Dive headfirst into the enchanting world of Elden Ring with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Explore new areas, battle challenging bosses, and uncover hidden lore as you embark on a thrilling adventure.
Souls-like fans never run away from challenges, so as soon as the main plot of Elden Ring ended, they began to wait for the DLC. And after 2 years, they finally waited! The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was released in June 2024 on all platforms on which the main game is available. And now we will tell you what awaits you in the add-on, how to launch its story campaign, and what is needed for this.
What is the supplement about?
The DLC takes place in a new region, the Shadowlands. These are wastelands hidden behind the Erd Tree and scorched by the flames of Messmer the Impaler. In these lands, Queen Marika became a god, and Mikella the Unclouded traveled there to rid himself of original sin and be reborn.
You’ll have to explore new areas and fight new enemies to eventually reach the main antagonist, Messmer the Impaler. He’s featured in the game’s promotional materials, and his figurine is included in the Collector’s Edition.
How to launch DLC
First of all, you need to buy the add-on. At the time of writing, Shadow of the Erdtree costs 2,399 rubles on Steam . There is also a premium version for 2,999 rubles. You will also need the main game: you will have to pay 3,599 rubles for it now, 4,799 rubles for the bundle with DLC, and 5,999 rubles for the full Deluxe version.
If you have already purchased and installed everything, there is one more requirement to fulfill. You need to kill two specific bosses. By the way, you need to do this in your current save, that is, you do not need to start a new playthrough via “New Game+”.
Once you’ve defeated the bosses, you’ll be able to interact with the hand in the cocoon. By activating the item, you’ll instantly find yourself in the Shadow Realm and be able to begin the storyline. Just remember to level up beforehand to deal with Messmer the Impaler.
Which bosses to defeat
You need to fight two optional opponents:
- Radan Beach Stars;
- The Blood Lord could.
Many players have encountered Radan during the opening of Nokron, the Eternal City. Without defeating him, you can’t get there, so he is required to complete some storylines, but if you just followed the list of required story bosses , you might not have encountered him. By the way, Radan is considered one of the most problematic opponents, so get out your supplies of Vaseline if you still have any left after Godfrey and Radagon.
Mog the Blood Lord, according to Steam statistics before the DLC, fought only a third of players. But without him, you also won’t be able to get into the Shadow Realm. He’s not that difficult, but you need to defeat several bosses to fight him. We’ll talk about that later.
Radan Beach Stars
The boss is located in the Starry Wastes in the Redmane Castle area. To fight him, you must first wait for the festival. And for this, you can either rest at any place of grace in the Altus Plateau, or become a subordinate of Rennie the Sorceress. If you choose the second option, you will also have to fulfill Blyde’s request in the Siofra River area.
Once the festival begins, talk to Jerren to trigger a cutscene. Once it ends, the game time will automatically advance to late night and Radan’s Arena will be accessible.
Combat tactics
We already wrote that the boss is difficult, but now we will explain this in more detail. First of all, he has three phases, and Radan also likes to alternate close and long-range attacks. In the first phase, he will shoot at you with a bow, and then switch to close combat if you are too close. In the second, almost nothing will change, but several new attacks will be added. And in the third phase, meteorites, stone spheres and gravity strikes will be added.
The boss can be spammed with attacks by various friendly NPCs. There are 8 of them in total, and the summon signs for them are located near the banners. In addition, you can ride the Flow, and among the damage types, choose piercing.
Mog the Blood Lord
The second boss we need is also located in the Star Wastes, but in the Mogwin Palace area. You can meet him in two ways: through a quest or through battles with other bosses – we will consider both.
Meeting through a quest
To get the quest chain, talk to White-Faced Varre. He is located near the starting bonfire, not far from the tutorial dungeon. You will need to meet the NPC several times.
You can meet him again in Lake Liurnia in the Temple of Roses. The NPC is located near the entrance to the temple. Talk to him again to receive the quest to kill Magnus Beastclaw. This can be done by summoning an enemy in the Bloody Ruins. But there is an alternative way for co-op lovers: you will need to attack other players with rotten bloody fingers that the NPC will give you.
Once done, speak to Varre again to receive the Bloodlord’s Grace. This item must be dipped in the blood of Heitta or Handmaiden Irina in the Chapel of Waiting or Temple of Restraint. You don’t have to kill them yourself, and if the NPCs are already dead, use the Bloodlord’s Grace near their bodies.
Next, you need to give the item to Varre, and in return he will give you the Medal of the Pureblood Knight. Activate it to instantly teleport to the Mogwin Palace and begin the fight with Mog.
Meeting through victories
The second option is to open the portal through a boss fight. One of them, by the way, is the needed Radan Starscourge. So if you don’t want to bother with quests, go for the fight.
There are three stages here:
- Defeat two bosses from this list: Godric the Hundred-Handed, Radan the Star-Bane, Queen Rennal the Fullmoon, Blasphemous Lord Ricard.
- Travel to the capital and defeat two story bosses: Godfrey the Golden Shadow and Morgott the Omen King.
- Get out of the capital via the elevator and go to the Forbidden Lands. To access the portal, go up to the Giant’s Peaks and you will instantly go to Mogu.
Combat tactics
The boss itself is very simple. It has two phases, and the main problems can only begin in the second. And for the battle in the first phase, use the strongest dust you have. The thing is that Mog is able to apply Blood Rings to the dust, not the player, and thus give a window for dealing damage. This way, you can even skip the second phase.
If you decide to forgo the Ashes, use Ashes of War for Blood damage or the Swarm of Flies prayer. In the first phase, you can also shackle the boss and avoid damage from Blood Rings through Cleansing Crystal Tear. And if you have Azura’s Comet or other meteor spells, then there will be no problems at all.
Well, that’s it. You can safely launch Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and set off on a new adventure in a familiar world.