" rent us go together . My dear consort , eternal . " - Ranni the Witch .
Time ticks by so slowly on the approach to the release appointment for Shadow of the Erdtree , and I for one could n’t be more excited . Not only because it ’s more of that sharply pitiful FromSoft writing I love so dearly , set in an fantastically interesting unexampled humanity space , but because I believe Shadow of the Erdtree will be the close of an era .
What does Shadow of the Erdtree mean for Elden Ring?
Shadow of the Erdtree will be theonlyDLC Elden Ring receives , rightfully so in my view . But that entail that whatever FromSoft work on next will in all likelihood be yet another newfangled IP . With Dark Souls long since over , and Elden Ring ready to meet its end , perhaps the fantasy age of FromSoftware is too .
All my existential terror about the end of my formative years away , have only the one DLC means that FromSoft necessitate to get Shadow of the Erdtreeright , so , let ’s count to some of the developer ’s older DLC and see what worked , what did n’t , and what Shadow of the Erdtree might be able-bodied to do otherwise .
Scaling
Elden Ring is already off to an exceeding start in this regard , as this has always been one of the gist take with all previous FromSoft DLC . In late biz , FromSoft has always simply elected to make any DLC release flat - outharderthan anything from the base game , and it ’s intelligible why . There ’s a distinct difficulty in releasing DLC for game such as these , as FromSoft has to be quick for players who have long since finish the base game subject matter , especiallyso for Elden Ring .
In previous game , begin with Dark Souls , FromSoft ’s answer to this was to only make the DLC much hard than anything in the base game , intend that a eminent - stage reference still had toreallypush themselves to get through it . However , this was always much more of a slapdash solution than anything actually meaningful , and it could find like a letdown to see the many hr you ’d put into grow a build just mighty , kick upstairs your weapon , and spending all of those perfumed , angelic souls go to devastate the 2d you came up against the Sanctuary Guardian in the original Dark Souls ' DLC . This also mean that you could n’t really interact with any DLC you had until you were strong enough , which was a shame for players who perhaps could n’t sink in quite as much time as I once could , as an unemployed adolescent .
FromSoft has mind to this common ill , however , and Shadow of the Erdtree will be its first DLC to actively include a feature with the sole purpose of resolve this issue . Details on how this feature article will form are still hazy , but what we do know is that Shadow of the Erdtree will go through something called ' Attack Power ' which Miyazaki discussed in aninterview with Famitsu , something that has already confirm to be inspired by one of the developer ’s other titles , Sekiro . In Sekiro ( which has a vastly different chemical formula to the ' Soulsborne ' games we know and love ) the only way to meaningfully amend your character is by defeating honcho ; doing so would increase your wellness , posture , and other stats in the absence seizure of traditional levels or gear .
While we do n’t know precisely how this fresh system will work , the core concept is that no matter how over or under - leveled you are , the DLC will provide you with a decent challenge without making you finger too weak , or too strong . You wo n’t be able to simply rune farm for 60 minutes , get yourself a +25 , and call it a day ; you ’ll need to build in the raw way of life the DLC mean .
Accessibility
Please , put down your pitchfork and Aaron’s rod , I ’m not about to say what youthinkI’m going to say . ( Plus some other endearing hoi polloi already figured outhow to make Elden Ring a bit easier ) .
What I have in mind by accessibility is not how easy the DLC should be , but how easy it should be to get into to begin with . I ’m sorry , but nobody can sit there and tell apart me that going to Darkroot Basin , down a Hydra , talking to an NPC , then going on to do a respectable portion of the eternal rest of the alkali plot to get the Lord Vessel , break down to the Duke ’s Archives to find and kill asinglecrystal golem ( of many in the area ) to get a wiped out pendent , then goingbackto Darkroot Basin to interact with a portal that is hidden off to the side is in any way normal , or intuitive .
And while yes , you may of class just ' look it up ' , I ’ve never particularly enjoy Googling something I ’d rather have figured out in - plot on my own . gratefully , due to my dear of the lore , and my plenteous hours in Elden Ring , I and many others already roll in the hay where the DLC expansion will be , and what you have to do to get into it . But I do n’t think you should have to already know , or look it up , I just think there should be ahint .
Screenshot by ProGameGuides
I also do n’t suppose it should be some great self-aggrandizing expositional cutscene , or a wall of text say ' GO HERE AND DO THIS ' , as neither would be in line with that elusive storytelling FromSoft has always favored ; but perhaps a few note spread around , even some new NPC voice parentage . ( Perhaps even new boss dialogue - look at you Malenia . ) Anything to give a new player who require to figure things out on their own a way of life of doing so .
As a fun anecdote , back when I first play Dark Souls 3 , I work way after launching and all the DLC had already been released . I stupefy the plot , flap The Ringed City , and I thought to myself ' That ’s strange , could ’ve rely there were two pieces of DLC for this . ' Lo and behold , I ’d already done ash of Ariandel , I ’d just had absolutely no idea . At the time , I ’d just wear I ’d stumbled into a higher - storey arena circumstantially ( peculiarly considering my experience with The Painted World of Ariamis in Dark Souls 1 , in which it appear in the al-Qa’ida biz ) and act my mode through .
That one boss
You know just what I ’m spill the beans about with this one .
Artorias of the Abyss , Sir Alonne , Slave Knight Gael , Ludwig the Holy Blade .
Shadow of the Erdtree has to have thatoneboss that resist out above anything else available - not even just in terms of difficulty , but in terms of that ever - present wow component in nearly every FromSoft boss . Each of the bosses heel above just had that little bit of magic about them .
Screenshot by ProGameGuides
From Artorias with his exceptional storey , his connection to Sif , and his owing intention .
Sir Alonne had his beautiful arena , and Slave Knight Gael had that pervading sadness of watching the creation you ’ve loved for so many year turn to dust before your very eyes .
And Ludwig the Holy Blade , with perhaps the single enceinte piece of euphony ever conducted for a video secret plan providing an heroic soundtrack to his boss competitiveness .
Screenshot by ProGameGuides
Elden Ring already has its fair portion of absolutely outstanding boss , with FromSoft pouring its years of practice into an already exceptional base plot . I for one firm believe that Malenia , Blade of Miquella , is the single most beautiful boss they ’ve ever designed , not to refer their most difficult by far .
So they ’ve got their work cut out for them with Shadow of the Erdtree , but if thetraileris anything to go off , we ’ve got some great ones to look ahead to .
All in all , it ’s difficult to really give FromSoft merit for potential improvement , because by its very design Elden Ring was made to set so many old wrongs correct . But hopefully , with some adjustments to scale , some more accessibility for the DLC , and just one more really coolheaded boss , Shadow of the Erdtree will be the top achievement in FromSoftware ’s incredible bequest .
Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment
If you ’re looking for more Elden Ring content and are hear to fix some for the fresh DLC , turn back out our usher onwhere to see Somber Smithing Stone 7shere at Pro Game Guides .
Screenshot by ProGameGuides
Screenshot by ProGameGuides
