Elden Ring: What Did We Discover Through Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC Preview Event?
Recently, a lot of Elden Ring fans were invited to Paris for a preview of Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
How can you preview an expansion for what is already one of the largest and most flexible games ever? When what players like and dislike is largely dependent on specific choices in terms of builds, an expansion as massive as Shadow of the Erdtree, coming two years after Elden Ring, only makes things more complicated and impossible to describe with any degree of generality.
Here, we’ll analyze some reports of players’ preview experiences and discuss some of the weapon arts, environments, bosses and difficulty that will be added to the expansion!
Before Entering
First, I have to say that it feels almost impossible to effectively preview Shadow of the Erdtree. I’d wager that a large portion of even its most devoted fanbase has yet to personally experience everything that Lands Between has to offer.
For example, the parts of the game that people have experienced, which areas they enjoyed, and what problems they may have had in the base game all depend on countless personal choices made in terms of highly specific builds.
Now, with Shadow of the Erdtree coming on June 21, 2024, we’ve suddenly expanded that initial dilemma: more zones, tougher bosses, more gear to experiment with, and more variables by which your own experience will subtly change. As a result, you might feel that your personal experience is harder to convey to an audience with any real generalizability.
New Content Available For Preview
Anyway, let’s take a look at what’s available in Shadow of the Erdtree preview event.
We have three classes to choose from: Warrior, Knight, and Sorcerer, and each class is set to level 150. The team says this is just an arbitrary number they settled on for the preview, and that you can access the class after defeating Radahn and Mohg, with different stats prioritized differently for different classes.
We have access to two large, separate areas of the huge new world that Erdtree offers: Castle Ensis and Belurat Castle Settlement, and have three hours to do and see what we can.
However, this simplified campaign structure does nothing to prepare players for what’s coming. Add to that the inherent weirdness of any preview, you’re in a strange place, aware that you’re being watched.
The biggest difficulty is how to begin to convey what actually happened in that narrow preview window. So this preview won’t be a completely comprehensive analysis of everything in the expansion, just an accurate recollection of what players experienced and were impressed by. Still, there’s so much to dig into here!
DLC Is Difficult
I think one of the first things you notice when jumping into a DLC is that it’s going to be hard for most players.
Almost every player in Early Access booted up Elden Ring in the first few days, either to get to DLC access points or just to brush up on the control mechanics. If you haven’t already, I recommend doing so to regain muscle memory of Elden Ring’s unique and sometimes unforgiving pace. It’s also worth stocking up on some Elden Ring Runes and consumables in advance.
As we wandered across this vast new plane, it was hard not to be struck by the scenery before us. Ephemeral Graves dotted the landscape, stretching as far as you could see, and the light from the cracks in Erdtree illuminated it. A far cry from the alluring golden glow of the original game, a dreamlike, beautiful, and intimidating picture.
But be careful, because just when you’re enjoying all this, an enemy suddenly appears from nowhere and knocks us down with a single fierce attack.
Players need to bravely fight this new opponent, but there are dangers all around, and some people were killed before they even reached the two custom areas we were allowed to explore.
In short, from the beginning, Shadow of the Erdtree is an experience that requires constant vigilance. The already occasionally unbearable brutality of its base game is increased tenfold, and this brutality has not really weakened in the three-hour preview. Ordinary enemies will increase their own strength and attack you in groups, and the most insignificant enemies will usually punish you quickly because you underestimated them.
Seriously, although you can enter DLC after defeating the two must-kill bosses, if you haven’t raised the vigor level to a reasonable level, you’re dying here.
Even though Warrior class I’ve been using for most of this has been upgraded to level 55, the highest of all the available builds, it’s still tough. And since we’re heading into the full version of New Game+, things will inevitably get more challenging.
New Weapon And Skill Selection
Tougher than any of the enemies, however, is the choice paralysis I felt for a while during the preview. While most spells are obviously limited to Sorcerer, there are a number of new weapons for any build to try, including a variety of Axes, Spears and Swords, as well as a host of weapons that are becoming popular favorites in the form of new Martial Art skills. If used correctly, they can quickly wear down an enemy’s stance.
