Highlights

  • Spirit Ashes can be helpful in Shadow of the Erdtree, but bosses are more aggressive and unpredictable.
  • Summons can hinder learning boss mechanics due to interruptions in fights.
  • Using summons comes at a higher cost in Shadow of the Erdtree, making them less practical.

Elden Ring's Spirit Ashes are one of the most notable aspects of its gameplay, allowing players to summon various spirits to aid them in battle. One of the most popular Spirit Ashes is the Mimic Tear, which summons a copy of the player's character that utilizes anything the player has equipped, including weapons and skills. At one point, the Mimic Tear was immensely overpowered, as it allowed players to "solo" some of Elden Ring's most difficult bosses.

Summons are still a popular tool in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, especially for those attempting to solo the expansion. Unfortunately, while there might not have been any downsides to using them in Elden Ring's base game experience, Shadow of the Erdtree has put players who rely on them at a massive disadvantage. This ultimately all comes down to the immense difficulty of the DLC, which is especially noticeable during many of its arduous boss fights.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Land of Shadow and Lands Between
Related
How Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Land of Shadow Compares to the Lands Between

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Land of Shadow is actually quite a bit different from the base game's Lands Between, in all the best ways.

The Ups and Downs of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Summons

Summons Can Still Be Helpful in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Just as they were in Elden Ring's base game, Spirit Ashes can still be helpful in Shadow of the Erdtree. There are plenty of times when a summon can either take attention off the player long enough for them to catch their breath or help whittle away at an enemy's health. In Shadow of the Erdtree's Realm of Shadow, Spirit Ashes can even be improved using the Revered Spirit Ash Blessings to enhance both their damage output and negation. Unfortunately, in Shadow of the Erdtree, using summons comes at a much higher cost than ever before.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Difficulty Can Make Summons Impractical

By now, almost everyone in the gaming world has likely heard about Shadow of the Erdtree's difficulty — a reputation the DLC has rightfully earned. Everything in Shadow of the Erdtree is much more challenging than the base game, chiefly its main and optional bosses, like Messmer the Impaler and Commander Gaius. Despite the added challenge and subsequent rewards that this provides those who are willing to see each fight through to the end, it simultaneously creates a problem for players who rely on their summons to help them in battle.

Firstly, Shadow of the Erdtree's bosses are much more aggressive than those in Elden Ring. This generally causes them to stop paying attention to summons altogether and proceed to attack players instead. Much of the time, a boss will unpredictably disengage from a summon and attack the player before they even have a chance to realize what is happening. In any true Soulslike game, this is dangerous territory to be in, as even letting the enemy have a small foothold can lead to players getting overwhelmed and panic-rolling until their Stamina meter runs dry.

Secondly, using summons in Shadow of the Erdtree can create too many interruptions in a fight for players to actually learn each boss' mechanics. For example, if a boss is aggressively attacking a player's summon, that player doesn't necessarily need to pay attention to which attacks the enemy is using, nor can they practice dodging or countering those attacks since they aren't the one being targeted. Since Shadow of the Erdtree is much more difficult than Elden Ring, learning boss fight mechanics is more important than it ever has been, and summons can put a kink in that.

While many may still find summons to be a decent use of resources in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, their double-edged nature can't be denied. They may provide assistance here and there, but the unpredictability, aggressiveness, and difficulty of Shadow of the Erdtree's bosses make justifying the use of summons rather difficult.