Elden Ring was released all the way back in February 2022, and the game is so expansive, players are still busy hunting down its final secrets. After Shadow of the Erdtree was announced back in February 2023, players have been waiting patiently (some less so) for the eventual release date announcement. Now, with FromSoftware’s DLC scheduled to release June 21st, players can finally mark their calendars and start counting down the days.
Elden Ring’s Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC Gets Power Scaling Right
Elden Ring adopting Sekiro-style power scaling in Shadow of the Erdtree is inspired. If it works well, it should be the standard going forward.
In anticipation of the release, many players are returning to the game after a long hiatus. Some are jumping back into an incomplete playthrough. Others are starting up a new playthrough entirely, crafting a brand-new character for Shadow of the Erdtree. Even more players are booting up for the first time, swept up in the hype. Whether you’ve already become Elden Lord or you’re taking your first steps in Limgrave, you’ll want to make sure you’re prepared for Shadow of the Erdtree’s many challenges. This list aims to break down several important things you need to do in the lead-up to the DLC’s release in June.
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
10 Defeat Radahn & Mohg, Lord Of Blood
Required To Access The DLC
As far as requirements to access the DLC, this list starts and ends here. In order to access Shadow of the Erdtree content, you will need to have defeated both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood. Defeating Mohg makes more obvious sense — FromSoftware has revealed that the entrance to the DLC will be in Miquella’s pod, found at the back of Mohg, Lord of Blood’s boss arena. Radahn isn’t explained at all at this time, but we can make some inferences. His defeat is not necessary to access Mohgwyn Palace, so there must be a narrative reason for this requirement.
[Radahn’s] defeat is not necessary to access Mohgwyn Palace, so there must be a narrative reason for this requirement.
Defeating Radahn is a pivotal moment in Elden Ring. Once he is defeated, the extent of his true power is revealed in how he’s been holding the cosmos in check. Upon his defeat, the stars fly across the sky, and a meteor crashes down into Limgrave, opening up a path down to Nokron, Eternal City. This also allows Ranni’s own personal quest to continue, leading to the Age of Stars ending.
Aside from these (admittedly major) events, not much else is affected by Radahn losing his control over the stars. This event must be consequential to the DLC, either paving the way for Miquella’s plans, or actually setting the DLC’s events in motion.
9 Hunt Down Missing Armor & Weapons
Expand Your Arsenal
If you want to try out a variety of build options, you’ll need to make sure you collect all the rare equipment you can find in the game. Some of the Best Talismans in Elden Ring are locked behind completing questlines, like Iron Fist Alexander’s, while others are hidden in minor dungeons. Same goes for the Legendary Armaments found in the game. Some can be found tucked away behind an unassuming locked door (like the Sword of Night and Flame in Caria Manor), while others are locked behind major questlines, like the Dark Moon Greatsword as part of Ranni’s questline and the Age of Stars ending.
There are so many interesting options out there to try out, from collecting the most useful Ashes of War to finding the strongest Spirit Ashes and getting the best armor sets in the game, you’ll want to get all of it in order to start trying out different combinations, brainstorming the perfect build to suit your playstyle — or adopting an entirely new playstyle to fit a new and exciting combination.
8 Perfect Your Character Build
Become The Ultimate Elden Lord
It’s true, Shadow of the Erdtree is promising to introduce a variety of new weapons, new weapon types, new spells, Talismans, armor… everything that goes into crafting your playstyle. But you don’t want to head into the DLC working off some underbaked mess of stats and equipment. The base game already contains hundreds of weapon, armor, spell, and Talisman options through which you can craft wildly creative and varied builds.
No Game Makes Me Feel As Small As Elden Ring Did
Sorry, Final Fantasy 16, I know you tried.
