In an unprecedented move, FromSoftware is helping players with guides, fans for Shadow of the Erdtree
The internet is abuzz with news that FromSoftware, developer of the deeply punishing Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, has released a new patch that improves Blessing improvements in the Shadow Realm. This affects the very popular Scadutree Shards, suddenly making the early game of the DLC much easier.
The patch, curiously titled Calibration Update 1.12.2, specifies that “the Attack and damage negation curve scaling of the Shadow Realm Blessings have been revised.” To go into more detail, the attack and damage negation has been noticeably boosted specifically “for the first half of the maximum amount of Blessing enhancements”, with the attack and damage negation for the second half of the enhancements now increasing at a more gradual rate. .
These changes are significant because they affect Scadutree Fragments, which fragments can (and should) be collected to give you a permanent boost to your Blessing level at Place of Grace, making head-on enemies and bosses much more manageable. But the increase specifically to the first half of the maximum amount of Scadutree Shards you can use (20) is notable because it benefits early game players in particular.
The outcry from the community about how punishing Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is is so severe that it even led to the game earning “Mixed” user review status on Steam. Popular YouTubers like videogamedunkey also basically mocks the game for being so hard, leaving you to wonder how something so sadistic could ever be fun.
Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficulty has created a paradigm shift of sorts within the gamer community and FromSoftware itself, with the former almost unanimously agreeing on how difficult it is, and the latter conceding to player complaints seemingly out of nowhere. The subsequent buff to Scadutree Fragments acknowledges both the discourse around the difficulty of the game and recognizes how reliable players must be on a rare enough item just to push through the game’s early bosses. Bottom line: FromSoftware finally lightens the load here – something it doesn’t usually do.
FromSoftware is usually known for being opaque and slightly sadistic, not taking pity on players
As if the latest patch wasn’t proof enough that something is out of whack at FromSoftware, a recent post about the game. Steam page straight up advises players to go out and find Scadutree Shards to ease their suffering. They even go so far as to say where get them – strange for a studio known for being opaque and flawless when it comes to post-launch support, and for developing some of the hardest games on the market. If they keep things like this up…I might be out of a job soon!
Remember, this is the same developer who placed a player death counter in an area called Majula in their game Dark Souls 2, released back in 2014. The counter recently surpassed 300 million deaths, prompting a Reddit user to point out, “That’s more than the population of Indonesia (the 4th most populous country).” So going from rubbing player deaths in their faces to actively trying to help them in the form of handy tips and targeted but useful buffs is definitely a change, to say the least.
I, for one, welcome this change. It gets a little exhausting always hearing about how punishing Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is and little more about the game’s rich world, the potential for hundreds of unique builds, its sensational monsters or its shiny new arsenal of weapons. Now that the barrier to entry has been lowered slightly without sacrificing the integrity of the game, more new players can come in and make it through the early game, allowing us to learn more about the endgame and what best tactics to use to get there.
Looking for the Wild Lion’s Claw in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree? Then we have you covered with Where to get Wild Lion’s Claw (Map Location) in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree on Pro Game Guides.
