Fastest way to start the Elden Ring DLC
Start Shadow Of The Erdtree as quickly as possible using this path to Radahn and Mohg
Want to start Shadow Of The Erdtree as fast as possible? The Elden Ring DLC, Shadow Of The Erdtree, is in my humble opinion one of the most phenomenal expansions ever made. SOTE makes the world of Elden Ring a whole lot larger and deadlier, adding its own gloriously designed late-game map filled with bosses, legacy dungeons, new weapons, and oodles of lore.
Shadow Of The Erdtree is a late-game DLC, and to start it, you need to beat two key bosses and then touch the Withered Arm in the Cocoon in Moghwyn Palace. That can be a very long time away for players who are just starting a new playthrough now. But to make sure you get there in good time, in this guide we'll show you the fastest way to reach the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC, passing through Limgrave, Liurnia, the Altus Plateau, and Caelid as quickly as possible to get to Mohgwyn Palace.
Fastest way to reach Shadow Of The Erdtree
To start Shadow Of The Erdtree, you need to beat both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord Of Blood in the base game of Elden Ring. Getting to these two bosses requires you to complete certain very specific steps, and there are multiple ways to get to either boss. Our recommended route shows you how to reach Radahn by first entering the Altus Plateau first to trigger the Radahn Festival; and after that, we'll show you how to skip to Mohg's arena by completing White Mask Varré's questline as quickly as possible.
Here's the fastest possible way to start the DLC:
- Speak to White-Mask Varré at the First Step Site of Grace.
- Receive the Spectral Steed Whistle from Melina at the Gatefront Site Of Grace.
- Use the bridge path east of Stormveil Castle to reach Liurnia Of The Lakes.
- Activate the Fallen Ruins Of The Lake Site Of Grace so you can fast travel back later.
- Follow the river at the top of the lake north to reach the Ruin-Strewn Precipice.
- Defeat Magma Wyrm Makar at the end of the Ruin-Strewn Precipice.
- Rest at the Abandoned Coffin Site Of Grace just ahead in Altus Plateau.
- Fast travel to Limgrave and head east into Caelid.
- Follow the path counter-clockwise until you reach the outskirts of Redmane Castle.
- Use the teleporter by the bridge to enter Redmane Castle.
- Speak to Jerren, then take the lift ahead to Radahn's arena.
- Defeat Starscourge Radahn (recommended level: 70-80).
- If you haven't already, go to the Roundtable Hold and speak to Enia.
- Fast travel to the Fallen Ruins Of The Lake and speak to Varré at the Rose Church.
- Go to Writheblood Ruins in Altus Plateau, and defeat Magnus The Beast Claw.
- Speak to Varré again at Rose Church.
- Go to the Four Belfries in west Liurnia and loot the Imbued Sword Key at the top tower.
- Use the Imbued Sword Key to unlock and use the northeast portal at the Four Belfries.
- Teleport to the Chapel Of Anticipation and interact with the dead maiden in the first room.
- Speak to Varré again at Rose Church.
- Reload the area and speak to Varré again to receive the Pureblood Knight's Medal.
- Activate the Pureblood Knight's Medal to teleport to Mohgwyn Palace.
- Head up to the palace and defeat Mohg, Lord Of Blood (recommended level: 120).
- Reload the area and speak with Leda near the cocoon.
- Touch the withered arm in the cocoon on Mohg's throne to start the DLC.
Here's a series of handy maps showing you the exact paths to take to reach your various destinations in order to reach Shadow Of The Erdtree as quickly as possible:
Don't want to fight Makar or Magnus?
If you want to avoid fighting Magnus The Beast Claw as well, you can instead take the "online" route and use Varré's Festering Bloody Finger to invade three players' worlds. You don't have to kill your invasion targets - just invade three of them to progress Varré's quest in exactly the same way as killing Magnus would.
You can elect to take either (or both) of these alternate routes if you like. The reason we recommend taking out Makar is because this is simply the most straightforward and least time-consuming route into Altus Plateau, as long as you're capable of defeating Makar. And Magnus The Beast Claw is the only option for players who only want to play Elden Ring in offline mode, which is why we suggest this route.
While you can run past most enemies on your way to the DLC start point, there are a few required bosses for this path. Magma Wyrm Makar, Starscourge Radahn, Magnus The Beast Claw, and especially Mohg, Lord Of Blood, will be exceptionally difficult to defeat while you are still low-level, so it's best to spend some time farming runes so you can level up your character.
One of the best rune farms in the game becomes available once you reach Mohgwyn Palace, before fighting Mohg. Head to the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site Of Grace in the southeast of the region, and then you can get huge amounts of runes by doing the following:
- Kill the near-helpless Albinaurics down the slope.
- Use a bow to shoot the bird across the gap to the northwest, then let it fall off the cliff.
- Rest at the Site Of Grace and repeat as necessary.
Each time you do this, you'll get a good 52,739 Runes - even more if you happen to have items which increase your rune gains, like the Golden Scarab Talisman and the Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot consumables.
That wraps up our guide on how to reach Shadow Of The Erdtree as quickly as possible in Elden Ring. To prepare yourself fully, check out our guides on the best weapons, best builds, best spells, and best armor sets in Elden Ring. Alternatively, if you want a more completionist playthrough, look no further than our Elden Ring walkthrough and our Elden Ring area order guide.