Elden Ring Redditors reveal their favorite Shadow of the Erdtree lands

An Elden Ring subreddit discussion revealed gamers’ favorite and least favorite lands within the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Many Redditors named the Shadow Keep among their favorites with Abyssal Woods down on the list of favorites.

The Elden Ring game came into the market in 2022, receiving the Game of the Year award in the same year. Elden Ring’s developer, FromSoftware, released its latest DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, on June 21.  

Hidetaka Miyazaki, the President of FromSoftware and the director behind the Elden Ring game, mentioned that the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is the largest in his company’s history, offering expansive lands for gamers to explore. The larger gaming community received the DLC positively despite many complaining about its difficulty. 

The DLC currently has over 46,000 positive reviews on Steam and an overall ‘Mostly Positive’ rating. Several gaming platforms like IGN and Sports Illustrated rated Shadow of the Erdtree 10/10. The DLC is among the highest-rated DLCs of all time, with a 95 score on Metacritic. 

Elden Ring gamers find the Shadow Keep intriguing

Shadow Keep Appreciation.

This acting as the main point to so many sections of the map, and having different ways in was such a good design choice.

Give me 14 more FromSoft.

Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree Photography. pic.twitter.com/1wnhPNdzze

— Bryna – The Dark Souls of VP (@kanon06) July 10, 2024

Many gamers appreciated the Shadow Keep, mentioning it as a central point in the Shadow of the Erdtree map. Many of the Redditors described and praised the Shadow Keep with effusive expletives. The gamer explained that he took three different routes at once, each leading him to a different area of the Shadow Keep. The Redditor found the fireball spammers annoying but didn’t mind them as much.

Another Redditor highlighted the Shadow Keep as one of the top three legacy dungeons in the Elden Ring DLC. Other Redditors agreed, with one mentioning the Church District.

Gamers on X also described the Shadow Keep as one of the best legacy dungeons, with Messmer the Impaler as one of the best bosses. The Shadow Keep is also where gamers can find some of the strongest weapons in the game. 

At the beginning of July, Redditors explained that the thrusting shields were the most powerful weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree. Gamers can find the Dueling and Carian Thrusting shields in the Shadow Keep.

Beyond the Shadow Keep, gamers loved Belurat for its atmosphere and design. One Redditor commented that the colors and music were impressive, describing the city as “the funeral of Babylon just before the Day of Judgment.”

Redditors share their worst locations in Shadow of the Erdtree

Redditors mentioned the Finger Ruins as one of the most disappointing locations in the DLC. One Redditor commented on their expectations of a “sick boss” when they spotted the huge dragon corpse. However, the gamer realized that the location was empty and disappointing.

Another agreed, saying nothing was there and the lampreys’ teleportation was annoying. One gamer also talked about the horns, which should have introduced a mini-boss, but the enemies were sparse.

Some gamers also hated the Abyssal Woods as they were “empty” and “bland.” One Redditor disliked that they had to go everywhere on foot. Another appreciated the idea of the Abyssal Woods but believed that FromSoftware undercooked the location. The Redditor suggested that the tension would double if the area were half the size.