Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is right around the corner – and as the Elden Ring player counts continue to rise in anticipation of its release, many are looking for the best ways to prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree. To get into the DLC players must defeat two specific bosses, in no particular order.

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But there are a lot of other things you can do to prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree to launch on June 21, 2024. Though you don't have to do too much to access the DLC itself, going in prepared for Shadow of the Erdtree means collecting a variety of great equipment, getting various upgrade materials, and building a strong stat and consumable foundation to take on the DLC's challenges.

What To Do Before Shadow of the Erdtree

Essential Shadow of the Erdtree Requirements

Defeat Starscourge Radahn

The first Shadow of the Erdtree access requirement is to defeat Starscourge Radahn , the strongest of the demigods, and typically the third or fourth Shardbearer players take on. Found deep in the south of Caelid, General Radahn can only be fought once the Radahn Festival has been triggered at Redmane Castle .

Redmane Castle sits on a peninsula in southern Caelid, connected by a bridge bombarded by ballistae and catapults. But if you get here too early, and get to the end of Redmane Castle before the festival has begun, you will instead face a Crucible Knight & Misbegotten Warrior duo boss.

To trigger the Radahn Festival and fight the Starscourge, you must either get to the Altus Plateau via the Grand Lift of Dectus , or advance Ranni the Witch 's questline to the point where you are told about it by Preceptor Seluvis .

This part of the questline triggers after meeting up with Blaidd in the Siofra River Well , so don't speak to Seluvis if you want to take on the duo boss first.

Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood

The second requirement for accessing Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is to defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood , atop Mohgwyn Palace . Mohg stole Miquella away from Miquella's Haligtree , and is presumed to be the body inside of the gigantic egg resting on a gigantic pelvic bone that acts as a kind of altar.

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This is where players will actually enter the DLC, by interacting with the hand of the body inside the egg, which presumably belongs to Miquella himself. But to access the egg, you'll have to beat Mohg.

To get to Mohgwyn Palace, there are two methods: follow White Mask Varré 's questline until you are given the Pureblood Knight's Medal, or take the teleporter hidden near the Yelough Anix Ruins in the Consecrated Snowfields.

• The Pureblood Knight's Medal will teleport you to the base of the Mausoleum, which you simply need to ascend to face Mohg.
• The teleporter near the Yelough Anix Ruins will take you to the Palace Approach Ledge site of grace, which is on the other side of Mohgwyn Palace from Mohg's arena. Go through the cave, mount up, and ride to the opposite side of this area to find the Moghwyn Dynasty Mausoleum and the ascent to Mohg's arena.

Advanced Shadow of the Erdtree Preparation Tips

Enter The DLC Ready For Anything

Shadow of the Erdtree Recommended Level: 100 to 150

Shadow of the Erdtree will have its own Sekiro-like progression system, which requires players to beat bosses to acquire the items used to "level". So as long as you can access the DLC, you should be on-par with everyone else power-wise no matter what level you enter with.

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However, not all of the player's power in the DLC will come from this new system, and it's likely that weapons will still have stat requirements – which are likely to be very, very demanding.

To be able to equip everything you find in Shadow of the Erdtree, to make sure your character is leveled enough for what is likely to be a difficult DLC filled with tough bosses, and to participate in endgame PvP, make sure to level to around 100 to 150.

Because of the way that PvP matchmaking works in Elden Ring, level 125 is a good target to hit. You will be eligible for the largest number of PvP matches and will still have plenty of stat points to shuffle around as needed. No matter what, though, if you plan to participate in PvP, do not go above level 150. The number of players engaging in PvP past this breakpoint drastically declines, so keep an eye on your overall level if you want to push it to the limit.

Find All Upgrade Material Bell Bearings

There are going to be numerous new Armaments and Spirit Ashes in Shadow of the Erdtree, and if you go in prepared, you can upgrade everything you find as soon as you get it. To do this, spend some time either farming huge quantities of weapon and Ashes upgrade materials, or collect as many upgrade material Bell Bearings as you can.

There are several types of Somber Smithing Stone Miner Bell Bearings/Smithing Stone Miner Bell Bearings (for weapons), and Grave Glovewort Picker Bell Bearings/Ghost Glovewort Picker Bell Bearings (for Spirit Ashes) in Elden Ring. Once acquired, these can be given to the Twin Maiden Husks to unlock unlimited numbers of their associated materials.

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Spend some time before Shadow of the Erdtree launches locating these Bell Bearings to have easy access to whatever upgrade material you need for new weapons and Ashes that you find in the DLC.

Acquire Lots Of Weapons, Spells, Talismans, & Larval Tears

Due to the typically difficult nature of FromSoftware's DLCs, it's not a bad idea to prepare a good build before going into Shadow of the Erdtree. This way, you can hit the ground running and have a good foundation to build off of with new Shadow of the Erdtree items.

Spend some time collecting the best weapons, useful Sorceries and Incantations, and the game's best Talismans to have plenty to choose from when heading into the DLC areas.

Additionally, you should try to collect as many Larval Tear s before the DLC launches. Larval Tears can be used by Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (once defeated) to completely re-spec your stats. There is a limited quantity of Larval Tears in Elden Ring, though, so re-speccing is not necessarily without consequence.

Be careful with your re-specs before Shadow of the Erdtree comes out to have as many chances to re-spec and try out new weapons and items in the DLC. Once they're out, the only way to get more is to go into NG+ or trade with other players.

Upgrade Your Flasks & Collect Powerful Physick Tears

The last thing players can do to fully prepare for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is collect as many Golden Seed s and Sacred Tear s as they can to upgrade their Flasks. Golden Seeds give more uses, and Sacred Tears give more HP or FP when you use a flask.

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The DLC is likely to be difficult, and leveling Vigor is one of the best things you can do to make the game more manageable – but make sure to stop by every Church of Marika you can to keep upgrading your flask to actually be able to refill a huge HP bar.

The Flask of Wondrous Physick is one of the most useful and versatile items in the game, and it's worth trying to collect as many Crystal Tears for it as you can. Each Crystal Tear empowers the Flask of Wondrous Physick in different ways, and the more you collect, the more adaptable you can be with the new builds and combat styles that will be available in the DLC.

Shadow of the Erdtree Preparation Quick Checklist

Essential SOTE Requirements

Optional Shadow of the Erdtree Preparation Tips

Elden Ring

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox One , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC

Released

February 25, 2022

Developer(s)

From Software

Publisher(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment , From Software

Genre(s)

RPG , Action

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

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