Do You Need to Beat Elden Ring to Play Shadow of the Erdtree DLC? – Answered

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the only planned major expansion for the action RPG from FROMSOFTWARE. Like their previous releases, accessing the expansions usually has some requirements that need to be met, or specific quests to complete. Considering how massive the game is, it’s fair to ask if you need to beat Elden Ring to play the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Here is everything you need to know.

Do You Need to Beat Elden Ring to Play Shadow of the Erdtree DLC?

No, you do not need to beat Elden Ring to play Shadow of the Erdtree, but you need to beat both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood.

After you have beaten both bosses, you need to interact with the cocoon in Mohgwyn’s Palace.

The boss requirement was originally revealed in an interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki and has been confirmed through official channels several times over the past few weeks including a Red Bull event with Bandai Namco.

Compared to some of the things you had to do to access previous expansions in FROMSOFTWARE titles, this isn’t that bad, and there are no esoteric methods you need to perform to gain access to the expansion.

Mohg, in particular, is a pretty tough fight, and as of writing, only 34.5% of players who own Elden Ring on Steam have beaten him.

A lot of players who aren’t aware of these requirements might be in for a rude awakening as only buying the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion doesn’t give direct access. Thankfully, you don’t need to beat the game, the average playthrough of which can last around 100 hours.

If you’re interested in the PC version of the expansion, make sure to check out the updated system requirements for Shadow of the Erdtree. Additionally, keep an on our dedicated section for even more guides on the base game and expansion.