Using A Shield Will Make Shadow Of The Erdtree's Bosses Easier
One of the biggest points of contention for players going through Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has been the DLC's crushing difficulty compared to the base game. Enemies and bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree deal extremely high damage, and have attack patterns that can be difficult to learn for many players, at some points even drawing comparisons to Malenia from the base game - certainly among Elden Ring's hardest bosses, and widely considered to be one of, if not the most difficult boss in any FromSoftware game. For most of SOTE's bosses, however, one trick for making bosses easier might be flying under the radar.
While the early Soulsborne games in FromSoftware's catalog, like Demon's Souls and the first Dark Souls favored blocking and dodging relatively evenly, more recent games like Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring have significantly improved dodging, making it faster, more responsive, and less draining on stamina. As a result, dodging has become the default way for many players to avoid attacks, with shields falling more and more to the wayside as the series has progressed. With how some of the bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree function, however, it might be time for some players to change tactics.
Shields Are Better Against Some Shadow Of The Erdtree Bosses Than Others
However, while blocking is a powerful option against many of Shadow of the Erdtree's bosses, results will vary depending on the boss. Using a shield against Rellana, for example, is extremely helpful for dealing with her fast attacks and identifying openings, especially since she has no grabs to add into the mix, but the mixed damage types she starts to use in her second phase may start to deal significant chip damage. On the other hand, for bosses like Romina or Midra, whose attacks inflict Scarlet Rot and Madness, respectively, players may still want to rely more on dodging than blocking.
In particular, though, some bosses have attacks that are seemingly impossible to dodge, or else require nearly frame-perfect precision. The final boss, for example, has a double-swipe attack that seems almost impossible to fully avoid by dodging, as rolling through or away from the first hit almost always results in getting hit by the second. For this attack, and some others, blocking or deflecting seems to be one of the few ways to fully avoid taking damage.
Blocking Isn't The Only Solution In Shadow Of The Erdtree
While it is the safest and easiest option for avoiding certain attacks, holding up a shield isn't the only possible solution. Some new Ashes of War introduced in the DLC, like Blinkbolt, Blind Spot, and Raging Beast grant significant invincibility frames, allowing players to avoid attacks while dealing damage at the same time, and even base game skills like Bloodhound Step can still be very useful. Even some Ashes that don't give i-frames, but take the player high up before attacking, like Aspect of the Crucible: Wings, can still be used to avoid certain low-hitting attacks.
One new type of shield added in Shadow of the Erdtree, the Dueling Shields, can also be used like traditional weapons, and will automatically block incoming damage after or before certain attacks. While the shields' blocking stats aren't perfect, players who master this playstyle can essentially force trades that are heavily in their favor, as most attacks will deal only minor chip damage through the Dueling Shield's guard. While it's still technically blocking, the playstyle is different enough from traditional shield use to differentiate it.
Using A Shield Will Make Shadow Of The Erdtree's Bosses Easier
Blocking with a shield, especially a greatshield, can make certain bosses much easier to manage in Shadow of the Erdtree, putting players at less risk and giving them much more breathing room than if they relied purely on dodging every attack. Certain bosses, like Rellana and Messmer, have long and varied combo strings which, while possible to dodge, can take a long time to grow accustomed to - and given the high damage dealt by enemies in the DLC, getting caught just once or twice can leave players at dangerously low health, or even kill them outright.
Meanwhile, although many bosses can deal elemental damage that will chip away at health bars through shields, the barrier for execution is far lower, and Elden Ring's Guard Counter mechanic gives players a way to exploit openings for heavy damage and potentially even stance breaks. Especially for players using a fully-upgraded greatshield, many attack strings that would otherwise pose high risk become easily manageable, as Elden Ring's best greatshields, like the Fingerprint Stone Shield, make most enemy attacks drain minimal stamina. Additionally, the few grabs and other shield-ignoring attacks in SOTE are heavily telegraphed and easy to dodge.
For Players Struggling With SOTE, Blocking May Be The Answer
Further encouraging a blocking playstyle is the newly added Deflecting Hardtear, which introduces a "deflect" feature to Elden Ring, granting players a five-minute buff that almost completely nullifies chip damage and stamina drain from well-timed blocks. Using this buff for bosses allows players to fight them almost like a boss from Sekiro, and makes even blocking with weapons instead of shields a viable option. And given that the tear also buffs guard counters while it's active, it even rewards players with additional damage, making it possibly one of the DLC's most powerful new additions.
Shadow of the Erdtree, for many players, offers some of the most difficult content in any FromSoftware game to date, and some may need to change their playstyle to make it through. Using a shield, especially in combination with the Deflecting Hardtear, can make many of the DLC's bosses significantly easier to manage, putting players at less risk and giving them access to some exploitable openings. While it may not be an end-all solution, players having a hard time with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree should consider pulling out a shield for its toughest bosses.
