Elden Ring DLC Difficulty Comparison NG vs NG+

If you've ever thought, "Is Elden Ring DLC harder on NG+ than regular NG?" you are certainly not alone in here. As we dive into 2026, one of the main issues surrounding Shadow of the Erdtree continues to be the many players who have started using a previous NG+ save and ended up being totally flattened by enemies much too fast for what they might have expected. When players first learned about the expansions they'd find in Shadow of the Erdtree, many players were also thinking that only having a super-high rune level would allow them to brute-force their way to the end of the Land of Shadow.

Unfortunately, that thinking is also one of the reasons so many seasoned Elden players have run into problems with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. A good number of Tarnished who have gone into the expansion on their own type of save file have already been previously playing at level 150 or more only to find out that they were only two-shotted by enemies that otherwise should have seemed to be easy to take down.

This guide explains how the Elden Ring DLC actually scales according to NG, versus NG+ play modes, whether you should play through the NG or NG+ version of Shadow of the Erdtree, and what type of save you need before entering through Mohg's portal.

Does Elden Ring DLC Scaling Provide a Greater Challenge on NG or NG+?

In short, yes! The DLC for Elden Ring is considerably more difficult on NG+ than on a standard playthrough of NG. Players have reported that players going into Shadow of the Erdtree for the first time, either on NG or NG+, are experiencing the same challenges that players on previous NG save files experienced when they went into the basic NG version of Shadow of the Erdtree.

Even on baseline NG, enemies will have already hit you with significantly higher damage per hit than would have been possible for basic NG game environments such as in the Royal Capital or the Mountains of the Giants. The rat knight has a base line of 430 Vigor; at 40 Vigor with no Scadutree Fragments, you can expect to get two-shotted by him. The first couple of shots will do roughly 40-60% of your HP on NG; on NG+, expect that to be roughly about 1.5 times more depending on how many Scadutree Fragments you have (NG+ has about a 1.5x damage and HP value increase for the NPCs and the enemies). This will start the curve up to the start of the game rather than gradual scaling up throughout the course of the game.

The importance of understanding this cannot be measured; the Scadutree Blessing system is designed to work in tandem with Vigor and damage resistances while playing through the Land of Shadow, thereby creating a separate progression for damage dealt to players, i.e., a separate leveling track. Ideally, players can reach around Blessing Levels 12-15 before face the more difficult end-game bosses (with the lower levels smoothing out the difficulty curve) if they explore all possible areas in NG. On NG+, you will find that the same levels of Blessing will not provide protection because second level enemy damage starts from much higher values compared to NG (where the same enemy at the time is much lower).

Most likely, the ideal starting configuration for most players is from a well levelled NG character; i.e., you have defeated Mohg, Lord of Blood, at or around level 120 - 150; and have a main weapon either at +24 or +9+ Sombre for maximum damage when entering NG+. On a first attempt at the game, all enemies added with DLC were designed around the assumption that you had done most of the end-game content of the base game. This means the stats for these types of enemies (both health and damage) are based on you having finished or already progressed to the higher tier levels.

In NG+, FromSoftware follows its usual pattern of implementing a normal scaling system – at a rate of approximately 1.5x for NG+ (and 1.5x approximately for NG+2, then 1.5x approximately again for NG+3, etc.) – regardless of whether they are DLC enemies or not. Therefore, there is no separate data model (rules) being used for Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

The following chart shows the approximate enemy health and damage multipliers at their respective NG Cycle levels:

NG Cycle | HP Multiplier | Damage Multiplier |

--- | --- | --- |

NG | 1 | 1 |

NG+ | ~1.5 | ~1.5 |

NG+2 | ~1.7 | ~1.7 |

NG+3 and up | ~1.8 and progressive increase after | ~1.8 and progressive increase after |

The reason that bosses seem to be "quicker" during NG+ is not only that their statistics are higher than what they were previously, but also because when you make a mistake, the punishment for it is much greater than before. For example, if you miss a dodge during a long battle (some key battles against certain bosses require very clean timing for you to go through them with success), and then the enemy does 30%-50% more damage than they would have during the initial fight (normal game mode), that would likely cause a snowball effect throughout the entire effort.

The buff, called Scadutree Blessing, is present in the game; however, it is only effective to a point due to the fact that the buff's values are only adequate to offset the scaling of the enemy's statistics, while not progressing with the scaling of your NG cycle. Therefore, this has no effect on whether you feel different in gameplay from what you would have otherwise during the NG+ gameplay. While reaching Blessing level 10 on NG can appear to be a huge boost to survivability, on NG+2 it may well not be enough to keep up with the additional damage coming in. If your overlevelled NG+ character seems strangely weak in the DLC, this is why.

