Summary
Elden Ring’s first and only DLC,Shadow of the Erdtree, culminates in a shocking ending that recontextualizes much of the base game while still leaving many questions open-ended. Technically, the two stories are entirely separate:Elden Ring’s DLC and the main storytake place concurrently, not before or after one another, and none of the base game’s main endings affect the DLC’s (or vice versa). The player’s choices in one don’t seem to impact the story of the other, but can cause major changes in and of themselves.
[Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Elden Ring and its DLC.]
The story ofElden Ring’s DLC takes the Tarnished to the Land of Shadow, a strange realm shadowed by the enigmatic Scadutree, once home to Queen Marika before she took over the Lands Between. There, they make contact with a group of knights in Miquella’s service, attempting to follow the kindly demigod’s footsteps on his journey to ascend to full godhood. Their only clue is the flesh he sheds en route to the Gate of Divinity. When they find their way sealed, they then seek out Messmer’s flame, which they use to open the way. There, the Tarnished confronts Miquella a final time, learning some terrible truths about theElden Ringpantheon.
Arriving In Shadow Keep Reveals Miquella’s Mind Control In Elden Ring’s DLC
How Leda’s Compatriots Were Manipulated
Along their journey to claim Messmer’s flame, the Tarnished visits the Shadow Keep, where they’re greeted with a loud shattering noise, and a pair of on-screen messages that read, “Somewhere, a great rune has broken,” then, “And so too has a powerful charm.” If the player then revisits the characters they’ve gotten to know throughout the DLC -Needle Knight Ledaand her compatriots - they’ll react as though they’ve just snapped out of hypnosis. And as it turns out, they actually have:Miquella has effectively hypnotized this motley crew into working together. If it weren’t for his influence, they’d have killed each other a long time ago.
Entering the Shadow Keep and shattering the great rune allows the player to progress through Leda and her compatriots' quests. But with Miquella’s mind control gone,all the NPCs turn on each other once again. While the main ending doesn’t appear to be affected by any of the player’s choices around these NPCs, their dialogue choices from here on out may affect which of them they end up fighting, and which of them they’re allied with. Leda opts to maintain her devotion to Miquella, while she questions Thiollier and Ansbach’s commitment.
At Enir-Ilim,Leda, alongside Dryleaf Dane andHornsent, blocks the Tarnished’s path to Miquella, challenging them to a fight. Depending on whosequest lines the player finishes inElden Ring’s DLC, they may be able to summon either Thiollier, Ansbach, or both in the final fight against Leda. Once she yields, though, the player is free to proceed to the innermost point of Enir-Ilim, and onward to the Gate of Divinity.
Elden Ring: Should You Suggest Thiollier Or The Hornsent To Needle Knight Leda?
Needle Knight Leda asks the Tarnished to pick a target between Thiollier and Hornsent, but how much difference does this selection make?
Radahn Is The Final Boss Of Elden Ring’s DLC
Promised Consort Radahn & Radahn, Miquella’s Consort
As the player enters the arena forShadow of the Erdtree’s final boss battle, Miquella’s voice rings out. He praises Radahn’s deeds as both a warrior in his service and the champion of his festival. He heralds Radahn’s return, and his destiny to become Miquella’s consort. Thus begins the first phase ofthe final boss battle inElden Ring’s DLC: Promised Consort Radahn.
Everything about this encounter hints at a promise made between Miquella and Radahn. The exact terms of the vow are unclear, but some of them are implied here: before Miquella ascended to godhood, he asked for Radahn’s protection. If (or perhaps when) Radahn died, he’d be kept alive by Miquella’s grace. Their alliance would be both convenient and romantic, asRadahn would officially become Miquella’s consort.
It’s also clear that Miquella bears a great deal of shame over his Golden Order origins, and the violence of Marika’s conquest: that’s why he sheds his flesh, symbolically abandoning his bloodline, on his way to the Gate of Divinity. So, it appearsMiquella and Radahn, fed up with Marika and her children’s tyranny, made an alliance to seize control over reality, effectively coming to rule the world as gods. Miquella may have hypnotized Radahn into joining his cause, or Radahn may have joined of his own accord. But their pursuit of power leads them to destruction when they come up against the Tarnished, who cannot abide their reign on their own quest to become Elden Lord.
