10 ways to prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree

Shadow of the Erdtree is DLC for one of FromSoftware’s most beloved games, Elden Ring. Players can’t wait to return to this beautiful open-world game to explore what the new “Land of the Shadow” area offers.

If you’re looking to prepare your build for Shadow of the Erdtree and give yourself an advantage over the upcoming bosses, you have come to the right place. Here are ten ways to prepare for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

Defeat Rennala and unlock respeccing

Whether you plan on starting Shadow of the Erdtree with a current character or a new one altogether, one thing is sure — you need to make sure you defeat Rennala and unlock the ability to respec. There’s no telling what builds will work against the new upcoming bosses in the DLC, so you must have the opportunity to adjust and change game plans if your current build doesn’t work.

If you’re starting a new character, the good news is that Rennala is one of the first main bosses you encounter in Elden Ring. More good news is that she’s relatively easy, especially if you use Meteorite as your main way for damage output. She is weak to Gravity-type spells, so make this a priority when fighting her.

Players can find Renalla at the Academy of Raya Lucaria in Liurnia, the region north of Limgrave. Once you defeat her, you will unlock respeccing for your character, allowing you to change builds whenever you please. Keep in mind that it costs one Larval Tear per respec.

Max out Sacred Flasks

FromSoftware is known for many things, but it is especially known for making DLC harder than the base game. With this in mind, you must work on maxing out your Flasks of Crimson Tears and Flasks of Cerulean Tears before entering the Shadow of the Erdtree. Doing so will allow you to access more health and FP for survivability and spellcasting.

Players can upgrade flasks by obtaining Golden Seeds and Sacred Tears, where the former increases the flask’s total number of uses and the latter increases the potency of the flasks. Golden Seeds are easily acquired from Ethereal Saplings (small golden trees), while Sacred Tears can be found at churches scattered across the Lands Between.

Unlock all Talisman slots

Having as many Talisman equipped in Elden Ring can make a difference in how well your build performs, so it’s smart to unlock all slots before entering the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Whether focusing on pure strength, dexterity, or magic, there is a Talisman for you that can make your character much deadlier.

Players start with one Talisman slot available and can reach the point of acquiring four in total. If you’re wondering how to unlock all Talisman slots, we explain how in the bullet point list below.

• Defeating Margit, the Fell Omen in Stormhill, or Morgott, the Omen King in Leyndell, the Royal Capital.
• After acquiring two Great Runes from Remembrance bosses, speak to Finger Reader Enia. If you miss Enia, you can purchase this Talisman slot from the Twin Maiden Husk shop at Roundtable Hold.
• Defeating Godfrey, First Elden Lord in Leyndell, the Royal Capital.

Find all Smithing and Somber Stone Bell Bearings

Due to the possibility of having to respec and change builds in Shadow of the Erdtree, it’s a must that you locate and obtain all Smithing and Somberstone Bell Bearings scattered across the map. The Bell Bearings, when given to the Twin Maiden Husks shop, will allow you to purchase an infinite amount of Smithing and Somberstones for upgrading weapons.

There are four Smithing Stone Bell Bearings and five Somberstones Bell Bearings scattered across the Lands Between, making it a massive effort but one that is well worth it. To give you an idea of their locations, we have a bullet point list of where to find all of them below.

• Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 1: Dropped by the Crystalian boss at the end of Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel.
• Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 2: Found in a chest in a secret area of the Sealed Tunnel.
• Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 3: Found in Zamor Ruins in the Mountaintop of the Giants.
• Smithing Stone Bell Bearing 4: Dropped by the Godskin Duo boss in Crumbling Farum Azula.
• Somberstone Bell Bearing 1: Dropped by the Fallingstar Beast boss in Selia Crystal Tunnel.
• Somberstone Bell Bearing 2: Dropped by Crystalian Spear and Ringblade boss in Atlus Tunnel.
• Somberstone Bell Bearing 3: Found on a corpse outside Churck of Marika in Mountaintop of the Giants.
• Somberstone Bell Bearing 4: Found on a corpse next to Tempest-facing Balcony Site of Grace in Crumbling Farum Azula.
• Somberstone Bell Bearing 5: Found on a corpse in the temple on the northern side of Crumbling Farum Azula

Find the best sorceries and incantations

If you are strictly against using spells in FromSoftware’s games, feel free to skip this section. For those who love spells in Elden Ring as much as me, you will want to ensure you have the best sorceries and incantations to prepare you for Shadow of the Erdtree.

