The Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, has been out for almost a week, and it’s been receiving mixed reviews. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s hard. Developer FromSoftware heard the pleas from those who can’t hang with the game’s difficulty and added a new update to make it a little easier for the whiners.
The calibration update 1.12.2 went live on Wednesday and will affect the new mechanic added to the DLC called Shadow Realm Blessing. The Blessing system gives players a buff to their attacks and reduces the damage they receive, and the update will beef up those numbers to help out players.
In Shadow of the Erdtree, players level up their Blessings by finding Scadutree fragments. These fragments are scattered throughout the game and are used to increase the Scadutree Blessing, which is what improves the player’s offensive and defensive stats. The new Blessing system also beefs up the summons available to players, known as Spirit Ashes. Players can also find Revered Spirit Ashes throughout the Shadow Realm, and their summons can do even more damage.
So why is a developer like FromSoftware, one that purposely makes its games difficult, now deciding to make Shadow of the Erdtree a little easier? Well, it’s because players were whining about it.
Review scores for Shadow of the Erdtree dropped to “Mixed” on Steam, meaning there was a balance of positive and negative reviews. This came just days after its launch with a mix of people giving fair criticisms about the game’s performance on their PCs and others complaining that the game is too hard. Even major streamers on Twitch said it was too hard.
FromSoftware is no stranger to re-balancing its games since early on there are some mechanics that don’t work as intended. However, by buffing the Shadow Realm Blessing, the developer is showing players some pity this time around.