The Differences in the Experience of DLC (Shadow of Erdtree) Between NG and NG+

The contrast between the experience of playing the DLC on NG and NG+ is most apparent as you actually step into the Land of Shadow, with three general phases.

The first occurs in the early part of the DLC around the Belurat Tower Settlement, and the adjacent grassy plateau. On NG, this first part can be nasty if you don't go in with Fragments, but with two or three Fragments found in the nearby ruins things can usually stabilise somewhat. On NG+, the same area will feel way worse because the initial hits for regular enemies are significantly more damaging out of the gate. Therefore, you will likely find yourself spending your healing in basic fights prior to having a chance to build any Blessing levels at all, which alters the pacing of the experience and makes it feel slower than it actually is. If soldiers in random places are doing an unreasonable amount of damage to you, you are less likely to want to explore the side paths that hold the best Fragments early on.

The second part of the experience is from the midmap area of Scadu Altus to Shadow Keep, as here the DLC is most open in terms of Beyond NG (or NG+). On NG, if you are on Blessing level 8 or higher, the second half of the midmap area will be challenging but doable. On NG+, enemy patterns have been completely revamped, and it is difficult to recover from errors with your build. The improved execution required in boss fights is particularly evident when battling Fire Knights and other poise-breaking enemies.

The late game bosses also have been completely revamped with much more dangerous damage thresholds. For example, if you play as Saint Romina and/or Romina of the Bud there will be significant damage thresholds on NG+. Moreover, unless you are particularly skillful, it will be nearly impossible to survive, reset, and continue your attempt with your blessings being at level 12 or below. Whereas on NG+, that same attempt will be significantly more difficult due to much tighter margins, and the fights will feel like endurance tests with virtually no breathing room.

In both mid- and late-game, co-op, summons, and spirit weapons are still useful; however, they continue to follow the traditional co-op and spirit weapons pattern of getting progressively weaker in longer encounters. The primary difference between both sets of weapons (i.e. Mimic Tear and Black Knife Tiche) is that while they have the ability to hold aggro and do contribute real chip damage in NG, they do not scale with enemy health/protection and as such they will die much quicker in NG+ and offer you significantly less opportunity to heals, reposition, and punish bosses during fights.

Which save file gives the best experience when playing the Elden Ring DLC?

At the time of this publication (2026), determining which save file offers the best Shadow of the Erdtree experience is very much a subjective issue depending on your preferences for playing the DLC and what type of save file you play from. Creating a character on the NG level from scratch using the DLC is the best way to go. You want to create a new character, play through the NG and create a successful profile and match it back to your NG profile for your first game. New builds generally work as the balance of the game becomes much easier and you have maxed a weapon at this point.

The value of your character from Endgame NG is largely the same as it was for your complete NG character in that you will have all of your gear, upgrades, and Spirit Ash in one location. There are some advantages to having an NG character finish the game before loading DLC onto an existing NG+ character. I believe that most guides were consistent throughout 2026 that offered this option for players who wanted to do everything possible before placing themselves into the NG+.

An NG+ VET profile fits the requirements of experienced players who completed the DLC and now want a tougher experience, wanting to use their existing profiles to create a new profile using the newer DLC builds, or just because they already know where to go with Fragments for completing the game.

This is consistent with most of the thoughts in the greater community as well. Many players in the Elden Ring community have recently taken to Reddit to express surprise at how challenging the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion can be during a new game plus (NG+) run of Elden Ring and this is frequently due to their misunderstanding that their original game cycle would have no effect on the difficulty of enemies in the new content. This means if this is your first run then the base Elden Ring New Game (NG) would be the safest recommendation.

Preparing For The Elden Ring DLC

There are a couple of reasons to prepare before entering the Mohgwyn Palace regardless of which cycle you’re playing on.

To access Mohg, lord of blood, there are two primary methods of reaching him. You can either complete Varre's questline and receive the Pureblood Knight’s Medal or progress through the Haligtree questline and use the teleporter located at the Dynasty Mausoleum Site of Grace. Either of these methods will work in the base NG game, but doing them now before entering into NG+ gives you the opportunity of having Mohg defeated with your weapon fully leveled up — either to +24 using standard upgrade materials or +9 using unique upgrade materials to move you up to a +24 type weapon — so that you don't feel discouraged about how much damage you do against enemies when you begin the DLC portions of the game.

