The base game of Elden Ring already featured one of the largest in-game maps ever seen, and its DLC was all but certain to be massive in scope, too. Now that players have the chance to explore the Realm of Shadow, many are finding it to be much larger than anticipated, in part thanks to FromSoftware's multi-layered environments.

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Shadow of the Erdtree: How to Get Back to the Lands Between

Players may wonder how to return to the main map after entering the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

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The full Elden Ring DLC map features four major zones containing a plethora of subzones, dungeons, and bosses, as well as of course plenty of Sites of Grace too. This guide shows the full Shadow of the Erdtree map with everything unlocked for players to reference as they explore, and describes exactly how large this new map actually is compared to the base game.

Full Elden Ring DLC Map

With All Sites of Grace, Locations, & Map Fragments Unlocked

Shadow of the Erdtree Elden Ring DLC Map

How Big Is The Elden Ring DLC Map?

Shadow of the Erdtree Elden Ring DLC Map Comparison Lands Between Fit

The Realm of Shadow Is A Lot Bigger Than Limgrave, After All

Before launch, all signs pointed towards the full Elden Ring DLC Map being about as large as Limgrave, according to an IGN interview with game director Hidetaka Miyazaki. But the FromSoftware head is no stranger to underselling the length of his games. When Elden Ring first came out, he said the game would take around 30 hours to complete, after all.

As it turns out, Shadow of the Erdtree is about half the size of the base game in terms of the DLC map size, and will take most players roughly 30 to 50 hours to complete.

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Shadow of the Erdtree: All Greater Potentate's Cookbook Locations

Craft even more unique items with every Greater Potentate's Cookbook in the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

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Though the surface of the world is indeed roughly the size of Limgrave (when taking the Stormhill, Stormveil Castle, and Weeping Peninsula subareas into account too), Shadow of the Erdtree's world is much more dense and multi-layered. You will follow a tunnel that leads to three new zones, fall off a cliff that leads to a spiritspring up and a pathway down, and see areas above and below that you won't be able to reach until you do some more exploring.

The Elden Ring DLC Map Fits Into The Base Game Map

Interestingly, the Shadow of the Erdtree full map seems to fit nicely in the center of the Lands Between. The outline of the Elden Ring DLC map fits snugly along the coastlines and cliffside of the central Lands Between, and overlapping locations tend to be related in terms of lore – Shaman Village over the Erdtree, Jagged Peak over the Dragonbarrow, the Ancient Ruins of Rauh over the Uhl Ruins, and most importantly, the Suppression Pillar in the center of the Lands Between.

The Suppression Pillar, in the Gravesite Plain, lends some credence to this theory – as it is revealed to be the center of the Lands Between, which couldn't be possible if the two were not once located in the same place.

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Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Tag Page Cover Art
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
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Released
June 21, 2024
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Base Game
Elden Ring
Developer(s)
FromSoftware