6 Important Items You Need Before Starting Shadow of the Erdtree (2024)

Elden Ring was a game that took over my life when it graced our screens in 2022, and after absorbing all that the game had to offer and walking away gratefully with my platinum trophy, I felt a giant Miyazaki-shaped hole in my life. One that I've tried to plug with Lies of P, replays of Bloodborne, and trips back to Anor Londo. But soon, that all stops because, thanks to the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Elden Ring is back, baby!

It's an exciting time, and if you're a smart little Elden Lord, you'll have been reacquainting yourself with the Lands Between and preparing for what Elden Ring's new DLC has in store. We can't prepare you for the hardship or inject you with a hearty dose of mental fortitude. But we can give you a rundown of what items you'll want to grab to ensure your playthrough goes off without a hitch. So here's a quick shopping list to help you prepare for what's to come.

1 Runes

The first thing you're going to have to do before you head to the big egg at Mohgwyn Palace is stack up a bunch of runes. This will depend on how much time you sunk into Elden Ring pre-DLC, as a lot of players will be adequately leveled up for the DLC, but if you're someone who played the mandatory content and didn't do a lot of the optional stuff, you may be at a lower level, and considering this upcoming DLC is going to ask a lot more of you, it's best to be equipped for the challenge ahead.

While there is no hard and fast rule, I would personally suggest that players be leveled at 110 or higher. Anything less, and I feel that the DLC will be an uphill battle, even if you are a skilled Souls combatant. If you happen to be under-leveled, you should go Rune Farming to bridge the gap.

Plus, you should try to seek out the Golden Scarab, as this will help increase your Rune acquisition by 20%.

2 Bell Bearings

The second thing you should consider adding to your do-to-list is collecting all the Bell Bearings around the Lands Between. For those unaware, Bell Bearings are items that allow you to purchase specific upgrade materials, allowing you to theoretically upgrade as many Weapons, Armor Sets, or Spirit Ashes to their full potential. You don't need to pick and choose like in older Souls titles, but without the Bell Bearings, you'll be limited to what you find in the world and courtesy of Enemy drops.

So, to remedy this, you'll want to seek these items out. Not all Bell Bearings are essential, but I would urge players to try and seek out all the Miner Bell Bearings, and all the Glovewart Bell Bearings. This will allow you to grind Runes for Smithing Materials, and when the DLC rolls around, you'll be able to pivot to any weapon or build you choose.

3 Golden Seeds

This next statement is right up there with 'The sky is blue' or 'Water is wet'. Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is going to be hard, and because of this, you'll want to have every little bit of help you can. Staying alive is the aim of the game, and there's nothing that stops premature death better than having more healing items on hand to recover from being maimed, stabbed, or falling foul to a stray explosive projectile.

Golden Seed are the item within Elden Ring that will grant the player access to more Estus Flask charges, which means more wiggle room for mistakes in battle. And in a Souls game, you're going to make mistakes, no matter how good you think you are. So, before you hop into Shadow of the Erdtree, I suggest you seek out all the Golden Seeds that can be found in the wild, as this will increase your chances of survival in this harsh and unforgiving expansion.

4 Elemental Protection

We have only seen a very small portion of what the Elden Ring DLC will throw at us courtesy of some hands-on previews, but from what we have seen, there are some mandatory bosses that will be using Divine damage to send you right back to the nearest Site of Grace with your tail between your legs.

So it would be best to acquire something to help protect you from Divine Damage and pretty much every other elemental effect, to be honest. Because I would imagine that the Divine Beast Dancing Lion will only be the start.

The items that we would suggest picking up before jumping headfirst into this DLC would be the Stalwart Horn Charm +1 for Frost Protection, the Haligdrake Talisman +2 for Holy protection, the Boltdrake Talisman +2 for Lightning protection, the Flamedrake Talisman +2 for Fire. You get the picture; you'll need a talisman handy for every type of elemental damage. Incantations and armor that offer the same protection should also be considered.

Oh, and I suppose it's best to mention this even though it is merely speculation. Elden Ring's main campaign was trivialized at times by using Bleed/Hemorrhage to get by. So, it may be best to adapt your leading elemental damage ahead of time and find a build that utilizes something else. Again, this isn't confirmed, but if I know Miyazaki, and I think I do, they won't let you rest on your laurels in this new expansion.

5 Colossal Weapons

Based on what we have seen from the Hands-On Preview content, and that same sneaking feeling that Miyazaki is going to nerf all the effective strategies from the base game I mentioned above, I would suggest that players try and equip themselves with a high-damage heavy weapon. You know, the ones that look like Cloud's Buster Sword and have ludicrously long animation times. These may seem like a burden, but they'll serve you pretty well against the bosses within this DLC.

From what we can tell, the DLC bosses will behave a lot like the Elden Beast or Dragonlord Placidusax . They will likely move around the arena at pace, create space between them and the player and limit the opportunities the player has to deal damage. So, when you do get a chance to deal damage, you'll want to have a weapon that can cut them down to size in as few hits as possible.

There are lots of options, but I would suggest weapons like Greatsword , Brick Hammer , the Starscourge Greatsword ,and the Godslayer's Greatsword . Go with what suits your build and playstyle best, and if you are a magic user, I would consider pivoting to a strength build too, because I just can't see Miyazaki letting magic builds skate by again this time.

6 Larval Tears

Then, lastly, on the subject of pivoting builds and adapting to your new surroundings, to change your build, you'll need access to Larval Tear , the resource that allows you to respec courtesy of Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon in Raya Lucaria Academy .

These are finite resources, but the good news is that there are enough of them in the game that you'll probably never run out of unless you really like chopping and changing your build.

At this moment, the build that will provide the easiest run to the finish in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is still a mystery, but what you can do to prepare is have the resources ready to change if needed. However, if you've spent all of these Larval Tears, it may be a good idea to start NG+ and rush through the content to Defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood , allowing you to stack these Larval Tears and freely experiment when the DLC drops.

Elden Ring

Platform(s)

PS5, Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC

Released

February 25, 2022

Developer(s)

From Software

Publisher(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software

Genre(s)

RPG, Action

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer

Engine

Proprietary

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

How Long To Beat

58 Hours