10 things you should do first in Elden Ring Shadow of Erdtree

If you're wondering what to do first in Shadow of the Erdtree, you're in the right place. Stepping out to a fresh FromSoftware open world can be a daunting prospect, as you're given very little guidance on where you should go or what you should do. But we're here to help give you a steer on some handy things to seek out during your first couple of hours in Shadow of the Erdtree, as well as where you should go to kick off the expansion's main storyline. So read on below for our tips on what to do first in Shadow of the Erdtree.

On this page:

• Get your first Map Fragment
• Get your first Revered Spirit Ash
• Visit the Church of Consolation to get your first 2 Scadutree Fragments
• Get a Blessing of Marika early
• Get your first crafting Cookbook and Talisman in the Scorched Ruins
• Find your first new Ash of War
• Try some of Shadow of the Erdtree's new weapon types
• Get your first (very easy) Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone in the Suppressing Pillar
• Start Freyja, Hornsent, Ansbach and Moore's questlines
• Head to Belurat, Tower Settlement

Get your first map fragment

To help you get your bearings in the Shadow Realm, the first thing you should do is find Gravesite Plain's Map Fragment. Shadow of the Erdtree's opening area only has one Map Fragment you need to find here, and you can get it straight away by riding north towards the large ruins directly in front of you. This location is known as the Scorched Ruins, and the Map Fragment can be found just before you get there, next to a glowing stele pillar on the road leading up to it.

Get your first Revered Spirit Ash

There's more to find in the Scorched Ruins (more on that in a second), but for now, you should east toward the cliffs to find your first Revered Spirit Ash. Go to this location, and you'll find a statue with the Revered Spirit Ash sitting in front of it:

Revered Spirit Ashes are a new and important item in Shadow of the Erdtree, as you can consume them at Sites of Grace to receive a Revered Spirit Ash Blessing. This increases the attack power and defence of your Spirit Ashes and Torrent, your spectral steed. They don't have any influence outside the Shadow Realm, but they're very useful items to collect while traversing this new and dangerous world.

Visit the Church of Consolation to get your first 2 Scadutree Fragments

From this cliff top, you may well be able to see a church sitting below you - this should be your next destination, and you can get to it by following the road that leads down the hill underneath the cliffs you're currently standing on. This road will lead you to the Church of Consolation, an area with two Scadutree Fragments inside it.

Scadutree Fragments are another important item in Shadow of the Erdtree. You'll find lots of them throughout the Shadow Realm (often at Miquella's Cross locations), but consuming these Fragments at Sites of Grace will bestow you with a Scadutree Blessing - which increases your attack power and your defence (or ability to deal and negate damage, as the game puts it). Like the Revered Spirit Ashes, they won't give provide any benefit if you travel back to The Lands Between, but they're another vital survival tool you'll need to help you get through the Shadow Realm, so grabbing these two early on is an easy way to give yourself a leg up.

(What's more, it's also an easy location to reacquaint yourself with both Elden Ring's combat style, as you'll need to defeat a handful of basic soldier enemies and some flaming hounds before you can explore it freely - and if the Black Knight with the large shield inside the church causes you trouble, you can always summon a Spirit Ash to help you out).

Get a Blessing of Marika early

Before you leave the Church of Consolation, have a poke around the waterfall caves just behind it. Again, there are a few basic enemies you'll have to deal with here, but you can find a Blessing of Marika on a corpse inside the one on the far left.

This item completely restores HP and heals all ailments, so it's worth having in your back pocket for some of those nastier boss fights you'll be dealing with.

Get your first crafting Cookbook and Talisman in the Scorched Ruins

Now you should head back to the Scorched Ruins to find a couple of other important items there. There aren't any major enemies to worry about, apart from some very slow ghost creatures and the occasional ghost dog, so it should be reasonably stress-free to go in and pick these up.

The first item on your checklist should be the Greater Potentate's Cookbook (1), which is a new type of crafting recipe to expand the list of items you can make in your inventory. The Greater Potentate's Cookbook is one of several new types of Cookbook in Shadow of the Erdtree, and you can find the first one right here, on a corpse on the southern side of the ruins:

There's also a new Talisman to get here, which requires a bit more effort. In one of the buildings on the western side of the ruins, you'll find a staircase that leads up to the upper level. Run up here, over the rooftop covered in red fabric and deal with the group of ghost men blocking your path. Continue through the room and out the door to the other side, and go across the long rooftop (also covered in red fabric). At the end, you'll find a door with a treasure chest inside it - open it and grab the Blade of Mercy, which raises your attack power after each critical hit.

