Shortly after the reveal of Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki claimed that the Realm of Shadow would have a power-scaling feature exclusive to the DLC area. Now, a few weeks before launch, we finally know how the Shadow of the Erdtree power scaling will work.
Shadow Realm Blessing & Scadutree Fragments Explained
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree introduces a new mechanic called Shadow Realm Blessing. It’s FromSoftware’s way to ensure that over-leveled characters can’t crash through the DLC as if Messmer the Impaler were nothing more than a wet napkin.
When you enter the Realm of Shadow via Miquella’s decaying hand, you will start with zero stacks of the Shadow Realm Blessing buff. Players will need to hunt down Scadutree Fragments, similar to Golden Seeds, and use them at Sites of Grace to accumulate the buff. The stacks are permanent, so don’t worry about dying and having to find more fragments.
With each stack of the Shadow Realm Blessing, players will take less damage from enemies while dealing more damage themselves. Think of each stack of the blessing as a traditional level-up. Your defense and attack stats increase, but only in the Realm of Shadow. The Shadow Realm Blessing has no effect in the Lands Between.
Another aspect of Scadutree Fragments that is similar to Golden Seeds is that each level will require more Scadutree Fragments. So, while your first buff may have only needed one fragment, your fifth might require four or more.
As of right now, we only know what we do about Shadow Realm Blessings and Scadutree Fragments because of hands-on previews from June 4. That said, when the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC drops on June 21, we will make sure to update this piece with a map showing you where to find each Scadutree Fragment.
