Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has turned out to be a bit more challenging than some players expected. Not everyone has been loving this elevated challenge over the base game, as evidenced by Shadow of the Erdtree's mixed Steam reviews, making it perhaps the most contentious FromSoftware release since Dark Souls 2. There are a number of reasons why the DLC is so difficult, even for veteran players, and some of these tougher aspects may reveal where FromSoftware can improve in the future.

For as hard as Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is, it also takes major strides toward accessibility. New features, like the added special notation for newly collected items and the more transparent rune descriptions, are massive quality of life upgrades over the base game. The DLC is also easier to figure out than some of FromSoftware's other titles, as there are more friendly NPCs which can aid the Tarnished on their journey, both inside and outside of battle. FromSoftware ought to commit to this focus on user experience for future titles, and one of its competitors may provide a helpful blueprint.

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Interior Spaces Are Classic FromSoftware Design

For Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, it's clear that FromSoftware pulled inspiration from some of its earlier level design highlights.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Bosses Could Have Benefited from a Lies of P Quality-of-Life Feature

How Lies of P Makes Regaining XP Less Painful

A staple of the Soulslike genre is a version of the corpse-running system found in traditional MMOs: players lose their XP upon death, and they have one chance to retrieve it from the location of their death before it is gone forever. Lies of P is no exception to this convention, but it includes one massive quality-of-life consideration that is missing from the other leaders in the Soulslike space.

When a player dies to a boss in Lies of P, their XP (called Ergo) will be left outside the boss arena, rather than beyond the point of no return. This is one of Lies of P's many strokes of genius, as it's a slight tweak on the original corpse-running trope that makes gameplay infinitely more forgiving and flexible. In essence, this change allows players to check a boss out, see if they are too difficult, and then retreat with their XP intact, free to level up, purchase buffs, or upgrade their weapons before returning for another try. This is unlike traditional FromSoftware games, including Elden Ring, which typically force a player to venture into the boss arena itself, risking death, to retrieve their lost XP.

It should be noted that Elden Ring will sometimes spawn runes outside the boss arena, but this does not happen consistently or reliably.

Shadow of the Erdtree Exemplifies the Issue of Trapping Runes in Boss Arenas

As many players have pointed out, Shadow of the Erdtree's bosses are extremely difficult, for reasons that are too numerous to fully detail here. However, one of the most consistent traits of these DLC bosses is their aggressive fighting styles: they will often attack players straight out of the gate, making for a number of surprising, instantly fatal encounters. The impact that this has on rune retention is significant, as players can lose their runes at the drop of a hat, leading to even more moments of unexpected XP loss than usual.

There is a tried-and-true work-around to this problem: players can retrieve their runes from the boss arena and then quit the game. However, this is far more difficult in Shadow of the Erdtree due to enemy aggression, as players can die before they are able to complete this process. And quite frankly, this sort of work-around shouldn't be necessary in the first place. Lies of P proves that a Soulslike can make accessibility considerations in this area without harming the overall experience of the game, and FromSoftware should follow suit.