Highlights

  • Elden Ring's upcoming expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, still lacks official details and a release date, leaving fans eager for more information.
  • Many players have been frustrated over the abundance of poisonous swamp areas in FromSoftware games, Elden Ring included, feeling that they are more of an annoyance than a challenge.
  • The inclusion of poison swamps in the game restricts player freedom and can make combat and exploration within these areas difficult and unpleasant. Leaving out poisonous areas in the DLC could be a favorable decision.

Official details are still sparse on what to expect from Elden Ring's upcoming first expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. The initial teaser image shared by FromSoftware is essentially the only concrete information that fans have about Elden Ring’s DLC so far, which notably still doesn't include a release date.

With all the possibilities for what the Shadow of the Erdtree expansions could include, it should arguably skip out on adding any more poisonous swamps to Elden Ring. Many players are frustrated by the threat these environments present, mainly because it's more of an annoyance than a challenge. Especially when considering how many areas Elden Ring has that qualify as a poisonous swamp, many feel that enough is enough already, so the game’s expansion should give this mechanic tradition a break.

RELATED: When Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Edtree Expansion Will Likely Take Place

Elden Ring Has Too Many Poison Swamps Already

According to Game Informer, Elden Ring's Game Director Hidetaka Miyazaki once said in an interview that FromSoftware is aware of players’ frustrations about these recurring environments throughout the studio's games. However, Miyazaki's enjoyment of making these environments still leads to them showing up, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. Some fans appreciate the studio’s infamous poison swamps, especially in light of Miyazaki's revelation, although the consensus in the FromSoftware games’ community regarding poison swamps is that less is more.

Swamp of Aeonia

This region gets credit for having significance in the events of Elden Ring’s lore that happened before the player's journey begins, but this doesn’t mean it is as enjoyable as it is interesting. Caelid is crowded with extremely difficult enemies, like giant dragons, crows, and dogs, all of which are terrifying to fight in the midst of an environment that is equally deadly on its own.

Lake of Rot

This other major location is especially deadly because payers can’t rely on Torrent to safely explore the environment without becoming afflicted with the Scarlet Rot Status Effect. With enemies hiding throughout the area and a scarce amount of safe places to take rest, this location is overwhelmingly deadly. The only redeeming quality of this area is that players who aren’t interested in discovering all of its secrets can generally pass through it fairly quickly.

Why Elden Ring Doesn't Need Any More Poison Swamps

elden ring shadow of the erdtree key art

At this point, it’s recognizable as a recurring staple throughout FromSoftware's Souls-like games to have at least one major area that resembles a poison swamp. In the case of Elden Ring, there are two main “poison swamps,” with several other minor areas where the terrain itself is either poisonous or covered in another kind of negative status effect. Between the Swamp of Aeonia, the Lake of Rot, and the other poison areas scattered around the Lands Between, Elden Ring arguably has too many poison swamp areas already, before any expansions come out.

A big part of why Elden Ring’s poisonous swamps are frustrating is that these locations aren’t all optional, sometimes even including boss fights that are required for certain NPC questlines in Elden Ring. Not only are these locations difficult to navigate through, but fighting within them is almost always a miserable experience. The open-world nature of Elden Ring gives players a lot of choices in where, when, and how to explore each area, but poison swamps take away a lot of these freedoms.

Even though players can use Elden Ring's mount, Torrent, to safely cross certain terrains, this solution isn't without its downsides. Primarily, horseback combat adds a lot of difficulty to what could otherwise be straightforward fights, with things like reduced mobility and limited attack options, which especially affects melee builds in Elden Ring. So, even in the areas where players can rely on Torrent for crossing through poison swamps in the game, it's still far from an enjoyable experience compared to exploring other areas. With many players finding the difficulty of poisonous areas arbitrary, leaving them out of the DLC could be an ideal approach.