Elden Ring: Can You Go Back To The Lands Between After Starting The DLC?

's DLC takes place in an area totally separate from the main game, initially inaccessible except at its designated starting point. It's set in the Land of Shadow, putting 's DLC on a new map entirely distinct from the Lands Between. Although the lore makes it clear that people can travel between the two areas (and many do), it's not immediately clear whether players can actually return to the base game until they've beaten the DLC.

From Software's Soulsborne games have all taken different approaches to their maps. All of them have hub areas that lead, in one way or another, to all their interconnected areas: Firelink Shrine, Majula, the Hunter's Dream, and 's Roundtable Hold. All of them have some kind of fast travel mechanic, but it's usually severely limited to only a select few areas, and even then, may not be unlocked until very late in the game. has a more robust fast travel mechanic than most, but how does it extend to the DLC?

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is a victory lap for FromSoftware, bringing in elements from past games without losing what made it special.

Players can easily travel between the DLC map and 's base game, just as they can between Sites of Grace. It's only a little more complicated: players can open the map by pressing the touchpad on PS4/PS5, the Change View button on Xbox (the one that looks like two squares overlapping), or the G button on a keyboard. Along the bottom, there should be an option to switch to the Lands Between map — press L1 on PlayStation, LB on Xbox, or Z on a keyboard to swap between the two.

From there, they can select a Site of Grace in either area and teleport to it instantly, as long as they're in a location that allows fast travel. Going in the opposite direction, from the base game to the DLC map, follows the exact same process once the player has discovered a fast travel point in the Land of Shadow. Just note that although fast travel is instantaneous once the DLC begins, unlocking the Land of Shadow