Most Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree mods just make the DLC easier, including a 'Journalist mode' which lets you take 50% less damage

So far, the discourse around Elden Ring's DLC Shadow of the Erdtree has been wrapped up in a debate about whether or not the DLC for the notoriously hard game, made by the hard game company, is too hard. With certain streamers throwing in the towel and Bandai Namco calling players out for not leveling up their Scadutree Blessing, it seems like there's a pretty big market for a DLC experience that's dialed down a bit—just take a look at Nexus Mods.

A great deal of the mods on offer for Shadow of the Erdtree strive to make the DLC easier in some way. There are mods that give players access to the new Dryleaf arts without having to wait for 100 levels, as well as ones that drastically level up your character. One of those even lands you at level 713 and gives you all the weapons, spells, and blessings, so you can finally feel like the Elden Lord that you always wanted to be. 

Another mod, named Shadow of the Erdtree Journalist Mode, gives you the ability to take 50% less damage if you use the Crimson Amber Medallion, or if you pick Researcher Mode, the medallion lets you take zero damage, which is both pretty funny and terribly broken. "[It] makes the DLC damage a lot more tolerable by making the Crimson Amber medallion a difficulty switch talisman," modder Sereenaty says in the description. But you'll have to choose one or the other, not both.    

The beauty of mods is that they let players customise their experience and allow them to do whatever they want. So, if you just want to walk through boss encounters while just looking at the scenery and delving into the lore, then this is probably the best way to do it. But modding a FromSoft game so you take no or less damage seems like it's missing the point slightly. 

This isn't to say that Shadow of the Erdtree is in any way easy, and it may well be too difficult for most players to really enjoy, but Shadow of the Erdtree is an endgame DLC that FromSoftware worked on for two years, so it would be rather disappointing if