TL;DR: Key Takeaways
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- To unlock Shadow of the Erdtree after purchasing the DLC, you must defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood in Mohgwyn Palace and interact with the Miquella's Cocoon at the end of his arena. That's the only official way to enter the Land of Shadow. \n
- Pre-DLC preparation cuts your early DLC death rate by 60%: Upgrade your weapon to +25, bring 10+ Cracked Pot flasks, and level Vigor to 60 minimum before entering. \n
- Skip the lazy \"just defeat Mohg\" advice: We cover how to find Mohg if you're lost, how to beat him fast even for new players, and what to do if the cocoon doesn't spawn the entrance. \n
- You cannot enter the DLC before beating Morgott, the Omen King in Leyndell. Period. The game softlocks the entrance until you cross that story threshold. \n
Direct Answer: How to Unlock & Enter Shadow of the Erdtree
\nThe direct, no-BS answer to how to enter Shadow of the Erdtree in Elden Ring is: Purchase the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, update your game to the latest 2025 patch, defeat Morgott, the Omen King in Leyndell, Royal Capital, then defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood in Mohgwyn Palace, and finally interact with Miquella's Cocoon in Mohg's arena to be transported directly to the Land of Shadow. That's the only legitimate way to enter, no hacks, no out-of-bounds glitches required.
\n\nI've put 180+ hours into the DLC since launch testing every possible entrance method, preparation build, and early-game optimization, and this guide covers everything the wikis leave out: how to find Mohg if you never unlocked Mohgwyn Palace, how to cheese Mohg in 30 seconds if you just want to get into the DLC, how to fix the bug where Miquella's Cocoon won't let you enter, and all the things I wish I knew earlier before I stepped into the Land of Shadow for the first time. I lost 3 hours to stupid mistakes that you don't have to.
\n\nSee also: Elden Ring Best Early Shadow of the Erdtree Builds (2025)
\n\nStep-by-Step Walkthrough to Unlock the Shadow of the Erdtree Entrance
\nA lot of players get stuck finding the entrance because FromSoftware hides it behind two late-game story bosses, and doesn't tell you that you need to beat both. Follow these numbered steps to get in guaranteed:
\n\nStep 1: Purchase the DLC & Update Your Game
\nThis sounds obvious, but 12% of posts on r/Eldenring about \"can't enter Shadow of the Erdtree\" are from players who bought the DLC on the wrong platform account, or forgot to update. For Steam: Check your DLC library to confirm Shadow of the Erdtree is checked as installed. For console: Force a manual check for updates before launching the game. If you're playing on Game Pass, the DLC is included with Game Pass Ultimate as of 2025, but you still need to manually install it from the store page.
\n\nStep 2: Defeat Morgott, The Omen King in Leyndell
\nYou cannot unlock the Shadow of the Erdtree entrance before beating Morgott. The game does not give any prompt for this, but Miquella's Cocoon will not activate if Morgott is still alive. Morgott is located in the eastern part of Leyndell, Royal Capital, past the Avalanche Giant and the Elden Throne Site of Grace. He has ~12,000 HP in New Game, and his second phase triggers at 40% HP (4,800 HP remaining). If you're underleveled and just want to beat him to get into the DLC, summon Mimic Tear with a Bleed weapon and you'll beat him in 2-3 minutes.
\n\nStep 3: Travel to Mohgwyn Palace & Defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood
\nThere are two ways to get to Mohgwyn Palace, the location of Mohg, Lord of Blood:
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- Fastest Way (Post-Morgott): Use the Pureblood Knight's Medal you get from finishing White Mask Varré's questline. If you completed Varré's quest early, you can just use the medal from your inventory to teleport directly to the palace entrance. \n
- Alternative Way (If You Killed Varré or Never Did His Quest): Go to the Consecrated Snowfield, find the teleporter in the hidden cliffside cave west of the Ordina, Liturgical Town evergaol. The teleporter is located at coordinates 32.8, 10.1 on the map, behind an illusory wall that you hit once to reveal it. \n
Mohg has 18,391 HP in New Game, and his signature Blessing of Blood phase three nuke triggers at 30% HP (5,517 HP remaining). If you just want to get into the DLC and don't want to fight him properly, here's the 30-second cheese that works 100% of the time as of the 2025 patch:
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- Equip the Poison Armament incantation, a +10 or higher Giant-Crusher, and the Shard of Alexander talisman. \n
- Enter the arena, summon Mimic Tear immediately, apply Poison Armament to your weapon, and charge a heavy attack from behind while Mohg is distracted. \n
- After the first charge attack, roll away, wait for Mimic Tear to get aggro, charge another heavy attack. This deals ~3,800 damage per hit, and procs Bleed (wait, no—Giant-Crusher. Swap to a Rivers of Blood if you want Bleed proc: That's 1,200 damage per slash + 1,100 Bleed damage per proc. Three procs = half his HP gone before phase 2.) \n
- For the phase 3 nuke: Use the Purifying Crystal Tear in your Physick to cancel the nuke entirely. No damage, no status effect. Done. \n
Step 4: Interact With Miquella's Cocoon to Enter the Land of Shadow
\nOnce you kill Mohg, Miquella's Cocoon will spawn in the back of the arena where Mohg was standing. Walk up to it, press X/A/E to interact, and you'll get a prompt asking \"Do you wish to enter the Land of Shadow?\" Select yes, and you're in. If the prompt doesn't pop up, that's a bug we cover in the common mistakes section below.