Beyond that, the new combat options, such as the wealth of new weapon arts, make me feel like any of them could become a new favorite if we had more time to practice. But unfortunately, we had to look at the class requirements of the available content as much as possible before I could thoroughly master all of this stuff.
Given the challenges of the above content, this strategy requires honing in on the builds that work for the time being. For me, that would come in the form of Backhand Blade, as this weapon seems to be the most satisfying choice between damage output, range, and reach, and its associated weapon art, Blind Spot, further enhances this ability.
Plenty Of Areas To Explore
If you only have three hours to see what’s on offer in DLC, efficiency is important, as the two areas we were allowed into look at least as densely populated as some of the larger castle areas in the base game.
Castle Ensis, for example, seems to be the more difficult of the two castles, and it reminded me of Raya Lucaria Academy, with its emphasis on Sorcerers and Magic. The more densely populated Belurat Castle reminded me of the decay and decay of Leyndell.
You’ll be carefully examining every visible nook and cranny before moving on, as you can guarantee there’s something waiting to pounce on you compared to the base game.
Why The New Expansion Is Worth The Wait?
If there’s anything exciting about this preview, it’s not necessarily any single design element, enemy, or gear, but the fact that in a few weeks we’ll suddenly have all new Elden Ring to decipher, a whole new world full of secrets waiting to be uncovered.
FromSoftware really seems to have used the two years since the base game’s release to make this happen. While players have three hours to explore two enormous areas of this world, they definitely haven’t seen everything these two areas have to offer.
By the end of the preview, you’ll realize that these two areas are just a tiny dot on the much larger map of this expansion. There’s so much more that you can’t even imagine, which is incredibly exciting.
What do you think of this new expansion? Are there any other things you’ve discovered that were surprising? Anyway, let’s look forward to Shadow of the Erdtree in a few weeks!
Jun-05-2024
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Elden Ring DLC: How To Choo ...
As we all know, many new weapons and classes have been added to Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and some of them have superior properties than other weapons, which we call Legendary Weapons. In addition to the beautiful Ashes of War, these Legendary Weapons also have very delicate animations, and most importantly, they can make you have a fatal effect on the enemy in battle. This guide will introduce several Legendary Weapons in the DLC, and you can choose the one that suits you best according to its location and usage. But it should be noted that if your Scadutree Blessing Level is too low, it is not recommended to use Legendary Weapons, because it will be a monumental challenge for you. Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword is a very useful legendary colossal sword in Elden Ring, and its quality can perfectly match your Strength, Dexterity, and Arcane. When equipped, you can use its powerful Ash of War ability, called White Light Charge, to deal massive piercing damage to enemies and easily clear anything in your path. Location To get this powerful weapon, you’ll need to start your quest at Ruined Forge in Starfall Pass, southwest of Moorth Ruins. First, you’ll need to go to Site of Grace here, then continue straight ahead, then cross a small bridge and jump off the right side of the bridge. After jumping off the bridge, continue through a corridor and you’ll see a large room. Ignore it as it doesn’t contain Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword or Elden Ring Runes you need. Continue through another corridor until you see a ladder near the second Fire Slime. After climbing the stairs, continue along the corridor above until you reach the main hall of Ruined Forge. You can use the rubble on your left to climb up, and after passing through the door you’ll reach a chain platform. Continue to jump down from the short bridge northeast of the platform below. From there you can pull the lever to raise the gate, jump up and slowly move left. Until you see a furnace, you will see Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword glowing inside. Stone Sheathed Sword & Sword Of Darkness Or Sword Of Light Stone Sheathed Sword is a Straight Sword that first appeared in Elden Ring DLC. Its dominant feature is that it has two variants, Light and Darkness. You can swap between them in the initial altars you pick up. Back to Stone Sheathed Sword, although it is a simple Straight Sword that can change with your Dexterity and Strength, its variants will have much more damage, and the scaling and Ash of War will also