Highlights

  • Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring should provide an endgame sink for in-game resources that currently drop in value after a certain point.
  • The DLC can remedy Elden Ring's resource problem by raising the soft level cap and changing how upgrade materials work.
  • Other potential methods for a late-game resource sink include introducing a new currency, an armor upgrade system, a betting system for PvP matches, base-building or base-management, and limited-time upgrades purchasable with runes.

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will hopefully bring meaningful and significant changes to the game. While very little is known about Shadow of the Erdtree, it's safe to assume that it will follow FromSoftware's tradition of meaty and high-quality post-launch content. That said, there is one key area that the DLC should focus on: an endgame sink for in-game resources.

More than any of FromSoftware's other games, Elden Ring is about character progression. While it retains the leveling and gear systems that fans of the Souls games have come to expect, the breadth, longevity, and replay value of Elden Ring make it even more centered around forming a specific build and leveling it to its fullest potential. Though this is crucial to the experience of playing Elden Ring, it can cause some issues in the late-game, and Shadow of the Erdtree should be developed with these issues in mind.

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Shadow of the Erdtree Needs to Give Players a Place to Invest Resources

ELDEN RING

Elden Ring has been out for a while, and it's likely that any player who purchases Shadow of the Erdtree will have already invested dozens of hours in the base game. This serves as a testament to the wealth of content on offer in Elden Ring, but it also poses an issue: the redundancy of runes and upgrade materials.

Elden Ring's Soft Level Cap

Though Elden Ring is designed to be played for upwards of 100 hours, not including subsequent NG+ runs, players will ultimately reach a point of diminishing returns when upgrading their character. This is because each stat category begins to return fewer material rewards when leveling up after crossing a certain threshold. Despite this, runes used for leveling up become more abundant over the course of a single playthrough and each NG+ run, meaning that Elden Ring players accumulate more runes while leveling up becomes less significant. This issue can be mostly overlooked by players replaying the base game, but it could be problematic in the DLC, which aims to be a fresh and satisfying experience.

How Shadow of the Erdtree Can Remedy Elden Ring's Resource Problem

Perhaps the easiest solution to this issue would be for Shadow of the Erdtree to raise Elden Ring's soft level cap, making leveling more rewarding for high-level players. This would allow players, especially those visiting Shadow of the Erdtree during a NG+ run, to strive toward a new goal with their characters. This could go a long way, but there are even more things the DLC can do to make Elden Ring's runes more important.

Shadow of the Erdtree could change how upgrade resources work, allowing for more flexibility while fixing the issue of overabundant runes. In the base game, there is a finite number of high-level upgrade materials which can only be found by exploring the Elden Ring open-world. This incentivizes exploration and subsequent playthroughs, but discourages experimentation. If the DLC made all upgrade materials purchasable, players would have a new, rewarding way to spend runes.

A raised level cap and a shift in how upgrade materials work are just two examples of how Shadow of the Erdtree could offer a late-game resource sink. Other potential methods include:

  • A new currency that can only be earned in DLC areas
  • An armor upgrade system
  • A betting system for PvP matches
  • Base-building or base-management
  • Limited-time upgrades that can be purchased with runes

Shadow of the Erdtree could institute massive Elden Ring changes in the form of new weapons, spells, and gear, but this will all be more rewarding if players have strong incentives to spend runes and, by extension, explore the map and take risks to earn more of them. With the scope and scale of Elden Ring, the late-game redundancy of runes and other resources like upgrade materials is more relevant than ever, and Shadow of the Erdtree should seek to offer a compelling solution.