Walkthrough/Shadow of the Erdtree
This short guide will tell you all you need to know before you venture into the DLC.
How to Access the DLC
1. Defeat both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood. (Mohg can be accessed by either advancing Varré's quest, or finding the portal at the Consecrated Snowfield.)
2. After you defeat Mohg, just rest on the nearest Site of Grace and Leda will appear in front of Miquella's Cocoon. If Leda doesn't appear, it means you haven't defeated Radahn yet.
3. Interact with the giant hanging hand and you will be magically transported to the Land of Shadow.
About the Story: Leda thinks that you were guided there by Miquella, and so do the others. As the Charming Branch says: Those who would otherwise be at each other's throats are united in service to Miquella — as long as the charm that binds them remains intact. Also, it is never explained why or how you are transported to the Land of Shadow... you just appear there when you touch the hand.
The Basics
Welcome to the Land of Shadow.
There are some differences you should be aware of:
1. The DLC has an Alternate Leveling System. It's quite simple though, to level up here you just have to collect Scadutree Fragments.
These fragments increase both your defense and your damage done within the DLC. If you don't gather any fragments, bosses will just kill you in 2 hits or so (regardless of your level) and will also take longer to kill. You should prioritize getting these Scadutree Fragments before anything else.
2. There is a point of no return for some secondary quests: If you enter the Shadow Keep (or cross both bridges east of Bonny Village) before doing Thiollier's quest, you will miss out on one of his rewards, and the reward of another character you meet later on.
You can only access Scadu Altus and the Keep after you defeat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight or use the Spiritspring south of the Fort of Reprimand to the east, so you don't have to worry at the beginning. After defeating her, the Shadow Keep is the blatant looming castle that you can see to the north of the area you unlock after her fight.
Suggested Start
1. Free Scadutree Fragments. Go get them. (This area is notoriously empty. Probably the only one in the DLC. Also, you can't access the South from here. You can do that on step 6)
2. Meet some people and then go into the strange giant building over there. This is a full legacy dungeon with many twists, bosses, and other secrets. It will take some time.
3. An area on the north with loot, bosses, and a dungeon. Simply an area to explore.
4. Easy to miss since you have to take a detour. Here you start the quests of Thiollier (at the Pillar Path Cross grace, which is marked in the picture above), and the quest of Igon.
5. Path to Ensis Castle, where you get to fight Rellana and unlock the rest of the map.
6. The somewhat secret path to the Southern part of the map (a.k.a. The Cerulean Coast). Feel free to watch any video guide to get there, since it's tricky. You do get another Scadutree Fragment for your trouble of finding it.
After all of this, you will be prepared to tackle and explore the rest of the game. Have fun! Note: The picture above was taken from Map Genie. That site can help you find more Scadutree Fragments after you have followed the precious steps in this guide, although it will obviously spoil all the map, if you care about that.
Other tips
- Instead of Erdtree Avatars, there are Furnace Golems containing Tears for your Flask of Wondrous Physick. The shockwave attack of these golems can be easily dodged by just jumping.
- There are 3 important secret areas at Belurat, Tower Settlement. Here's a video. on how to access them.
- When you are at the southernmost part of the Cerulean Coast, you are supposed to find a fissure you have to jump into. It's right in the middle of the seemingly empty peninsula at the very bottom of the map.
- When you find the Bonny Village, look for the O, Mother gesture. It is important for later on. Here's a video on how to find it.
- Adjacent to the room you are in before fighting Gaius, there is a statue of Marika. You have to use the gesture O, Mother to unlock the secret area behind it.
- If you feel like you don't know what to do, this video shows how to access many of the hidden areas of the game, some of them are very big.
- To fight Messmer, it is recommended to have 13 Scadutree Fragments (more or less).