change. Normally, Stone Sheathed Sword has Ash of War Square off, which allows you to cut through the enemy from the bottom up. The most troublesome part of this weapon is finding it and how to switch its variants. Location When you are facing Castle Front grace, turn left and move northwest of you. You will find a Fog Rift Catacombs. Continue through these catacombs until you find the second main hall, where there are three giant spike traps. You can use the space on the left wall to cross this dangerous area safely, and eventually you will reach a platform. On this platform, you can kill an NPC to gain XP and Elden Ring Runes, then wait for the trap to deactivate. After it deactivates, you can jump to a small opening in the back of this area, and then you can use the surrounding environment to jump to the second platform. On the platform, you can see a chest containing Blinkbolt’s Ash of War. But the altars that spawn Stone Sheathed Sword are on the roof, so you need to figure out how to jump up again. There is no set method here, just jump up. How To Convert It Into Sword Of Darkness? After you get Stone Sheathed Sword, you can convert it into Sword of Darkness. You need to go to Lower Scadu Altus in Castle Watering Hole Site of Grace, use Torrent to enter Ruins of Unte, and then you need to awaken Furnace Golem. Once you have done that, you can enter the ruins. On the main floor, you’ll find an altar that’s very similar to the one in Fog Rift Catacombs. Interacting with it will transform Stone Sheathed Sword into Sword of Darkness. Sword of Darkness has Ash of War Darkness that can deal Holy damage to enemies, making it easier for you to deal with enemies that are not resistant to Holy damage. Sword Of Light In fact, the steps to transform Stone Scabbard Sword into a Sword of Light are similar to those to transform it into a Sword of Darkness, but the most complicated part is finding an altar to do the transformation. Sword Of Light’s Ash of War Light can also trigger Holy attacks, but the difference is that it emits light to illuminate a small area during battle. This gives you an advantage in dark arenas and battle locations. How To Convert Into A Sword Of Light? Go southwest from West Site of Grace of Rauh Ancient Ruins, and you will find a cave and stairs nearby. Climb this staircase and go north to see Scarlet Lot Cave. When you enter the cave, you will see a horizontal corridor. Go right and exit through two doors and you will find yourself on a balcony. Next is the tough part. You need to do whatever it takes to cross the invisible broken bridge ahead. Again, there is no set way to do this. Just get past it. Once you get past it, you will see a Light Altar that you can transform into. Euporia The weirdest, most unique weapon in the game is definitely Euporia, which is hidden in the last dungeon of Enir-Ilim in the DLC. It is a twin-blade that scales with your Faith attribute and can also deal a lot of Holy damage. It has a very beautiful Ash of War called Euporia Vortex. It allows you to spin the weapon at a very fast speed and release golden rays in combat, causing Holy and Slash damage to enemies. Location To get Euporia, you need to go southwest of First Rise Site of Grace and walk up a staircase. When you reach the halfway point, an enemy will attack you. You need to pay attention here that its attack point is where you are currently standing, so you need to use some flexible strategies to avoid its attacks. After defeating it with ranged attacks, continue to the north and you will eventually walk into a room. Flip over the balcony in the room and jump down from the left corner. After landing, walk south and there will be a broken railing directly behind a miniature statue. Climb over it and you will reach a platform where you will see an archway in the wall. You can enter without pushing the door, as there is nothing worth exploring here. Slowly follow the archway in the wall until you reach a pillar and then drop down to a thin platform to the south. Walk along the platform to the left and jump up another staircase from the crack. Go down the stairs until you reach the breakpoint and look south, where you will find a door. Run over and jump into the door, from which you will reach the lower area of Enir-Ilim, Belurat Settlement. Use the elevator on the right to move down, or continue taking the stairs until you reach the last elevator. Once the small elevator takes you to the bottom, you will find a gigantic door in front of you. There, you can find Euporia near an abandoned corpse. The above is some of Legendary Weapons in Elden Ring DLC. I hope you can use these powerful weapons to defeat more enemies. If you have questions about combat strategies, you can come to iGMeet Discord to ask. There will be many players here to help you! I wish you a happy gaming.Aug-19-2024
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Elden Ring DLC: How To Use ...
In Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC, Tarnished can finally use martial arts to fight enemies, as two new Hand-to-Hand style weapons have been added - Dryleaf Arts and Dane’s Footwork. This is excellent news for players who like to use Monk, because with the blessing of these two weapons, Monk Class will be more lethal. But before getting these two powerful weapons, you need to go through some challenges and tasks first. These tasks and challenges are not too difficult, and you can explore them on your own, but if you follow this guide, I believe you will get Dryleaf Arts and Dane’s Footwork more easily. Additionally, this guide will show you the best builds for Dryleaf Arts and Dane’s Footwork. How To Get Dryleaf Arts? When you enter the DLC, you will find yourself in Scadu Altus region, which is very convenient. What you need to do now is to find and go to Highroad Cross Site of Grace in Scadu Altus region, where you will find a sign that says May the Best Win, and a note called Monk’s Missive. These two messages will lead you east to Moorth Ruins, and after arriving at Moorth Ruins Site of Grace, you will find a boss you need to fight - Dryleaf Dane. You can use May the Best Win sign you just picked up when fighting it, and it will use martial arts and Holy magic on you. At this time, be careful of its Palm Blast skill, because it will kill you immediately if you are not careful. After you defeat it with high calmness and flexible mobility, you will get Dryleaf Arts and Dane’s Hat dropped from its body. Read More: How To Defeat Midra, Lord Of Frenzied Flame In Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC? - A Recommended Guide How To Get Dane’s Footwork? Unlike Dryleaf Arts, Dane’s Footwork is available only after you’ve completed most of Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, as it can only be found in the penultimate boss fight of the entire DLC. In this fight, you’ll face Miquella’s Followers, mainly Needle Knight Leda and Dryleaf Dane, who you’ve already fought before. Other bosses will appear after you’ve completed a quest or reached a certain level of progress. Besides picking up Dane’s Footwork in this fight against both bosses, you can also take their gear and numerous Elden Ring Runes directly after they’ve been defeated. The skills and damage types used by Dryleaf Dane in this fight are similar to the previous one, except that the previous Dryleaf Arts are replaced by Dane’s Footwork, which is not important. What needs to be noted here is Needle Knight Leda’s Needle Piercer skill, which is likely to cause unexpected damage to you when you’re not prepared. If you feel you’re having a hard time in this fight, you can use Pureblood Knight Ansbach’s summons to help you so you don’t get overwhelmed by the sheer number of NPCs you have to fight. Dryleaf Arts Build The biggest advantage of these Hand-to-Hand weapons is that you can put them in your off-hand, since you can switch them to two-handed moves in certain situations anyway, so they can be put in any build. For Dryleaf Arts, which build you want to put it in depends entirely on the build you are running. For example, if you are currently running a build centered on Flame, injecting Flame Arts into it will increase Fire damage and Faith scaling. Similarly, injecting it into a build centered on Magic will increase Magic damage and Intelligence scaling. In addition to this, you can also increase the base damage of Dryleaf Arts, since most of the damage of this weapon comes from Palm Blast. Here, you can use Shard of Alexander to increase the damage of Palm Blast by 15%, or use Godfrey Icon to increase the damage of Palm Blast by 15% when charging. When using this skill, Tarnished will gain an outstanding balance, allowing it to withstand attacks while charging. For Talismans, Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman helps you take less physical damage while charging, while Two-Headed Turtle Talisman helps you regenerate faster, allowing you to unleash more Palm Blasts in combat. Dane’s Footwork Build While both Hand-to-Hand weapons are excellent in terms of stat stacking, Dane’s Footwork is a bit better given its Ash of War Dryleaf Whirlwind. It strikes four times in quick succession while also increasing kick damage. This weapon is a great addition to any combo build, especially those using Arcane. As mentioned above, Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman increases your own physical damage cancellation, and equipped with Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, it increases all your attacks by 13% when you get max stacks. Alternatively, you can use the new Elden Ring Item in the DLC, the Shattered Stone Talisman, which increases the effectiveness of all kick attacks by an additional 10%. Combined with your newfound martial arts skills, enjoy punching and kicking in Shadow of the Erdtree. That’s all you need to know when using these two powerful Hand-to-Hand weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree. I hope you have fun playing this DLC. If you have better ideas for the build of these two weapons, you are welcome to express your opinions in iGMeet Discord. You may also get some runes as rewards.Aug-05-2024
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Elden Ring: Build Your Ragi ...
