Elden Ring’s 'Shadow of the Erdtree' DLC launched: What you need to know

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion pack is out

FromSoftware and Bandai Namco’s multiple award winner Elden Ring’s first, huge expansion pack ‘Shadow of the Erdtree’ launched today across PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.

The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC features a new region and story arc, with new enemies and challenges.

You can purchase the Shadow of the Erdtree Elden Ring DLC separately but it is not a standalone expansion pack; you must have the base game to play it. Also, you must beat two optional bosses in Elden Ring to access the Realm of Shadow, the new region Shadow of the Erdtree brings to the action RPG.

Shadow of the Erdtree: Prerequisites 

To unlock Shadow of the Erdtree’s region, you must defeat two optional bosses: Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood. Mohg is the half-brother of Miquella, and it's Miquella around whom the story of Shadow of the Erdtree is woven.

Once you beat both, you can start Shadow of the Erdtree DLC story by “touching the withered arm emerging from the cocoon found at the site of the Mohg boss battle”.

Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: Price

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdree DLC is priced at Rs 2,399 on Steam. On the PlayStation Store (India), the Shadow of the Erdree DLC can be purchased for Rs 3,330. Xbox players can head to the Microsoft Store to get the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Rs 3,329.

There are Elden Ring game editions also that combine both the base game and the DLC in one single package.

We’ll dive into what Shadow of the Erdtree is all about, but first, a bit of a backstory to Elden Ring.

Elden Ring: Quick backstory

Those who’ve played FromSoftware’s fantasy action RPG Elden Ring know that the Erdtree is one of the three major elements or pillars of Queen Marika the Eternal’s Golden Order, the other two being the Elden Ring–a supremely powerful artifact that Marika shattered– and the immortal Marika herself. The Golden Order is a set of beliefs that could be considered a movement, a religion even, with Queen Marika the Eternal playing the part of God.

Elden Ring is set in the Lands Between, ruled by Queen Marika, a vessel of the Elden Ring. When you enter the game as one of the Tarnished, you find that the Lands Between is broken into several fiefdoms, ruled over by possessors of the shards of the Elden Ring (called Great Runes), with Marika imprisoned inside the Erdtree. So you get super-powered Elden Ring bosses, the children of Marika, who fight for supremacy. You must beat them individually and collect all the Great Runes (the shards) so that the Elden Ring can be remade.

Shadow of the Erdtree story: What to expect?

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC introduces players to a new region called the Realm of Shadow and features a new storyline. As one of the Tarnished, your pursuit of the Empyrean Miquella, son of Queen Marika the Eternal and second Elden Lord Radagon, and brother to Malenia the Severed, the Goddess of Rot, has led you into the Realm of Shadow, a region full of secrets and dangers.

The Realm of Shadow is “a place obscured by the Erdtree where the goddess Marika first set foot”. But you are not the only one to have come to the Realm of Shadow.

As per the developers, Shadow of the Erdtree will give “new insight into Miquella’s history and Marika’s hidden past”. Also, you will get to know of the "tyranny of Messmer".

Shadow of the Erdtree: New enemies, weapons, attacks and more

Messmer the Impaler is one of the key game bosses you’ll face in Shadow of the Erdtree. Featured in the DLC’s story trailer, one of the key powers of Messmer is his manipulation of fire. The Elden Ring DLC also adds new weapons, armour, weapon skills, equipment, sorceries and powers not featured in Elden Ring.

One example of a new weapon is the Thrusting Shield which can be used both for defence and offence. Hand-to-hand combat is also something new the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC brings, which allows you unarmed attacks with your palms and kicks.