Summary
The shardbearers and other members ofElden Ring’s divine family have a large influence on what ends up happening to the Erdtree. Completing their questlines is how players can achieve thedifferent endings forElden Ring, so with more divine characters coming into the picture, there will likely be new endings that players can unlock through their related questlines.
Characters like Godwyn and Miquella are considered divine figures inElden Ring, so any of these characters making an appearance at all in the upcoming expansion could drastically affect the current story. It could provide players with new insights that shape their actions throughout the game, and there’s a strong chance that this could lead to entirely new endings forElden Ring.
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How Elden Ring’s Shadow Of the Erdtree Expansion Likely Fits Into the Existing Story
There are a few likely possibilities for when the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion will take place in reference to the events ofElden Ring’s playable story, based on the brief teaser image that’s been revealed. The consensus in the community is that the character in this image is believed to be Miquella and that the tree in the background is likely formed by the roots of Godwyn’s Death Blight. If these interpretations are true, this would set the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion near or afterElden Ring’s story comes to an end.
Godwyn’s death takes place before the Tarnished player character is introduced to the story and players can actually encounter this character’s body near the roots of the Erdtree. It’s believed that in their death, Godwyn’s body has becomethe source ofElden Ring’s Death Blightthat begins spreading throughout the Lands Between. After the course ofElden Ring’s story comes to an end, it’s likely that Death Blight has grown to become the tree shown in the reveal for the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.
Players can encounter Miquella in the Lord of Blood’s Palace inElden Ringwhere they appear to be imprisoned in a cocoon. Much like Godwyn, Miquella’s involvement inElden Ring’s prologue is fairly explicit, but there seems to be more to these characters that remain to be seen in the near future.
There’s a strong possibility that the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion will revive some ofElden Ring’s cut content. Because Miquella is commonly associated withElden Ring’s Sleep Status Effect, the St. Trina questline that players have partially uncovered might finally become part of the game. Based on what players have discovered aboutElden Ring’s cut St. Trina questline, if the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion revives this content it could have lasting impressions on the game’s existing content. The current storyline forElden Ringinvolves players retrieving the Rune of Destined Death and destroying the Erdtree in order to defeat the shardbearers, although, with a little divine intervention, there could be other ways to accomplish this goal.
From what players have originally learned about this cut content, it allegedly tasked players with invading the dreams of Sleeping enemies throughoutElden Ring. Most of the major enemies and shardbearers inElden Ringhave their own unique Sleep animations, so theSleep Status Effectand related questline could be a game-changer forElden Ring. Specifically, it could give players another way to approach dealing with the shardbearers.
If the expansion takes place after the main story ends, it will consequently become the “new” ending or epilogue. It’s still up for debate which ofElden Ring’s endings is considered canon, so setting Shadow of the Erdtree or other expansions after the main story could answer thisunanswered question inElden Ring. After all, FromSoftware’s Souls-like games have a habit of featuring open-ended stories that spark interpretation followed by discussion, and the endings are a major part of this puzzle.
Elden Ringis available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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