We’re getting closer and closer to the first, and only, DLC for Elden Ring. Shadow of the Erdtree will be adding many hours to the original action-RPG experience, as well as new NPCs, weapons, abilities, and crushing bosses.
Elden Ring is about to expand massively and you might be wondering what you need to know before the DLC drops on 21 June courtesy of FromSoft. There’s a lot of lore that’s going to be explored and we want you to know everything you need before you dive in.
Can I play the DLC before finishing the game?
Absolutely, yes. The DLC takes place away from The Lands Between and can be accessed after a certain point in the main story. If you’re coming to the game for the first time and you’re wrapped up in the hype from the trailers, you won’t miss anything by not finishing the main story before diving into the Land of Shadows.
How do I access the DLC?
How to access the DLC was revealed by Miyazaki around the time of the first trailer, and it’s super simple. Kind of. In order to access the DLC when it’s released, you will have to reach the point of defeating Starscourge Radahn, before beating Mohg, Lord of Blood. Once you’ve beaten Mohg in Mohgwyn Palace you’ll have access to an area in which lies a cocoon, currently holding the body of Miquella. Players will have to interact with the cocoon which will transport us to the Land of Shadows.
Who is Miquella?
Miquella is a demigod in the world of Elden Ring and as an Empyrean, he is seen as a candidate to succeed Queen Marika as the holder and vessel of the Elden Ring. He is the son of Marika and Radagon and we don’t actually see him in the main game. Miquella’s sole purpose for much of his life was to attempt to heal his sister Malenia’s blighted affliction.
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Miquella is followed by much of the populace and could be considered the most powerful entity in The Lands Between. He transcends life as a formal being, splitting himself of his flesh and his lineage - another part of Miquella is the being St. Trina, who commands sleep and dreams. Essentially, Miquella is often seen as a power for good, or a beacon of light in a world of darkness and death. It is guessed at that Miquella will be a central part of the DLC as he confronts the legacy of his mother, Queen Marika.
Who is Queen Marika?
Queen Marika is the reigning royalty of The Lands Between and holder of the Elden Ring. She originally created these lands - or at least that’s what we get from the story trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree - and it’s said that she started out as a regular member of the Numen race before her ascension to godhood and royalty. Marika took a consort in Radagon, who may have once been a fire giant, and they had children together. But here’s a twist, it turns out Marika and Radagon are one and the same. Confusing, but go with us.
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Marika had several children; Mohg and Morgott came from her first marriage to Godfrey, who made way for Radagon and the pair then birthed the twins Miquella and Malenia.
What Marika’s motivations are are cloudy. Some say she wanted to remove death from The Lands Between, others believe she shattered the Elden Ring in order to betray the ‘Greater Will’, a mysterious entity sent from the cosmos in order to raise Marika as a god. The Greater Will was her guiding spirit, her god, in some ways, and she began to doubt its omnipotence after the death of her son, causing her to lose faith.
Who is Messmer?
Well, at this point it’s hard to say because we only have the trailers to go on. However, we can have a good stab at this. Messmer could be the firstborn son of Marika, possibly through some interaction with her other self, Radagon. The reason for this theory is Messmer’s fire powers that we witness in the two trailers for the DLC. They seem like the powers of a fire giant. It’s clear that Messmer is fighting on behalf of Marika in the story trailer and the current theory says that after his actions of decimating a city and its people, he was banished to the Land of Shadows, or giving a ruling title and became a tyrant in this land.
What is the Erdtree?
Before the Erdtree came to be, it was called the Primordial Crucible and was essentially a melting pot of peoples and cultures that would come to exist in The Lands Between. This crucible would end up becoming the Erdtree and gave way to the age in which we find ourselves when we play the game. The Erdtree, now, is the vessel for the Elden Ring (and a prison for Marika after she shattered the ring), but also the Greater Will (as mentioned above) and it is worshipped throughout the land as a symbol, almost like a god itself.
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It represents power, and a power over people. Whether the Erdtree is a symbol for good or bad is up to the player, but we can see it as a beacon of hope in some ways.
What is the Land of Shadows?
Much like with Messmer, it’s difficult to say right now, but it seems that the Land of Shadows is a time more than a place. We see from the story trailer that Messmer has laid waste to a city, its people and its cultures. This is likely at the behest of Marika who found herself up against the people of this place and perhaps their royalty. After all, she was ascending to godhood and likely didn’t want competition.
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So, the Land of Shadows, while it does take us to a place unseen, it also takes us to a different point in history, possibly to a time not long after The Lands Between were created. It could also be a land before the Erdtree was established and a more ancient place than we’ve seen, so far. It’s clear though, that this is a world of war and chaos.
You can respec before you head into Shadows
The last thing you need to know before you venture into the Land of Shadow is that you can respec your character. You don’t have to, and the abilities and power we receive in this DLC will be very different to the main game. The levelling up system in the DLC will be more akin to Sekiro and allow you to build strength in other ways.
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However, if you want to tackle this new challenge with a completely new build, you will be able to do so. You can respec in a number of ways seen in the base game, so if you fancy changing up to a mage instead of a knight, give it a shot. As with Elden Ring, no build is the ‘correct build’ so play how your playstyle dictates.
Featured Image Credit: Bandai NamcoTopics: Elden Ring, Fromsoftware, Bandai Namco