Real winners quit (and go exploring)
How to prepare for Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
Is Shadow of the Erdtree too hard? I thought maybe it was when I started. Blackgaol Knight kicked my ass immediately, and I couldn't even walk in the forest without a beastman ripping me to pieces. Then I remembered the strategy that got me through so much of Land Between: just run away.
You are not imagining things. Shadow of the Erdtree's difficulty is a step above Ring of Fire, with enemies strong enough to make your level 100+ character feel like a weak baby. It might even be hard to remember feeling so vulnerable, but it definitely was that way the first time you played Elden Ring! Like the Land Between, the Shadowland is also scary and violent, and sometimes it really just tells you to screw up.
The thing is, not only is escaping more fun than dying over and over again; it's also how you get stronger! Specifically, by exploring the Realm of Shadows and finding Scadutree Fragments and Revered Holy Ashes. These boons, which increase your stats and the stats of your Ashes respectively, are the key to overcoming your inherent weakness in the Shadow Realm. Critically, you can find tons of these boosts simply by exploring.
