ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree DLC – Speculation about Plot Twist and Characters

On June 21, Shadow of the Erdtree will be released worldwide - the first and only DLC for the "classic" souls-like game ELDEN RING. Rumors surrounding the expansion to From Software's hit abound, covering virtually every aspect of the impending DLC. We at EGamersWorld are also eagerly awaiting and scratching our heads over what From Software has in store for us.

Having spent over a hundred hours in the original ELDEN RING, flipping through countless pages of fandom, and delving into the complex lore of the Lands Between, we are ready to shed light on what awaits us in Shadow of the Erdtree. In this article, we ponder what exactly this Shadow of the Erdtree is, what the storyline will be in the expansion, and what players can expect.

What is the Shadow of the Erdtree?

After the announcement of the DLC for ELDEN RING, the first question that came to mind was: what is this Shadow of the Erdtree? And here, it's not just about the name of the expansion, but it's deeper meaning.

To try to answer this question, we need to turn to the official page of the expansion and the bits of information provided by From Software. So, the description of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC sounds like this:

The Land of Shadow. A place obscured by the Erdtree. Where the goddess Marika first set foot.

A land purged in an unsung battle. Set ablaze by Messmer’s flame.

It was to this land that Miquella departed. Divesting himself of his flesh, his strength, his lineage. Of all things Golden.

And now Miquella awaits the return of his promised Lord.

From the description, it becomes clear that Shadow of the Erdtree is a physical place, therefore it is a location. And it is there that the events of the eponymous DLC will unfold, as directly stated by the developers:

ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree takes players beyond the Lands Between to explore the Land of Shadow, a completely new world from ELDEN RING.

However, it wouldn't be From Software if everything were so simple.

First of all, let's pay attention to the line "Where the goddess Marika first set foot." If you happen to not know, Marika is a local deity who actually created the Lands Between, the setting of the original events of ELDEN RING, at her own will. However, Marika was not always all-powerful and judging by the description of the DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree is a territory that lies beyond the "domains" of the goddess Marika, as it is "obscured by the Erdtree."

There is a theory that Shadow of the Erdtree is deliberately hidden by the all-powerful Marika because she could not subdue everything here with her will. This is hinted at by the lines about "a place shrouded in unsung battle" and "burned by the flame of Messmer." So, we can assume that Marika tried to expand her dominion to this land in her own way, i.e., through aggressive warfare, but she failed to do so, and therefore this territory was closed off by the shadow of the Erdtree, cut off from the Great Rune, and almost annihilated by Messmer, yet not entirely annihilated.

One of the most interesting aspects of Shadow of the Erdtree remains its timeline. While it is completely unclear when the events of the DLC take place, I have a hypothesis that the events of the expansion take place "outside of space and time." Confirmation of this theory is the entrance to the DLC - a cocoon with Miquella's body in the boss fight arena with Mogh. That is, the events of ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree may take place in the consciousness of Miquella, analogous to the "Painted World of Ariandel" from Dark Souls III. However, if Shadow of the Erdtree is a physical place, most likely Miquella's cocoon will serve as something akin to a teleport to a new territory.

ELDEN RING Shadow of The Erdtree main characters and possible plot twist

In ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree, there will be at least 2 key characters. These are Miquella, whom we mentioned earlier, and Messmer. Messmer needs to be discussed separately, but it's impossible to speculate about the plot of Shadow of the Erdtree without Miquella.

So, a brief overview. Miquella is the son of Queen Marika and King-Consort Radagon, the older twin brother of Malenia. Miquella is an Empyrean, like his mother, thus he inherits Marika's possessions and is a contender for the title of Lord of ELDEN RING. As we know from the original ELDEN RING, Miquella embarked on a journey to find a cure for the curse of eternal decay afflicting his sister Malenia, as well as his "eternal child" syndrome, but was kidnapped by his step-brother Mogh, to be reborn as a god and establish the Mogna dynasty.

From the description of the DLC ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree, it becomes clear that the place where Miquella went is the Shadow of the Erdtree. However, it is revealed that he himself renounced his Golden Lineage, flesh, and powers, which suggests a hidden motive for Miquella and casts doubt on the fact of his kidnapping by Mogh and Mogh's initiative.

In Shadow of the Erdtree, Miquella will guide the main player on their path through the lands of the Shadows and towards becoming their Lord. Ultimately, Miquella's final goal remains unclear. In the main game, the player could also become the Lord of ELDEN RING, but in several iterations: by restoring the "true" Golden Order, becoming Marika's consort, the Lord of Shadowbirth, or even the Lord of Chaos. Thus, to fulfill seemingly benevolent intentions in the original ELDEN RING, Miquella needed a Lord, and apparently, he will get one.

The second central character of ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree is Messmer. Unlike Miquella, who apparently will be a friendly NPC, Messmer will be our enemy and one of the bosses of the ELDEN RING DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. Judging from the description of the expansion and the official trailer of Shadow of the Erdtree, Messmer is someone or something like a guardian of the lands under the veil in the shadow of the Erdtree.

Obviously, Miquella and Messmer will not be the only central characters of the expansion. We will definitely have to deal with other followers of Miquella mentioned in the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer, as well as with the local analogue of Rountable Hold, a part of which was also shown in the video presentation of the first DLC.

Ultimately, for more detailed information, we need to wait for the release of Shadow of the Erdtree and explore the bits of lore in the game itself.

ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree confirmed infomartion: DLC release date, system requirments, editions

ELDEN RING DLC Shadow of the Erdtree will be released on June 21 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Before the game release in June, we recommend you catch your Elden Ring Soft Caps and have a chance to defeat new foes maybe even in cross-platform or solo.

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: INTEL CORE I5-8400 or AMD RYZEN 3 3300X
• Memory: 12 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 3 GB or AMD RADEON RX 580 4 GB
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 60 GB available space

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10/11
• Processor: INTEL CORE I7-8700K or AMD RYZEN 5 3600X
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 8 GB or AMD RADEON RX VEGA 56 8 GB
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 60 GB available space

ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree will be available in three versions: Shadow of the Erdtree Edition, Shadow of the Erdtree Deluxe Edition, Shadow of the Erdtree Premium Bundle.

Note that to access the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, you need to own the original game. Almost all of the versions mentioned above DO NOT INCLUDE the base ELDEN RING game.

Summarizing all that we know:

• Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC for ELDEN RING, set to release on June 21st.
• The events of Shadow of the Erdtree will take place in a new location - the Lands of Shadow.
• Miquella and Messmer will be key characters in the game.
• The DLC's plot will shed light on Miquella's fate and intentions.

So, we await June 21st to confirm or refute our speculations. In the meantime, stay with EGW, as we'll soon tell you even more about Shadow of the Erdtree, including ELDEN RING DLC new weapons, bosses, enemies and more.