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Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree introduces a whole new way to level up that's totally separate from the base game's Runes. The DLC's content is balanced around these new levels. To make either yourself or your Spirit Ashes (and Torrent) stronger, you need to gather Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes. These can be found at certain spots in the Land of Shadow. But it can be a pain to figure out how much each level actually does.
Scadutree Fragments are super important for most players. They give extra damage and defense, which you need to take on the DLC's really tough enemies and bosses. Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes are kind of like the Golden Seeds in the base game. As you level up the blessings, you need more of each resource. It's pretty clear how each Shadow Realm Blessing affects you, but it's harder to tell exactly how much each level does.
Each level of the Scadutree Blessing seems to give around 4-5% extra damage and 4.7% damage negation. The important thing to remember is that Elden Ring calculates damage negation for each source separately. Every level of the Scadutree Blessing seems to be a different source. Also, the defense gains from Scadutree Blessing levels seem to get less and less noticeable as you level up. So a maxed-out Scadutree Blessing at level 20 gives a character around 50% damage negation on its own.
Revered Spirit Ash works in a similar way, but it seems to give more damage and defense per level. This is because it only goes up to level 10. It's harder to test the exact values because Spirit Ashes don't show their stats. But it's safe to assume that each level gives about twice the value of a Scadutree Blessing level.
Finding Scadutree Fragments and, to a lesser extent, Revered Spirit Ashes is really important if you want a balanced experience in Shadow Of The Erdtree. The bosses and enemies in the DLC can do a ton of damage very quickly to players who haven't leveled up their blessings. So anyone who doesn't want to do a challenge run should hunt down Scadutree Fragments as they play. You don't have to get every single one to beat the DLC, but you should still try to get as many as you can.
While these blessings don't make the base game progression useless (you'll still want a high Rune Level and upgraded gear), they are essential for dealing with the high difficulty of the DLC. For the most part, Fragments and Ashes are pretty easy to find by exploring. So they are a good way for players to get stronger or even change how hard Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is.
However, since Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes are spread out, there's a limit to how many levels you can get before you have to progress through certain areas and beat some bosses. For example, right at the start of the DLC, you can only get ten Scadutree Fragments before you have to beat a certain boss to get to new areas. This means you can only get to level 4 of the blessing at the most.
Even though Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes don't completely change how the base game works, they are essential for making the DLC less punishing. For the most part, Fragments and Ashes are relatively easy to find by exploring. So they can help players to get stronger and even choose how hard Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is for them.