As previously mentioned in this article, DLC bosses will be challenging. According to Miyazaki in an interview with Eurogamer, players should expect the difficulty to be equal to the endgame of the base game. Sorceries and incantations can make a massive difference in your survivability, and since we don’t know the boss’s weaknesses yet, it’s better to be safe than sorry and obtain the best the game offers.

Here are some of the best spells and incantations in Elden Ring, helping you on your journey to collect them.

Find Crystal Tears for your Flask of Wondrous Physick

The Flask of Wondrous Physick is undoubtedly the most helpful consumable in Elden Ring, allowing you to buff your character and increase resistance. The catch, though, is that you need to equip Crystal Tears to the Physick, with each Crystal Tear having its own unique effect. Finding Crystal Tears can take some work, but it’s worth it as it can be the last push you need to survive a challenging boss.

Players can find Crystal Tears in various places around the Lands Between but they are most commonly found near Minor Erdtrees. Minor Erdtrees are not so minor and are large trees that are hard to miss.

Each Minor Erdtree comes with a boss you must defeat, but afterward, resulting in two Crystal Tears for your Flask of Wondrous Physick. Some Crystal Tears can increase your health, reduce consumption of FP, etc., so they are worth getting before taking on the DLC.

Fully upgrade weapons of choice

Most players looking to bring a current character into the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will likely have this part checked off their to-do list, but it needs to be said. You should definitely work towards fully upgrading your preferred weapons, allowing you to deal as much damage as possible.

Players can upgrade weapons by collecting Smithing and Somber stones and using them at the Blacksmith at the Roundtable Hold. As you further upgrade your weapons, more stones will be required to upgrade the weapon. The final upgrade of each weapon requires the Ancient Dragon Stone, a rare stone in the Lands Between.

The good news is that you will have all Bell Bearings collected (if you followed the section earlier), so you’ll have infinite access to the smithing and somber stones for upgrading. This is one of the best ways to prepare your build for the challenges that lie within the DLC.

Reach level 100

Considering Miyazaki announced that the Shadow of the Erdtree will be equal in difficulty to the endgame of the base game, it would be wise for you to be at a high level before you begin the DLC. I recommend reaching level 100 (or higher) before attempting the new content in the Land of Shadow.

It’s not mandatory, and considering Elden Ring is a game of skill, you may be an outstanding player who can beat the most challenging bosses on lower levels. If that’s the case, then go ahead and enter the Land of the Shadow earlier. That said, players who consider them lower in skill level should prepare accordingly before starting, considering players need to beat Mohg, Lord of Blood (one of the hardest in the game) even to access the DLC. This brings me to my next point.

Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood

Miyazaki has confirmed in an interview with IGN that players can start Shadow of the Erdtree by interacting with the giant egg in the arena where you fight Mohg, Lord of Blood. This means that you must defeat the challenging boss before even having the chance to play the DLC.

If you are new to Elden Ring, you may question how to find Mohg, Lord of Blood. He can be found at the end of Mohgwyn Palace, a hidden location off the main path. Players can reach Mohgwyn Palace by following White-Faced Varre’s sidequest storyline or through a portal in the Consecrated Snowfield.

Mohg, Lord of Blood, is one of the most challenging bosses the game offers, in my opinion, due to his ability to suck the blood out of you, completely draining your health. While not the most traditional method, I recommend you attempt the fight with a co-op partner and have Comet Azur equipped. If you both unleash Comet Azur, you can drain Mohg’s health bar reasonably quickly, depending on the level of your Intelligence stat.

Don’t start new game plus

I love New Game Plus as much as the next guy, but it’s probably not a smart idea to start Shadow of the Erdtree in this mode. This is because Elden Ring ramps up in difficulty with each new game plus you begin. With the default difficulty of the DLC being high, you will be giving yourself a massive disadvantage if you are on New Game Plus.

Instead, play through Shadow of the Erdtree on a current character that has yet to enter an additional playthrough. Then, after beating the DLC, start a new game plus and play through it repeatedly!

There you have it, your ultimate checklist on how to prepare for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. At the time of writing, you have four months until it officially releases on June 21, 2024, so it is time to get to work and make sure you have all these steps completed!