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Is Hiding A Point Of No Return
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree may surprise some unsuspecting players when they suddenly reach a point of no return without any prior warning.
After Radahn has been reduced to three-quarters of his maximum HP, he falters. But just then, a golden light emanates from the Gate of Divinity. Miquella emerges, and wraps himself around Radahn’s shoulders, whispering in his ear. He appeals to the Tarnished’s empathy, asking whether they grieve for the state of the world. He asks them to yield, implicitly promising to create a better future. But of course, the fight continues asRadahn, with his half-brother riding piggyback, enters the second phase as Radahn, Consort of Miquella.
If Miquella manages to grab the Tarnished twice during the second phase of this fight, he’ll steal their heart. They’ll become compelled like Leda, kneeling to Miquella and allowing themselves to be killed.
Ultimately,Radahn and Miquella’s journey parallels Marika’s, and more or less everyone else’s in theElden Ringuniverse. It’s a relentless quest for power, for the ability to exact one’s own specific vision on the world. And it leads to countless others', and eventually their own, destruction. Even the Tarnished is guilty of the same greed; the only difference is that they win in the end, for better or worse depending on which ofElden Ring’s endings they achieve.
Elden Ring’s DLC Epilogue Explained
Shadow Of The Erdtree’s Final Scene
Once the player defeats Radahn and rests at the nearby Site of Grace,they’ll be treated to a brief epilogue. This appears to be a flashback, taking place before Miquella became a god, kneeling before an empty throne and beseeching Radahn to make a promise. He asks that, when he becomes a god and honors his part of the vow, Radahn will become his consort and help him usher in a kindlier world.
Inthis way,the nature ofShadow of the Erdtree’s ending is pretty ambiguous. Miquella promises a better future, free from the destructive whims of the Golden Order. But on the other hand,Elden Ringis all about the destructive influence of power: all the demigods may have once believed they’d usher in a greater world, but eventually exacted terrible suffering on their subjects. Miquella probably wouldn’t have been any better.
Does Elden Ring’s DLC Have Any Other Endings?
Only One Ending Has Been Discovered So Far
Although it’s widely believed thatShadow of the Erdtreehas multiple endings,the one outlined above is the only actual ending discovered so far. BaseElden Ringhas six main endings, and while they share many similarities, they differ greatly in what they imply for the future of the Lands Between. There’s some variation in the one DLC ending that’s been discovered so far, mostly in terms of which NPCs join the player in their final fight against Leda. The claim of multiple endings could simply refer to these slight changes, even though the main thrust of the ending always seems to play out the same way.
Alternatively, since it is possible tokeep playingElden Ring’s DLCafter beating the final boss,the “multiple endings” could just refer to the open-ended nature ofShadow of the Erdtree. Players can continue exploring the Land of Shadow, completing optional objectives, and traveling back and forth between the base game and DLC maps at will. In this way, the DLC can’t be said to have a definitive ending at all - it has a final boss, but players can keep making discoveries about its story until they run out of content.
And of course,it’s entirely plausible that there exist one or more additionalShadow of the Erdtreeendingsthat players have yet to discover. FromSoft games in general are known for being obtuse, and players are still making discoveries about the base game ofElden Ringyears later. It wouldn’t be terribly surprising if a secret DLC ending were revealed months, even years later.
But for the time being, players are left to wonder. There’s a lot left unsaid inShadow of the Erdtree’s ending, but that seems intentional. The player must infer the majority of Miquella’s intentions on their own, and decide for themselves whether their actions were just. This makes for a thought-provoking, if not totally satisfying, ending toElden Ring’s DLC.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a popular game released by From Software, creators of games such as Armored Core, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Players assume the role of a Tarnished, a being once exiled to the Lands Between and has returned to repair the Elden Ring after the events of “The Shattering.” “The Shattering” occurred when the offspring of Queen Marika battled to claim the shards of the Elden Ring, known as Great Runes. Their war has brought lawlessness, destruction, and chaos to the land, and the player will challenge them with the assistance of a Maiden known as Melina as they travel towards the great Erd Tree to face their destiny and to become the one true Elden Lord. Players can tackle the game how they choose and can adventure across realms as they build their character how they want - be it a powerful magic caster or a brutal swordsman - they will have complete control over their build.
