There are a lot of new Shadow of the Erdtree enemies about to bear down on us. With two trailers out and less than a month to go until launch, we haven’t been this hyped to have our teeth kicked in since the original release of FromSoft’s open-world RPG. But who are our most anticipated beatdowns?
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Let’s go through our top 10 choices for Shadow of the Erdtree enemies we’re most excited to fight, and most probably, die to. If you’re wondering exactly how long it is until release, be sure to check our Shadow of the Erdtree countdown timer.
That One Snarky Looking Wizard
Look at this guy. Look at his smug face. Is he an enemy? Maybe. Are we going to hate him as much Sellivus? Almost certainly. We can’t be sure that this guy’s going to be down to brawl, but if he is indeed an annoying NPC, there’s no reason you can’t attack him and find out his moveset for yourself. If he is supposed to be an enemy though, it’ll be fascinating to see what kind of sorceries have developed in the Land of Shadows.
Purple Lightning Tree Sentinel
Reskinned enemies aren’t usually something to get too excited about, but we’ll make an exception for the Tree Sentinel style enemy that popped up in the reveal trailer for the Elden Ring DLC. First, that armour looks gorgeous, and style is a critically important part of any good fight. Second, they’re riding a giant boar, suggesting a new mounted moveset and probably more poise than five Havel’s taped to a tower shield. Third, purple lightning. Need we say more?
The Black-Armored Knight
Black and Silver Knights were a staple of the Dark Souls series for good reason. They looked sick, they hit hard, and, at least for DS1, they were usually isolated threats. Fingers crossed that we’re going to get something similar with this towering black-armored knight that’s shown up in (we think) both trailers. If it’s indeed a match for the large armored figures we saw commanding lines of troops during Messmer’s tyranny, that’d imply these guys are going to be veterans of the unsung war. Hopefully, they’ll be deliberate, methodical, and ruthless in a way that’ll channel memories of their spiritual forebears, and put even Banished Knights to shame.
The Spikey Murder Hippo
Since learning that The Crucible and its primordial creatures would seemingly feature as a major part of the backstory and possibly the wider Shadow of the Erdtree story, it started making sense why we’d seen so many bestial incantations in early promotional material. Of the enemies we’ve seen, the spikey hippo looks like it might be one of our favourites. Given its size, it seems likely that this one might be a field boss, or something equivalent. It’ll be fascinating to fight new bestial incantations and moves against a foe this large.
Whatever This Thing Is Supposed To Be
We don’t have a clue where to start with this thing. It’s silver. It’s big. It’s part skeleton, part melted horse. And it’s roaming around an atmospheric cave arena wielding a giant boomerang. This all suggests something a bit more on the experimental side, which is hardly untouched territory for a From Software DLC. It’s certainly got some slight Ancestral Spirit vibes going by its location and slightly ethereal nature. And while those fights weren’t particularly hard, they were memorable for their gorgeous musical scores, hypnotising use of colour, and unique arenas. Hopefully we’ll be able to say some of the same things about whatever this bad children’s drawing brought to life.
The Lion Dancer Beast
We’ve fought a few chimeric beasts in Elden Ring so far. From death crows to Runebears, it rarely ends well for us. Now it looks like we’re going to get something new but familiar with the Lion Dancer Beast. Appearing in both trailers, these long, snaking, multi-part entities seem to possess incredible agility, a ferociously aggressive posture, and plenty of lightning just for good measure. The moveset looks complex and challenging to learn. It even seems to give off some DS1 Chimera vibes. Fingers crossed then that whether it’s a one-off boss or a recurring enemy (hopefully the former), we get a truly impressive display of beasti*al magic and might.
The Walking Brazier
We’ve already had the Fire Giant, sure, but what about the Giant Fire? These walking braziers have appeared in both the gameplay and story trailers, and we’ve got a pretty good idea of what they are – walking crematoriums.
It would seem that the campaign of extermination carried out by Messmer made extensive use of these monolithic structures to incinerate its victims, making their origin perhaps one of the darkest of any enemy in the game to date. But given their size, their horrific backstory, and their imposing abilities, we’re particularly looking forward to sending the one that’s appeared in the gameplay trailer back to the depths of Hell, or at least a Scarlet Rot Swamp if the former is too inconvenient.
The Scarlet-Robed Dancer
There’s a rich history in FromSoft games of one-off human enemies that know exactly how to remain memorable. Seeing the Scarlet-Robed Dancer fight a player among a field of fluorescent azure flowers certainly scratched a similar itch to the Desert Pyromancer from Dark Souls 3 or Havel from Dark Souls 1.
Wielding twin swords, a flourished moveset, and set to a spectacular visual backdrop, hopefully this fight will set itself apart as a unique and rich encounter. Or, if it turns out this isn’t a lone enemy, hopefully they’ll become one of our favourite enemy types to fight.
The Dude Who Pulls A Sword Out Of His Own Face
It’s difficult for any one character or moment to steal the spotlight in a trailer, especially when you’ve got a main villain to set up for your DLC. For us though, one such character managed one such moment in the gameplay trailer, and it was this skeletal figure, massive barbed sword through his desiccated ribcage.
That’s a pretty metal sight already, but watching him begin to pull it out is the kind of cinematic setup you just know is coming out in a boss cutscene. We know nothing about what fighting him might be like, who he really is (beyond a lordly painting that appears in an earlier shot), what he wants, or why we’re fighting him. To be honest, that just makes it all the more exciting, as some of From Software’s best bosses come out of their body horror lineups. Call it a hunch, but we feel that this is going to end up being a boss fight to remember.
Messmer
Could there really have been any doubt? Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree has made one thing abundantly clear: This is Messmer’s circus – we’re just stepping into the ring. Well, maybe also Miquella’s but since we don’t know with certainty whether he’s going to play the role of a villain or not, we’ll stick with the fire-and-serpent-loving empyrean for now. He’s almost certainly a demi-god. He has a lot of fire attacks. He’s got a big spear. He’ll probably have four separate phases to his fight.
Messmer has been set up to be the pinnacle of FromSoft’s boss roster for Shadow of the Erdtree, taking all their experience thus far, lessons learned from the base game, and inspiration for the future. For all those reasons, Messmer is the foe we’re most excited to fight – and almost definitely die to – in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
And that brings us to the end of our list for the ten Shadow of the Erdtree enemies we’re most excited to throw down with. Can you think of any more? Or if you’ve had enough of thinking about the DLC and want something to do in the meantime, why not start getting prepared? Make sure to check our guides on the best Greatsword builds and Comet Azure builds. And of course be sure that you know how to get to Mohgwyn Palace, the likely entry point in-game for the expansion.
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