Use this time ahead of the DLC’s launch to tinker with your existing build, reevaluate if it’s accomplishing your goals, or explore a new one entirely. A total of 18 Larval Tears can be found in the base game, which allow you to respec your stats. It’s a finite amount, but you have plenty of wiggle room to try out plenty of different builds. Fancy a Strength/Faith build? Give it a shot. Want to fall back on a timeless Quality build? Embrace comfort. Want to center a build around a specific and powerful Ash of War? You can do that, too. Use this time to test out some options, see which ones feel right. We’ll no doubt acquire more Larval Tears in the DLC, along with plenty of new build potential, but it’s good to go in at your strongest. Speaking of…
7 Make Sure You Have A Whetstone Knife
Customize Your Ashes Of War
You probably (hopefully) acquired this Key Item early in your adventures throughout the Lands Between, but in case you missed it, you’ll want to pick up this important tool. The Whetstone Knife allows you to swap out Ashes of War/Skills on your weapons. This is a pretty critical element to build-crafting in Elden Ring, and you’re able to acquire it within the first hour of the game, but due to Elden Ring’s open-world nature, it can be surprisingly easy to simply miss something so critical.
The Whetstone Knife allows you to swap out Ashes of War/Skills on your weapons.
Fortunately, there are two ways to acquire this tool. The first is to visit Gatefront Ruins in Limgrave. Search for a staircase leading underground, and then loot the chest within. You’ll receive the Whetstone Knife along with the Storm Stomp Ash of War. The second method is to purchase a Whetstone Knife from the Twin Maiden Husks found at Roundtable Hold.
This item will only show up in the Twin Maiden Husks’ inventory after you have defeated your first two Shardbearers.
Fashion Souls Is The True Endgame
This Key Item isn’t super significant to your journey to prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree, but it does offer you some additional tools to customize your appearance. And, as any Soulsborne veteran will tell you, fashion is much more important than the actual effectiveness of armor. You have to look good above all else! The Tailoring Tools allow you to customize certain armor appearances — most often, this manifests in adding or removing a cloak or cape from various chest pieces, though several helmets can be adjusted with the Tailoring Tools as well.
You can use these tools anytime you rest at a Site of Grace.
To acquire the Tailoring Tools, you’ll want to head to western Limgrave. On the map, draw a line southwest of the Church of Elleh straight to the coast. If you’re following along Boc’s questline, this is one of the early locations where you’ll meet him. On the coast, you’re looking for a the entrance to Coastal Cave. Navigate the minor dungeon until you reach the final encounter against Demi-Human Chief. Defeat this boss, and you will be rewarded with the Tailoring Tools.
5 Amass Upgrade Materials
Why Can’t I Hold All These Bell Bearings?
As mentioned earlier, Shadow of the Erdtree will introduce a variety of new weapon types for players to acquire. There is no official word on exactly how many new weapons will be introduced in the DLC, but FromSoftware revealed that there will be 8 new weapon types in the DLC — that, combined with the fact that Shadow of the Erdtree is the largest expansion FromSoftware has ever created, and it stands to reason that we’re going to be getting a lot of new weapons.
…going into the DLC with as many [upgrade materials] as possible will set you up for success.
To prepare for suddenly finding a dozen new weapons you just have to master, you’ll want to make sure you have a lot of Smithing Stones and Somber Smithing Stones. You can collect a fair few of every level of upgrades throughout your playthrough, but what you really want is to collect all tiers of Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearings and Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearings.
On top of that, you’ll want to collect every Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone and every Ancient Somber Smithing Stone found in the base game, as these are much rarer resources and are required to level up your weapons to max. There will certainly be more to acquire in the DLC — perhaps even a way to purchase them with a rare resource — but going into the DLC with as many as possible will set you up for success.
4 Defeat Malenia, Blade Of Miquella
The Hardest Soulsborne Boss…So Far
This won’t apply to everyone — plenty of players have gone toe-to-toe with this terrible foe and come out the other side victorious. But there’s for certain a fair number of you who never got around to it — or who tried and decided not to follow through on this (admittedly) onerous task. No judgment here — Malenia is not only the hardest boss in the game; she’s the hardest boss across all Soulsborne games.
Elden Ring: Best Weapons Tier List
Elden Ring is full of impressive and powerful weapons but choosing which to use can be difficult. Here are the best weapons in the game.
