Game News 6 things to absolutely do in Elden Ring to prepare for the Shadow of the ErdTree DLC

This additional content then constitutes an additional reason to (re)immerse yourself again in Entre-Terre. A kingdom torn apart by conflict over the fractured Ring of Elden, with the latter granting sovereignty to anyone who can restore it.

This resurgent enthusiasm has been observable, even palpable, since the end of February. Three months ago, FromSoftware released a first trailer for Shadow of the ErdTree. This was enough to reignite the flame of players to explore, again or not, the different regions of Entre-Terre in order to arrive in the best conditions on June 21. And to help you, here is a little guide of things to do before the big day.

Make sure you beat Radahn and Mohg

This is the most important thing to do before the release of Shadow of the ErdTree: to be certain that General Radahn, the scourge of the stars as well as Mohg the lord of Blood have been defeated. These are conditions sine qua non to be respected to access the content of the DLC. Luckily, there is a very simple way to know if they have been defeated since they are each linked to a success. Whatever the platform, just see if you have acquired the respectively named trophies Radahn, the Shardbearer And Mohg, the Shardbearer to be clear about it.

But some of you decided to start a new game + or just another character and don’t know if you beat these two bosses in your new file. Nothing could be simpler, you have to go there to find out what it really is.

Unlike Mohg (whom you don’t have to defeat to see the game’s credits), Radahn is a mandatory boss in Elden Ring. He is located in Caelid and requests that the festival be in place. To do this, you have to rest at a grace of the Atlus plateau. It is possible to access it in two ways: either by recovering the two parts of the Dectus medallion to activate the elevator that takes you there, either by passing through the Cliff Ruins. All you have to do is speak to a character present on site to launch the festival, take the teleport and face the Scourge of the stars.

Contrary to what one might think, Mohg is accessible very quickly by following Varré’s quest. This is the first character you meet in the Entre-Terre, at the exit of the church at the start of the game. It is possible to start your quest once Godrick is defeated since he will then appear at the Round Table bastion. Without going into the details of his quest that we have already covered on the sitethere comes a time when you get the Thoroughbred Knight Medal. By using it, you are then teleported to the Mohg area.

Do not launch NG+

This is almost as important as making sure you have the key to the DLC doors: you should not launch NG+, a formula offered to the player in the wake of his victory against the beast of Elden. There are two reasons that are simple to understand but which may be hidden from the eyes of some.

First of all, start a game again in NG+, maybe it’s putting yourself in a situation where you have to defeat Radahn and Mohg again. Something, as we have seen, which still takes a certain amount of time. Even with the fastest routes. It would be a shame not to enjoy the DLC on its release day because of old bosses to defeat…

Secondly, go to NG+ involves increasing the difficulty the first time. Being in NG+7, the maximum possible, means facing enemies seven times more powerful than in a “classic” adventure. Being in an NG+, even with the access conditions acquired above, means putting yourself in a higher difficulty. Before tackling Shadow of the ErdTree, and enjoying it at a reasonable difficulty, we advise you not to start a new game +.

Explore the world thoroughly

This is something obvious and therefore obligatory to clarify: comb Elden Ring before Shadow of the ErdTree. Its open world constitutes one of its major strengths and It is this feeling of adventure that Hidetaka Miyazaki and his teams favored during the development of the DLC.

An exploration that can be made up of various objectives. We then advise you to collect as many incantations, war ashes, weapons and spells as possible. Don’t stop yourself from using a guide (which I did for a long time): it helps to have something in mind to follow and motivates exploration. This should allow you to beat the missing optional bosses and level up. Ideally, being between level 150 and 200 allows you to approach the DLC calmly.

In the process, exploring from top to bottom allows you to recover all the cards. If this remains hypothetical, it is not excluded that the DLC involves back and forth with the Inter-Earth of the original game. Maximizing your grace sites, which allow you to have fast travel points, is more than recommended.

Have the sufficient level

What is the ideal level to get started in Shadow of the ErdTree? It’s difficult to have a definitive answer, but we would tend to suggest being around level 150 or even 200 to be sure to be comfortable. Something that is not easy to achieve without launching a new game +, as recommended a few lines above.

EBeing at level 150 means guaranteeing a main statistic at 80 (such as strength or dexterity, depending on the weapons played), enough Faith to cast improvement spells as well as life points and endurance points sufficiently numerous.

Furthermore, it is also around this level that a majority of players find themselves once the last bosses of Elden Ring have been defeated. A piece of data that developers must have. The latter will therefore probably match the level of Shadow of the ErdTree enemies to that of players who have completed the original game at least once, which should be around 150.

Especially as we remind you: there is no point in collecting runes over and over to increase your level to around 300-400. In interviews given to various media at the end of February, Hidetaka Miyazaki was questioned about the method used to offer a challenge to all players, even those at maximum level. The boss of FromSoftware indicated that the Shadow of the ErdTree DLC integrated a mechanic identical to that used by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: the bosses will have a level equivalent to that of the players. Eliminating them will then allow you to increase your power independently.. Something that seems obligatory to overcome the challenges of this DLC.

Prepare to upgrade your weapons

It’s certain; Shadow of the ErdTree adds eight new weapon categories to the existing ones. Among them, throwing weapons or even gloves to guarantee a bare-handed (and bare-footed) style of play. These new ways of fighting undoubtedly constitute a major point of attraction for players.

To benefit from them, they will have to be improved with a system that is currently unknown. When in doubt, hoarding forgestone and forgestone miner’s beads is a viable option.. The first are essential for improving weapons at the blacksmith; while the seconds allow you to buy, in exchange for runes, forging stones without having to search for them.

It’s hard to believe that FromSoftware hasn’t thought of a system to make this forge stone mechanic obsolete. In any case, it may be a good idea to stockpile these upgrade materials “just in case”.

Learn about the plot of Shadow of the ErdTree

In line with its previous productions, FromSoftware tells many stories in Elden Ring. The universe of the latter is rich but difficult to grasp as the elements of understanding are scattered here and there across the earth.

Given the two trailers released by Bandai Namco ahead of the release of Shadow of the ErdTree, the DLC should also have things to tell. We know that the expansion puts Miquella in the spotlight: he is the son of Marika/Radagon, the first phase of the final boss of the game, and the brother of Malenia (boss considered to be the hardest). Perhaps Messmer, presented as an antagonist of Shadow of the ErdTree, is coming to disturb this whole family. It is also about a war that has not been told, the return of certain protagonists like St. Trina.

In short, many story aspects will be addressed with Shadow of the ErdTree. Maybe some of you want to take the opportunity to finally be up to date with the Elden Ring universe. Enough to understand even more why this is a game of exceptional density.