Elden Ring DLC: How to Start Shadow of the Erdtree

Elden Ring is a massive game filled with countless dungeons, bosses, and secrets to take on. But it’s about to get even bigger with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which adds on a brand-new region, over ten bosses, new weapon types, and more. It’s bound to have some of the biggest challenges in Elden Ring. But just like everything else in Souls games, Shadow of the Erdtree is difficult, even to access. You won’t be jumping into the DLC from a menu, no that’s far too simple. There’s a very specific point that you’ll need to have reached in the game to even think about starting Shadow of the Erdtree. We’ll help walk you through what that is, and the easiest way to reach it.

How to Start Shadow of the Erdtree

To get the simplest part out of the way, to start Shadow of the Erdtree, you need to interact with Miquella’s Cocoon, which can be found in the arena where you fought Mohg, Lord of Blood. It’s a large white ball with a hand falling out of it. Simply interact with the hand and you’ll be transported to the Land of Shadow.

If you’ve already beaten Mohg, then great, just head to the cocoon. However, it’s quite likely that a number of players haven’t reached Mohg, or even didn’t know about his existence. After all, it’s entirely possible to beat Elden Ring without ever confronting Mohg.

Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki has confirmed that players will need to beat both Mohg and Starscourge Radahn in order to access the DLC, so here’s how to reach both.

How to Get to Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring

There are a few different ways to reach Starscourge Radahn, one of the most notorious bosses in Elden Ring. Radahn is the major boss of the Caelid region, the red-tinged region that just loves to sap your health with status effects. Caelid can be a massive challenge, so we’d recommend at least completing Limgrave and Liurnia of the Lakes, at the bare minimum, before taking it on.

Radahn is found at Redmane Castle in the Southeast corner of Caelid, but as soon as you arrive, you’ll learn there’s a catch. Before you can fight Radahn, you’ll need to start the Radahn Festival. This is done through three different ways.

• Reach any Site of Grace in the Altus Plateau - The easiest ways to get there is to go through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice, and defeat the Magma Worm. Or you can use the Grand Lift of Dectus in the North of Liurnia, but you need to collect two Dectus Medallions from Limgrave’s Fort Haight and Caelid’s Fort Faroth.
• Alternatively, follow Ranni’s quest until you talk to Blaidd about Radahn in Sofria River Well. This location is accessed by investigating the Minor Erdtree in Mistwood.
• Alternatively, also in Ranni’s questline, progress until you talk to Witch-Hunter Jerren about Iji.

Once you’ve reached any of these requirements, the Radahn Festival should start at Redmane. Now talk to the Festival Master at the castle and rest at the nearby Site of Grace. If you need some help taking down the fearsome Radahn, we have a full boss guide.

How to Get to Mohg, Lord of Blood In Elden Ring

Mohg is the final boss of Mohgwyn Palace, one of Elden Ring’s secret underground areas that typically isn’t accessed until much later in the game. Because of that, Mohg can be extremely challenging, so if you do find yourself arriving early in your playthrough, you might struggle. There are two ways to reach Mohgwyn Palace:

• On the Western side of Consecrated Snowfield, there’s a waygate that will teleport you directly to the entrance of the Lake of Blood. Make it through the lake to reach the palace.
• Follow the questline of White-Faced Varre until he reaches the Rose Church. Varre is the first NPC you meet in The Lands Between. At this point, you’ll need to complete three different invasions (either of other players or NPCs invading your game). After that, return to Varre and he’ll give you a talisman that instantly transports you to Mohgwyn Palace, letting you bypass the lake.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launches on June 21 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.