It feels like we’ve been waiting much longer than two years for Elden Ring DLC news, but finally, Bandai Namco graced us with the goods and we have a trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree. The three-minute trailer was stuffed to the gills with details and we had our keenest eyes scanning the trailer for the goodies you want to know about.
Elden Ring's DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, will be with us in June
It’s time to break down those three minutes and investigate everything from new characters to new enemies and classes, in FromSoftware’s biggest DLC to date. There are plenty of highlights, so let’s get into it.
A New Map
For the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC we’re going to be heading to a new area, The Land of Shadow. It’s said to be quite a sizable area to explore - larger than Limgrave - one that is filled with many biomes and may even mirror The Lands Between as the new area also has a tree in the centre. From what we saw in the trailer, there is, of course, a poison swamp, but we also spotted a large grasslands landscape, plus an area drawing in lava.
After Miyazaki spoke to Eurogamer, we also know that there will be more seamless transitions between open areas and the legacy dungeons. Speaking to Eurogamer the director said, “We wanted to go more in depth and bring a denser and richer level design, which brings these types of layout together a little more seamlessly. There of course will be large open areas, there of course will be legacy dungeons, but we've also experimented with something a little more in-between these as well to bring a more diverse gameplay experience"
The Fate of Miquella
Miquella, while being a minimal role in the main game, is due to be a large fixture going into the DLC. We seem to be following in his footsteps, into the Land of Shadow area where the DLC takes place. This looks to be the main draw for the story moving forward, so it’s perhaps worth looking closely at Miquella and his history to gauge where it will take us in the future.
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Miquella, Malenia’s twin brother, was destined to stay as a child after he was born with a curse. Of course, he wanted to become an adult, which he attempted by using the Haligtree and entering into a cocoon. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the procedure and fell into a deep sleep. He entered the cocoon but was then kidnapped by his half-brother Mohg, who's one of the Demigods we kill in the main game
We know that we’ll be entering the new area via Miquella’s cocoon as we see it split open in the trailer, with his lifeless arm hanging out. It’s hard to know how this becomes the entryway for the DLC, but Miquella seemed to arrive in the Land of Shadow after following Queen Marika, though we also have no knowledge of why she ventured into this new realm.
A New Demigod?
Taking up a large part of the trailer we see a man in red robes who could very well be the DLC’s ‘big bad’, a new Demigod, in fact. He’s being followed around by a red snake and is likely called Messmer as he refers to this name in his dialogue saying, “Those stripped of the Grace of Gold shall all meet death. In the embrace of Messmer’s flame.” Which is a pretty gnarly way of saying we’re all going to die.
One interesting thing to point out with this new character is his eyes. The left eye is sealed shut, much like Melina, our guide in The Lands Between. This could mean he is another child of Marika because he also says “Mother, wouldst thou truly lordship sanction in one so bereft of light” referring to the player character becoming a lord in the main game. Going back to those eyes, Messmer's eyes are similar to the dragons found in the game, meaning he could be one of the few characters able to communicate and tame dragons to fight for him.
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According to Miyazaki, in an interview with IGN, Messmer will fit the expansion's theme of “shadow” and that Messmer’s throne “is the same one from the palace room where you fight Morgott.”
New NPCs and Bosses
One character that has much of social media talking is a woman on a high-backed throne, in a dark room. With a high collar, pale white face, she is surrounded by stone columns. So far, the talk is pointing to her being a member of the Raya Lucaria. This could even be a room in the Academy of Raya Lucaria, the home to Glintstone sorcerers and scholars.
For bosses, we seem to have a large lion, which actually looks a lot like the Chinese dragon costumes with people underneath. We also get a glimpse of some toes poking out, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if a later stage of the fight is multi-person - it’s also surrounded by lightning at one point.
You can’t avoid seeing the huge fire giant that looks to be crafted from iron spikes; there’s another boss with an enormous hippo-like mouth that tears through a shallow lake before spikes burst from its back and crackle with electricity; for one messed up moment there’s a skeleton breaching out from the back of a horse and hurling a large curved sword. Elden Ring has some wild bosses and they’re about to level up.
New Weapons, Ashes and Abilities
Of course, it wouldn’t be an update without so many new weapons, ashes, and class abilities, that we want to roll several new characters. Personally, I’m obsessed with the short clip of the player landing a series of Bruce Lee dragon kicks. Then there’s that brilliant moment of sprouting wings made of gorgeous light, giving the best kind of high ground.
We see a moment where a character lifts an enormous bomb jar above their heads; a purple spell attack that seems to attack everything in the near area; there’s even a great moment where a huge crossbow unleashes many bolts into an enemy. There’s going to be some brilliant opportunities to craft new character types and I for one am already thinking of a martial arts monk character I could use for my next playthrough.
Release date
The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will be released for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. It will cost £39.99 and become available for download 21 June 2024. You can buy the DLC digitally on all storefronts, but there is also a gorgeous special edition which comes with the base game, the DLC and a stunning statuette.
Topics: Elden Ring, Fromsoftware, Bandai Namco, PC, Xbox, PlayStation