Has FromSoftware Set The Requirement To Enter Elden Ring’s DLC Too High?

With Elden Ring’s upcoming expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, set to launch on June 21st, players have been preparing their characters to venture forth into the new areas. However, many have been met with a frustrating realization that the upcoming zone is locked behind two bosses. The first is Radahn, who can be found in Redmane Castle in Caelid. 

On Steam, despite her higher difficulty more players have defeated Malenia than Mohg. Do you think her infamy drives more players in, or is Mohg just too out of the way with too little reward?
byu/SnowmanTechie inEldenring

While he isn’t exactly that tough to beat, the other boss players will need to get through is Mohg, Lord of Blood. Mohg is considerably harder to not only reach but also defeat. According to Steam stats, only about 38% of players have actually beaten the boss on PC. As a result, fans are wondering if the requirements set by FromSoftware just too high.

Unlocking Mohg Is A Long Process

Unlike Starscourge Radahn, who is quite easy to reach in Caelid, unlocking the Mohg, Lord of Blood fight is an arduous process. This is likely why so many players skipped out on this boss entirely. The boss is located in an underground area called Mohgwyn Palace and getting there isn’t easy. Elden Ring offers two main ways players can reach Mohg.

The first is through a PvP quest. This is a fairly long questline that requires players to go to several different areas of the game. You will also have to engage in player-versus-player combat, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. The alternative route is to use a teleporter found on the western edge of the Consecrated Snowfield. While this is a relatively easier way to reach Mohgwyn Palace, the snowfield is one of the last areas of the game you unlock.

So players will need to play through most of the game to be able to get to Mohg. While it’s expected that most of the people diving into the DLC will have already completed Elden Ring at least once, considering the whole area is optional and easily missable, it’s possible players simply didn’t end up encountering this zone during their initial playthrough.

Mohg’s Difficulty Might Be A Turn-Off For Returning Players

Players coming back to Elden Ring after a year or more, won’t like being told they need to complete old optional areas or defeat difficult bosses just to dive into the new content. While some players might be up to the challenge, others might simply want to play through the exciting new zones, without being gatekept by a boss they gave up on months ago.

This can be quite an annoyance, especially for anyone feeling like they just spent 40 dollars on a DLC they can’t even play. With this in mind, I don’t think FromSoftwarte should’ve kept Mohg as one of the requirements to access the DLC. I understand that his arena is where Miquella’s cocoon is present, and we enter into the Realm of Shadow by touching it.

But having an alternative route for players who might not have unlocked Mohg, or simply don’t want to bother with beating him, should’ve been provided. For now, at least, veteran players are helping out newbies who might still be unable to defeat Mohg by acting as summons. So for anyone looking to get a Mohg kill, now is the best time to do so. But anyone returning to the DLC a few months later, might not be able to get the same help.

Previous Souls Games Haven’t Had Such Tough Requirements

While DLC requirements have always been a thing in Souls games, none of them required you to kill an optional boss, especially one that’s considered among the toughest in the game. In Dark Souls 1, you simply had to collect a quest item from The Duke’s Archives area and use it to access the DLC from Darkroot Basin. Whereas the DLCs of Dark Souls 3 could be accessed directly from either the Cathedral of the Deep or the Lord of Cinder fight.

It’ll be interesting to see if players are actually able to band together and “git gud” when it comes to defeating Mohg. Or if FromSoftware will have to patch in an alternative route to those who are struggling to take down this boss. Either way, with the first and final expansion for Elden Ring coming out soon, players are quite hyped to finally delve into the Shadow of the Erdtree and see all that it has to offer.