Stats That Matter

In addition to preparing with upgraded weapons/armor, Vigor (Health Points) is the most important stat to have upgraded before entering the DLC. While the bare minimum would be to have around 40 Vigor in order to avoid being 1 hit killed by field bosses (like those that do normal damage), a better range would be to have around 50-55 Vigor at which point you'll begin to feel safe about your survivability at lower levels in the mid and late game portions of the DLC. Additionally, Poise is much more impactful in Shadow of the Erdtree than many players probably think; the vast majority of enemies in this expansion have lengthy string of attacks that break the player’s stance and interrupt their ability to attack back by causing them to be staggered repeatedly. Using the Bull-Goat Talisman or similar pieces of solid-style medi Armour while having aesthetic poise on you can assist in alleviating your time related frustrations associated with momentum shifts on you as well.

The following locations should all have a relatively low cost attached to them prior to completing the first legacy dungeon:

• The ruins cluster north-east of the Gravesite Plain Site of Grace

• The Church of Consolation (which can be found by following the southern edge of the Wilderness of Scadutree)

• The Shadow Keep Outer Courtyard (there are several fractured pieces inside that area guarded by normal enemies)

Getting your Blessing levels to level 5-7 before you launch your first legacy dungeon boss fight, has such a massive impact on the quality of game play you can achieve for yourself through the course of a first run (realistically speaking after that point of time during the course of the legacy dungeon you will have average play quality due to game design flaw) thus becoming essentially a requirement moving forward for you with the legacy dungeon and views during future runs against future legacy bosses (referred to as high tier players).

Elden Ring DLC FAQ

First Time Run on New or First Time Use

NG will be the base recommendation for a new player completing a first or second time full play through (full play totals able to be seen if applicable). Given all indications, Shadow of the Erdtree has been balanced as if they were intended from the first released version of the game NG at this point due to the overall quality of the experience so much so that there are so many additional moments throughout the game in comparison to when originally created by the design team. If/when a player completes the first run/100% run on an NG+ character, typically there could be about double the time spent fighting against forms of statistically related inflation for the first run than as compared to then as it would be just having to repeatedly replay the game until finished by way of failing/ditching the character when finally being successful by way of errors demanding/expecting 'ng sup or below'). ### You Are Overl Level With No Benefit From Your Scadutree Blessing.

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the expansion is that being over-leveled will compensate for not having a high enough Scadutree Blessing. The rune level is important because it affects your stats and the scaling of the weapons you are using; however, when you are within the Land of Shadow, the Scadutree Blessing level is the most important thing you can depend on when understanding your survivability and damage. For example, a character who is level 200 with a blessing level of 3 typically washes out in terms of combat potential against a character who is level 130 with a blesssing level of 10. The good news is that there are ways to 'catch up'. If you are lacking Blessing Levels, you can return to earlier DLC zones and re-enter the ruins and minor dungeons where you may have missed fragments from prior runs to gain two or three additional blessing levels before facing the final boss in the late game.

Most Difficult Boss Content in NG+

Messmer the Impaler and the final boss of the DLC are two of the most significant spikes in NG+ difficulty. Messmer is the most difficult because he has fire attacks that track you and transition phases quickly enough that you will not have time to play passively or defensively once the NG+ damage multiplier is applied to him. There are many players who will have hit a nasty breakpoint like this: a fully blessed character will typically lose 60-80% of their life in an NG+ phase due to one combination of hits versus losing approximately 40% of life when playing during the base game. The final boss of the DLC takes the difficulty up a notch by having a second phase that has multiple AOE attacks that can one shot you if your character has not reached a Vigor level of at least 55 nor has their keepsakes and/or armour built to maximise damage absorption.

In Closing

In 2026, if you still are asking yourself if the Elden Ring DLC is more difficult in NG+, the answer is a strong yes. When moving through the NG cycles, the damage multiplier directly stacks with the existing NG+ base density of the Shadow of the Erdtree; this combination results in the Land of Shadow being much more punishing than it was on your first run through. In most cases, the best option for players is to have a clean NG file with maximum levels in Vigor and poise and a levelled up weapon, as well as to take the time to follow a specific path through finding fragments in order to build enough levels from them before taking on any significant content boss battle.

If you have completed the DLC on NG and want a real challenge, definitely play through NG+. The extra multiplier on damage makes any familiar fight turn into a serious execution test. However, if this is your first time through the Land of Shadow, play through the base game as the scaler values that increase NG+ will make the game way more difficult. Good luck Tarnished!