Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree release date and trailer analysis
From the Land Of Shadow's history to Messmer's true identity, here's everything we know about Shadow Of The Erdtree
When does Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree release? It's long been known that FromSoftware, developers of the phenomenally successful Elden Ring, have been quietly working away at a very large piece of DLC for their new flagship RPG. Until recently, we've had very little information about the upcoming Shadow Of The Erdtree expansion. But that's all changed thanks to the new Shadow Of The Erdtree trailer, which has answered a wealth of questions and raised several more in the process.
If you're looking for an in-depth breakdown of everything you may have missed in the Shadow Of The Erdtree trailer, or you just want to know the release date of the long-awaited Elden Ring DLC, you've come to the right place. Below, we dive deep (very deep) into the trailer and into Elden Ring lore in order to answer all your burning questions about Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree.
In this guide:
- Shadow Of The Erdtree release date
- Shadow Of The Erdtree editions
- Map and setting
- New bosses
- New weapon types
- Shadow Of The Erdtree story (trailer analysis)
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree release date
The Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree release date is Friday, 21st June 2024. This date was revealed by Bandai Namco and FromSoftware at the end of their gameplay trailer. As a paid DLC, it will be available to purchase for any owners of the original game on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, or Steam Deck.
So if you're planning to dive into Shadow Of The Erdtree the day it releases, you'd better get playing through the original game now if you haven't already, because mid-June isn't that far away!
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree editions
There are several different editions of the Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC, as well as a basic upgrade choice for players who already own the base game. The editions range from £35 for the standard DLC upgrade to £225 for the physical Collector's Edition. Here is the full selection of editions and purchase options for Shadow Of The Erdtree:
| Edition | Price | Contents | Includes Base Game? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Upgrade | £34.99 $39.99 €39.99 |
|
No |
| Premium Bundle Edition | £39.99 $49.99 €49.99 |
|
No |
| Shadow Of The Erdtree Edition | £64.99 $79.99 €79.99 |
|
Yes |
| Deluxe Edition | £84.99 $99.99 €99.99 |
|
Yes |
| Collector's Edition | £224.99 $249.99 €249.99 |
|
No |
Whichever edition of Shadow Of The Erdtree you choose, if you pre-order it you will also receive the unique Ring Of Miquella gesture to use in-game.
Note: Major spoilers for Elden Ring follow!
Map and setting
Shadow Of The Erdtree will take place in the same time period as the original Elden Ring, in a brand new map that is physically separate from The Lands Between. This map is called the Land Of Shadow, and all signs point towards it being a dreamlike shadow realm which mirrors The Lands Between.
To access Elden Ring's new DLC map, you will need to reach the arena of Mohg, Lord Of Blood, defeat him, and touch the withered arm in the cocoon on Mohg's throne to transport yourself into the Land Of Shadow. It has been confirmed that you also need to defeat Starscourge Radahn before the DLC becomes accessible.
Radahn is a mid-game boss and Mohg is a late-game boss, so it will take a fair bit of playing Elden Ring before you reach the DLC. The Land Of Shadow has been tuned to be similar in difficulty to late-game areas such as the Haligtree and Crumbling Farum Azula, so it certainly won't be for the faint of heart. That said, there is a unique additional levelling system in Shadow Of The Erdtree which is similar to the Sekiro system of increasing your "Attack Power", which may make things a little easier in the Land Of Shadow.
The new map has been confirmed by FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki in a Eurogamer interview to be "larger even than Limgrave in the base game". For reference, here's the Elden Ring map with the starting area of Limgrave highlighted:
Miyazaki went on to explain that the Land Of Shadow in the Shadow Of The Erdtree expansion is denser and more seamlessly designed than previous Elden Ring regions. "There of course will be large open areas, there of course will be legacy dungeons," he says, "but we've also experimented with something a little more in-between these as well to bring a more diverse gameplay experience." So we can expect a less sharp delineation between the open-world areas and the giant legacy dungeons in the Land Of Shadow.
One thing everyone will groan at is that we caught a glimpse of a poisonous swamp in the Shadow Of The Erdtree trailer, and Miyazaki confirmed that this would be part of the Land Of Shadow. He just can't help himself, it seems. As if the Lake Of Rot wasn't enough.
New bosses
The Shadow Of The Erdtree expansion will add over 10 bosses to Elden Ring, according to the Eurogamer interview. "Over 10" is a bit nebulous, but we're probably looking at 11-12 bosses in total, some of whom will be optional.
