cave Entrance in Absolum

Immediately after starting your typical run, instead of taking either of the usual paths, walk downwards to the bottom right of the screen, and a hidden path will be revealed. 

It’s blocked by a large boulder, which you can break with a few hits.

This will lead you to the Mouldy Cave area, becoming the third possible starting path you can take while traversing Grandery.

Benefits of Taking The Mouldy Cave Route

Now, there are some major benefits for taking this path, especially if you have cleared any early area side quests in the original two paths. Unlike the other two paths, which both have a single boss fight before the Underking, the Mouldy Cave features an entirely new boss fight called the Mushtroll.

Here’s the best part: after beating the Mushtroll, you still have to fight either Rudolf or Gazog to progress because the Mouldy Cave is just one node and circles back to either of the initial routes after you’ve rested at the Heartroot right after it.

This means that taking this path lets you take two inspirations instead of one before taking on the Underking. 

Additionally, there is plenty of loot to be obtained during this section, including food items for healing. 

I think having an additional inspiration is quite useful and should be the default choice for most players. The Mushtroll isn’t particularly difficult, especially once you know how to counter its attacks. The Mouldy Cave path also gives you the option to choose which boss to face next instead of locking you into one. You can still complete most of the side quests even if you pick this as your starting location.


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Ali Hashmi

Ali Hashmi is a games journalist, reviewer, and guides writer with over eight years of experience covering the gaming industry across news, reviews, features, walkthroughs, and technical guides. He currently writes for Prima Games and GTA 6 Bible, and has previously contributed to Dot Esports, WhatIfGaming, GameTyrant, and The OuterHaven. With a background in Computer Science and years spent covering PC gaming, Ali has developed a strong focus on performance analysis, optimization, troubleshooting, and in-depth game coverage alongside traditional reviews and features. A longtime fan of action games, Ali spends most of his time obsessing over stylish combat systems, difficult boss fights, immersive sims, and retro shooters that feel like they were pulled straight out of the late ‘90s. When he isn’t replaying Dark Souls for the hundredth time or climbing Ascension levels in Slay the Spire, he’s usually hunting for the next indie game to recommend to everyone around him. His coverage regularly includes AAA releases, indie games, Soulslikes, survival titles, live service games, and technical PC focused guides.