Still not fought Mohg and Radahn? Don't worry, Elden Ring speedrunners are proving you can be ready for Shadow of the Erdtree in under 28 minutes, even on a fresh save file
Jun. 19, 2024It’s never too late to jump in
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
If you still have one or even both of the two mandatory bosses left to beat inElden Ringbefore you can start theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC on Friday, don’t worry, as speedrunners are proving you can literally start from scratch and be ready to go in under half an hour.
While you don’t need to beat theentirebase game to step into the Land of Shadow, any Tarnished wanting to see what all the hype is about will first have to slay both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood (not the Omen version you find in Leyndell’s sewer). Neither of these are actually mandatory for the main Elden Ring story, so returning players may not have sent them packing yet, and new fans jumping in thanks to the DLC might be starting totally fresh. However, it’s clearly never too late to make a start, as is being demonstrated by a group of Elden Ring speedrunners.
Right now, a number of speedrunners are competing in a bounty challenge to become the fastest to complete Elden Ring’s DLC requirements on a new save file. Started by Twitch streamer NuclearPastaTom,the rulesare simple: start as the Wretch class, follow glitchless Any% speedrun rules (although one skip that allows you to use a Stake of Marika to get to Radahn’s fight faster is allowed), only use regular Smithing Stone weapons, don’t quit out of the game at doors, graces or during boss dialogue, and, of course, kill Radahn and Mohg. For a valid run, competitors are also required to kill Magnus the Beast Claw, who must be invaded in order tocomplete Varre’s questoffline. This is key to getting a fast pass to Mohg, since Varre gives you an item to teleport to the area.
So, how are things looking? According to thelist of submitted responses, which has been steadily updated with new entries over the last week, the two fastest times right now are both below 28 minutes, with Mitchriz at 27 minutes 55 seconds, and Spicee at 27 minutes 39 seconds. Thursday is the final day for new submissions, so we’ll just have to wait and see who emerges victorious, be it either of these two or someone entirely new.
Obviously, these runs aresuperstreamlined and not exactly reflective of a more casual playthrough of the game, but by following the same path – namely, getting Varre’s quest done as fast as possible and also making a beeline to Caelid to show Radahn who’s boss – you should be done very quickly. You can watch Mitchriz in action below if you want to watch how the pros do it.
Of course, starting from scratch and rushing things like this means that you’ll be missing a lot of level-ups that you’d normally have picked up from throughout your journey, as well as plenty of gear and weapons, so even if you can get into the DLC, you might not be very well equipped. However, very conveniently, the same item used to get to Mohg faster also lands you in the vicinity of thebest Rune farmingspot in the game, so you can easily (and safely) grind for some extra stat boosts while you’re at it.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You can also check out our guide onhow to start the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in Elden Ringso that you’re fully prepared for its release.
I’m one of GamesRadar+’s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you’re sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.
Borderlands 4 reveal confirmed for The Game Awards as Gearbox teases the “first look at the most ambitious Borderlands yet”
How to beat the Path of Exile 2 Bloated Miller boss fight
After the massive success of Deadpool and Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds says he sees the Merc with a Mouth as more of a supporting character going forward
