Elden Ring: How to Enter Shadow of the Erdtree and Use Its First Blessings

Defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood, then touch the withered arm hanging from the cocoon in Mohg’s arena. That is the entrance to Shadow of the Erdtree. The expansion also needs to be installed on the system where you are playing.

Check the installation and character

Look for Shadow of the Erdtree at the bottom right of the title screen. Buying the expansion and downloading it are separate steps; confirm the installation before spending time searching Mohgwyn Palace for a missing interaction.

Load the character with the required boss progress. The expansion continues an existing character. With several saves, check the boss progress on the one you intend to use.

Reach the cocoon

If Radahn is still alive, resting at a Site of Grace in Altus Plateau activates the Radahn Festival. Travel to Redmane Castle in Caelid to reach his fight. Quest routes can also activate the festival, but an already accessible Altus grace gives you a straightforward check.

For Mohg, reach Mohgwyn Palace through either the Sending Gate in the Consecrated Snowfield or the Pureblood Knight’s Medal obtained through White Mask Varré’s quest. Work through the palace and defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood.

Already finished that fight? Open the map’s Site of Grace list and look under Siofra River → Mohgwyn Palace for Cocoon of the Empyrean. Return there and interact with the arm behind the arena.

Make a grace your first stop

Rest at a Realm of Shadow Site of Grace to enable map travel between the expansion and the Lands Between. If you die before touching a grace in the new region, use the cocoon to enter again.

Spend the blessing items you find

Near Gravesite Plain, explore the Church of Consolation for Scadutree Fragments. A hornsent corpse at the edge of the Scorched Ruins holds Revered Spirit Ash. These give you two different upgrades:

Item	What its blessing improves
Scadutree Fragment	Your attack power and damage negation.
Revered Spirit Ash	The strength of summoned spirits and protection for Torrent.

After collecting them, rest at a grace, open Shadow Realm Blessing, and spend the items on their respective blessings. Picking them up does not apply the upgrades. Both blessings can be active together, and their effects apply in expansion areas.

The character values increased by Scadutree Blessing appear yellow in Status. Revered Spirit Ash strengthens your allies through its separate blessing; it does not replace the fragments used for your character.

If an early enemy feels overwhelming, leave it for a while and search for more blessing items. Check churches, settlements and the enemies you encounter as you explore. Return to a grace to use what you found before another attempt. Continuing to collect fragments while leaving the blessing unspent will not make that fight easier.

For the festival fight, use Starscourge Radahn.