Interestingly, Miyazaki said that one of the optional bosses will be "tuned in a similar way to the likes of Malenia". Which sounds mildly terrifying to anyone who came across the now-iconic optional boss Malenia, Blade Of Miquella in the base game. The trailer seems to set up new character Messmer as the big bad boss of the expansion (more on him shortly!), but I seriously doubt he's the boss that Miyazaki was talking about. For one thing, it doesn't seem like Messmer will be an optional boss. And FromSoftware have a storied history of keeping silent about the really hard bosses in their games ahead of release.
We do get a few shots in the gameplay trailer of what appear to be Shadow Of The Erdtree bosses. There's a giant walking brazier monster filled with fire and dead bodies, which in an interview with IGN Miyazaki called "a terrible weapon used in a war that occured in the Land Of Shadow". Then there's the big worm-like creature shown eating a player, as well as a giant hybrid creature with the head of a lion that can command lightning, similar to the Ancient Dragons in the base game.
Here's a quick roundup of all the Shadow Of The Erdtree bosses we think we saw in the gameplay trailer:
Some pretty menacing enemies to face off against there, and it's unlikely FromSoft have spilled the beans on the worst ones yet!
New weapon types
As per the Eurogamer interview, a whopping 8 new weapon categories will arrive to Elden Ring with the release of Shadow Of The Erdtree. We catch a glimpse of some of these new Elden Ring weapons in the gameplay trailer, and more were confirmed in an interview with Famitsu. Here are the new weapon types we know about:
- 1. Odachi: A long and heavy type of katana. Good news for uchigatana fans!
- 2. Gyakute Ken: Translated as "reverse-hand sword", these blades are used in reverse-hand grip.
- 3. Martial Arts: Appears to be an unarmed attack set, for wannabe monks.
- 4. Dueling Shields: Smaller shields that are meant for both offence and defence.
- 5. Throwing Daggers: Knives that change every melee attack into a ranged attack.
- 6. TBA
- 7. TBA
- 8. TBA
In addition to these weapon types, there will be a variety of new Spells, Ashes Of War, and traditional weapons added with the release of Shadow Of The Erdtree.
Shadow Of The Erdtree story (trailer analysis)
There are some really interesting story secrets hidden within the Shadow Of The Erdtree gameplay trailer, and some of them delve deep into Elden Ring's mythos. We've listed the most fascinating bits of analysis from the trailer below (as well as notes we've pieced together from interviews), so you can understand everything there is to know so far about how the story of Shadow Of The Erdtree will take shape.
Who is the figure standing in Mohgwyn's Palace?
The first shot of the trailer shows the back of a cloaked figure standing in front of Mohg's throne and the cocoon where (allegedly) the demigod Miquella has been residing all this time. We have two theories regarding who this figure is: it's either Melina or Miquella.
Melina wears a cloak similar to the one shown in the trailer, although it is not quite the same. The trailer cloak looks more ornate and embellished than Melina's simple cloth cloak. Nevertheless, Melina has long been rumoured to have connections with many of the key characters of this expansion, so it wouldn't be a surprise for her to take a large role in Shadow Of The Erdtree.
Miquella hasn't ever been depicted wearing a black cloak like this. But it appears to be his voice later on in the trailer (voiced by Naomi McDonald, who is credited with voicing cut Miquella lines in the base game) telling the player: "Come, now. Touch the withered arm, and travel to the realm of shadow. I will not be far behind." It makes sense that those words would be spoken at the site of the withered arm itself. But then Miyazaki has said that the player will be following in Miquella's footsteps through the Land Of Shadow, rather than him following us. So it's not yet clear whether this is Miquella, Melina, or someone else.
That giant tree is the Haligtree, not the Erdtree
As you've no doubt seen, the giant tree shown at multiple points of the trailer is not the healthy golden Erdtree that dominates the Lands Between. In fact, it doesn't look like an Erdtree at all, not even a shadowy mirror. It looks much more similar to Miquella's Haligtree, which is located to the far north of the Elden Ring map.
For those who need a refresher, the Haligtree was Miquella's attempt to create a second Erdtree. Miquella and his sister Malenia were both born with their own curses: Malenia was cursed with Rot, while Miquella was cursed with eternal childhood. Probably something to do with them being born from Marika and Radagon, who are sort of the same person. Bit incestuous, so let's move on.
Miquella abandoned the teachings of the Erdtree and Marika's Golden Order, because it could do nothing to save his sister or himself from their curses. He created the Haligtree and watered it with his own blood, hoping it could cure them. He even went so far as to cocoon himself inside the tree to let it transform him. But the cocoon was ripped from the Haligtree by his malicious half-brother Mohg, with Miquella still inside it. That's the cocoon we see on Mohg's throne.
