Elden Ring: all of the updates about FromSoftware’s open-world hit

As I work my way through Shadow of the Erdtree, the new DLC for Elden Ring, I can’t help but think that game director Hidetaka Miyazaki is trolling the shit outta me.

Speaking with him at Summer Game Fest two weeks ago, Miyazaki said that Erdtree is “by far the biggest in scale in volume” than any other FromSoftware DLC before it. But he also said Erdtree is “about the same volume as the Limgrave part of the base game,” the starting area of Elden Ring, containing “slightly more content.”

A bunch of Verge staffers came back from the weekend chatting about our experiences with Elden Ring Nightreign’s network tests. We generally enjoyed the fast-paced, co-op-focused spin on Elden Ring that takes cues from roguelikes and battle royale games — and when things were good, they were really good. But we also ran into some frustrating connection issues that we worry could dampen the experience of the full game if they’re not worked out.

Read more about what we thought below. The game will be officially released on May 30th.

My first time playing Elden Ring Nightreign, I was stressed the hell out. My team and I were in an underground dungeon, trying to make our way past traps and dangerous blind corners, all while knowing there was an invisible clock ominously ticking down above our heads. If we were still underground when it hit zero a deadly storm called Night’s Tide would close in, potentially trapping us. That kind of anxiety was exactly what Elden Ring combat designer and Nightreign’s game director Junya Ishizaki had in mind.

Speaking with Ishizaki after my time with the game, I was surprised to learn one of the main inspirations for Nightreign – a co-op focused PvE action game – was the board game Pandemic. Ishizaki said that one of the things he enjoyed about Pandemic, which he later incorporated into Nightreign, was the idea of playing under pressure. “When you come up against these seemingly insurmountable odds, it’s up to the player to choose how to use their time in order to overcome the seemingly impossible challenge,” he explained.

It’s inaccurate and reductive to call Elden Ring Nightreign a Dark Souls take on Fortnite. And yet, if pressed for an extremely brief elevator pitch — say, the kind you’d give to your friends who are curious about soulsborne games but are put off by all the discussions of their difficulty — it’s about as best as you could do. In my hands-on time with the game, I was compelled to ask my team at the outset of our very first run, “Well… where we droppin’ boys?” as we flew over the map in the claws of spectral birds. The similarity to Fortnite and other battle royale games was so striking, the reference simply had to be made. But once we got on the ground, Fortnite took a big ol’ backseat and Elden Ring reemerged as the foremost game Nightreign compares to.

Nightreign strips out the combat and visual aesthetics of Elden Ring and lays them over gameplay that combines multiplayer battle royale action with roguelike live, die, repeat mechanics. Matches will take place over three days. During daylight, players will assault a Limgrave-like map (called Limveld), either solo or in teams of three, beating regular enemies and mini-bosses for powerful weapons, accessories, and runes to level up their characters. As daylight turns to night, a destructive, HP-draining storm called Night’s Tide shrinks the map, forcing the players to a tiny arena where they’ll face a major boss. Defeat the boss to begin the next day, when the cycle repeats and the match ends by defeating the final boss on the third night.

Imagine if those aggressive salespeople at the Macy’s perfume counter were shoving napalm in your face instead of Chanel No. 5: that’s what it feels like playing with the new perfume bottle weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree.

The early days after any Souls game release are always some of the best. The speedrunners and content creators have found the best / most busted builds, while the developers haven’t had the time to nerf them yet. People post all kinds of wild videos of bosses melting within seconds, going down so fast they don’t even have time to trigger their second or third phases. It happened in vanilla Elden Ring with Hoarfrost Stomp, and it’s happening again with Erdtree’s perfume bottles.

Shadow of the Erdtree is gonna get easier. Bandai Namco has seemingly heard the great hue and cry from reviewers and players alike that Erdtree is far too difficult. In response, the publisher is implementing a “calibration update” that will reduce the level of difficulty by making players stronger. According to the patch notes for this update:

The key to understanding this update is the Scadutree Fragments. They are DLC-specific upgrade materials that increase a player’s attack and defense. The fragments are scattered throughout the map, requiring considerable exploration to find, but the increased power they grant makes them a high-priority resource.

Before Shadow of the Erdtree finally goes live, Bandai Namco has implemented a patch that adds a couple of small features and updates just in time for the DLC’s launch in a few short hours. FromSoftware also shared a new launch trailer to herald the DLC’s arrival, but it’s chockful of spoilers, so beware. The update isn’t particularly earth-shattering, but it does include some things worth keeping in mind before all you Tarnished get your head beat in by the vicious monsters patrolling the Shadow Lands.

Firstly, we get new hair options! I was pretty down on Elden Ring’s character creator for its lack of Black hairstyles. It just didn’t make sense that the character creator was so robust and detailed but lacked hairstyles that represent a good chunk of the human population. There are five new styles to choose from, with two of them being dreadlocks. I chose the loose loc option so my Tarnished can finally get rid of her abhorrent pigtails. I’m not sure if the “white hairs” option was present in the base game or a new addition with this patch, but I really like how it adds gray to my locs, reminding me of when I started picking out errant gray hairs when I had locs.

In my first moments with Shadow of the Erdtree, I found myself in a graveyard dotted with incorporeal gravestones… and puddles of glowing blood. By the time I remembered what those bloodstains meant and the imminent danger I was in, I was ripped to shreds by a man I did not see or hear coming, leaving behind a new little blood puddle to mark the occasion.

I have not stopped grinning since.

With only a month until release day, there’s a new story trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree, and the Elden Ring lore hounds have their work cut out for them.

FromSoftware has been slowly teasing Shadow of the Erdtree and its story beats ever since the gameplay trailer was released back in February. All we knew then was the DLC would take place in the Land of Shadow and feature a bunch of new horrors straight from the slightly warped imagination of game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Wake up, Tarnished. It’s time to visit the Shadow of the Erdtree.

In Shadow, it looks like we’re going to a darker part of the Lands Between, and of course, there are all sorts of new lil’ freaks to fight. But the biggest news is that the DLC’s main antagonist appears to be Miquella, the twin brother of Malenia, meaning “Let me solo her” might have to change his name soon.