How to prepare for the Elden Ring DLC

FromSoftware has kept all of us Elden Ring fans waiting longer than usual to release the DLC for its breakout hit. Sure, we did get Armored Core 6 between Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, but that is a very different style of game from the massive open world and almost limitless build possibilities of Elden Ring. As we have been waiting (not so patiently) for the DLC to come out, we also learned that this will be the only extra content we will get for the game. It will cost a steep $40 but is said to be on the scale of Limgrave, the first area in the game. That places a lot of expectations on this content to be not only worth the wait but also enough to hold us over until whatever FromSoftware delivers next.

As massive as the base game was, only the most dedicated fans have continued playing it consistently since launch. Most people, like myself, put in our 100 or so hours when it first came out, spread over one or two playthroughs, and set it aside after we’d seen everything we cared to. That means I haven’t touched the game in over a year and need to prepare myself or else this DLC is going to crush my Tarnished into ash. Rather than go on this journey alone, I will lay down my summon sign so we can all regain our skills and make sure we’re ready to handle whatever diabolical threats this DLC has in store for us. Unless it’s another poison swamp, in which case you’re on your own.

1 You need to beat these two bosses

Skill-check

The big question with any DLC, but especially FromSoftware’s, is how much of the game you need to complete to access it. Some let you start it completely separate from the main game, others put it after you’ve beaten the final boss, and others slot it in somewhere in the middle. In the case of Elden Ring, we know that you need to get to at least a certain point in the game before you can access the DLC. The requirements are to beat two shardbearer bosses, namely Starscourge Radahn and Mogh, Lord of Blood.

Radahn is found in the Caelid region and is the climactic boss of the Redmane Castle Festival where you enter a massive arena and can summon a host of NPCs to help you topple this massive figure. This boss should be a little bit before the halfway point of the game depending on the route you take, but is one of the required bosses to progress. Because you can bring in so much help, it isn’t a crushingly hard fight despite how intimidating Radahn and his moves are.

Mogh, Lord of Blood is a later boss that you find in Moghwyn Palace that you could theoretically finish the game without encountering. The easiest way to get to this location is to go to the Consecrated Snowfield and find a Sending Gate teleporter that brings you to the palace. This is an end-game level boss, but not the hardest the game has to offer so you will be put to the test defeating Mogh. It makes sense for Mogh to be a required fight, despite not being a mainline boss, due to the implications this character has with who the DLC will be focusing on.

It isn’t technically required, but I’d also highly suggest going all the way and beating the main game as well. Elden Ring is a fantastic game you should see as much of as possible before getting too excited for the DLC anyway, and the final act of the game is something special. If nothing else, do it for the lore and context reasons.

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2 Decide between New Game vs. New Game +

Pros and cons

Unless you’re brand new to Elden Ring, odds are you have already beaten the game at least once with one character. This would open up New Game +, allowing you to take your current character back through the main game again with all your levels, gear, skills, and so on but with tougher enemies. You can access the DLC on either a new or New Game + run as long as you’ve beaten the two bosses mentioned above, so the question becomes which one you should do.

I would personally recommend starting with a new game. This approach would let you refamiliarize yourself with the game, perhaps try out a new build, and get you back into the natural flow of the game. Also, because New Game + scales up the enemies to be tougher, the DLC is going to be that much harder since FromSoftware DLCs have always been much more difficult than the base game.

If you aren’t approaching this game as cold as I am, then doing the DLC on New Game + isn’t bad at all. You will have your build completely set, collected everything you want, and have unlocked all the points on the map that you could possibly need to travel to. It’s all a matter of personal preference.

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3 Level-up and complete your build

Find your strengths

Unless you are embarking on a New Game + run, you will need to ensure your character is properly leveled and geared up for the DLC. There isn’t an official recommended level from the developers, but I can suggest you should try to be over level 100 at the minimum. This recommendation is based on the fact that you need to beat Mogh to even start the DLC, which is a tough fight even at that level. I’d say level 150 would be a sweet spot since that would be high enough to take on any challenge in the base game and set you up for whatever the DLC has in store for you without overpowering yourself (unless you want to).

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4 Stockpile materials

New loot awaits

If the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has even 10% of the armor, weapons, spells, miracles, and other items and gear as the base game, you’re going to be drowning in new toys you will want to play with. However, just because you get something in the DLC doesn’t mean it will be as effective as the +9 or +10 weapons you bring in with you.

Do yourself a favor and grind out as many upgrade materials for weapons and Spirit Ashes as you can. That way, once you pick up a new and exciting item, you can instantly buff it up to be effective without having to break your forward momentum to grind those items elsewhere.

You should also have a couple of Larval Tears on hand, which let you completely respec your character. Plenty of new goodies will not be usable with whatever build you go in with, so being able to switch from a strength to an intelligence build on the fly will let you see as much of the new stuff as possible.

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5 Refresh yourself on the lore

VattiVidya to the rescue

This DLC is focused on a character only mentioned in Elden Ring named Miquella. While the story in the base game isn’t as cryptic as the Dark Souls games or Bloodborne, it is still very confusing and expansive. Unless you really got engrossed in the game’s lore, you might not know the first thing about this character, or you might have forgotten anything you did know after all this time.

Hopefully, playing through the game again, as I suggested, will help bring back some of those memories, but so much is still hidden and implied that it took the entire community’s efforts to piece together the real story. Lore videos are a perfect way to absorb all that juicy lore in a compact and easily digestible format. In terms of quality and accuracy, no one does it better than VaatiVidya. They even have a video specifically dedicated to Miquella, which I highly recommend. Sure, you can still fully enjoy Shadow of the Erdtree without understanding a single thing that’s going on and just experience the sights, sounds, and bosses, but you can get so much more out of it by digging a little deeper.

If there’s one other final thing I would say you need to at least try, it’s fighting Malenia. This boss is notorious for being the hardest in the game, if not all of FromSoftware’s games, which is saying something. However, even if you can’t best them, there’s a lot you might learn just by experiencing this fight. Malenia is Miquella’s twin, so there could be some references or hints at what’s to come. If the fight becomes too much, you can watch someone else beating them to see the cutscene and check out the item descriptions of what they drop.