Elden Ring: How to access the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC ASAP

Everything you need to start playing Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

Shadow of the Erdtree's first Site of Grace. / Bandai Namco

Elden Ring’s huge Shadow of the Erdtree DLC expansion is out now, and if you haven’t planned ahead, you might be wondering how to actually access the Elden Ring DLC, and what steps are necessary to start. Luckily, we’re breaking down all of the steps you need to complete in order to access the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC so you can start playing it as soon as possible.

Accessing the DLC will require beating both Starscourage Radahan and Mohg, Lord of Blood at minimum, so that also means you should ensure that your character is powerful enough to take both of those out at least, and even then, the DLC content might prove to be a big challenge. With that in mind, read through our breakdown to access Shadow of the Erdtree and you’ll be exploring the Land of Shadow very soon.

For more help, head over to our Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree guides hub, where you'll find tips for taking down Furnace Golems and recommendations for the best early weapons and armor in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Everything you need to access Shadow of the Erdtree

1. What you need to access the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
2. Accessing Mohgwyn Palace fast – Elden Ring: SoTE
3. Beating Radahn fast – Elden Ring: SoTE
4. How to enter the Land of Shadow – Elden Ring: SoTE
5. Can't access the Elden Ring DLC?

If you need to know more, read our full Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review.

What you need to access the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

If you’ve got a character that’s already at the end of the game in its first game playthrough, then you will either have already completed all of this, or you may even have unlocked a different way to access Mohgwyn Palace. If you’re starting a fresh character for your Shadow of the Erdtree playthrough though, then you should make sure to tick off all of the major items on this list. For a full breakdown of each, read through our guide below.

• Claim a Great Rune (defeating Godrick is fastest, Radahn is necessary anyway).
• Access an Altus Plateau Site of Grace.
• Access Mohgwyn Palace (via Pureblood Knight’s Medal or Consecrated Snowfield teleporter).
• Defeat Starscourge Radahn.
• Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood.

Accessing Mohgwyn Palace fast – Elden Ring: SoTE

The teleporter to Mohgwyn Palace. / Bandai Namco

The fastest way for a new character to access Mohgwyn Palace is via Varre’s questline, which is relatively simple. If you’ve already played through Elden Ring with this character, then you can alternatively find a teleporter to Mohgwyn Palace on the Western edge of the Consecrated Snowfield – if you find that teleporter, you can skip the rest of this section.

Mohgwyn Palace teleporter location. / Bandai Namco

You first meet Varre immediately after stepping into Limgrave for the first time, and after you claim a Great Rune and take it to Enia and the Two Fingers in Roundtable hold, he will move to the Rose Church in the Lakes of Liurnia.

Rose Church location. / Bandai Namco

It’s here that he’ll gift you with a Festering Bloody Finger, which can be used to invade multiplayer opponents. You can either invade players, or head to Writheblood Ruins in Altus Plateau to find an alternate summon sign that also uses the Festering Bloody Finger.

Writheblood Ruins location. / Bandai Namco

Either way, Varre will next gift you the Lord of Blood’s Favor, which you must soak in the blood of a maiden. There are corpses at the Church of Inhibition to the Southeast of the Grand Lift of Dectus, and the Church of Anticipation which can be accessed via the second of the Four Belfries. While it might seem more out of the way, we think the Church of Inhibition is easier to reach. If you’re willing to kill an NPC however, you can choose to murder Irina near the entrance of the Weeping Peninsula, or Hyetta, the woman asking for Shabriri Grapes near the Lake-Facing Cliffs.

Church of Inhibition location. / Bandai Namco

Once you’ve got a maiden’s blood on the Lord of Blood’s Favor, take it back to Varre at the Rose Church to receive the Pureblood Knight’s Medal. If you don’t want to go all the way to the Consecrated Snowfield, this is the best and fastest way to access Mohgwyn Palace.

Beating Radahn fast – Elden Ring: SoTE

Redmane Castle location. / Bandai Namco

As you probably already know, you must activate the Radahn Festival in order to fight Starscourge Radahn. The easiest way to activate the Radahn Festival is to access a Site of Grace on the Altus Plateau. 

Fort Haight location. / Bandai Namco

The fastest way to do this is to collect the two Dectus Medallion halves found in Mistwood’s Fort Haight and Dragonbarrow’s Fort Faroth. 

Fort Faroth location. / Bandai Namco

They’re both on the way to Caelid where you’ll fight Radahn anyway.

Once you’ve accessed an Altus Plateau Site of Grace you can head to Redmane Castle where you’ll find the Radahn Festival underway, and you can fight the man himself after speaking with Jerren.

How to enter the Land of Shadow – Elden Ring: SoTE

Lady Leda will be present if the path to the Land of Shadow is open. / Bandai Namco

With all of the above steps completed, all that’s left is to defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood at Mohgwyn Palace and interact with Miquella at the back of the room. Lady Leda will be there when you arrive if you have completed all of the above steps. 

The first Site of Grace in the Land of Shadow. / Bandai Namco

Once you interact with Miquella’s withered arm, you will be transported to the Gravesite Plain of the Land of Shadow, and your adventure will truly begin. Make sure to get every Land of Shadow Map Fragment to make exploring easier.

Can't access the Elden Ring DLC?

If you can't access the DLC after following the above steps, ensure you actually have the DLC expansion downloaded. Sounds obvious, but on platforms like PS5, you might need to dip into the game's "Manage Content" tab in order to see if the DLC has been downloaded. If you pre-ordered, it might not be.