At the time of writing, the release of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is still relatively far away, as it is scheduled for June 21, 2024. But as you must be aware, Elden Ring is particularly long when you want to explore the majority of its content. Even if you go to the essentials, not everyone is able to kill the bosses at level 1. Here are our tips on what you should do in the game in the coming weeks, or even months, in order to be ready to take a child named Miquella by the hand.
Let’s be clear that the exact content of the expansion is not known. What follows is based on our knowledge of the base game, FromSoftware’s habits in terms of DLC, and on the elements communicated by the developers.
Take back your old character or create a new one?
This is probably the big question that most veterans of the game will ask themselves, and we can’t answer it for you. But it is tempting to create a new character in order to enjoy rediscovering the base game, which allows you to get back into the swing of things before facing much more formidable and complex bosses from the DLC like Messmer. It is also a way to correct any mistakes you may have made during your first playthrough, by doing failed quests and choosing the right rewards in exchange for souvenirs.
This is an even more important question for anyone who has ventured into New Game Plus, since Shadow of the Erdtree’s bosses will be even more powerful the first time you encounter them, which can be brutal. Imagine facing the Orphan of Kos, Sister Friede, or Gael the Slave Knight for the first time in NG+. The community is always finding tips, cheeses, or builds to make these fights more accessible, but it takes a bit of time. It may be wiser to face them the first time with a new character.
How to unlock access to DLC?
FromSoftware has a strange habit of hiding access to DLC for its games. Don’t expect to be able to select a “Shadow of the Erdtree Ready” character from the main menu and jump right into the new adventure, this isn’t Phantom Liberty or Blood and Wine.
As the trailer heavily hinted, and as the developers have confirmed, you will need to grab Miquella’s hand as it emerges from the cocoon, deep in Mohgwyn’s Palace. This involves defeating the formidable optional boss Mohg the Bloodlord. You can quickly unlock access to the area by completing Varre’s quests, or by making the grand tour of the continent, and using the Secret Medallion of the Hidden Tree after defeating Morgott the Forsaken King in order to reach the optional areas in the north of the map.
That’s not all, according to the developers, you will also need to have killed General Radahn. The exact reasons are not known, but it is assumed that there are plot connections with the stars that were immobilized by the latter.
Quests and Ending of the Game
It’s very easy to miss quests, or to no longer be able to complete them in FromSoftware games. Whether it’s by advancing too quickly, or by not talking to a character at the right time like Rogier. You will also see characters die, or have to kill potentially present in Shadow of the Erdtree, or who are useful for its quests. This can dissuade you from doing the quests of Fia, Ranni and others. The problem is that it is impossible to unlock all the content without doing them, and you risk not being able to do them anymore. The quests of the Lord of the Exalted Flame and Millicent also come to mind, since they involve killing Malenia, Miquella’s sister.
We can’t offer any guarantees, but historically, FromSoftware has always treated its DLCs as separate worlds. They are independent and have no connection to the rest of the game. In some cases, plot tricks are also used to reintroduce characters, by bringing them from the past, the future, or a parallel world for example. This means that you can probably do all the quests in the base gameeven if you will potentially miss some minor dialogues with Gideon Offnir or Ranni for example, who are likely to comment on your discoveries.
The one thing we strongly encourage you to focus on is to abstain, is to trigger the End of the game. After defeating the Beast of Elden, do not interact with Marika or any markings on the ground. It is possible that new endings can be unlocked in Shadow of the Erdtree. There will always be time to come back later.
If you want to be really careful:
- Don’t accept the Exalted Flame. And don’t burn the World Tree, in order to keep Melina alive. She may have special interactions in the DLC. The problem is that this deprives you of Farum Azula and the Ashen Capital.
- Don’t kill Malenia.
Farm runes and levels
There are hundreds of things to do in Elden Ring, and we’ll list some of them below. But unless you’re a “PGW,” the most important thing is probably to be high-level. Gaining dozens or even hundreds of levels quickly is a good way to quickly venture into the DLC with a new character, or to reduce the game’s difficulty. The most popular and effective method is to repeatedly kill the Albinaurics sitting on top of the cliff at the entrance to Mohgwyn’s Palace, or to trick the Bloody Killer Mutant Raven into committing suicide just below the same cliff. It’s a happy coincidence that both of these farming methods are in the area needed to access Shadow of the Erdtree.
Best Elden Ring Rune Farm: 2 Million Runes in One Hour
The immobile gargoyles of Fondroot are a good way to farm runes, but other alternatives exist in Elden Ring. In this guide, we explain how to earn nearly 2 million runes in an hour and it happens at Moghwyn Palace.
Preparation checklist
While not exhaustive, this list includes all the most important and useful items, regardless of your build. We are not going to list all the spells, weapons, armors and talismans. This serves as a basis in order to guarantee a certain level of power, and a relatively good progression in Shadow of the Erdtree.
- Golden Seeds to increase your number of Tear Vials.
- Tears of Life to improve the effectiveness of Tear Vials.
- The Vial of Miraculous Salvation and its crystals, including the Purifying Crystal Tear found on Eleonora, at the end of Yura’s Blood Crystal quest to defeat Mohgwyn the Blood Lord.
- Saddlebags to be able to equip more talismans.
- All Memoliths to increase your number of spell slots.
- Defeat Rennala and stock up on Larval Blades to be able to easily respec through Rebirth. This can help you beat a DLC boss by changing builds, or play with the new weapons made available.
- Kill the demigods whose Major Rune interests you, you have several reasons to kill some of them. Consider activating them in the Divine Towers.
- Stock up on Forgestones and Dark Forgestones, as well as their draconic versions and Cinerary Pearls to upgrade one or more DLC weapons.
- Take the time to go and collect the best Talismans and Legendary Talismans.
- Unlock the best summoning spirits like the Mimic Tear and Tiche, then upgrade them to the max with Deathly Lily of the Valley. You can also stockpile Lily of the Valley for the expansion’s new summons.
- Store the consumablesanti-affliction spells and recipe books to make the dumplings you’ll need. A Malemort swamp may have been concocted by Miyazaki.
For a more methodical and comprehensive approach to the game’s content, you can consult our guide to the order of exploration of areas and/or the recommended order in which to kill bosses. You can also consult our list of characters and their quests, if you don’t want to miss any.
