Summary
There are many things players may want to do inElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreebefore the credits roll on the DLC. As anexpansion of the originalElden Ring’s map, it’s by nature nonlinear and open-ended. Players may choose to rush right for the story dungeons and main bosses, or put them off in favor of completing optional content first. Both approaches are equally valid, and it’s truly possible to do anything in any order.
Warning: the following articles contains minor spoilers for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
But many open-world games have a point of no return, a final quest, task, or boss after which players can no longer return to the rest of the map.Elden Ringdoesn’t make it immediately clear whether that’s the case, nor doesShadow of the Erdtree. But for those interested in tackling side content after finishing the final boss,here’s what to know about playingShadow of the Erdtreeafter beating the DLC.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review - FromSoft’s Greatest Hits
Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is a victory lap for FromSoftware, bringing in elements from past games without losing what made it special.
Players Can Keep Playing Shadow Of The Erdtree After Beating The DLC
Exploring Elden Ring’s Open World Is Always Possible
Yes,it’s entirely possible to keep playingElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeafter beating the DLC. Much as in the base game, as soon as the player beats the final boss, they’ll be permitted to load a save file from before that last fight. From there, they can explore the Land of Shadow in much the same way as it was prior to the game’s final moments.
Players can also teleport freely between the DLC area and the base game by using the fast travel function.
It works much the same way as baseElden Ring’s postgame, which returns players to a version of The Lands Between in which the Erdtree is still burning and the final bosses have been defeated, but not much else has changed. This allows them to explore the rest of the map freely, taking their time with optional bosses, dungeons, items, and quests. They can even move onto theDLC after completingElden Ring’s main story, although they don’t necessarily have to beat the final boss to reach the Land of Shadow. In short, it’s as if the final chapters of the base game and the DLC never happened.
Finishing the DLC doesn’t impact anything in the base game ofElden Ring: don’t expect to come back to a Lands Between wholly changed by the Tarnished’s journey in the Land of Shadow. Instead, it’s better considered a tangential side story. While the ending of the DLC does recontextualize a lot of the base game’s lore, only the player’s knowledge is significantly different.
What Level You Should Be For Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficulty matches that of the base game’s latter sections, requiring a fairly high starting character level.
What’s Included In Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Postgame
Optional Bosses, Catacombs, Item Hunting, Etc.
Andthere are many reasons players may wish to continue exploring the Land of Shadow after beating the DLC, as there’s a wealth of optional contentthey may not yet have cleared. There’s nothing too groundbreaking that’s only unlocked after the final boss, butShadow of the Erdtreehas a pretty large (and more importantly, condensed) map.
After beating the final boss, players are free to hit up any optional dungeonsthey may have missed, exploring catacombs and optional lore-focused areas like the Ruined Forge Lava Intake. These locations often reward useful tools, like a unique weapon orSpirit Ash. Of course, the player won’t need them anymore to take on the final boss of the DLC, but they can always bring them back into the base game and use them to finish up the main story there.
Shadow of the Erdtree’s map is also dotted with a variety of optional bosses, like Furnace Golems, NPC invaders, and catacomb defenders. For players who want a bit of an extra challenge, these can scratch the itch. Unsurprisingly,Elden Ring’s optional bossesare some of its hardest. Seeking them out and electing to learn their unique mechanics, strengths, and weaknesses isn’t for the faint of heart, but it can be a rewarding endeavor. The weapons and equipment they drop can be taken back into the base game if the player so desires. And some of them even drop aScadutree Fragmentthat can be used to further power up the Tarnished in the DLC.
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Has Already Broken A Metacritic Record
The highly anticipated expansion, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has already broken a Metacritic record ahead of its launch on Friday.
Elden Ringhas always allowed players the freedom to complete its challenges in any order they want. That extends to the final boss of the base game, and even the final boss of the DLC. Without a point of no return, players can carve their own paths throughShadow of the Erdtreehowever they’d like. That givesElden Ringand its DLC a life beyond their respective final bosses.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a popular game released by From Software, creators of games such as Armored Core, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Players assume the role of a Tarnished, a being once exiled to the Lands Between and has returned to repair the Elden Ring after the events of “The Shattering.” “The Shattering” occurred when the offspring of Queen Marika battled to claim the shards of the Elden Ring, known as Great Runes. Their war has brought lawlessness, destruction, and chaos to the land, and the player will challenge them with the assistance of a Maiden known as Melina as they travel towards the great Erd Tree to face their destiny and to become the one true Elden Lord. Players can tackle the game how they choose and can adventure across realms as they build their character how they want - be it a powerful magic caster or a brutal swordsman - they will have complete control over their build.
