Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Guide – Top 5 Things You Need To Do To Prepare For The DLC – The time is almost here, the long-awaited expansion for Elden Ring titled Shadow Of The Erdtree is nearly out on PS5 and PS4.
If Elden Ring was your first foray into FromSoftware games and have yet to experience DLC in a FromSoftware game, then you may not be aware that you’ll need to be prepared for this DLC.
It’s not as simple as buying it and jumping in on day one – we have a full guide explaining all the steps you need to complete to be ready, but in this guide we’ll give you the short version with just the top 5 things you need to do to be prepared for Shadow Of The Erdtree.
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Guide – Top 5 Things You Need To Do To Prepare For Shadow Of The Erdtree
1. Beat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord Of Blood
This one is probably the most obvious if you’ve been paying attention to everything happening around the DLC, which is why it’s the one that has to be mentioned first.
Bare minimum, you need to have beaten both these bosses to access the DLC at all. Unlike the rest of this list, this is the only step that will block you from actually getting into the DLC, so it is a must in more ways than one.
For how to reach and defeat both bosses, you can check out our guide explaining the steps.
2. Collect All Smithing Stone And Somber Smithing Stone Bell Bearings
It’s a trek to collect all of these, since the final ones are in areas that you’re only able to access after progressing through most of the game, but it is more than worth it.
In fact the only thing that makes this step number 2 is the fact that unlike number 1, you won’t be blocked from accessing the DLC if you don’t do this.
Collecting all the Smithing Stone/Somber Smithing Stone Bell-Bearings allows you to purchase Smithing Stone’s +1 through +8 and Somber Smithing Stones +1 through +9 directly from the Twin Maidens at the Roundtable Hold.
Smithing are what you use to upgrade your weapons, and being able to buy as many as you need from the Roundtable Hold without having to go searching for them in the rest of the world is going to make your time with the DLC that much more enjoyable.
That’s because whenever you find a new weapon you like the feel of (and by the looks of trailers and previews, there are a lot of new weapons) you’ll be able to upgrade it immediately. You’ll be able to be effective with it right away, getting these new weapons all the way up to +9 or +24.
It’ll be up to you which ones you want to upgrade completely, because there will always be a limited amount of Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones – but having them 90% of the way there is more than good enough to deal some serious damage.
Getting these Bell Bearings is essentially the key to making sure you can keep creating viable builds for every scenario you encounter in the Land of Shadow.
3. Stock Up On Larval Tears
Speaking of different builds – if you want to be constantly adapting and rearranging your specs to suit a new weapon you’ve found or to try something new for a difficult boss, then you’re going to need Larval Tears.
The process of ‘rebirth’ as it’s called in the game requires one Larval Tear per-rebirth, so having as many as possible gives you the most options however you might want to play the DLC.
4. Beat Elden Ring’s Main Campaign
It’s definitely not a requirement, but it’s just the kind of thing that makes good sense to do. Beating the game if you’ve not already done so gets you back in the groove and lets your muscle memory return before heading into the Land Of Shadow.
The main campaign for Elden Ring already isn’t easy, and the DLC likely won’t be any easier. In fact if it is anything like FromSoftware’s previous DLC’s, it’ll be tougher.
So having played through the whole base game and building up your character to the point you feel good about your build is just good sense, and if you do beat the game make sure to not jump into new game plus right away.
After beating the Elden Beast you’ll be asked if you want to start new game plus – just say no, and when you’re ready for it post-DLC the option will be there to start it at the Roundtable Hold.
Going into new game plus resets all your found grace sites, and removes a whole bunch of key items you’ll need to go searching for again. Not to mention you’ll need to re-do all the steps required to simply access the DLC as referred to above in step 1.
Plus everything will get more difficult in new game plus, so it’s up to you if you want to add that layer to your experience.
5. Farm Runes
It’s as simple as that. Spend some time just farming runes. If you’ve beaten the game and wiped the floor with Mohg, Lord Of Blood then you’re already most of the way there to the game’s best farming spot.
Head to the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site of Grace in Mohgwyn’s Palace and from there you’ll be able to farm thousands of runes easily.
It’s the best spot to farm runes and level up quickly, and get any of your stats that are lacking up to snuff. For example if you’ve not been leveling up your Vigor, then it’s high-time you start.
Getting your Vigor to 60 is the recommended level, since anything beyond that has diminishing returns. Having your overall player level be anywhere from 150 and beyond means you’ll be set up for success when heading into the DLC.