As Hidetaka Miyazaki himself stated, Shadow of the Erdtree needed to match the grand scope of Elden Ring, making this expansion the biggest in FromSoftware's history and easily among the largest in the entire industry. With a huge and intricate map to explore, new NPCs to meet, dozens of tough-as-nails bosses to defeat, and hundreds of new rewards to obtain, Shadow of the Erdtree can easily capture players for more than 50 hours, delivering a new journey that is comparable to or surpasses the majority of standalone triple-A games nowadays.
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree - Best New Areas, Ranked
The Land of Shadow is incredibly vast and varied, but these new areas stand out the most in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
As with most post-game expansions, Shadow of the Erdtree brings some of the most powerful, fun, and hard-to-get items in all of Elden Ring that players shouldn't miss on their journey. From powerful new hardtears players can mix in their flask to reusable tools capable of turning Tarnished into other beings, and even longed-for talismans invaluable to certain playstyles and character builds, here are the best new items in the expansion that every Elden Ring player should find and try out.
1 Two-Handed Sword Talisman
Long-Awaited Talisman For Players Preferring Heavy Weapons
The Two-Handed Sword Talisman is an item that many players desired in Elden Ring but only became available in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. While wielding any weapon with both hands increases damage slightly in the base game, this special talisman enhances such attacks by an additional 15 percent. It's a must-have for character builds that rely on colossal weapons or prefer using regular melee weapons without a shield. For instance, it provides a great extra buff for the new Milady Light Greatsword, which players can swing stylishly with two hands.
The Two-Handed Sword Talisman can be found in the highest part of Temple Town Ruins in the Rauh Ruins region, after defeating the Horned Warrior guarding the treasure chest.
2 Deflecting Hardtear
One Of The Best New Hardtears For Sekiro-Like Combat In Elden Ring
The Deflecting Hardtear is a new item for mixing in the Flask of Wondrous Physick, added in Shadow of the Erdtree, and it is already a favorite among the Elden Ring community. When used, it grants players enhanced spontaneous guard for five minutes, which can be stacked with other items like the Curved Sword Talisman. This results in boss fights becoming reminiscent of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, as players deflect boss combo attacks and receive up to 80 percent increased guard counter damage. Among other benefits, the Deflecting Hardtear has proven quite useful against the final boss of the expansion, making it well worth acquiring.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Tips for Underleveled Players
If you've managed to beat Mohg, you'll probably be fine in the Land of Shadow by following these tips for underleveled characters.
To obtain the Deflecting Hardtear, players need to defeat the first Furnace Golem on their path through the Grave Plains, located along the main road near the Scorched Ruins. While the fight can be quite challenging for newcomers to the expansion, the reward is well worth it, and you can use the Deflecting Hardtear against other bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree.
3 Lamenter's Mask
Not Too Effective Transformative Item, But Definitely Lots Of Fun
The Lamenter's Mask is a new transformative reusable tool added in Shadow of the Erdtree, which can be a lot of fun to use. This huge stone mask transforms the wearer into a lamenter, essentially another omen-goblin creature with unique stats and a skill. As a lamenter, players receive a small boost to all damage negation and a 20 percent increase in Holy Damage Negation. Additionally, it increases the character's Arcane stat by eight, which can be useful for increasing item discovery or for trying out Arcane weapons with higher requirements.
The Lamenter's Mask also comes with a unique skill: the mask swells in size, damaging nearby enemies, and it features B scaling in Strength. Like other transformative tools in Shadow of the Erdtree, the Lamenter's Mask can only be used without any armor equipped, and its effect won't be removed upon resting at a Site of Grace, so players must die to undo this form.
Players can obtain the Lamenter's Mask by defeating the Lamenter boss at the bottom of the Lamenter's Gaol, located in the southwest part of the Charo's Hidden Grave region of the Shadow Realm.
4 Talisman Of All Crucibles
A Perfect Tool For No-Hit Challenge Runs
While many Elden Ring players might not appreciate the Talisman Of All Crucibles due to its drawback of increasing damage taken by a whopping 45 percent, this talisman could be perfect for no-hit runs that are popular among the hardcore Elden Ring community. If you're not planning on getting hit, the increased damage you receive is negligible, and having the effects of all four Crucible talismans combined into one pouch slot can be very useful. This opens up exciting possibilities for challenge runs in both the base game and the expansion, and significantly improves the player's backstep and rolling iframes.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – Best New Characters
FromSoftware excels at making interesting characters, and the Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC continues that riveting streak.
Players can find the Talisman Of All Crucibles in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh region in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. It is located in a hidden chest near the elevator, close to the Ancient Ruins Grand Stairway Site of Grace.
5 Divine Beast Head
More Than Just Helm, This Wearable Head Can Be Used For Secret Interactions
FromSoftware has a knack for designing peculiar headgear, and the Divine Beast Head, a new item added in Shadow of the Erdtree, might just be one of the strangest yet. Not to be confused with the Divine Beast Helm, which is a part of a full armor set in the game, this unique headpiece is quite powerful despite its somewhat comical, oversized design when equipped. It increases the player's Strength and Dexterity by four points each, essentially granting eight free levels to any character. Serving more as a quest item than an ordinary helm, it also can be used when talking to a certain NPC in Belurat to receive new items. However, there are some downsides to wearing this piece: it's one of the heaviest helms in Elden Ring, weighing 10.6, and it reduces the effect of flasks by 11 percent. Still, it's an unusual and unique gear piece that deserves a spot on this list.
To obtain this special gear, players need to defeat the Divine Beast Dancing Lion boss in the Belurat Tower Settlement. Given that this is a main boss that players need to fight early on to progress through the Shadow of the Erdtree story, it's unlikely that many will miss this excellent piece of gear.
6 Rock Heart and Priestess Heart
Grants Dragon Forms And Dragon Incantations Buffs
Unlike the Lamenter's Mask above, the Rock Heart and Priestess Heart are more serious transformative tools in Shadow of the Erdtree that provide significant benefits. When used, these hearts grant your character various Dragon forms with differences in final form appearance and special buffs. If players use the corresponding hearts again while in their dragon forms, they'll receive a 20 percent damage boost to Dragon Communion Incantations (Rock Heart) or Dragon Cult Incantations (Priestess Heart) for 60 seconds. Additionally, as a passive effect, the Rock Heart grants 50 resistance points and a ten percent boost to all damage negations, while the Priestess Heart gives you 70 resistance points and a seven percent boost to all damage negations. Remember, these tools can only be used without any armor equipped, and you must die to undo their effects.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Side Quests Players Should Not Skip
These side quests in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree come with certain advantages players should not miss out on by skipping them.
To obtain the Rock Heart, players must solve the Domain of Dragons Painting puzzle. The painting itself can be found at the Shadow Keep in Scadu Altus, while its solution point is located near the Jagged Peak Mountainside Site of Grace. The Priestess Heart is obtained after defeating Bayle, the Dread. You can find it near the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion, where the Dragon Communion Priestess NPC used to be.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Released
- June 21, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
