Elden Ring's Ending Isn't Important for Shadow of the Erdtree
Elden Ring has six possible endings, each leaving the Lands Between in a different state. Ranni the Witch's Age of Stars Ending is the most ambiguous. It stops the Outer Gods from altering reality, but it also sends the Tarnished on a journey across the stars. The Blessing of Despair is perhaps the worst ending, as it spreads the Dung Eater's curse throughout the Lands Between. The future of the Lands Between after each ending is a mystery, and the story of the DLC is left unclear.
Shadow Of The Erdtree is a DLC that takes place before Elden Ring's main story ends. The DLC can be accessed at any time during the main campaign, as long as Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood have been defeated. The player doesn't have to defeat the final boss or even set fire to the Erdtree to enter the Land of Shadow.
Shadow of the Erdtree Takes Place Before the Main Ending
After finishing Elden Ring, the player is teleported back to a world frozen in time. The only difference is that they have to start a New Game Plus to fight the Elden Beast again. This is different from other FromSoftware titles, like Dark Souls, where players are immediately thrown into a new game plus after the credits roll. Elden Ring gives players a chance to explore and clear out any side content before starting a new, more difficult run.
Despite this difference, FromSoftware still follows the trend established with their previous DLCs, where the base game's ending doesn't affect the DLC. The DLC is accessed through the main game world, and the player's ending choices in previous games had little effect on the DLC. The only exception is Dark Souls 3, where a character will mention the player's choice if they followed the Usurpation of Fire ending, Dark Souls 3's true ending.
Shadow of the Erdtree Makes the Most Sense With Elden Ring's Age of Stars Ending
The Age of Stars ending seems to be the most satisfying conclusion to Elden Ring, even though it doesn't directly impact Shadow Of The Erdtree. Elden Ring focuses on the cycle of violence caused by different factions, each vying for power. Shadow of the Erdtree continues this story by following Miquella on a journey through the Land of Shadow, where he discovers more about Marika and her reasons for seizing control of the Elden Ring.
Marika is portrayed as both a victim and a perpetrator of the violence. Ranni also acts violently, but it's for a noble cause: to end the Golden Order and create a better future. However, her methods leave the player to question whether the Age of Stars Ending justifies the means. This is one of the most thought-provoking endings in the game, and it's thematically congruent with both the base game and the DLC. It's also the hardest ending to achieve, making it a great follow-up to Shadow of the Erdtree.
Elden Ring's DLC Doesn't Really Care About the Main Game's Ending
The player's choices in the main game don't have any effect on Shadow of the Erdtree, and vice versa. The game has so many choices that it would be time-consuming to implement reactions or consequences that take into account every possible path the player could take. Other than the lore connections, recurring characters, and the ability to use the same character in both games, Elden Ring's base game and the DLC could effectively be considered separate works.
Players can have the same experience with Shadow of the Erdtree regardless of what ending they achieved in the main game. This makes Elden Ring's DLC feel more like a sequel.