The arrival of Shadow of The Erdtree DLC has dropped a lot of new gear, especially some Samurai-related weapons. If you enjoy destroying anything with wild swings and inflicting bleeding on your enemies, then this Raging Rakshasa Samurai Build is definitely what you are looking for. In this guide, we will cover the play style of this build, what gear to use, the best amulets, useful gameplay tips, and more. So that eventually you will master the enormous power of the newest weapons in DLC and delete everything that stands in your way. Gameplay Raging Rakshasa relies heavily on the power of Rakshasa’s Great Katana, hence the name. Swinging this Great Katana violently is able to deal a lot of raw damage and apply additional bleeding effects, making it even more deadly. In addition, when making said swings, players will also gain a huge Hyper-armor to focus more on destroying enemies, especially bosses. Raging Rakshasa also has high Strength and Dexterity, and a little Faith Stat that grants attack and defense boosting buffs. Its overall gameplay is simple but very effective. Weapons Now that the basic gameplay is out of the way, let’s move on to the gear you need to complete Raging Rakshasa. Main Weapon: Rakshasa’s Great Katana Let’s start with the major weapon of the build, which is Rakshasa’s Great Katana, one of the newest weapons added in DLC. This Great Katana requires 12 Strength, 27 Dexterity, and no Arcane Scaling, which is really weird in my opinion, and it’s D scaling for Strength and B for Dexterity. Not only does Rakshasa’s Great Katana look really exceptional, but it also offers a devastating skill, Weed Cutter. This skill cuts the target horizontally and removes it like a weed, so its name matches its ability. As long as they have Stamina, the user can extend the use time of Weed Cutter, and it only costs 8 FP per use, which is crazy. This skill hits like a truck every time it swings, and since it has an additional bleed effect on top of the original damage, you’ll be dealing a ton of damage in a matter of seconds. Additionally, the user will gain Hyper-armor in the middle of the animation, allowing them to defend against or face normal attacks. While it sounds OP, it has its downsides. While having Hyper-armor is good, the user will also take more damage in the process. And I think the animation of Weed Cutter is very slow, and if you don’t use it correctly, you’ll be vulnerable. Secondary Weapon: Finger Seal Moving on to the secondary weapon for this build, I recommend using Finger Seal. While any Seal will work, Finger Seal is the easiest one for us to get. And by equipping Seal, we can get the buff later. Finger Seal is the starting equipment for Confessor and Prophet classes. If you don’t choose either of these classes, you can also choose to get it directly from Twin Maiden Husks for 800 Elden Ring Runes. Spells With the weapons out of the way, let’s move on to the suggested spells. Flame Grant Me Strength I mentioned that we’ll be getting buffs when using this build, so the first one on the list is Flame Grant me Strength, which provides an additional 20% Physical Attack Boost and Stamina Recovery Buff. Golden Vow The second buff on the list is, of course, Golden Vow. This buff increases overall damage by 15% and adds 10% Damage Negation, which is very helpful for us to offset the negative effects of Weed Cutter. Related: The Best Route To Quickly Complete Ymir And Jolan Questline In Elden Ring! Talismans Next, let’s get to the best Talismans for this build. Shard of Alexander The first Talisman on the list is our major hit, Shard of Alexander, which increases skill damage by 15%, especially when performing Weed Cutter. So be sure to slot this one. Lord Of Blood’s Exultation Since we deal with Bleed procs a lot with this build, I recommend slotting Lord of Blood’s Exultation. This Talisman will provide another 20% attack damage if blood loss procs occur near the user, which happens all the time when using this build. Two-Headed Turtle Talisman Next on the list is Two-Headed Turtle Talisman, which greatly increases Stamina Recovery. This is an upgrade from Green Turtle Talisman, and it will become the main Talisman I use in my build. My gameplay and strategy always revolves around super aggressive gameplay and strategy, so most of the time, I’m completely running out of stamina. Therefore, the faster my stamina recovers, the more damage I can do to the enemy. What’s more, there are a lot of times you’ll find yourself with no stamina, especially after using Weed Cutter skill. Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman For the next Talisman, I recommend slotting Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman for an extra 20% Physical Damage Negation. There’s a good chance you’ll be taking a ton of damage, especially when using Weed Cutter skill, so the damage reduction this Talisman provides will greatly help you survive. Not to mention that almost every enemy in DLC can take 1 or 2 shots and die, so you need this talisman. Stats Let’s move on to the stats for Raging Rakshasa. Starting with Vigor, 50 points have been assigned to it. Since I’m used to Glass Cannon Builds, I rarely assign a lot of points to Vigor, however, since this build is more likely to go head-to-head with enemies, I think 50 points are best. If you’re really good at the game, you can lower it. But if you’re still tuning in, make sure to assign 50 points, otherwise you’ll have trouble resisting the impact of all the enemies in DLC. Next up is Mind, which has 25 points assigned to it. You can at least bump it up to 20 if you want and add it to your other stats since this build doesn’t require that much FP and Weed Cutter is very cheap to use. Talking about Endurance next, we have allocated 30 points to it since the intended gameplay for this build is super aggressive. You will be facing off against bosses most of the time and will continue to use Weed Cutter skill, so I feel 30 points is enough for now. Of course, Endurance being an offensive stat, the more you have, the more damage you will be able to do. In addition, you will also want to have at least 50 Strength and 79 Dexterity so that you can match up well with Rakshasa’s Great Katana. These two are the key attributes of this build, so pay attention to them. Next is Faith. We allocated 25 points so that you can use the aforementioned Golden Vow and Flame Grant me Strength. Finally, since we don’t need Intelligence and Arcane, no points were allocated to them, they remain at 10 points. How To Optimize This Build? Now that stats are out of the way, let’s move on to Raging Rakshasa’s gameplay and optimization tips. Prepare Wakizashi The first tip I have for you is to prepare Wakizashi and fuse it with Ash of War: Golden Vow. Now, this tip is only for when you don’t want to invest up to 25 points into Faith. While it’s relatively weak, with it you can still increase your damage by 11.5% and increase damage negation by 7.5% across the board. Of course, feel free to use any dagger, I just used Wakizashi to match the theme of the build. Improve Your Opener Secondly, optimizing your opener is also crucial. When the fight starts, I usually use Flask of Wondrous Physick first to make my continuous attacks more powerful. And, to get more damage negation, I will choose to cast Golden Vow to deal more damage and damage reduction. Finally, pop Flame Grant me Strength for more attack boosts, then rush the boss and start executing Weed Cutter skill. Use Weed Cutter Wisely The third tip is to manage Weed Cutter skill wisely. You can still die if you use this skill carelessly, so use it intentionally and leave time to use the skill. Gear Up Properly For the last tip, if you are playing well and don’t need damage reduction, you can swap out Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman for something like Rotten Winged Sword Insignia to get more damage. You can also remove Opaline Hardtear and choose something like Strength-knot Crystal Tear, or get more stamina regeneration by equipping Greenburst Crystal Tear. That’s all about Raging Rakshasa Samurai Build. More top builds are coming soon as more new gear emerges. Try to choose the one you like best and start your adventure!Jun-26-2024
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Elden Ring: Do Players Need ...