So, the Haligtree is very closely associated with Miquella himself, and from what we see of the Land Of Shadow's Haligtree looking so dark, twisted, and draped in shadow, it seems likely that Miquella himself has undergone some sort of transformation after his time in the cocoon and Mohg's capture of him.
The Land Of Shadow is Queen Marika's birthplace
On Bandai Namco's site we get this introduction to the story of Shadow Of The Erdtree:
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.
So the Land Of Shadow is where the goddess Marika first set foot. As in, it's her birthplace, her homeland. Marika is known to be of the Numen race, which is incidentally a base body template the player can choose during character creation. The Numen are described as "supposed descendants of denizens of another world". It now appears clear that the Numen - including Marika - originally hail from the Land Of Shadow.
The War of the Land Of Shadow
Why hasn't the Land Of Shadow been mentioned before now in all the lore of Elden Ring? It's clearly a very secret and forgotten place, but it's a place of significance to several characters, Marika included. From the story description above, we know that it's a place that has seen "an unsung battle", during which the land was "set ablaze by Messmer's flame". So there was a war, and Messmer was involved - as was, quite possibly, Marika.
As Marika's homeland, the Land Of Shadow likely held a special significance to her, and may have been one of the first (if not the very first) areas that she and Godfrey conquered. Remember that initially, Marika, the Erdtree, and the Golden Order were met with opposition, and had to wage war against the Giants, the Dragons, the Carian Royals, and more in order to bring all of the Lands Between under their rule.
However, Messmer's involvement in the war disputes this theory. We'll talk more about this in a moment, but it's quite possible that Messmer is a child of Marika and Radagon. Radagon succeeded Godfrey as Elden Lord long after those initial wars were finished, so perhaps this war of the Land Of Shadow happened much more recently than we think. A wild theory that also occurred to me was that it was during this war, while Marika and all the other gods were distracted, that Ranni was able to steal the Rune Of Death from Maliketh, Marika's Shadow. But that's by-the-by.
As an aside, we also know thanks to Miyazaki's earlier comment that the giant flaming brazier boss in the trailer was a weapon used in that war. Given the flame connection, I imagine this terrifying boss was on the side of Messmer.
Is Miquella a friend or an enemy?
Now come the really interesting parts. Despite his centrality to the entire Elden Ring mythos, we know precious little about Miquella. We know that he is beloved, and his sister Malenia fights purely for him and calls him "the most fearsome Empyrean of all". The other Empyreans are Marika, Malenia, Ranni, and the Gloam-Eyed Queen. So he must be pretty darn fearsome if you ask me.
But while Miquella is said to be loved by many, the opening words of the trailer paint him in a more menacing light:
"Pure and radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men. There is nothing more terrifying."
First off, what a banger of a quote. Secondly, Miquella's storied ability to compel affection from others definitely seems to be something the player should be wary of. All we know for sure right now is that Miquella departed for the Land Of Shadow, and the player is to follow his trail. There's little indication yet as to whether he will be a friend or an enemy. The one motivation we know of him is that he wants to cure himself and his sister. It most likely comes down to whether that goal aligns with the player's quest.
Messmer The Impaler's demigod roots
Messmer is the poster-boy of the Shadow Of The Erdtree expansion, and we can already surmise quite a bit about him. When he first appears in the trailer, he says: "Mother, wouldst thou truly Lordship sanction, in one so bereft of light?" The prevailing theory is that he's talking to Queen Marika, about us. That would make him a demigod offspring of Marika - and indeed, his red hair strongly suggests that his father was the red-haired Radagon. This would make him the brother of Miquella and Malenia, as well as the half-brother of Radahn, Ranni, Rykard, Morgott, and Mohg.
But we also see a couple of other connections to particular characters. First: he is accompanied by a snake, which is an immediate link to Lord Rykard of Volcano Manor. Second, and much more interestingly - he seems to have somewhat of a connection to Mohg and the Outer God known as the Formless Mother.
We always assumed that it was Miquella's arm hanging from the cocoon in Mohg's arena, but it does look an awful lot like Messmer's arm. If it were Messmer there, then let's not forget that Mohg and his followers imbued huge amounts of blood upon the cocoon as part of Mohg's attempt to ascend the Empyrean Miquella to godhood (so that Mohg could rule as his Elden Lord consort). Mohg's whole deal is accursed bloodflame magic, after all - ever since he made contact with the mysterious Outer God known as the Formless Mother. The Bloodboon spell in Elden Ring tells us the following:
"The mother of truth craves wounds. When Mohg stood before her, deep underground, his accursed blood erupted with fire, and he was besotted with the defilement that he was born into."
