The Troubadour’s Lute is inside the One-Legged Wolf Tavern in eastern Fainweald, on the stage area, but you need Mether’s Breath to clear the corruption wall on the route before you can reach it.
The Lute is one of the more unusual sidearms in the game — it doubles as an instrument, and playing every one of its tracks is what earns the Heavy Metal trophy. Getting it isn’t hard once the corruption wall is down, but that wall is the catch: the route only opens after you’ve earned Mether’s Breath. Here’s the full run from prerequisite to pickup to trophy.
Where the Lute sits and what Heavy Metal needs
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Item type | Sidearm (ranged, uses Resolve) |
| Region | Eastern Fainweald |
| Nearest beacon | One Legged Wolf beacon |
| Exact spot | On the stage, left of the musician |
| Prerequisite | Mether’s Breath (siphon Ova in Marrow Keep) |
| Heavy Metal trophy | Play all five Lute tracks |
Key In the launch build, the Troubadour’s Lute has a single fixed home: the stage inside the One-Legged Wolf Tavern, out in the eastern stretch of Fainweald near its namesake beacon. It’s a plain pickup with no fight attached — the only real gate is the corruption wall on the way in, which stays sealed until you’ve unlocked Mether’s Breath. Once the Lute is yours, Heavy Metal is a cleanup step you handle by playing through all of its tracks.
Earning Mether’s Breath before the run
Everything hinges on Mether’s Breath, so line that up first. To get it, head into the Mushroom Village Corrupted Gate dungeon and defeat Magdalena the Lady of the Woods, the boss waiting inside. Clearing her opens up the Ova, which you collect before making your way back out to the beacon.
From there, return to Marrow Keep and use the Gloom Siphon to convert the Ova you’ve gathered into Mether’s Breath.
Mether’s Breath does double duty: it lets you fast-travel between beacons, and — the part that matters here — it’s what dispels the corrupted barriers scattered around the map. That fast travel is also how you’ll jump straight to the start of the route below instead of walking it.
Clearing the corruption wall to the tavern
Travel to the Mushroom Village Gate beacon
Fast-travel here, then head outside and cross the wooden bridge spanning the ravine.
Slip past the bridge spider
A large spider-like creature lurks near the bridge, so dodge past it rather than trading blows and keep moving down the path toward the cave.
Cleanse the corruption wall
At the dark barrier, use the Cleanse Corruption prompt to dispel it and open the way through.
Clear the Cannibal Knight, then bear right
The first enemy on the far side is a heavy Cannibal Knight carrying a large blade — deal with him, then veer right up the path.
Revitalize the One Legged Wolf beacon
Follow the newly opened route to the corrupted beacon and cleanse it so you can rest and fast-travel from here.
Enter and cross to the stage | GosuNoob/YouTube
Grabbing the Lute inside the One-Legged Wolf Tavern
Head up the path to the tavern
From the One Legged Wolf beacon, follow the dirt path uphill until the One-Legged Wolf Tavern appears.
Enter and cross to the stage
Step inside past the seated patrons and move toward the stage on the left, where a musician is playing.
Take the Troubadour’s Lute
The Lute rests on the stage to the left of the musician — interact with it to pick it up.
Revitalize the One Legged Wolf beacon | Quick Guides/YouTube
Equip it as a sidearm
Open your inventory and slot the Lute into your sidearm slot so it’s ready to fire and play.
Head up the path to the tavern | Quick Guides/YouTube
While you’re inside the tavern, also grab the Gragu shell tucked in the same building so you clear both pickups in one visit.
How the Lute works in combat
The Troubadour’s Lute behaves like your other sidearms — it draws on Resolve as its ammo — but instead of raw projectiles it fires blasts of musical energy. Land those on an enemy and they pick up the Confusion status, which turns them against whatever’s standing next to them: confused foes attack nearby allies for the duration instead of coming after you.
Playing all five tracks for Heavy Metal
Equip the Lute
Make sure the Troubadour’s Lute is your active sidearm before you start.
Aim the Lute
Hold LT / L2 to raise it, the same as aiming any sidearm.
Play the loaded track
Press X / Square to play whichever melody is currently loaded.
Cycle to the next track
Use the sidearm-cycle input on the D-pad to switch to the next track.
Play all five melodies
Repeat until you’ve played each of the five tracks once — the trophy pops on the last.
Ignore the old Mushroom Village chest
If you played the open beta, you may remember finding the Lute in a chest at the center of Mushroom Village, opened by lighting three offering stations around the area. That’s no longer where it lives. In the launch build the Lute was moved to the One-Legged Wolf Tavern, and that old Mushroom Village chest now holds a Glimpse and an Auspicious Stone instead — so any guide still pointing you at the offering stations is out of date.
Video help
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