Less than 40% of Elden Ring players are set up to access the DLC

Shadows of the Erdtree is releasing extremely soon (June 21), and FromSoftware has provided us with just enough tantalizing lore and gameplay details to whip up the fanbase into a frenzy.

We’ve known for some time thanks to an interview translated by Frontline that in order to access Shadows of the Erdtree, players will need to defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood.

Strictly speaking, both of these bosses are optional – players only need to defeat two of the seven Shardbarers to complete the game. That said, defeating Radahn is critical to unlocking some of the late-game areas so people are more likely to tackle the epic Festival of Combat than they are to find Mohg in his hidden palace.

Content creator Cohh Carnage noticed something about these requirements and shared his observations in a post on X. “There is an achievement on Steam for beating Mogh. Which the @ELDENRING devs have said you have to beat for the DLC. 37.8% of Steam players have this achievement. This means that 62.2% of Steam players that have Elden Ring… Will not be able to play the DLC! ”

The number of players who have faced off against Starscourge Radahn is a little higher. 54.5% of Steam players have defeated the gravity-wielding demigod, which still leaves 45% of people who need to conquer him before playing the DLC.

Publishers Bandai Namco didn’t let Cohh Carnage’s observation go unnoticed, reposting with an acknowledgment that players have just two weeks left to prepare. “Friendly PSA for all those looking forward to #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree. You have less than 2 weeks to prepare!”

Friendly PSA for all those looking forward to #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree.

You have less than 2 weeks to prepare! https://t.co/J18CrUkDQm

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) June 11, 2024

While many developers will simply add their DLC to the home page and let players dive in whenever they want without any prerequisites, FromSoftware has never done things the way other people do them. All three Dark Souls games have had somewhat contrived methods of accessing the additional content. It’s a wonder anyone found the Dark Souls 1 DLC without Googling it, frankly.

Shadows of the Erdtree is due to release on June 21, so you have just ten days to make your way through the game, take down Mohg and Radahn, and ready yourself to dive into the Land of Shadow.

Featured image credit: Bandai Namco/FromSoftware

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