It’s a well-known fact in many communities that Elden Ring DLC ​​is difficult. Even for those who already have super high levels, weapons, and Spirit Ashes in the base game, navigating Shadow of the Erdtree can be a bit difficult.

So before you even touch Withered Arm in the base game, you need to find the best gear, weapons, and more to prepare for your DLC journey. With this solid foundation, you’ll have more power in your quest.

This guide will detail the effects of some Elden Ring Items so that you’re prepared before you enter Shadow of the Erdtree.

Best Talismans

Haligdrake Talisman +2

Throughout DLC, most of the hard bosses will cause Holy damage to you. Although there are many Talismans for Holy Damage negation in the base game, the 20% damage reduction effect of Haligdrake Talisman +2 is very outstanding in comparison.

Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman And Pearldrake Talisman +2

These two Talismans are suitable for long-term wear in DLC, because they can greatly improve your overall defense ability in various battles. If you do find a better talisman and want to replace one of them, take Pearldrake Talisman.

Because Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman can reduce your physical damage by about 10%. And throughout the game, almost all enemies will cause some physical damage to you more or less. So Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman must not be replaced casually.

Great-Jar’s Arsenal Talisman

This Talisman may not increase your damage or resist some damage like the previous two, it can only increase your equipment load by 20%. This will allow you to equip heavier armor, which will indirectly increase your defense.

In addition, with the increased equipment loadout, you will also can equip the all-new Shadow of the Erdtree Armor sets.

Bull-Goat Talisman

Many enemies and bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree have extremely high attack speeds, which means you also need a high Poise attribute. Bull-Goat Talisman can increase your Poise by about 20%, even pushing it to 50 and 100 breakpoints. This can all be done without the help of heavier armor.

Best Melee Weapons - Dexterity Weapons & Strength Weapons

Dual Bleed Weapons

Like some classic combos, Dual Rivers of Blood still performs as intended in DLC. In addition, there are many niche combos, such as Dual Bleed Scavengers Curved Swords or Twinblades, which can give you a greater chance of winning when facing some bosses that cannot resist Bleed effect.

Heavy Thrusting Sword & Shield

If you want to build a pure Dexterity build, Dragon King’s Cragblade will definitely give you a distinct surprise. Add Shield, and you can protect yourself while using Thrusting Sword.

Moonveil

Moonveil is originally an Intelligence attribute weapon, but it can also be used to enhance your Dexterity. This is also one of the best samurai swords in the base game of Elden Ring. Moonveil’s Ash of War lets you kill some enemies in DLC with one strike, and get to the last reward, Elden Ring Runes, faster, especially if you have very high Scadutree Blessing levels.

Dual Greatswords

The repeated Heavy attacks of Dual Greatswords can make many enemies paper-thin and very easy to attack, even some very challenging bosses. You can also use it with Starscourge Greatsword, which makes it very good in some mixed builds.

Giant Crusher

When you Two-Handed it, Giant Crusher can give you Defensive properties similar to a shield. If you use it with Deflecting Hardtear, you can play very good Guard Counters and Perfect Block damage from enemies.

Blasphemous Blade

Blasphemous Blade is a weapon that changes with your Faith. In Shadow of the Erdtree, you can use its Ash of War to attack Blackgaol Knight. Its Flame damage can counter many enemies in the game that are not resistant to this type of damage.

Best Spells

Comet

When you use this skill, you fire some Comet forward and deal huge Magic damage to the enemy. Don’t worry about it being very short-lived, because it can be cast in rapid succession and can be charged to deal more damage.

Glintstone Icecrag

This skill differs from Comet. It fires a Freezing projectile forward, which forms Frostbite on the target it hits. Although Glintstone Icecrag is technically slightly weaker than Comet, the ability to form Frostbite makes up for the technical shortcomings.

Greatblade Phalanx

Greatblade Phalanx is a very good Phalanx-type spell in the base game, which summons three gigantic swords above your head and automatically tracks attackers. This skill can greatly help you break Poise faster when using Magic-Melee hybrid builds.

Rock Sling

Some enemies in DLC are somewhat resistant to magic damage, so most spells won’t do much Poise damage to them. But Rock Sling can cleverly solve these problems. It will lift three large rocks from the ground and deal a lot of Physical damage to your attack target.

Shard Spiral

Although it can deal less damage than the previous skills, it can continue to cause damage when facing large bosses such as Divine Beast while passing through large creature models.

Shard Spiral will fire two Glintstone projectiles forward, and after you hit a target, it will not stop and will continue to attack the enemies behind it. If you aim, each release can cause thousands of points of damage. But this requires your luck.

After reading this guide, I believe you will have enough confidence to enter Shadow of the Erdtree to explore more unknown stories and plots. I wish you a happy game in Shadow of the Erdtree!