Highlights

  • Elden Ring fans appear to be polarized over the Ancient Ruins of Rauh.
  • Some describe the new DLC area as feeling unfinished, while others praise its level design as a refreshing take on an open-world legacy dungeon, among other things.
  • Most players at least appear to be in agreement that the area's final boss offers a memorable and satisfying fight.

The Ancient Ruins of Rauh appear to have polarized the Elden Ring fandom. The new DLC area introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree hence currently seems to be roughly equal parts loved and hated, sometimes even for the same reasons.

While a cursory look at the Shadow of the Erdtree map might suggest it's less than half the size of Elden Ring's, the Land of Shadow is also much more vertical and layered than nearly any other region in the base game. Hidden in its northwestern corner are the Ancient ruins of Rauh, a lush location that requires quite a bit of trekking to reach.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Beast Champion armor power stancing curved greatswords around dead enemies
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Some Elden Ring Fans Think Ancient Ruins of Rauh Are Unfinished

And while the mere act of discovering various DLC locations is often immensely rewarding in and of itself, not all fans think that's necessarily the case with this particular region. On the contrary, some Elden Ring players who have managed to reach the Ancient Ruins of Rauh in Shadow of the Erdtree have subsequently found themselves disappointed with the location, having said as much on social media. One such experience was recently shared by Reddit user MistyDelta735, who humorously opined that the area feels incomplete using the unfinished horse drawing meme format. That's in no small part because a big chunk of the Rauh ruins plateaus is actually inaccessible.

Although their meme amassed thousands of upvotes within half a day of going live on July 2, it also prompted a lively discussion that illustrated how not everyone is in agreement with that assessment. Namely, plenty of fans have said that they enjoyed the area more than they didn't, praising its maze-like design as an interesting take on an open-world legacy dungeon that showcases the best of FromSoftware's ability to put together layered levels that feel challenging but ultimately rewarding to navigate.

At the same time, other Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree players argued that the tunnels in the middle section of the region are too contrived, wondering if their seemingly copy-paste design was more of a case of cutting corners than some stroke of level design ingenuity. Some fans have also voiced their frustrations with the Furnace Golem found on a small hill near the end of the area, which can often fall down in a way that makes hitting it in the face for a critical hit impossible due to how constrained the arena is. This makes an already excruciatingly long fight even longer.

One non-controversial addition to the otherwise polarizing area appears to be the final boss of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh in Shadow of the Erdtree. Namely, most players chiming in on this lively discussion appear to be in agreement that the fight offers just the right balance of challenge and flair, and have also praised the boss's memorable design, as well as the general aesthetic of its arena.