On June 21st of 2024, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware Inc. finally released the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion of Elden Ring. For 2 years, fans have been waiting on new story revelations, characters, areas, and so much more. Finally, we got it.
I know, this is a bit late but most of what is in here has been in the oven for quite some time now. I just got around finishing it up. I’ll keep this short and sweet so as to not waste anyone’s time.
The entrance to the Land of Shadow is through the hand of Miquella’s corpse found in Mohg’s location; Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum. Cut content showing the multiple ways Miquella was or would have been involved in the story of the base game have been found by different content creators. This has led to much anticipation and desire for Miquella, which we now have.
Trying not to spoil anything out of the gate can be hard but let’s try it anyway.
The entry to the Land of Shadow has us meet a new NPC, the female knight shown multiple times in the expansion trailer and various promotional material by Bandai Namco.
She introduces herself to the Tarnished and explains that Miquella has called for her, you, and other Tarnished to where Miquella now resides.
After that, you interact with Miquella’s hand from the coccoon and you get transported to the Land of Shadow.
The entrance is quiet but daunting and eery as well. It doesn’t try to hit you with any obvious strong visual but it sets the tone heavily for what you will experience for the rest of your time playing the Elden Ring expansion.
The first area you explore is a large plain with what remains of a town sitting in the middle of it. Sprinkled the vast land are tombstones and various new enemies that were never present in the Lands Between.
As an attempt to tease what is to be found without spoiling anything, their theme seems to be ruin and death. These new creatures you encounter instill fear in various ways either through violence, grotesqueness, or eerieness. It is also different from the way Destined Death or the various death perceived in the Lands Between which makes it better as the theme and depiction of death in the Land of Shadow remains unique.
New Enemies
These enemies also possess unique moveset, so you will have to start from scratch in the Shadow Realm. Aside from the moveset, the difficulty also scales with your Tarnished, making it as much levelled playing field as possible for everyone.
This scaled difficulty is paired with a new system to help the Tarnished be stronger than the enemies through Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes. These are found scattered all over the Land of Shadow and is meant to be used as the main way to get stronger in the Land of Shadow. Levelling up still helps, but there is a significant boost in stats when using these materials.
New Areas and Storylines
A few hours into the game and you would have already sunk yourself in the story of Miquella and everyone involved. You would have discovered a lot, but not all. Something I discovered in the Land of Shadow is that the areas have a lot of vertical design involved in it, making traversing its world with the map confusing.
Certain areas are locked off much more mysteriously than others, and some areas are very straight forward. This is both enticing and frustrating as certain areas in the map are seemingly explorable at first glance but not really. Still, I find that to be part of the fun in the evolution of how FromSoftware Inc. design their worlds in game.
New Weapons
New weapon types are also available in the game, featuring unique movesets and skills. One spoiler that I will share regarding the weapon type is that there is one called Greater Katana. People have noticed its similarities with Monster Hunter’s Katana and honestly, I can see it. I am definitely a fan of it and it’s my main weapon for my current playthrough.
That should be it for now. The Elden Ring expansion features unique content right from the get-go and entices the Tarnished to learn what Miquella has done and uncover more secrets of the Erdtree, the Golden Order, Marika, and the Two Fingers. This isn’t a Shadow of the Erdtree dlc review or a “What is Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?” so let’s keep things mysterious for a bit!
More Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Screenshots
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree FAQs
Is there a release date for Shadow of the Erdtree?
Yes. it’s June 21, 2024. By now, it should be out already.
What level should I be for Shadow of the Erdtree?
My personal recommended level is around 130. However, there really is no level requirement to access Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, and you can probably get by with a level 100 Tarnished easily if you play well enough.
Is Shadow of Erdtree free?
No. The Elden Ring expansion is $39.99 on Steam. Also, I recommend buying the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Premium Bundle if you haven’t bought the game yet and are a massive fan of the Dark Souls series.
How big is Shadow of the Erdtree DLC?
If we’re talking about playtime hours, it should be around fifty to a hundred hours. A completionist run would be above a hundred hours. As for file size, I believe it is aroudn 16GB.
Leave a Reply