Elden Ring Shadows of the Erdtree DLC Progress (2024)

This is the list of videos I’ve recorded for the Elden Ring DLC, which maps out my progress through the DLC. This will be updated periodically as I record new videos and/or edit the descriptions. My intention is to wait to upload these videos until all of my Lords of the Fallen videos are finished uploading, or until I finish with the DLC. Until then, you can read the descriptions.

Warning: Spoilers probably.

Main Series

1. Gravesite Plain. 40:33. Saturday, 22 June. Starting out in the Shadows of the Erdtree DLC at level 150 with my pre-NG+ character from before, having not played Elden Ring in some two years. Mohgwin Palace. Leda. Entering the Gravesite Plain. Exploring to the Church of Consolation. Messmer Soldiers, a Black Knight. Black Steel Greathammer. Scadutree Fragment (x2). Blessing of Marika. Scadutree Blessing (1).

2. Western Nameless Mausoleum. 39:25. Saturday, 22 June. Level 150, Scadutree Blessing (1), Revered Blessing (0). Western Nameless Mausoleum. A very tough Blackgoal Knight as the first boss encountered in the DLC. I gave up after 5 quick, decisive deaths, since it didn’t seem to be blocking progress. Three-Path Cross (Site of Grace), Freyja, Hornsent, Scadutree Fragment (x1), Cross Map, Miquella Cross. Scadutree Blessing (2). Scorched Ruins (Site of Grace), Hefty Cracked Pot, Gravesite Plain Map. 32:26 The Sacred Tower Painting. Ellac Greatbridge, Castle Front (Site of Grace).

3. Pillar Path Waypoint. 32:13. Monday, 24 June. Level 150, Scadutree Blessing (2), Revered Blessing (0). Castle Front. Pillar Path Cross (Site of Grace). Thiollier, Miquella Cross, Scadutree Fragment. Scadutree Fragment (3). First Curseblade combat (1 death). Pillar Path Waypoint (Site of Grace). “Please, savage me no further” NPC. Gravebirds. Ancient Dragon-Man (invader vanquished). Entering the Dragon’s Pit (Site of Grace). Resurrecting skeletons, and me forgetting how to deal with them.

4. Escaping the Dragon's Pit. 35:40. Tuesday, 25 June. Level 150, Scadutree Blessing (3), Revered Blessing (0). Dragon’s Pit exploration. Falling down a hole and trying to escape with my runes. “Be brave. Show no fear.” 3 deaths. 17:42 Revered Spirit Ash. Back to fully explore the Scorched Ruins. 19:28 Greater Potentate’s Cookbook [1]. 23:43 Blade of Mercy Talisman. Revered Spirit Ash Blessing (1). Through the giant archway. Main Gate Cross (Site of Grace). Miquella Cross. Ansbach.

5. Balurat Tower Settlement. 34:16. Thursday, 27 June. Level 150, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 1. Balurat Tower. Spider Scorpions. Revered Spirit Ash x2. Balurat Tower Settlement (Site of Grace). Revered Spirit Ash Blessing (3). Return to Roundtable Hold to figure out what to spend runes on. (Cut out 10 minutes where I just sat in menus looking at spirit ashes and weapons.) Level 151 (+1 Vigor). Locked door in the depths. Small Private Altar (Site of Grace). Locked Storeroom door. 25:31 First look at those Horned Warrior dudes that will become such a bane to my existence. Strangely, my first encounter went fairly well. That will never happen again. 34:16 Storeroom Key. Elevator and shortcut back to the Site of Grace.

6. Abandoned Ailing Village. 41:07. Sunday, 7 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 3. Main Gate Cross. Sir Ansbach, Sir Moore. Black Syrup delivered to Thiollier, Thiollier’s Concoction. Greatbridge North (Site of Grace). 14:18 Larval Tear. 16:42 Revered Spirit Ash. Abandoned Ailing Village. 22:28 Ailment Talisman. 30:02 Greater Potentate’s Cookbook [10]. 36:48 Gravebird Armor. 39:31 Not noticing a dragon. Belurat Gaol (Site of Grace).

7. Belurat Gaol. 40:37. Sunday, 7 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 3. Exploring Belurat Gaol (1 death), and 36:38 the first victorious boss fight in the DLC against Demi-Human Swordsmaster Onze (enemy felled). No deaths. It was shockingly easy, when compared to the dude in the Western Nameless Mausoleum. Demi-Human Swordsman Yosh (Spirit Ash).

8. Very Little Progress in Belurat. 29:55. Sunday, 7 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 3. Returning to Belurat, Tower Settlement. 8:37 Bone Bow. 17:13 Well Depths Key. A section of Belurat Tower where I made very little progress because I kept getting killed by that one Horned Warrior dude after the Gravebirds on the roof (7 deaths). I gave up on it and decided to go somewhere else. Somewhere in here I upgraded to Revered Spirit Ash Blessing (4).

9. Dragon Pit Frustration. 28:47. Monday, 8 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 4. Having finally remembered how to permanently kill skeletons in Elden Ring, I returned to the Dragon Pit to see if I could kill the Magma Wyrm, but ultimately retreated in defeat. (4 deaths.)

