Elden Ring is one of the most massive games FromSoftware has ever created. The Lands Between are packed with secrets to uncover and an adventure that can easily take upwards of 100 hours, especially if you dig into New Game Plus. The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is about to make that experience even longer, however, adding an entirely new sprawling area called The Land of Shadow. Only Elden Ring could have an expansion that feels like an entire game in and of itself, so you need to make sure you’ve set aside a weekend or two. With that in mind, here’s exactly how long it takes to beat Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
How Long Does It Take to Beat Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree?
Before starting Shadow of the Erdtree, do note that you’ll have to play through a sizable portion of the main game, at least beating the bosses Radahn and Mohg. We have a full guide on that here.
Once you’ve done that, you can enter the Land of Shadow, a massive new area that’s the size of Limgrave and Liurnia combined. Our first playthrough of Shadow of the Erdtree clocked in at roughly 32 hours, exploring most of the world and doing a just over half of the optional bosses and dungeons.
If you’re just mainlining the necessary areas and bosses, you could likely finish Shadow of the Erdtree in roughly 20 to 25 hours. Of course, keep in mind that your playtime could fluctuate quite a bit based on the difficulty of the DLC.
Shadow of the Erdtree is easily the hardest content in all of Elden Ring, and the bosses in particular could potentially take you dozens of tries to overcome. Depending on your skill level, you might spend more or less time with the DLC. Of course, a big factor there is also how much of the side content you choose to tackle.
How Much Side Content Is In Shadow of the Erdtree?
Unsurprisingly, Shadow of the Erdtee is absolutely jam-packed full of secrets to discover. There are entire dungeons, bosses, and areas that you can completely skip over, never knowing they exist. After beating the DLC, there’s still an entire chunk of the map that we don’t know how to reach, which likely packs some extra secrets and bosses.
A crucial feature of Shadow of the Erdtree is exploration, collecting Scadutree Fragments to power up your character and boost their damage and resistance. Because of this, we’d highly recommend exploring and doing at least some of the side content on your first playthrough.
If you’re looking to do absolutely everything in Shadow of the Erdtree you’re likely looking at 60 hours of playtime at least, if not more. As is tradition with FromSoftware games, there will likely be additional secrets and details that players discover for weeks after the DLC’s launch.
