Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Guide#
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the massive expansion (DLC) for Elden Ring, developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (self-published by FromSoftware in Japan). It launched worldwide on June 21, 2024. Players leave the Lands Between for an entirely new continent, the Realm of Shadow, following the trail of the demigod Miquella. Hidetaka Miyazaki has confirmed this is the one and only expansion for Elden Ring — and the largest FromSoftware has ever made.
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam) | Type: large-scale action RPG expansion
This hub is built on verified facts: pricing follows the official store pages, boss and location names follow the official English localization, and every figure below is checked against the source rather than guessed at.
Game Overview#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official English name | ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree |
| Chinese title | The Simplified Chinese title on Steam; early previews used a slightly different rendering before it was standardized |
| Developer | FromSoftware |
| Publisher | Bandai Namco Entertainment (self-published by FromSoftware in Japan) |
| Announced | February 28, 2023 |
| Release date | June 21, 2024 worldwide (the Steam store page shows a 2024-06-20 listing under UTC) |
| Platforms | PS4 / PS5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X |
| Price | $39.99 in the US ($49.99 with the digital deluxe bundle); ¥198 in China (deluxe ¥248); HKD 299 / 399 in Hong Kong; NT$1,190 / NT$1,490 in Taiwan; ¥4,400 in Japan |
| Content volume | Roughly 25 extra hours of exploration and boss fights per IGN; the Realm of Shadow is the largest expansion FromSoftware has ever built |
How to Enter the Realm of Shadow#
The Realm of Shadow does not open automatically as you progress through the base game. You must first complete two key boss fights in Elden Ring:
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Defeat Starscourge Radahn | The festival boss fight at Redmane Castle in Caelid |
| Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood | The boss fight at Mohgwyn Palace |
| Touch the Empyrean’s sleeping cocoon | Interact behind the Mohgwyn Palace boss room to be transported into the Realm of Shadow |
You do not need to beat the base game’s final boss — meeting the conditions above is enough to enter.
Core DLC Mechanics#
| Mechanic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scadutree Fragments | 50 in total across the map; spent at a Site of Grace to raise the Scadutree Blessing, which boosts both attack and damage negation, effective only inside the Realm of Shadow |
| Revered Spirit Ash | 25 in total across the map; raises the Revered Spirit Ash Blessing, boosting the attack and damage negation of summons such as spirit ashes and the spectral steed, capped at level 10 |
| Miquella’s Cross | 13 in total, marking the spots where Miquella abandoned parts of his body; each usually has 1 Scadutree Fragment nearby |
| Map fragments | 5 in the Realm of Shadow; collecting them fills in the regional maps piece by piece |
| New weapon types | 8 entirely new weapon categories and roughly 100 new weapons, bringing the total categories from 32 in the base game to 40 |
Scadutree Blessing Values#
Current values after the 1.12.2 calibration update of June 26, 2024 (early levels give more than before):
| Level | Attack bonus | Damage negation bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | about +10% | about +11% |
| Level 2 | about +20% | about +21% |
| Level 3 | about +25% | about +25% |
| Level 20 (max) | about +105% (attack multiplier about 2.05x) | about 50% |
The fragment cost per level rises as you go (1 fragment for level 1, then 2, then 2, and so on), and returns diminish after level 12. You need all 50 fragments to reach level 20.
Mandatory Bosses and Optional Elites#
Before launch the official line was “more than 10 new boss fights.” Media counts vary with methodology: Prima counts 32 (11 mainline + 10 dungeon + 7 field + 4 mausoleum); other tallies run 38, 40 named bosses, or 55 including returning types; roughly 10-11 bosses drop Remembrances; only 6 fights are mandatory mainline.
| Order | Mandatory mainline boss | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Divine Beast Dancing Lion | Belurat, Tower Settlement |
| 2 | Golden Hippopotamus | Shadow Keep, main gate |
| 3 | Messmer the Impaler | Shadow Keep, Storehouse |
| 4 | Romina, Saint of the Bud | Church of the Bud, Ancient Ruins of Rauh |
| 5 | Promised Consort Radahn | Enir-Ilim |
Beyond those fights, a mandatory confrontation with Needle Knight Leda and her allies stands before the final boss. Optional elites include Rellana, Twin Moon Knight (Castle Ensis), Bayle the Dread (super boss atop the Jagged Peak), Commander Gaius (Shadow Keep back gate), the Scadutree Avatar, Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame (Abyssal Woods), and Metyr, Mother of Fingers (Finger Ruins of Miyr). Full strategies for each fight are listed under Full Guides below.
