Elden Ring: 10 Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make In Shadow of the Erdtree

After fighting unspeakable monsters for 40 hours, we’ve finally finished the Elden Ring expansion. Shadow of the Erdtree is the most punishing Souls so far, with some truly unbelievable boss fights that’ll decimate your Tarnished hero. Many of us thought that the DLC was a mid-game adventure – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While it is possible to overcome the challenges waiting for you in the Land of Shadow, you’re much better off leveling up a whole lot more than what’s recommended. The closer you are to beating the game the better off you’ll be. Just finish the entire game before attempting it.

But that also isn’t required. If you want to overcome the challenges in Shadow of the Erdtree, don’t make the same mistakes we did. Like so many other players, we had to start a fresh save file and beat the required bosses so we could enter the new world map. While that’s totally possible, we don’t recommend it for a whole lot of reasons. Take your time, fully explore the Lands Between, and when you’re ready enter the Land of Shadow check out what we’ve got to say. Here are all the mistakes we made that you’ll want to avoid – starting from the first part of the expansion and stretching all the way to the end. We won’t spoil anything, but we will warn you about the big mistakes waiting for you.

#10 Go Fully Prepared Or Else

We’ve talked about your level before, but one of the biggest mistakes you can make is entering the Land of Shadow unprepared – you’ll need every advantage available to you. There are no healing flask upgrades in the new map, so you’ll need to scourge all the usual spots for Sacred Tears and Golden Seeds. You’ll want as many heals as possible for these bosses – at least 12. You’ll also want to progress the story enough to unlock all the Talisman Pouches.

You’ll need to progress and defeat Godfrey, First Elden Lord to fully unlock all the talisman slots and we highly, highly recommend it. Just defeating Mohg and Radahn isn’t nearly enough if you want to be prepared for the challenges ahead. You’ll need a full collection of gear, upgraded weapons and talismans suited to your playstyle. If you’re not fully geared out, you’ll get crushed – it is possible to overcome by collecting new gear in the Land of Shadows. There’s a lot of it to find.

Unfortunately, if you’re not prepared, levels will come extremely slowly. While the developers recommend you reach about Level 120 before entering the expansion map, rusty Tarnished are probably better off going for 150. Heck, even 170 couldn’t hurt. Seriously, even at this level, there are basic enemies that will be able to kill your Tarnished in a single hit.

#9 Don’t Keep Fighting The Same Boss

If you have an adventurous spirit, you’ll probably explore off the main story path early – and that’s a great idea in the expansion. There’s a lot of stuff to discover, but you’ll want to avoid beating your head against a tough boss. Some bosses are literal walls that only exist to test how many Scadutree Fragments you’ve collected. If you don’t have enough, the boss will be extremely difficult. Collect enough in the world, and you’ll win.

This can happen very early in the expansion. To the left of the main road, you’ll find a giant gate leading to an area called Belarut, Tower Settlement. This is a tough location that leads to an even tougher boss called the Divine Beast Dancing Lion. There is literally no reason to go here early in your adventure – don’t keep trying to beat a boss that’ll be easier later, unless you’re really hungry for a tough challenge. The entire path isn’t required until much later. It might not be required at all.

If you’re looking for more level appropriate areas to explore, go to Castle Ensis to the north of the starting field or explore some of the optional dungeons. We’ve got a lot more to say about those optional dungeons, but the northern path is your best bet for finding early expansion appropriate challenges. You’ll be able to beat the bigger bosses later. Why? Because you’ll want to hunt far and low for Scadutree Fragments.

#8 Explore Everything For Scadutree Fragments

Levels do and don’t matter in Shadow of the Erdtree. They’re important for your stats, but when it comes to progression – you’ll need new items called Scadutree Fragments. Collecting these boosts your defense and attack damage directly. You can raise your Shadow Realm Blessing pretty high, and unless you’re the best Elden Ring player in the world, you’ll probably need as many of these as possible to actually beat the later bosses in the DLC.

And these things are everywhere. Originally you’ll find them only from Gold Crosses in the environment, but there are plenty of other locations you’ll want to look at. Fragments can be dropped from enemies, found in secret locations, or just laying out in the middle of a field. You can find these at statues of Marika in churches or defeat optional field bosses like the Hippopotamus. And to find more you’ll need to explore the world map.

