Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC takes place in an area totally separate from the main game, initially inaccessible except at its designated starting point. It’s set in the Land of Shadow, putting Elden Ring‘s DLC on a new map entirely distinct from the Lands Between. Although the lore makes it clear that people can travel between the two areas (and many do), it’s not immediately clear whether players can actually return to the base game until they’ve beaten the DLC.