How do you start the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC? If you have any experience with Dark Souls or Bloodborne DLC, you’ll know that you need to reach what seems to be a dead end to access the additional content.
Of course, as Elden Ring is a FromSoftware RPG game, this is no exception. This time around, you need to venture deep into an optional endgame area while ensuring you beat the two mandatory Elden Ring bosses that stand in your way. Only once this deed is done will you be able to venture into the new region. If you want to prepare in advance as we wait for the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date, dear Tarnished, here are the steps you must take to start the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
How to access Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
To access the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, you must defeat Starscourge Radahn, before beating Mohg, Lord of Blood in the optional Mohgwyn Palace area. Once you’ve defeated Mohg, touch his cocoon to teleport to the new area in the DLC.
This method for accessing the Elden Ring DLC was revealed during an interview with game director Miyazaki Hidetaka in the late March issue of Weekly Famitsu, translated into English by Frontline. In it, there’s a paragraph explaining that the “DLC’s area is not directly connected to the main game’s map, and is [accessed] via a warp, with the entrance being the withered arm hanging from the cocoon in the Mohg, Lord of Blood boss fight area.”
The Famitsu interview also confirms that while Mohg is a mandatory boss, there is one other that players need to defeat before they can access the DLC: Starscourge Radahn. He’s one of the tougher bosses in the mid-game, and he normally opens up some endgame areas. However, it seems his demise is required regardless of how to reach Mohgwyn’s Palace.
How to get to Mohgwyn Palace
Mohgwyn Palace is home to several optional endgame bosses in the open-world game, and luckily there are two clear pathways to reach it. The first is to find the teleporter in the Consecrated Snowfield. You’ll need both parts of the Haligtree Secret Medallion to open the path: the right side is in Liurnia of the Lakes, while the left is in the Mountaintops of the Giants. Return to the Grand Lift of Rold, and you’ll see a new option to “hoist secret medallion”.
Picking this option sends you to the wider Consecrated Snowfield area. From here, head northwest past the Yelough Anix Ruins to find a Waygate Teleporter nearby, however, you need to kill the invading Sanguine Noble first. The teleporter is directly west of the circular structure that you can see on the in-game map.
White Mask Varré quest
Alternatively, if you’d rather complete one of the many Elden Ring quests and get an item that teleports you to the altar directly, you should look into completing White Mask Varré’s quest line. He is one of the first NPCs you can meet at the start of the game, close to the Sentinel Knight.
Here’s what you need to do to complete White Mask Varré’s quest:
- Meet with the Two Fingers at the Roundtable Hold.
- Go to Rose Church in Liurnia of the Lakes and speak to White Mask Varré to receive a Festering Bloody Finger.
- Invade three players using the Festering Bloody Finger (you don’t need to win) or kill Magnus the Beast Claw in Writheblood Ruins.
- Return to Varré and he’ll offer you the opportunity to join his order. Agree, and you’ll get the Lord of Blood’s Favor item. He asks you to soak it in the blood of a maiden.
- You have a choice to use this item on one of four maidens:
- A corpse in the Church of Inhibition (Liurnia of the Lakes), north of the Frenzied Flame Village.
- A corpse in the Chapel of Anticipation, accessed by entering the second belfry you can unlock at The Four Belfries (the western part of Liurnia of the Lakes).
- You can kill Irina at the entrance of the Weeping Peninsula from Limgrave.
- You can kill Hyetta, initially found next to the Lake-Facing Cliffs Site of Grace (Liurnia of the Lakes), though this ends her quest line.
Return the Favor to Varré, and he’ll give you the reusable Bloody Finger. Talk to him a second time to get the Pureblood Knight’s Medal, which is the item you need to get to the Mohg, Lord of Blood boss early.
That is how you start the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. We highly recommend that you take some time training up with the best Elden Ring builds for your respective Elden Ring classes. If you can’t wait for the official expansion content, there are tons of game-changing Elden Ring mods to try out, including randomizers, balancing patches, and more.