Come along with me as I walk you through six steps to get ready for playing Shadow of the Erdtree, drawing on Emma’s latest preview of the Elden Ring DLC. These suggestions come from personal experience with the game, so if your goal is to start strong (and keep away from terrifying enemies), this is well worth your attention.
Shadow of the Erdtree is expected to be tough even for players who’ve already finished Elden Ring, which is why it’s sensible to target roughly the level range of 90 to 120. FromSoftware has also confirmed that, to reach the DLC, you need to defeat both Radahn and Mohg, with Mohg listed as an optional boss. The level you should probably aim for before taking him on is around level 90. Reaching level 100 generally takes about 60 hours—so if you haven’t played Elden Ring before, or if you’re thinking about putting together a fresh build for the DLC, it’s a good idea to start farming right away, as I’ve been doing.
And yes, you read that correctly: you’ll need to defeat Radahn before you can take Miquella’s hand and step into the Land of Shadow. Right now, I’m not sure why that requirement exists, but I’m confident the explanation will surface in true FromSoftware style—meaning I’ll put on my lore cap and piece together the story from item descriptions and cryptic clues. More on that soon.