Elden Ring’s new expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, will be released on June 21, and many players are wondering if they need to complete the original main quest before entering the new content. Because the base content in Elden Ring is enormous, it will take players hundreds of hours to explore all the content in The Lands Between thoroughly. For those who just want to relax, it may be a very daunting task and take them a long time. The time spent in the game depends on the player’s skill level, and most players will need 40-50 hours. This time is only enough to defeat the 11 necessary bosses, complete the quests in a hurry and do not have a deep understanding of all the plots, etc. But those who are worried about missing out on these plots can breathe a sigh of relief. It has been revealed that the missed content will come in handy when this DLC is finally released. Because FromSoftware did this with previous expansion. Need To Complete The Main Quest? Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has been confirmed to fully complete the main quest before entering the new expansion, but you still need to reach the area where the expansion entrance is located. For example, in Bloodborne Old Hunters DLC, players need to defeat Vicar Amelia's boss to enter Hunter’s Nightmare. This operation has been tried in many DLCs of previous FromSoftware games, including Elden Ring Colosseum DLC. Which Step Can You Unlock New Expansion At? To unlock Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in the regular way, it takes quite a long game session, but there is an easy way! You only need to defeat two special bosses to enter the new expansion directly. The first is to defeat Starscourge Radahn, which will unlock Eternal City Nokron. Of course, you need to fight Radahn by completing the quest of Ranni or activating Site of Grace by reaching Altus Plateau. After defeating the boss during Radahn Festival, you need to enter the questline in Varre to obtain Elden Ring Items required for Mohgwyn’s Palace in the underground area. You then need to go through this area to find Lord of Blood Mohg - the last boss to be dealt with before entering the new expansion. Once you have killed him successfully, you can actively access DLC by touching Miquella’s hand at the far end of Mohg’s arena. You Can Go Deeper Into Story As You Wish While players are always strongly encouraged to progress in the game, from my point of view, it is best not to lose the battle before entering the new expansion. The first reason is that it takes a long time to defeat both bosses, especially if you want to increase your progress by killing the bosses that appear on the road. If you plan to run it a second time with New Game Plus, it may take longer. The second reason is that New Game Plus makes your game more difficult. Therefore, players may need to defeat Radahn and Mohg besides updating the clearance content. In the worst case, they may not unlock Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. While New Game Plus in some ways increases the health of bosses and other enemies, in another way it also allows players to complete the first attempt of Elden Ring DLC at a higher level. For players who are constantly looking for new and harder challenges, this makes sense. But for players who already find the base game difficult, New Game Plus does increase the difficulty of DLC. Different people have different opinions. Of course, this does not prevent you from making a lot of progress in the game and picking up some of the best endgame weapons and gear. But in fact, you are better off getting as deep into the base game’s campaign as possible. Summary In addition, during Elden Ring DLC hands-on preview sessions, you are also better off setting your character to level 100 or above in advance, so that you can get higher stats and better equipment later. FromSoftware has always had a tradition of DLC being much more difficult than the base game, especially with featured bosses. For example, the ultimate boss of Bloodborne DLC, Orphan of Kos, is a very typical example. What? You think it’s not strong enough? What about Darkeater Midir and Slave Knight Gael from Dark Souls 3? Therefore, players who find the base game difficult are strongly advised not to use New Game Plus to enter the new expansion. However, there are exceptions. Players who rely entirely on Marika’s Hammer or Sacred Relic Sword can kill a lot in those “hard modes”. These two weapons will drop last before the credits. In addition, players can try different builds and weapons in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC to achieve different effects. It should be noted that the weapons obtained by defeating Maliketh, Radagon, and Elden Beast in Elden Ring are the best weapons in the game. But with the updated equipment provided in DLC, you can also try a lot of new options. Like you, I am looking forward to Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which will be officially released tomorrow. See you in the game and wish you a merry game.Jun-19-2024