It’s not strictly required to defeat Malenia in order to venture into Shadow of the Erdtree, but FromSoftware’s DLC is notorious for containing their best and most challenging bosses. Bloodborne had Ludwig, Maria, and Orphan of Kos. Dark Souls 3 had Sister Friede, Slave Knight Gael, and Darkeater Midir. It stands to reason that at least some of Elden Ring’s DLC will be even more challenging than Malenia, so it’s important to sharpen your reflexes. Even if you’ve already defeated her, go drop your summon sign down at her boss door and assist your fellow Tarnished — it’ll help shake the rust off.
3 Fully Upgrade Your Flasks
Golden Seeds & Sacred Tears
Elden Ring is a vast, sprawling world, offering rich opportunities for exploration — it’s so easy to miss something important on your journey. Some things, like weapons or armor, you might not even know you’re missing, so you can easily live without them, but regardless of your build components, everyone utilizes the life-saving power of the Flasks (Flask of Crimson Tears for healing, Flask of Cerulean Tears for FP). You want to make sure you’ve maxed out your number of Flasks — as well as the potency of Flasks — before jumping into the DLC.
In order to increase your number of Flasks to the maximum of 14, you’ll need to collect a total of 30 Golden Seeds. There are more than 30 Golden Seeds found in the base game of Elden Ring, so if you’re thorough enough, you’ll end up with excess in your inventory. To max out the potency of each Flask chug, you’ll need to collect a total of 12 Sacred Tears, which can be found at most (all?) Churches of Marika. There are only 12 found in the base game, so you’ll need to find every one in order to max out the effectiveness of your Flasks — a must for heading into Shadows of the Erdtree.
2 Cancel All Social Engagements
More Elden Ring Is Coming!
Allow me to go hyperbolic for a moment. Elden Ring is finally getting its DLC. FromSoftware has consistently delivered their absolutely best, highest-quality content in their DLCs across all of their titles. And now, Elden Ring is getting its largest DLC yet, one that practically looks like Elden Ring 2. This is a five-alarm-fire situation. I know what you’re thinking: life balance, self-care, blah, blah, etc. etc. There’s a time for moderation, and then there’s a time for excessiveness.
Schedule time off work. Bid farewell to your friends and family.
There are no current plans for any further DLC after Shadow of the Erdtree, so savor this moment. The launch of a FromSoftware DLC is a magical time. The whole community will be delving into the lore, encountering strange, new enemies and NPCs, discovering convoluted questlines and incredible new areas to explore and weapons to find. Shadow of the Erdtree is the time for excessiveness, so plan ahead. Schedule time off work. Bid farewell to your friends and family. Prepare to lose yourself in this, because it looks absolutely massive, and it will be absolutely worth it.
1 Dive Deep Into The Lore
Elden Ring’s story, like most FromSoftware titles, is a bit like an iceberg. Your surface interactions with the main points of A-to-B-to-C can be satisfying on its own, but once you start digging into the lore, making discoveries, and theorizing connections based on disparate pieces of evidence, you’ll discover a deep and rich narrative lurking beneath the waves. For some high-quality and easily digestible lore, check out VaatiVidya on Youtube. Other incredible Youtubers delving into the lore and making great connections are Zullie the Witch and SmoughTown, and there are many more besides these!
…once you start digging into the lore, making discoveries, and theorizing connections based on disparate pieces of evidence, you’ll discover a deep and rich narrative bubbling beneath the game’s surface.
If you’re wanting more of an interactive dialogue for your lore diving, check out the main Elden Ring Subreddit, or EldenRingLoreTalk, where you can take part in lively lore discussions and debates (or quietly lurk in the corner taking notes). Players are already making incredible new connections just from the brief footage we saw in the release date trailer. If you only want to go solo on your lore dive, there truly is so much to discover just from reading the numerous item descriptions and finding commonalities/connections between them. Buff up on your lore, and you’ll be ready to hit the ground running with some crazy theories come DLC launch on June 21, 2024.
Bloodborne’s Chalice Dungeons Are Still FromSoftware’s Weirdest Experiment
Hand-crafted levels are the best thing these games have to offer, so what happens when you strip that away?