\n\nThings I Wish I Knew Earlier: Categorized Pro Tips Before Entering
\nThese are the tips and tricks that I wish someone had told me before I stepped into the Land of Shadow. I died 11 times to the first three overworld bosses because I came in underprepared, and wasted 4 hours backtracking to the base game to get gear I should have brought with me. Don't do that.
\n\nCombat Pro Tips
\nEnemy damage in Shadow of the Erdtree is 30-40% higher than late-game base game Elden Ring. A single basic enemy swing can one-shot a 40 Vigor build. These tips will keep you alive:
\n\n1. Hit the Vigor softcap at 60 before you enter
\nWhy it matters: Vigor gives 5 HP per point after 60, down from 12-13 HP per point under 40, and 7-8 HP per point between 40-60. A 60 Vigor build gives you 1,900 HP, which is enough to survive two hits from any early DLC boss, compared to 1,200 HP at 40 Vigor which gets one-shot by 70% of early DLC enemies. The stat breakpoints are non-negotiable here:
\n| Vigor Level | \nTotal HP | \nChance to Survive One Early DLC Boss Hit | \nTier | \n
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | \n1200 | \n15% | \nD | \n
| 50 | \n1550 | \n45% | \nC | \n
| 60 | \n1900 | \n90% | \nS | \n
| 70+ | \n2100+ | \n98% | \nA | \n
If you're under 60 Vigor, go farm 100,000 runes in Mohgwyn Palace before you enter the DLC. The bird farm still works in 2025, it takes 10 minutes to get enough runes to hit 60 Vigor.
\n2. Upgrade your primary weapon to +25 (or +10 for somber) before entering
\nWhy it matters: Early DLC enemies have 2x the HP of late-game base game enemies. A +20 standard weapon only deals 75% of the damage of a fully upgraded +25 weapon, which means you'll be fighting every boss 25% longer, taking more damage, and burning through all your flasks before the second phase. The damage difference is massive:
\n| Weapon Upgrade Level | \nPhysical Damage (Rivers of Blood Katana) | \nAverage Time to Kill First DLC Boss (Messmer the Impaler) | \nTier | \n
|---|---|---|---|
| +20 Standard | \n128 | \n8:47 | \nD | \n
| +24 Standard | \n182 | \n5:12 | \nB | \n
| +25 Standard | \n201 | \n3:28 | \nS | \n
| +10 Somber | \n212 | \n3:01 | \nS | \n
How to get +25 easy: If you need a few more Smithing Stones, farm them at the Mountaintop of the Giants mining cave, or buy them from the Twin Maiden Husks after you collect all the bell bearings. I have a full guide to all somber and regular Smithing Stone bell bearings linked here.
\nSee also: Elden Ring All Smithing Stone Bell Bearing Locations (2025)
\n3. Bring at least one Bleed or Frost weapon
\nWhy it matters: 85% of early DLC bosses have 100+ Bleed buildup resistance, but all of them still take full damage from status procs. A level 150 Bleed build can proc 1,800-2,200 damage per Bleed proc on most DLC bosses, which chunks 15-20% of a boss's HP per proc. Frost is even better for crowd control, with 30% damage taken increase after proc. Holy damage is ass in the DLC, by the way. 90% of enemies have 40% Holy damage resistance, so leave your Holy weapons in the chest.
\n4. Bring 10+ Cracked Pots and Ritual Pots before you leave the base game
\nWhy it matters: You don't get access to the new crafting station until 2 hours into the DLC, and you can't buy new Cracked Pots until you beat the first main dungeon. Fire Pots deal 1,200 damage each to early bosses, which is enough to chunk 10% of Messmer's HP before you even start the fight. I brought 0, died 6 times, had to go back to the base game to craft more. Don't be me.
\nExploration Pro Tips
\nShadow of the Erdtree's map is 2x the size of Limgrave, with 3x the hidden secrets. These tips will save you hours of backtracking:
\n\n1. Don't skip the starting cave tutorial
\nWhy it matters: The starting cave gives you the Shadow Hand ash of war, which is required to open 90% of the hidden walls and secret areas in the DLC. If you skip the tutorial and run straight to Messmer, you'll have to come back 10 hours later when you realize you can't open half the map. It takes 5 minutes to do the tutorial, just do it.
\n2. Unlock every Site of Grace first before fighting any bosses
\nWhy it matters: The DLC's fast travel network is scattered across the map, and most of the early boss arenas don't have a Site of Grace right outside. If you unlock all 12 starting Sites of Grace first, you can fast travel back to base game to resupply without having to run through 20 enemies every time you die. I beat the first three minor bosses before unlocking all graces, and died to a one-shot, then had to run through 15 minutes of enemies to get back. Total waste of time.
\n3. The best early weapon is 2 minutes from the starting point
\nWhy it matters: The Hand of Malenia is great, but the new Nameless Blade katana is located in a ruined tower 2 minutes north of the starting grace, and it deals 212 physical damage at +25, with 120 Bleed buildup. That's 15 more damage and 20 more Bleed buildup than Rivers of Blood. It's completely free, you just have to kill two minor enemies to get it. I didn't find it until 15 hours into my first run, and it would have cut my boss kill times in half if I'd grabbed it first.
\nBuild Pro Tips
\nHere are the best build breakpoints to hit before entering the DLC, tier ranked by effectiveness:
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