Travel every unseen road and search every corner – follow the main progression path north through Castle Ensis and the Shadow Keep to naturally unlock lots of locations on the map. Fully explore all the smaller sections you’ve never seen before, and grab every little item off the ground. You’ll need everything and everything, and those glowies might be fragments.

In addition to fragments, you’ll also want to grab all the Revered Spirit Ash you can. This is a less-important progression item that powers up your Spirit Ash summons. One particular Spirit Summon is absolutely critical for success if you want to make the game a whole lot easier. We’ll talk about that later. Just remember to explore thoroughly, go to every area you can, and attack walls whenever possible. Illusory Walls are back with a vengeance here.

#7 Don’t Miss Out On Amazing Weapons

There are literally dozens of new weapons in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion – you’ll find some of the strangest, most wonderful weapons in the series if you search hard enough. But if you’re aiming to simply progress and crush every enemy in your path, the classics are still unstoppable. One of the best weapons for so much of the DLC content is the Zamor Curved Sword – a Curved Greatsword that applies frost. Most of the enemies in the expansion on the main path are fire-based, so frost goes a long way toward making them easier. Zamor’s skill also instantly applies the frost status effect, slightly slowing enemies and making them weaker to all attacks. In this DLC that’s completely overpowered. There are some tough enemies like Fire Knights that get permanently stunlocked by this sword.

You can find the Zamor Curved Sword by completing the Giant-Conquering Hero’s Grave in the Mountaintop of the Giants. Beat the boss at the bottom of the dungeon to claim your reward. Easy.

Another useful sword is a basic weapon from the very start of the game. The Bloodhound’s Fang is STILL one of the best weapons. We were able to beat the final boss with this bad boy. The bleed effect and poise damage are out-of-control good, especially if you power stance and carry two Curved Greatswords at the same time. If you’ve got the Equip Load, I highly recommend pairing these two swords together and decimating enemies in the Shadow Keep.

The Bloodhound’s Fang is a weapon you can find very early in the game. Go to the southeast of Limgrave to find the bridge leading to the Weeping Peninsula. When facing the bridge, go up the hill to the right to find an Evergaol. Defeat the boss here to earn the sword. This boss is so simple, starting Tarnished can beat it with the right skills. Grab both weapons and upgrade to fully prepare yourself for every challenge in the Land of Shadow.

#6 Don’t Forget The Mimic Tear Ash of War

One specific Ash of War is still the best companion in Elden Ring. Thanks to the new Revered Spirit Ash upgrade items, arguably Ash of War summons are even better than ever. And the Mimic Tear is the best one. If you don’t have this Ash already, here’s where to find it.

To get it, you’ll need to reach Nokron, Eternal City. This underground area is unlocked after defeating Starscourge Radahn – which is one of the requirements for the DLC. After defeating him, a giant crater will appear in Mistwood. Drop down into the crater to discover the city, then progress to the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace. Drop down to enter the Night’s Sacred Ground. In this area, find a locked door and use a Stonesword Key to unlock the path. There’s a chest with this Mimic Tear Ash inside.

What makes the Mimic Tear so good? It has all the same equipment you do. If you equip the Zamor Curved Sword, your mimic will use the Weapon Skill and apply freeze to the boss all by themselves – or they’ll apply bleed effects if you’re using the Bloodhound’s Fang. The Mimic Tear is incredibly useful for every boss in the DLC. Get it as early as possible.

#5 Grab Everything For Upgrade Materials

We’ve already talked about this a little bit, but one of the best features in the Land of Shadow is easy to overlook. Because you’re meant to visit late in the game, and you might’ve already picked the Lands Between clean of Smithing Stones and other upgrade items. That’s why the DLC map is literally packed with every type of Smithing Stone imaginable. You’ll find level 1 upgrade items next to level 10 items, meaning you can fully stock up and upgrade even more weapons. And side dungeons are some of the best locations to check for more.

You’ll find Gloveworts in the Catacombs dungeons, while the Abandoned Forge dungeons are packed with Smithing Stones. These items also drop from enemies or are found all over the Legacy Dungeon environments. In the main game, we didn’t bother to pick up random drops in certain areas – starting sections of the map were guaranteed to only drop worthless low level upgrade items. Not so in the expansion. And there are so many more of those rare items you’ll need to rank up weapons to maximum. If you’re exploring, don’t run past those glowy items. It might be exactly what you need to upgrade a new weapon.

