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SotE’s difficulty level doesn’t make sense for one important reason

Highlights

  • The difficulty level of “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree” has sparked a debate, as some players are having difficulty despite being at high levels.
  • FromSoftware wanted to provide a challenge even for veterans and used Shadow Blessings to progress.



Elden Ring: Shadow of the Earth Treedespite receiving almost unanimous praise from critics prior to its release, is embroiled in a passionate debate over its difficulty level. The expansion is certainly more challenging compared to the base game, with major bosses like Messmer the Impaler causing problems for players even after FromSoftware’s latest calibration patch, which significantly improves power scaling in The Land of Shadow.

There are countless specific complaints about Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficulty, but one of the most frequently raised points is the question of player progression and skill: many Tarnished players enter the Land of Shadow with late-game builds, often well above level 200, and still get annihilated by multiple hostile NPCs. In response, defenders of the expansion have cited FromSoftware’s own statements addressing the desire to make Shadow of the Erdtree a great challenge, even for experienced players. This is why the DLC map has its own progression system via Shadow Blessings. Aside from the value of this new progression system, there is one issue with this revised difficulty curve that should be addressed.


Dark Souls x Shadow of the Earth Tree Repelling Hardtear

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Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficulty level leads to some problems with lore and immersion

The difficulty level of Land of Shadow makes sense in many places

One of the most controversial elements of Shadow of the Erdtree is its boss design, as many players feel that certain boss fights, especially the final one, are unfairly difficult. This isn’t an absurd argument, but one can perhaps look at this increased difficulty from a narrative perspective: demigods, famous knights, and mythical, ancient creatures should all be difficult enemies to defeat. It’s fair that these boss fights should be overwhelmingly challenging, as the player is tasked with defeating the most powerful forces in the world.


The difficulty level of Shadow of the Erdtree may be too universal

When looking at Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficulty as a whole, problems with the lore begin to emerge. It’s not just the overpowered bosses that players can defeat in one or two hits: bears, oversized bats, and common foot soldiers roaming the overworld can also brutalize the player character with relative ease.

By this point in the game, players have at least defeated Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood, and many have already completed the game at least once. These players have essentially defeated the gods of Elden Ring‘s world, so normal animals and warriors, no matter how vicious they may be, should not pose a threat from a lore perspective.

Admittedly, this is a difficult problem. Since the expansion has such a huge map, it needs to be populated with cannon fodder enemies, and making them all weaklings wouldn’t make for a very interesting open world, mechanically speaking.


At the same time, some kind of narrative justification for the player’s massive loss of power could have contributed a lot to immersion and credibility. Something like Blood transfused‘S The old hunters The DLC does this well, pitting the player against bloodthirsty hunters and massive beasts that contrast with the cannon fodder enemies of the base game.

Naturally, Elden Ring poses a much bigger balance problem due to its build diversity, not to mention its increased scope compared to Blood transfused‘s – not every minor enemy in the Land of Shadow can pose a narratively justified, world-shattering threat. At the same time, it can be difficult to take the first few hours of the expansion seriously, as players may have just defeated Elden Beast and then quickly found themselves mown down by a lone bear or archer.

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