Is Elden Ring’s DLC Difficulty Justifiable?

Elden Ring has gotten widespread acclaim for its challenging yet rewarding gameplay. However, with the release of the game’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, it has sparked up a debate in the community for its difficulty, with many players commenting that the game is “too hard to play”. Considering that the developers are notorious for making naturally difficult games and bosses, should this be a surprise or did the developers at fromsoftware go too far?

*Mild Spoilers for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree*

Why Is Elden Ring’s DLC Really Hard?

One of the main reasons why Elden Ring’s DLC is earning notoriety for its difficulty is due to its new leveling system. As Elden Ring has been out for quite some time, there are many players who have completed the base game multiple times and accessed endgame weaponry and abilities making them overpowered to the game’s enemies and bosses.

In order to combat this, Shadow of the Erdtree introduces a new leveling system that requires players to find and collect fragments that is scattered throughout the DLC’s map. If players choose not to collect these fragments then they will be more susceptible to damage and whatever damage they inflict will be minimal no matter what level they are in the base game.

The other main reason why many struggle with Shadow of the Erdtree is due to the bosses design, behavior, and attack patterns. Every notable boss encounter in the Elden Ring DLC is more aggressive and mobile than their base game counterparts. On top of that, many of them utilize special techniques and skills that are extremely difficult to dodge and, as a result, it significantly gives players less time to heal and counterattack accordingly.

These two changes alone has significantly affected player’s approach to the DLC and has many seasoned soulsborne players thinking twice about how to play the game. While the criticism is warranted to a certain degree, it should not come as a surprise that fromsoftware studios made Elden Ring’s DLC extremely difficult as anything less would go against their philosophy in making a soulsborne game.

Understanding Fromsoftware’s Design Philosophy

Fromsoftware studios is renowned for its commitment to creating challenging games that pushes player’s skills to their absolute limits. The Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have all set a precedent for highly difficult boss encounters, intricate level design, and cryptic lore and gameplay instructions.

This design philosophy centers around providing a sense of accomplishment through overcoming formidable obstacles. It is also one of the biggest reasons that makes these games so popular and sets them apart from every other game in the industry. As such, fromsoftware does their duty to maintain the status quo on of their design philosophy by giving players new challenges to face, no matter how difficult or frustrating they can be.

The Role of DLC in Expanding Gameplay

Generally, new DLC for a game is meant serve to as a means to expand the base game by offering new content, mechanics, and narrative elements. When it comes to fromsoftware’s history with DLC, they have always introduced a new narrative with maps, enemies, and bosses that consistently challenges players in ways they couldn’t have imagined.

For example, with Dark Souls, players got the Artorias and the Abyss DLC that sent players back in time to Oolacile, chronicling the legend of the Abysswalker, Knight Artorias. With Bloodborne, the Old Hunters DLC had players sent into another purgatory-esque dimension where they must defeat legendary hunters and monsters from the past.

In both DLCs, they have introduced new bosses that pushed the boundary of what players considered to be extremely difficult at the time. In the case of Shadow of the Erdtree, it does that same exact thing as it’s predecessors did and introduced fresh new challenges and bosses that is significantly difficult when compared to the base game. Whether that difficulty is friendly enough to those who are new to the genre is a completely different story.

Balancing Difficulty with Accessibility

While a more challenging soulsborne DLC caters to both long fans and veteran players alike, Shadow of the Erdtree has definitely caught more casual players by surprise and gave them a crash course of what is to be expected in a soulsborne game.

Fromsoftware studios has faced multiple criticism in the past for not offering difficulty settings that cater to a broader audience. However, Elden Ring is considered to be the most approachable soulsborne game due to certain gameplay mechanics such as spirit ashes, summons, and a wide range of skills, weapons, and magic.

As these mechanics can significantly make the game easier to play, especially within the DLC, the game designers still have to ensure that boss difficulty is not ‘too easy’ for veteran players, because as previously mentioned, providing players challenging bosses is the cornerstone of the studios philosophy. While maintaining this balance can walk a fine line, Elden Ring is still a soulsborne game and it’s DLC needs to be difficult to live up to the studio’s legacy and philosophy.

Is “Shadow of the Erdtree” Too Hard?

While the criticism of Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficulty is understandable to those who have never played a fromsoftware game, both veterans and critics alike can agree that the DLC’s difficulty is menacing, but can be magnificent and cathartic for those who stick it out to the end.

However, it is understandable that not everyone will necessarily agree or like the DLC’s difficulty and game design, because soulsborne titles are generally geared towards players who are seeking a challenge. Despite what fromsoftware studio’s track record looks like when it comes to their game design and titles, Shadow of the Erdtree still serves as a beautiful addition to Elden Ring and expands the game’s world and experience in a fun, menacing, but totally beatable way.

What do you think? Is Shadow of the Erdtree too hard or do we just need to git gud? If you liked what you read, be sure to like and follow for more related content!