The best ‘Elden Ring’ DLC progress route

12 July, 2024

Elden Ring DLC Progress Route: Messmer can be seen in front of the Land of Shadow on his throne.

What is the best progress route for Elden Ring‘s DLC? Shadow of the Erdtree has now been out for a few weeks and as players are moving onto their second or third runs, or making it further into the Land of Shadow, you may be wondering where is the best place to head at various points through the DLC.

Thanks to the structure of the DLC, you can sort of head almost anywhere in the Land of Shadow from the beginning of the DLC, although some areas are harder than others. Despite that flexibility, there is still a path you can take where the difficulty ramps up smoothly and you can increase your power consistently.

The best ‘Elden Ring’ DLC progress route

The best Elden Ring DLC progress route is as follows:

  • Gravesite Plain
  • Bluerat, Tower Settlement
  • Ellac River
  • Scadu Altus
  • Castle Ensis
  • Cerulean Coast
  • Foot of the Jagged Peak
  • Charo’s Hidden Grave
  • Rauh Base
  • Shadow Keep
  • Stone Coffin Fissure
  • Scadutree Base
  • Scaduview
  • Ancient Ruins of Rauh
  • Abyssal Woods
  • Jagged Peak
  • Enir-Ilim

For the most part, these individual areas can be visited at any point, depending on how tricky or difficulty you are finding them. However, as you progress from one area to the next, you will want to level up your Scadutree Blessing level by 1 or 2 by exploring and finding Scadutree Fragments.

Each area has a different amount of them, but each area has at least a couple which should get you your next level up.

Elden Ring DLC Progress Route: A player can be seen in the Gravesite Plain looking at the Scadutree.
Credit: Bandai Namco

Initially, you want to focus on the main path forward in the Gravesite Plain and then through Belurat in the west, before exploring some of the lower areas of the map around the Ellac River. Exploring here will lead you towards Scadu Altus, before even needing to enter Castle Ensis. You can also find the Foot of the Jagged Peak, Cerulean Coast, and Rauh base, grabbing everything in these areas before progressing towards the Shadow Keep.

Once you get near the Shadow Keep, questlines and progression will move forward and while you can’t fail any quests, if you haven’t done everything you will miss out on a few steps.

Elden Ring DLC Progress Route: The various NPCs in the DLC can be seen, being led by Needle Knight Leda.
Credit: Bandai Namco

Once at the Shadow Keep you can then progress through it, exploring the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, Scaduview, and the Scadutree Base to find a number of secret areas and optional bosses. Finally, you can then revisit the Jagged Peak, explore the Abyssal Woods which is pretty well hidden in the east, and then make your way to Enir-Ilim, the final area in the game.

There you have it, the best route to progress through the DLC’s many areas and see everything on offer.

For even more tips on the DLC, as you are exploring, check out our guide on the Elden Ring DLC paintings locations, which can be found scattered across the map.

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