Direct answer: the best loot in Deeproot Depths clusters in the southern stretch near the Great Waterfall Crest Site of Grace. Kill the Erdtree Avatar that patrols just west of the grace for the Staff of the Avatar, then take the nearby Teardrop Scarab for the Ash of War: Golden Land. Further in sit two of the hardest bosses in the game.
The southern cluster
From the grace, head south and you will meet the Erdtree Avatar almost immediately. It is a stumpy, slow-hitting variant, and it is the first enemy you are likely to kill here. It drops the Staff of the Avatar.
Past it, a Teardrop Scarab on the hillside drops the Ash of War: Golden Land. There is a Ghost Glovewort nearby as well. If you are collecting upgrade materials, this southern run is efficient — and if you ride in from the Caelid well, you are already close.
Also confirmed in the region: a Smithing Stone (6) on a corpse you can platform up to with Torrent heading south-west, plus Numen’s Rune, Elden Stars, the Prince of Death’s Cyst, Ash of War: Vacuum Slice, and the Mausoleum Soldiers Ashes.
The two bosses that define this region
Both are optional and both are among the most dangerous fights in the base game. Neither is required to progress.
- Crucible Knight Siluria — guards a large hollowed-out tree to the north-west of the Nameless Eternal City grace. Drops Siluria’s Tree, and the Remembrance of the Lichdragon is here too.
- Lichdragon Fortissax — drops Fortissax’s Lightning Spear and the Death Lightning spell, either of which can be had from the Remembrance of the Lichdragon at Enia.
Siluria is widely considered one of the hardest bosses in the game. Both are fought with a specific mechanic rather than raw stats, and neither should be attempted on a first visit without preparation.
Fia, if you have gone down this path
If you came through the Shunning-Grounds, you will already have met Fia. She can appear as Fia’s Champions at the Prince of Death’s Throne grace in Deeproot. Defeating them leads toward her questline and the Fia’s Mist incantation. Lionel the Lionhearted is one of the champions and spawns here.
Evidence status
Research-reviewed. The Staff of the Avatar and Ash of War: Golden Land drops near the Great Waterfall Crest, Siluria’s position relative to the Nameless Eternal City grace, both boss rewards, the Lichdragon remembrance trades, the Smithing Stone (6) corpse, and the Fia’s Champions encounter were each cross-checked against multiple independent references. Not gameplay-verified on camera.