How long is Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC?

It's even more expansive than we were expecting.

Elden Ring character fighting a bird on horseback with a twinblade
Image via Bandai Namco

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is finally here, and after two years in development, it’s understandable fans are expecting the expansion to be vast and expansive. I’ve beaten all of Shadow of the Erdtree’s major bosses and found most of its secrets, so I can tell you roughly how long you’ll spend exploring the Land of Shadow.

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree length, explained

Elden Ring player character riding Torrent in the Cerulean Coast in Shadow of the Erdtree
The Land of Shadow is vast and expansive, with tons of things to discover. Screenshot by Dot Esports

I spent 40 to 50 hours exploring Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree before calling it quits, and beat the final boss of the expansion around the 40-hour mark. I took my time combing every inch of the map trying to find all of its optional bosses and secrets, so I expect the average playthrough will be somewhere in the region of 30 to 40 hours.

After nearly 50 hours, I’m confident I’ve found most of the hidden content and beaten nine out of 10 major bosses, but it’s a FromSoftware game, so there are undoubtedly plenty of things I’ve missed. It’ll probably take upwards of 50 hours to find everything, but it’ll be easier when there are plenty of guides available—like our handy guide to help you find all the Scadutree Fragments in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

If you’re quick or skip most of the side content, you can make it to the last boss in 15 to 20 hours, but you’ll be missing out on the fun—Elden Ring (and all the other FromSoftware games) are all about exploration and discovery, and some of the best content is hidden where you’d least expect it.

Author
Image of Tom Foley
Tom Foley
Tom is the UK Associate Editor for Dot Esports. He's the former TCG Editor for CBR and holds a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. Tom spent six years as a Science Editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, and AstraZeneca before leaving science to pursue his dream career in games journalism at the start of 2023. He loves MMOs, RPGs, TCGs, and pretty much every game by FromSoftware—especially Dark Souls.