#4 Don’t Skip Those Side Dungeons

There are more reasons to explore side dungeons than just collecting upgrade materials. There are essentially three types of side dungeons in the Land of Shadow – jails, abandoned forges and catacombs. All three share something in common. If you search carefully, you can find unique weapons and armor sets but they’re always hidden. Just finishing these dungeons isn’t enough. You’ll want to really search with a fine tooth comb. Find keys to those locked doors, drop down to hidden ledges or discover illusory walls. Every dungeon has one secret treasure to find and they’re always worth collecting.

And side dungeons can even lead to story progression. We won’t spoil it here, but there are two dungeons that actually lead to different regions of the map. If you aren’t completing these dungeons, you might be missing out on huge swathes of the game world. That never happens in the base game. An optional dungeon never leads to an actual new area or major boss, but Shadow of the Erdtree throws out all the rules.

For example, you’ll really want to complete the Dragon’s Pit dungeon. It might look like a boring optional cave, but don’t skip it! There’s so much to discover by completing this early dungeon.

#3 Copy More Remembrances

We all know about copying Remembrances in Elden Ring. There are giant Walking Mausoleums you could knock down and use to make copies of Remembrances, giving you the chance to trade for both boss weapons at Enia in the Roundtable Hold. These Walking Mausoleums are not infinite. There are a limited number. If you’ve used them all, you won’t be able to get copies of the 10 new Remembrances in the expansion.

Or can you. Don’t use those Remembrances too early, because you actually can make copies. There are two hidden areas in the world map that allow you to copy Remembrances, and there might be even more of these special tombs around that we haven’t discovered yet. We’ll tell you where to find one.

If you beat the Dragon’s Pit dungeon like we suggested earlier, you’ll eventually have access to an area called the Cerulean Coast. Travel to the far east beach then north to discover a very strange set of ruins. You’ll find one of these tombs that can copy Remembrances in those ruins.

#2 Beware The Final Dungeon

Don’t rush into the final dungeon – seriously, just don’t do it. We won’t spoil too much, but if you rush to the final dungeon you will be permanently cut off from finishing certaIn quests or using some vendors. Before entering the final story progression Legacy Dungeon, try to finish all the quests you can. Talk to NPCs, try to help them or don’t, just do everything you can.

You’ll know it’s the final dungeon when you make a new location appear on the map. You’re okay to enter, but progressing to the top leads to a point-of-no-return that the game does not warn you about. If you pass this point, you’ll be locked out of certain quests and permanently cut out lots (and lots) of NPCs. If you want to see everything the Lands of Shadow have to offer, wait and do everything else you want to do first.

And that’s fine, because the final dungeon leads to the final boss – and the final boss is easily the hardest fight in the game. It might be one of the harder fights in the entire series. And we’ve got one simple recommendation before stepping into the last boss arena.

#1 Don’t Fall Into The Cooperator Trap

The final boss of Shadow of the Erdtree is tough. Really, really tough. This is the closest encounter to Malenia, Blade of Miquella. And both bosses share a beginner trap that inexperienced players will fall for. Don’t use the summon signs.

We had two summon signs for the final boss, and it might even be possible to summon more help than that. And we can only say this – don’t do it. Don’t use cooperators for this boss fight. You’re free to summon your Mimic Tear, but don’t bring NPCs into the battle. Every cooperator you summon gives the boss more health. The more cooperators you bring, the more health he has.

This is essentially a trap. The final boss is so strong, he’ll quickly kill your cooperators and leave you with nothing – except a boss with way, way more health than usual. While summoning an online pal might actually be useful, summoning NPCs is pointless. The negative effects are too much to handle for this boss. Malenia was the same way. You’re better off fighting her solo and dealing maximum damage. Those NPC summons are very useful for other bosses in the DLC, but they’re effectively making your job so, so much tougher when it comes to the last boss. Don’t summon! Just don’t do it.

And those are the 10 mistakes we think you really shouldn’t make in Shadow of the Erdtree. There are many more, but we’re trying to avoid any overt spoilers here.