How Shadow of the Erdtree Levels the Playing Field for Elden Ring Veterans (2024)

Despite being known as one of the most accessible Soulslike titles to date, FromSoftware's Elden Ring is still a very challenging experience. Obviously, those who have spent a significant amount of time with Soulslike games will have a much easier time getting through it than others, but that doesn't take away from its objectively difficult gameplay. Now, Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree has arrived with an even greater challenge, introducing a wide variety of enemies and bosses that can pulverize the most dedicated Elden Ring players if they even blink at the wrong time.

Since players have now had over two years with Elden Ring to perfect their strategies, level up their characters, and grace them with the best armor and weapons available in the game, Shadow of the Erdtree needed to be difficult. Thankfully, it is much more of a challenge than those who wandered into its Land of Shadow expecting to dominate everything in their path thought it would be, making for a lasting and rewarding experience that should keep them busy for dozens of hours. Shadow of the Erdtree has gone to great lengths to ensure even the most experienced players will have a tough time in the DLC, and it includes far more than simply introducing unfamiliar enemies and overfilling health pools.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Is No Respecter of Persons

Players Can Expect to Be Ambushed Multiple Times in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

One of the primary ways Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC ensures even the most powerful players will feel underpowered is in its ambush mechanics. Elden Ring and other FromSoftware titles are known for their ambush mechanics, as players will enter a room only to get annihilated by an enemy, thus proving only fools rush in. However, Shadow of the Erdtree's ambushes are far more numerous. It's almost as if FromSoftware knew that it would need to get the jump on players in Shadow of the Erdtree more often than simply attempting to overpower them — and it works.

The main issue with being ambushed in a FromSoftware game is that once players are waylayed by an enemy, it can be tough for them to escape it. That is especially true in Shadow of the Erdtree, where the enemies not only hit harder but are much more agile than they were in Elden Ring's base game. Even in Shadow of the Erdtree's earliest locations, players will need to be patient as they progress, lest they get caught inside an enemy's attack combo.

Almost Every Enemy Hits Harder and Has More Health in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Another way Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC makes things more difficult for veterans is by increasing the damage output and health pools of almost every enemy in the expansion. The rank-and-file enemies are a bit more manageable than the rest — as they should be — but it's still possible to get overwhelmed by them very quickly, with very little wiggle room to escape. Every boss in Shadow of the Erdtree is far healthier than any boss in Elden Ring, including the base game's final boss, the Elden Beast. On top of that, everything hits harder in Shadow of the Erdtree, meaning any overpowered players who have become used to taking a hit or two in Elden Ring's base game now need to keep the dodge key/button close in the DLC.

For Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC to be a fulfilling experience for everyone, it needed to be a formidable challenge for them to tackle. Fortunately, Shadow of the Erdtree is much more difficult than Elden Ring's base game was by including an overwhelming number of ambushes and healthier, more dangerous foes around every corner.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware's groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.

Base Game

Elden Ring

Platform

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

Released

June 21, 2024

Developer(s)

FromSoftware

Publisher(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment , FromSoftware

Genre

Soulslike , RPG

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence