Summary
Even though I spent months preparing for the arrival ofElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, I am still getting annihilated by the DLC’s boss challenges and, at times, even some Legacy Dungeons I am caught off guard by. The highly anticipated expansion has finally been released and, with it, I can now visit the Land of Shadow and explore another part of the enigmatic history of the Lands Between and its many gods, though the focus is mainly on Miquella. Access to the DLC has some demanding prerequisites, such as defeating bothStarscourge RadahnandMohg, Lord of Blood.
Of course, beforeunlockingElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeand even its prerequisite boss encounters, I went through several challenges. During this playthrough, which is my second one following my initial run when the base game was first released, I went through all the main challenges and engaged in the most enticing side quests and boss encounters, even beatingMalenia, Blade of Miquellaahead of the release of the DLC. I skipped a few Legacy Dungeons I am not particularly fond of, such as Castle Morne and The Shaded Castle, but, overall, I completed most of the activities available in the game.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review - FromSoft’s Greatest Hits
Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is a victory lap for FromSoftware, bringing in elements from past games without losing what made it special.
I Reached Level 135 For The Elden Ring DLC, But It Wasn’t Enough
I Noticed A Peak In Difficulty Within The First Few Minutes Of Gameplay
For reference, I progressed into the campaign up untilCrumbling Farum Azulasince I did not want to get too close to the game’s end before playing through theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC.I spent around 60 hours playing and reached level 135 with a decent Intelligence buildthat guided me through the dozens of bosses. I thought I was at a sufficientlevel for theElden RingDLC, but I was proven wrong very quickly. As soon as I reached the Scorched Ruins in the first minutes of the expansion, I noticed I’d be having a hard time.
For clarification, the Scorched Ruins are an extremely easy place to clear out, but what started to concern me was that the Hound Spirits, which I assumed would instantly die with a strike from myDark Moon Greatswordactually went down in two attacks. When I saw myself putting in more effort than expected, even if the challenge itself was easy,I knew the difficulty would only increase, especially when faced with a boss. Of course, it did not take too long, since aFurnace Golem boss inElden Ringwas wandering the fields further north.
That same boss is still wandering the fields since I ignored them and pressed forward.
I was easily destroyed by the field boss and did not even have a chance to get close to them without dying. I tried two more times but noticed that, perhaps, it would be best to skip that encounter and then circle back once I had invested a bit into the newElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreelevel scalingsystem based onScadutree Fragment.The DLC has a special and unique leveling system that enhances the players’ damage output and damage negation based on items they findthroughout the map instead of the traditional runes.
In fact, leveling up your Scadutree Blessing with Scadutree Fragments and Spirit Ash Blessing withRevered Spirit Ashis the best way to bolster yourself for the Land of Shadow. Even though the DLC does have its unique leveling mechanic that is more effective than traditional levels in the sense that your character visually takes less damage and deals more damage,I do wish I had invested more time grinding in the base game and gaining more traditional rune-fueled levelsinElden Ring– I don’t consider the DLC “too hard” yet extra levels would’ve made my experience more pleasant.
More Elden Ring Levels Would’ve Helped With My DLC Experience
More Vigor, Endurance, and Dexterity Would’ve Been Particularly Helpful For My Build
Although traditional levels would not have necessarily made me so much stronger – I am nearly at the soft cap when it comes to Intelligence –more grinding could have allowed me to invest more in Vigor, Endurance, and Dexterity. The extra Vigor would allow me to not instantly die from an attack fromBayle the Dread in theElden RingDLC, for instance, who is completely stampeding over me – though I did nearly defeat him during a particularly good run. The extra Vigor would’ve also helped during the first attempts against theDivine Beast Dancing Lion, for instance.
When it comes to Endurance, mine is on the low end of suboptimal. If I had explored more of those regions I am not particularly fond of in the base game, I could have mustered up enough runes to invest in some extra Endurance levels, which, in turn, would grant meextra Stamina to continuously attack and dodge, as well as withstand heavier, sturdier armor pieces. I could be using a medium armor like theNight’s Cavalry Set, for instance, but am stuck with less protective armor because anything heavier would make me heavy roll inElden Ring.
The one stat I most regret not investing in is Dexterity. As a hybrid magic spellslinger carrying the massiveDark Moon Greatsword,having a low Dexterity makes the charging time for my spells annoyingly slow. I am currently using runes to increase this stat, but I wish I had done it earlier, especially because the bosses in theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC leave little room for you to take action. As such, launching quickly charged spells instead of slow ones would be a great way of landing massive damage and still having time to dodge their incoming attacks.
I do have the possibility of trying some respecs atRennala, Queen of the Full Moon, butI do not want to diminish my attack power to conform to these other adjustments that still need a lot of work. I’d rather strike hard and learn how to escape a boss’ attack pattern than only slowly chip away at their life in what seems like a menial task.
Of course, this is my preferred style of gameplay, even if it is more challenging than it has to be. Even though I do consider myself a bit underleveled for theShadow of the Erdtreeexperience and would recommend players get to a higher level to make sure their gameplay loop is airtight,I am still having a lot of fun with the new challenges presented by developer FromSoftware.
One Brutally Hard Elden Ring DLC Boss Is Inspired By Equally Violent History & Terrifying Mythology
Mesmer the Impaler, a boss in the Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, is inspired by a blend of real historical figures and mythological entities.
Some of the best boss fights ever created by the studio lie within the DLC, likeRellanaor the aforementioned Bayle the Dread. Hopefully, once I reach Messmer inElden Ring, I will be at a higher level – I will still likely be destroyed by him, but it’ll be a level playing field.
