Shadow of the Erdtree is coming soon. Here's how to get started with the expansion.
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Radahn, Maliketh, Mohg and Malenia: There are numerous boss enemies in Elden Ring that have terrified many players. With the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, the question now arises: Should I try a new playthrough and face the boss battles again, or just continue with an existing save?
We wanted to know your answer to this question in our survey. And most of you are already quite sure what you are doing.
This is how you voted
Over half of you (52 percent) do not want to fight through the main game again and continue playing with their existing character. On the other hand, a third of you (33 percent) want to experience the game again in its entirety and create a completely new save game.
Those of you who had not yet decided on either option when voting are clearly in the minority (9 percent). However, you don't have much time left to make a decision before the release. After all, very few of you (4 percent) are starting out as complete beginners and have never played Elden Ring before.
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Most of you are using one of your existing save games to play Shadow of the Erdtree.
Dyntheos summarizes why the decision for or against a new character can be so difficult:
That's the question… I think I spent 80 hours on the game after it came out and didn't finish it, and I have no idea who I am or where I am or what I'm doing. I'd love to start from the beginning, but would I play for that long again?
Win32netshadow and Shadow12, on the other hand, are already quite sure that they had enough to fight their way through the main game once:
Omg, all that suffering again? No thanks ^^
Win32netshadow
No, definitely not. Fighting the Elden beast and the final bosses was already hard enough for me.
Shadow12
It also makes little sense for Shaki to start a new character. After all, he has probably already seen everything in the main game:
I'm now at 491.8 hours of playtime with three characters at levels 90, 125 and 150 due to PVP and the latter for NG+. I know every nook and cranny, boss, build and ending in Elden Ring inside and out. I have every item multiple times and sometimes the maximum number. You can hardly be better prepared for Shadow of the Erdtree. A fresh start is simply out of the question.
10:37
Elden Rings Shadow of the Erdtree is the best expansion From Software has ever made!
For HorstHermann, however, there is a simple reason that speaks in favor of a new round:
Yes, but the [neuen Durchgang] I started a few weeks ago, it makes sense to warm up with the game beforehand anyway.
A little practice doesn't hurt, because Shadow of the Erdtree is not only incredibly good, but also harder than the main game:
You can read what exactly makes the first and only expansion so great in our detailed test. Why not only tester Elena, but also Natalie is so enthusiastic about Shadow of the Erdtree, she tells you in the podcast. You can get a little preparation for the story in our lore article: We explain who Miquella is and what role he could play in the expansion.