These are the two most important items to collect from the Scorched Ruins, but feel free to have a wander around, and make sure you activate the Site of Grace just to the north of it, 'Scorched Ruins'.

Find your first new Ash of War

You'll probably have collected a fair few Ashes of War in your previous Elden Ring adventures, but there's a whole new crop of them to find in Shadow of the Erdtree too. A very easy one to get early on is the Ash of War 'Savage Lion's Claw', which can be found to the north of the Scorched Ruins, tucked away on the cliffs just past the large stone archway on your left. Here's it's precise map location:

This Ash of War lets you perform a forward somersault and strike foes with your weapon. You can also add an additional strike with a second button press. It can be used on swords, hammers and axes, and grants the weapon a Heavy affinity as well.

Try some of Shadow of the Erdtree's new weapon types

There are eight new weapon types to try in Shadow of the Erdtree, and two of them can be easily obtained early without having to fight any bosses right here in Gravesite Plain. The easiest early weapon to get is the Backhand Blade, which can be found next to a large gravestone monument at this location:

This curved blade with a backhand grip is all about spinning slashes and sharp thrust attacks. It also has the 'Blind Spot' skill, which lets you leap at your enemy to perform a side-stab in their blind spot. It can bypass an opponent's guard, too, and is well worth trying out as you go to get the second new weapon type.

On the other side of Ellac Greatbridge in the Castle Front encampment (mind the ballista as you go across it), you'll find the Firespark Perfume Bottle in a chest on the eastern side of the camp. It's guarded by some Perfumers, but is fun new weapon type that magic users will definitely want to experiment with. You can find its precise location here:

This weapon releases clouds of fire sparks, and grants you the 'Kick' skill, which lets you push enemies back with a high kick - perfect for then throwing fire in their faces with your new Perfume Bottle. It's effective against enemies who are guarding, and can break a foe's stance.

If you want to seek out more early weapons that are a bit harder to come by, then make sure to read our best early weapons guide.

Get your first (very easy) Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone in the Suppressing Pillar

Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones are back with Shadow of the Erdtree, and if you want to immediately start upgrading some of the brand-new weapons you just found, there's a very easy one you can grab from the Suppressing Pillar. You'll need to travel east from the Castle Front encampment, following the road up the hill. Again, there aren't any major enemies you need to deal with on the way up here, though do make sure to activate the Site of Grace 'Pillar Path Waypoint' on your way up.

Once you're at the tower, simply ride the lift to the top, open the chest and voila. Your first Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone in Shadow of the Erdtree. Here's it's precise map location:

Start Freyja, Hornsent, Ansbach and Moore's questlines

There is plenty more to do in Gravesite Plain, but if you're itching to kick off the game's story, then head back towards the Scorched Ruins. To the north, you'll find your first Miquella's Cross location at the Site of Grace 'Three-Path Cross' (and more Scadutree Fragments to boot).

Here, you'll also meet Freyja and Hornsent, two important NPCs you'll be crossing paths with multiple times throughout Shadow of the Erdtree. Chat with them, and they'll enlist your help with their quest to find all of Miquella's Crosses.

Once you've exhausted their dialogue, head up through the large stone archway nearby to find Ansbach and Moore at the second Miquella's Cross location at the Site of Grace 'Main Gate Cross'. Chat with them, too, until you exhaust all of their dialogue. Moore is also one of Erdtree's rare Merchants in the game, so make sure you browse his wares before you continue.

Head to Belurat, Tower Settlement

With your quest to find Miquella's Crosses now in full swing, you should head up the big stone stairs in front of you to tackle Shadow of the Erdtree's first big legacy dungeon, Belurat, Tower Settlement.

It's a large and tricky dungeon to navigate, so make sure you follow our Belurat, Tower Settlement walkthrough to help you get through it. There are more Scadutree Fragments, Revered Spirit Ashes and new Talismans to find inside, as well as the third Miquella's Cross hinted at on your note from Hornsent, and we detail exactly where to find all of these in our walkthrough.

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With all this under your belt, you should be well on your way to penetrating this new realm of shadow in Shadow of the Erdtree. Good luck!

As for your next destination after Belurat, Tower Settlement, you should head to Castle Ensis, which lies on the other side of the Ellac Greatbridge.

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Need more help? Improve your stats by finding all of Shadow of the Erdtree's Scadutree Fragment locations and Revered Spirit Ash locations. Alternatively, see which Erdtree bosses you've still got left to beat, and track down some great new early weapons to help you on your adventure.