If there was a vote on which DLC was most anticipated in the past 2 years, then Shadow of the Erdtree will definitely stand at the top without any doubt. After 2 years of waiting, it finally released its official trailer last night, and immediately blew viewers away with countless interesting details, making fans hungry to wait until June 21, the day it officially launched.
In the meantime, let’s join GameHub to take a look at the interesting details revealed in the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer that many people who aren’t paying attention may have missed:
1. Description of DLC
First, read through Bandai Namco’s official description of this DLC.
The first place that goddess Marika set foot on.
A land was purged in a silent battle.
Burned by Messmer’s fire.
Miquella departed for this land.
Strip yourself of your flesh, your strength, your lineage.
All things belong to Golden.
And now Miquella awaits the return of the foretold Lord.”
Thus, Land of Shadow is the name of the land where players will adventure in the DLC. This is also the first stop of Queen Marika when she arrived at The Lands Between. Remember, Queen Marika was originally from the Numen clan, and came from a land beyond the mist that covered the middle continent.
There are some other details in the above description that will be mentioned in the following sections.
2. How to advance to the Land of Shadow
In the first scene of the trailer, viewers were taken back to the temple where the boss battle with Mohg took place, and where Miquella’s cocoon was located. It seems like the most popular prediction for how to get into the DLC has come true, which is touching Miquella’s arm that sticks out from inside the cocoon.
3. The vastness of the Land of Shadow
In the next scene, a Tarnished is traveling on Torrent’s back through a field of reeds in the gloomy weather of the Land of Shadow. In an interview with IGN, Miyazaki said that the DLC map will be “comparable, if not larger, than Limgrave”, the first area players explore in Elden Ring origin. It’s unclear whether the breadth Miyazaki is talking about includes the subterranean land below Limgrave, but it’s sure to be filled with interesting details.
4. Erdtree? Haligtree?
It is still unclear whether this is Erdtree being entangled by another tree, or Haligtree, the tree created by Miquella as a refuge for those who want to escape Erdtree’s control? Or are they both, and they are entangled with each other to gain control of the world? Or are we combining to create new rules in the Lands Between? This is definitely the biggest secret that players will discover in the DLC.
The curtain, or shadow, hanging over the two trees could refer to a mirror or parallel world. If you pay close attention, you will see that it is quite similar to Marika’s Queen’s Bedchamber in the original game. It seems that the Queen’s bedroom was designed to resemble the first place she set foot in The Lands Between.
5. New NPCs
The next few scenes bring us a series of interesting NPCs, two of whom wear similar masks and seem to be related to St. Trina, another version of Miquella, who will definitely play an important role in the DLC. Another equally interesting NPC is the one sitting in a chair in a blue room, the main color of the Carian Royal Family. This character is certainly closely related to the family of Queen Rennala, Ranni’s mother and Radagon’s former wife.
6. Poisonous swamp
A signature feature, a favorite of Miyazaki, and it’s back. Below is the game maker’s interview response when asked about whether the DLC has toxic swamps or not:
“In short, yes. But this is really a point that made me reflect on my introspection after creating the original game. Only after creating it did I realize I really enjoyed creating poisoned swamps. And this is a little place for me to introspect and reflect. So perhaps, when players reach the poisoned swamp in the DLC, they will feel a little bit of this reminiscence.”
7. Who is in the painting?
Next is a painting of an old man and a woman with their hands on their stomachs. The man wears a symbol closely associated with St. Trina, but the voice-over now says “Erdtree’s Followers”. Is this a contradiction?
8. 2 dungeons?
Next we see a cave with a series of Erdtree Pots hanging from the ceiling. The main color here is blue, so this could be the dungeon we have to go through before encountering the NPC mentioned in part 5. The next scene is another area full of lava, possibly a another dungeon or Hero’s Grave.
9. City under the magic tree
The next scene gives us a panoramic view of the city under the magic tree. It is majestic and beautiful, but if you pay attention, you will see that the top of the structure has rocks and soil flying up, making people unable to help but think of Farum Azula. Is there a connection between these two cities, or is this what Farum Azula was when it was intact?
10. Bosses players will have to confront
Next we get a series of animations of the player fighting new Bosses/Mini Bosses, including a flaming Golem covered in burning corpses, a creature with a hideous long neck, and a lion. A hybrid horse grows full of horns from the Omen. Do they look scary? Have! Is it weird? Have! Does it evoke excitement to fight and win? Have! Have! Have!
11. Messmer The Impaler
Next we will meet the main enemy of the DLC, Messmer The Impaler. It should be noted that this character is surrounded by snakes, which are considered enemies of Erdtree. In addition, he also uses Thorn Magic, a type of magic that Erdtree considers a sin. However, he has red hair and yellow eyes, and mentions the word “Mother”. Most likely, Messmer is another child of Marika and Radagon. This argument is further reinforced later in the trailer, when he sits on a throne similar to the thrones of the Demigods at the foot of Erdtree in Lyndell in the original game.
12. New fighting style?
After Messmer, players will witness a series of player battle scenes, showing off a series of impressive new skills and new weapons. Especially among them is the scene where the player’s character jumps up and launches consecutive kicks at the enemy. This could be the new Ash of War, or more interestingly, a new fighting style that players can build in the DLC. Fighting monsters with bare hands? It’s worth looking forward to.
Another point to note is the scene where the player fights a character wearing a red dress in a field of blue flowers. This enemy immediately reminded the writer of the Blue Dancer Charm, an item associated with the person who taught Malenia swordsmanship. It would be very interesting if this character could answer some questions for players about the mysterious swordsman mentioned above.
Subsequent combat sequences present the player with a series of new monsters and new areas, with Ash of War or spells that the player can learn and use. One of them is the man in the painting in section 7, trying to pull out a weapon from his eye socket. This can be an important Boss that is directly related to the plot of the DLC.
13. Miquella
After another fight with Messmer, the player finally sees Miquella’s silhouette. True to the introduction in part 1, this demigod shed his flesh and blood and became a soul covered in orange-yellow light, quite similar to Erdtree’s miracle. Miquella will certainly play an important role in the DLC, but in what capacity? A guide or Final Boss that the player must defeat? The writer is more inclined towards the former, but it would be very interesting if the latter becomes a reality.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will officially be released on June 21, which means players still have to wait 4 more months until they can set foot on the Land of Shadow. It was a long time, but nothing compared to the previous 2 years of waiting. During this time, GameHub will continue to update more information about Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree. To not miss out, readers can:
