Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Won’t Affect the Base Game’s Main Story (and Vice Versa)

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree promises to explore the “dark secrets” of the world, shining more light on the mythos. However, director Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed that its ending won’t change the base game’s progression of events (and vice versa).

Speaking to Famitsu (translation by DeepL), he also confirmed that the timeline is “the same as the main story. It’s not in the distant past or the future.” Accessing the expansion requires players to defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood. The entrance to the Land of Shadow is through the withered arm protruding from the cocoon (which many assumed to be Miquella).

Miyazaki also provided more information on some new weapons players could expect. “First of all, we’re adding relatively royal weapons, such as the large Japanese sword, the Daito, and the reverse-handed sword, but we are also preparing more distinctive and novel weapons.

“For example, a ‘fighting’ style reminiscent of a monk or a ‘dueling shield that combines offense and defense. There are also throwing daggers and other weapons, which are all projectiles. Even if you have used all the weapons in the main series, we think you will enjoy them all over again.” One of the moves spotted in the gameplay trailer, which sees a character delivering a series of kicks, could belong to one of the new weapons.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will feature eight new weapon types and over ten new bosses for players to fight. It’s out on June 21st for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC.