Elden Ring DLC launch live coverage - all the Shadow of the Erdtree news as it happens

As it would happen, people getting finessed is a running theme of everyone's time with the DLC thus far. Miyazaki said Shadow of the Erdtree would be hard, but fans are only now finding out how much Miyazaki truly meant that.

Remember the big monster FromSoftware teased for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree? Turns out it's a normal enemy gatekeeping the DLC and not some big ol' boss. Don't worry, though. It's still kicking everyone's ass.

If the open planes of the Land of Shadow have you feeling lost, you can check out our Shadow of the Erdtree walkthrough to find out what to do and when.

Hidetaka Miyazaki has been discussing the importance of difficulty in the games he creates, saying that Elden Ring wouldn't be the hit it is today if it were easy.

"If we really wanted the whole world to play the game, we could just crank the difficulty down more and more. But that wasn't the right approach," Miyazaki explains to The Guardian. "Had we taken that approach, I don't think the game would have done what it did, because the sense of achievement that players gain from overcoming these hurdles is such a fundamental part of the experience. 

"Turning down difficulty would strip the game of that joy – which, in my eyes, would break the game itself."

You may think you're ready for Shadow of the Erdtree, but this Dark Souls fan is truly ready. 

Streamer itzCBD has apparently become the first ever Elden Ring player to beat the game at level one through every single New Game Plus difficulty with zero deaths. You are ready, sir.

In more wholesome news, you may have seen that Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree review scores make the DLC the highest-rated expansion of all time, snatching the title away from The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.  

CD Projekt Red's thoughts? Former Witcher 3 devs couldn't be happier for FromSoftware. 

"If any game had to do it, I'm happy it's Elden Ring," Blood and Wine quest designer Philipp Weber says. Global community director Marcin Momot adds: "It was a