So it may be that there's a connection between Messmer and the Formless Mother. It could even be that the Formless Mother is the "Mother" Messmer speaks of, though that's quite a stretch, as the content of his question makes more sense to be directed at Marika.
Are Messmer and Miquella the same person?
Here's the really juicy one. We know that FromSoftware are no strangers to having two people also be the same person in some strange way. They did it with Marika and Radagon. And there's some decent evidence to suggest that Messmer's true identity is in fact Miquella.
For one thing, there's the name: Messmer. As in, "mesmerize". Miquella's ability to compel affection from others is legendary, and it's no stretch to call it mesmeric in nature. There's an item in Elden Ring called the Bewitching Branch, made from Miquella's Lilies. It has the ability to turn enemies into allies temporarily, and the item description reads:
"The Empyrean Miquella is loved by many people. Indeed, he has learned very well how to compel such affection."
Sounds very sinister, doesn't it? It goes back to the warning at the start of the trailer: "There is nothing more terrifying" than Miquella's ability to compel affection.
What's more, Miquella has already been shown to have at least one alter-ego: St. Trina, an enigmatic demigod-like figure associated with sleep. Trina's Lilies in the game are used to create arrows and pots which inflict the sleep status effect, and the Fevor's Cookbook which unlocks those recipes reads:
"A record of crafting techniques left by a man who was utterly captivated by St. Trina. He continued the search for her in his slumber."
We even catch a glimpse of what is almost certainly St. Trina in the Shadow Of The Erdtree trailer - a masked figure with flowing hair similar to Miquella's, lying asleep in a purple field. Is the Land Of Shadow the dream-like world in which St. Trina resides? It's quite possible. And it also lends credence to the idea that Messmer is another form of Miquella, who - let's not forget - cocooned himself in his Haligtree in order to transform. Transformation is part and parcel of Miquella's whole identity.
Could it be that Miquella's plan to use the coccoon and defy his curse of eternal childhood did in fact work, but had the unintended side-effects of splitting his identity? Or perhaps it was Mohg's interference that brought about Messmer? I'm not sure about that one because the timeframes don't really line up to me if Messmer was present during an ancient war. Whatever the case, it's quite possible that Messmer, Miquella, and St. Trina are all different aspects of the same powerful demigod.
Also - if they're the same person, that means each of the offspring of Marika and Radagon has red hair. In a way. Which would be cool.
The lord and lady in the portrait
Let's end with a smaller but still interesting detail. At one point of the Shadow Of The Erdtree trailer we see a portrait of an old lord sitting on a throne in the trailer. That man is later seen as what appears to be a boss, pulling its spine out from its head in preparation to fight the Tarnished. Both figures wear the same brooch at the nape of their neck, which appears to confirm that they are the same person.
The portrait appears in the trailer just after the words, "The blood of your fellows, the Erdtree faithful". This, combined with the golden colour scheme of the portrait, appears to indicate that the man and woman in the portrait were "Erdtree faithful", significant figures of the Golden Order.
Time to go full tinfoil hat: one theory I had is that this man is Godwyn the Golden, and the woman standing by her is Fia, the Deathbed Companion. Fia's entire quest and purpose revolves around giving Godwyn a second chance at life, after all. Now, Godwyn was slain during the Night Of Black Knives. His spirit was allegedly destroyed, with his body remaining, soulless, to slowly devolve into the aberration beneath Stormveil Castle.
But what if his spirit wasn't destroyed utterly? The Land Of Shadow is a reflective realm of shadow and dreams. It could be that the creature we see in the trailer later on is Godwyn's ruined spirit somehow made corporeal within the Land Of Shadow. The golden spine-like weapon he is tearing from his own body, interestingly, doesn't look too dissimilar from the spine-like protrusions of the Black Knives - the weapons which slew Godwyn. And as the various shots of bosses in the trailer go, this one does seem to have more significance to it, so it makes sense that this would be an important character in the lore of Elden Ring.
Okay, that was rather a lot of information and speculation to get through. Glad you're still with us! If you've come this far, you're clearly as excited for the 21st June release date of Shadow Of The Erdtree as I am. In the meantime, you'd best brush up on your skills with our guides on the best Elden Ring builds and best Elden Ring armor sets. You can also learn the secrets of Elden Ring's many characters first-hand with the help of our Elden Ring quests guide. And if you're just starting out, look no further than our Elden Ring tips and tricks for beginners!