Elden Ring's Miquella Should Be The Elden Beast to Messmer's Radagon

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Miquella Should Be The Elden Beast to Messmer's Radagon

Elden Ring

By Liam Ferguson

Published Apr 6, 2024

Highlights

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC promises hours of new content, with new weapons and enemies confirmed.
The mystery surrounding new story elements, like Miquella and Messmer, adds to the anticipation for the expansion's release.
Though there is no indication it will happen, a joint fight between Messmer and Miquella could create the same blend of intensity and spectacle as the Radagon and Elden Beast finale from the main game.

The launch of Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is approaching, and fans are already busy theory crafting about what it could include. Elden Ring was already such a massive, densely packed game that the addition of a whole other region to the game will likely add on hours of new content to explore, with secrets and hidden lore scattered throughout. Several new categories of weapons have already been confirmed, and Shadow of the Erdtree’s trailer has already revealed a number of the expansion’s enemies as well. There's no doubt that it’s going to be huge when it launches, despite just being DLC.

A lingering question is what new story elements Shadow of the Erdtree will bring to Elden Ring, as FromSoftware has kept that mostly under wraps. The Tarnished will apparently be following Miquella’s disembodied spirit to the “Land of Shadow,” a mysterious place obscured by the Erdtree. Messmer the Impaler will be waiting there, likely serving as this expansion’s climactic boss battle. However, there are reasons to expect that Messmer will not be the final trial in the DLC, and Elden Ring’s own finale is one of them.

Miquella Cocoon Mohg Lord of Blood Fight

Elden Ring: What a Boss Fight Against Miquella Could Look Like

Miquella is one of the most powerful figures in Elden Ring's lore that players never face, but an odd glitch suggests how the battle could look.

Elden Ring’s DLC Bosses Should Be Full of Surprises

FromSoftware almost never advertises the final boss of its games and DLC upfront. The Soul of Cinder appearing on Dark Souls 3’s cover was the exception that proves the rule, and still caught players off guard due to how much it resembles a generic Ashen One. Dark Souls 1 used Artorias’ image and name for its Artorias of the Abyss promotional art, and Bloodborne repeated this with The Old Hunters’ artwork featuring Lady Maria. At this point, there's no reason to expect Elden Ring to abandon this misdirection, and the amount of attention Messmer has received only makes his role more suspect.

Something’s Up With Shadow of the Erdtree’s Messmer

There’s little reason to doubt that Messmer will be another climactic Demigod fight, and possibly positioned at a chokepoint before Shadow of the Erdtree’s last area, as Artorias and Maria were in DLC before him. However, there's no way of knowing when or how his encounter will play out until players reach him in-game, and there could be a twist to it. Elden Ring gave most of its major bosses at least two highly distinct phases, though suspecting that Messmer should follow suit doesn't necessarily mean players will be able to predict what, or who, his second phase will bring.

Shadow of the Erdtree’s Demigods Could Work Better Together

If Messmer were to have a joint boss battle, his most fitting partner would be Miquella. A lot of speculation has cropped up over these two Demigods’ places in Elden Ring’s divine family tree, but they resemble two sides of the same coin regardless. Messmer is associated with destruction, while Miquella represents abundance; Messmer is covered with blasphemous symbols, while Miquella subtly opposes the Outer Gods’ influence; and both seem to be leading factions unaligned with the Golden Order. The truth of this will have to wait, but Messmer could easily share a fight with Miquella just like their maybe-mutual father Radagon did with the Elden Beast.

How Miquella and Messmer Can Form A Great Elden Ring Boss

Messmer’s encounter would start as a classic FromSoftware DLC fight, as he challenges the player to a tough-as-nails fight against a fellow warrior. He could even be fleshed out with a second phase like Radagon was during Elden Ring's final fight. Afterward, Miquella could either possess and transform Messmer’s body, or draw players into a restless slumber where they face his spirit in a spectacle-heavy bout. This could come at the end of the DLC or precede another foe, like Godwyn, the Prince of Death, but Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC would get a free memorable boss out of Messmer and Miquella’s team-up either way.