There are a lot of reasons to get excited about Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, not least because it’s the follow-up to one of the greatest games of all time, and arguably FromSoftware’s most impressive game to date. That level of excitement and expectation should come as no real surprise when you are a company that spawned a whole genre.
So, if you’re hoping to find out everything you need to know in order to be ready for Shadow of the Erdtree, then we’re on hand to help. We’re going to talk about trailers, the release date, what’s new in the DLC, and what you need to do to be ready for it. So, let’s follow the grace and see where it takes us.
Shadow of the Erdtree Release Date
There isn’t long to wait, as Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launches on Friday 21st June. This is prime “book one day off and ignore sleep for three days” territory, which can only be a good thing. Whilst there is no official confirmation, there are rumours of the game being pre-loadable two days before release, so keep an eye out for that if you’ve pre-ordered.
Shadow of the Erdtree Editions
In addition to the standard version of the expansion, there are also two additional versions of Shadow of the Erdree to pick up – the Premium Bundle and the Collector’s Edition.
Premium Bundle Edition
- Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion
- Digital Artbook
- Digital Soundtrack
Collector’s Edition
- Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion
- Mesmer the Impaler 46cm Figurine
- Hardcover Artbook
- Digital Artbook
- Digital Soundtrack
Alongside that, there are also new Editions of Elden Ring that include the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, making it the perfect starting point for people who missed it the first time around.
Shadow of the Erdtree Story
Although we are not 100% sure about the entire story for Shadow of the Erdtree, we do know that the story will heavily feature Queen Marika and the mysterious Land of Shadow, a new realm which exists alongside the Lands Between (the setting for Elden Ring) but is inaccessible to most.
That’s not all, the DLC will also go far deeper into the story, and lore, behind Miquella, who at present in a strange cocoon behind Mohg, Lord of Blood in the underground areas of the Lands Between. Spoken of frequently throughout the base game, mostly by the brutally difficulty Malenia, Miquella is an Empyrion demigod, which means he is particularly important to the Elden Ring lore due to his potential to ascend to the Elden Throne.
Along with all of the other denizens of the Shadow Land, we’ll also come up against Messmer the Impaler, an exiled demigod who is wreathed in flame and with a lot of snake motifs. Given that we’ve fought a giant flaming snake in the form of the God-Devouring Serpent and Rykard in the main game, it’s hard to ignore the shared vibes there.
How To Access Shadow of the Erdtree
Interestingly for a DLC, purchasing it is just one step to unlocking access to the Land of Shadow. In order to access the new content you will first have to make way to Miquella’s cocoon, which is after the fight with Mogh, Lord of Blood in Mohgwyn Palace. You can access this area either by following along with White Mask Varre’s quest and using the special item he grants you after completing some invasions, or by finding the portal in the east of the Consecrated Snowfields. So if you are planning to check out Shadow of the Erdtree at launch, you best make sure you have done the above ahead of release day.
What’s New In Shadow of the Erdtree
Although we have an entire blog article dedicated to what’s new in Shadow of the Erdtree – check it out here – it makes sense to quickly recap some of the key changes and differences here too.
Let’s start with the headline figures. Shadow of the Erdtree will reportedly add in over 10 new bosses, a fair amount more mini-bosses, and eight brand-new weapon categories. Plus, the weapons will all have new move sets to master, and there’s even a bunch of weapons dedicated to martial arts, which should feel like a step up from the standard fist weapons of the base game.
That’s not all, there’s also a new levelling system that requires you to hunt down different items and areas to increase your strength. This is a pretty intriguing take on things and should allow the difficulty to feel more oppressive even for those going in with end-game level characters. There will also be plenty of new dungeons to explore alongside the new open-world area, which navigating – we are told – feels even more seamless than in the base game.
With Shadow of the Erdtree apparently FromSoftware’s biggest expansion to date – quite a feat given the size of some of their DLCs – it could well mean many dozens of hours of gameplay for you to experience and even more hours of gameplay for you to master.
Where Can I Watch The Latest Trailer?
To help users get up to speed, Bandai Namco has very handily created the above recap to set you up perfectly to dive back in into Elden Ring at release. If you are looking for more Shadow of the Erdtree specific content, however, you should definitely check out both the latest Story Trailer and Gameplay Trailer.
PC System Requirements
Packing just as much of a visual spectacle as the base game, it should come as no surprise that you will need a fairly decent set-up to experience Shadow of the Erdtree in all its glory. You can catch the latest PC system requirements for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdree below.
MINIMUM:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows® 10 64 Bit (latest update)
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen™ 3 3300X
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 3GB / AMD Radeon™ RX 580 4GB
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 60 GB available space
RECOMMENDED:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows® 10 64 Bit (latest update) / Windows® 11 64 Bit (latest update)
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 1070 8GB / AMD Radeon™ RX VEGA 56 8GB
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 60 GB available space
So now you know everything you need to about Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree ahead of its release, why not secure your copy on the Green Man Gaming store.