How Big Is the Realm of Shadow#
Map size has several competing measurements, so this page lists them side by side:
- Official line: in an IGN interview, Hidetaka Miyazaki said the Realm of Shadow is “comparable to or larger” than Limgrave, the base game’s starting region;
- Chinese fan-translation line: a Powerpyx tally translated by a Chinese outlet puts the explorable area at about 2.5 times Limgrave;
- Player measurement: about two base-game regions (dotesports.com), with community map overlays landing at roughly 70% of the full base-game map.
The widely repeated claim that it is “1.5 times the base map” has no traceable source — do not rely on it.
Main Regions#
The Realm of Shadow’s main regions are: Gravesite Plain, Belurat, Tower Settlement, Castle Ensis, Scadu Altus, the Shadow Keep, the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, the Southern Shore (including the Cerulean Coast, the Fissure of the Sarcophagus, and Charo’s Hidden Grave), the Abyssal Woods, the Jagged Peak, Scaduview, Enir-Ilim, and the Finger Ruins. A region-by-region guide is listed under Full Guides below.
Ending and New Game Plus#
The story of the Realm of Shadow has no multiple-ending design in the usual sense — Miyazaki has said the expansion has no “formal ending,” and after clearing it you simply return to the base game without affecting its story or endings. Your key choices only affect which allies you can summon in the final fight. In New Game Plus, Scadutree Blessing and Revered Spirit Ash Blessing levels carry over, while all fragments and spirit ashes respawn and can be collected again.
Reception and Sales#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sales | 5 million copies worldwide within 3 days of launch (announced June 26, 2024); 10 million cumulative as of July 2025 |
| Critical reception | Metacritic average of 95 on PS5 (94 on Xbox Series X |
| Steam reviews | “Mixed” recent reviews, “Mostly Positive” overall |
| Awards | Golden Joystick Awards 2024 “Best Game Expansion” (presented November 21, 2024) |
Quick Answers#
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need the base game? | Yes. This is a large expansion that must run alongside Elden Ring and cannot be started standalone |
| What are the entry conditions? | Defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood in the base game, then touch the Empyrean’s sleeping cocoon at Mohgwyn Palace |
| Does it affect the base ending? | No. The DLC story is self-contained; finishing it and returning to the base game changes nothing about its endings |
| Do fragments survive into NG+? | Blessing levels carry over; all fragments and spirit ashes respawn and can be collected again |
| When should I start? | Community consensus suggests entering at around level 150 in the base game (a community guideline, not an official requirement) |
Related Games#
- Elden Ring — the base game this expansion attaches to, an open-world soulslike action RPG
- Nioh 2 — a high-difficulty action RPG set in feudal Japan
- Black Myth: Wukong — a Chinese-mythology action RPG
- Sekiro — a FromSoftware action adventure set in Sengoku Japan, with a one-of-a-kind deflect system
- Stellar Blade — a sci-fi styled action RPG
Related Rankings#
Best Soulslikes · Hardest Bosses · Best RPGs
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner onboarding and entry requirements, boss-by-boss strategies, builds built around the 8 new weapon types, the full equipment catalog, Realm of Shadow exploration, a complete walkthrough, achievements, lore and worldview, quests, hidden secrets, combat systems, controls, endgame content, and the update history — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree section.
If you read Chinese, the bosses sub-guide there carries the fight-by-fight breakdown behind the tables above.