Arise, Destroyed. Your time has come again.
After a long wait, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree will be released tomorrow on PS5 and PS4. With a immense novel world to explore, weapons to find, skills to master, and of course bosses to face, FromSoftware’s latest expansion may seem like a daunting endeavor. But fear not, Tarnished, as our spoiler-free tips covering the first few hours will assist set you on the right path. First, a key step: what is required to enter the Shadow Realm.
Entrance to the Shadow Realm
If you’ve ever played a FromSoftware extension, you know that gaining access is never a basic process. Shadow of the Erdtree continues this tradition. To enter the Shadow Realm, you must complete several tasks in the base game.
On your journey through the Lands Between, you must first defeat Starscourge Radahn, an extremely challenging boss. To face him, travel to Redmane Castle in Caelid during the Radahn Festival and take the elevator down to fight him on the beach.
You will also have to defeat Mohg, the Blood Lord. It can be found in Mohgwyn Palace, which can be reached by following the Varré questline or by using the Waygate hidden in the Hallowed Field of Snow. Mohg is known for being a particularly tough fight, but other Tarnished set up summon spots next to the battle to assist fighters get through and open the DLC.
At the back of the Mohg boss arena you will discover Miquella’s cocoon. If both enemies have been defeated (and the expansion has been downloaded), a novel interaction option will appear when you stand next to the cocoon. Accept and you will enter the Shadow Realm and begin your journey to the Shadow of Erdtree.
Navigating the world
If you spend dozens of hours in the base Elden Ring game, it’s uncomplicated to forget that you originally had to collect map pieces to build a picture of the world around you. In Shadow of the Erdtree, this feature returns, meaning that when you first enter the Shadow Realm, your map will be darkened, with one exception; a single brilliant spot somewhere in the murky.
One of your first goals should be to reach the place where you will find a fragment of the map under a high obelisk. Collecting this will reveal a map of the region, but beware – Shadow of the Erdtree’s world design employs verticality on a scale unlike anything seen in the Lands Between, which means there’s still plenty more to discover – both above and below – what the map can show you.
This world is full of secrets, so be sure to explore every nook and cranny. For your efforts, you will undoubtedly be rewarded with weapons, spells and items.
Making friends and enemies
The beginning area of Shadowlands is full of genial (and not-so-friendly) characters who can assist fill you in on the story, point out hidden areas, send you on missions, or challenge you to a duel.
During the first hour or so of gameplay, you’ll encounter warriors, tribesmen, worshipers, and admirers, among others. Talking to them, bringing them items they need, or taking appropriate action in their presence can assist advance their story within the overall narrative. And of course, they can reward you with items, join you as companions in battle, and more.
Enjoying the blessings of the Shadow Realm
While you can still develop your character as before, in the Shadowlands character development comes in the form of special blessings. Two novel consumables, Fragments of Scadutree and Ashes of the Venerable Spirit, can be found throughout the world and used in the Place of Grace to power up your character and their abilities, so searching for them in the first few hours is a worthwhile endeavor.
Scadutree Fragments: They raise both your character’s damage negation and attack power, meaning you take less damage from enemy attacks and deal more damage to your own.
Venerable Ashes of the Spirit: These have a similar purpose, but relate to your Spirit Ashes, giving your summons greater survivability and power so you can power up your Mimic Tear or Black Knife Tiche before fighting the next boss. (Other spiritual ashes are available…)
Please note that both of these special blessings only apply to the Shadowlands and therefore will have no effect in the base game.
Managing novel discoveries
Like all FromSoftware games, Elden Ring is full of items and consumables, some useful, others mysterious. In addition to Shadow of the Erdtree, Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team have introduced a novel quality of life feature that allows you to more easily explore the latest goods you discover during your adventure.
This novel feature, which is disabled by default, will highlight novel pickup trucks with a “!” in your inventory, making it easier to browse your collection. It also includes an optional Recent Items tab, where everything you’ve recently found is organized into one easy-to-understand menu. Both of these features make it easier to discover the uses for Shadow of the Erdtree’s many novel items, but the choice whether to exploit them or the original system is entirely up to you.
If you want to enable these features, they can be found in the Display section of the Settings menu. Here you can enable Select New Items or Show Recent Items tab, or exploit both options at the same time.
These tips should assist you enter the Shadowlands and make silky progress in your first few hours. But there’s still plenty to discover when Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree launches tomorrow, June 21.