10. Fog Rift Catacombs Frustration. 33:19. Monday, 8 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 4. Exploring northwestward from the Castle Front to new areas, I ran through a hailstorm of firebombs in a narrow pass (1 death). 16:44 Arrived at the Fog Rift Catacombs. 23:32 Ancient Dragon Knight’s Cookbook [1]. Ended up having to retreat with insuffient healing, and then gave up after dying.

11. The Depths of Fog Rift Catacombs. 41:17. Monday, 8 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 4. I didn’t do any live commentary for this one, but I added an overdub of post-game commentary. Continuing to explore the Fog Rift Catacombs. 5:43 Great Ghost Glovewort. 24:59 Electrocharge. 30:11 Down to a Death Knight boss fight at the end. I gave it three tries and gave up. (I had the best success with Rogier’s Rapier, but still only got him to about 50%.) (And I completely forgot I could have summoned spirit ashes to help, which I should have.)

12. Dragon Pit, Ancient Dragon-Man (felled). 24:44. Monday, 8 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 4. No live commentary, but a post-game overdub. Returning to the Dragon Pit to kill the Magma Wyrm. Then, jumping into the darkness to reveal another boss fight, the Ancient Dragon-Man, which was little trouble on the second attempt with the help of the Greatshield Soldiers. Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana. It led to the Dragon Pit Terminus site of grace and a cave exit to another outside area. (K&M.)

13. Belurat Well Depths. 40:06. Tuesday, 9 July. Level 151, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 4. Exploring beyond the Dragon Pit Terminus, which led to a place where it looked like a dragon fight was necessary to continue. I left and returned to Belurat Tower Settlement to use the Well Depths Key in that door in the sewer, which led to a large poison area filled with Man-Flies and an Ulcerated Tree Spirit (defeated with the help of, of all things, a Giant Rat summon). Poisoned Hand. Immunizing Horn Charm +2. (K&M.)

14. Fog Rift Death Knight (felled). 27:23. Tuesday, 9 July. Level 152, Scadutree 3, Revered Spirit Ash 4. Finding out that I can’t reach the map markers from the area of the Fog Rift Catacombs. Returning to the boss at the bottom of the Fog Rift Catacombs. Death Knight (felled), Death Knight’s Twin Axe, Crimson Medallion +3. Then returning to the Castle Front site of grace to explore across the bridge. Not shown because I had to cut out a section of ruined video… I defeated the Carrian Knight on the other side of the bridge on the first try, and a Sorcerer off to the side, and then was killed by some soldiers a little further on up the stairs.

Extra. Castle Front Carrian Knight. 08:05. Tuesday, 9 July. Here is the missing section from the previous video, with a text overlay completely ruining every frame of the video. The only important thing was a fight with a Carrian Knight on the other side of the bridge at the Castle Front, who did not respawn. I thought it might be a boss fight but it wasn’t. Milady (sword).

15. Castle Ensis. 41:02. Wednesday, 10 July. Level 153, Scadutree 3, Revered 4. Castle Ensis exploration. Loyal Knight’s Cookbook. Castle Cross Message. Scadutree Fragment. Miquella Cross. Castle Ensis Checkpoint (Site of Grace). Scadutree Blessing (4). Raising the gate. Moonrythll, Carian Knight (enemy vanquished, 1 death). Moonrithyll Knight’s Sword. Rellana’s Cameo. Dying on the walls.

16. Meet Rellana, Twin Moon Knight. 36:44. Wednesday, 10 July. Level 153, Scadutree 4, Revered Spirit Ash 4. Exploring further in Castle Ensis to the Castle-Lords’ Chamber, where Rellana, Twin Moon Knight awaits. I only show the first six attempts to beat Rellana, when I was still relatively upbeat and optimistic. The rest just descended into disappointed silence or profanity-laced tirades. The majority of the attempts ended about midway through the second phase, when Rellana’s red-and-blue weaponry just slices through everything like hot butter.

17. Fire Knight Queelign (vanquished). 41:36. Thursday, 11 July. Level 153. After a total of 35 (in video increments of 6, 8, 1, 8, and 12) frustrating attempts to beat Rellana over two days with various combinations of weapons and summons, instead of wasting my whole night in disappointment, I went back to expore and sometimes re-explore the Belurat Tower Settlement. The Elden Ring way is to probe and explore as far as you can before you have no choice but to fight the bosses to proceed. Reached Stagefront (Site of Grace), where a big door leads to what will surely be another story boss fight, and we can summon help from Redmane Freyja. I left without seeing the boss. Fire Knight Queelign (vanquished, barely). Crusade Insignia. Using the Storeroom Key, and talking to Hornsent Grandam.

18. Prospect Town, Foot of the Jagged Peak. 39:32. Thursday, 11 July. In search of literally anything that isn’t a boss fight, I came upon the Cliffroad Terminus site of grace and Prospect Town. Bloodfiend’s Arm, Outer God Heirloom, String-Seller’s Bell Bearing. Then I discovered the Run-Down Traveler’s Rest under the big bridge. Greater Potentate’s Cookbook [2]. Then I discovered you can just walk past the dragon at the Dragon’s Pit Terminus, which led to a spiritspring and the Foot of the Jagged Peak site of grace.

19. Jagged Peak Dragons. 20:55. Friday, 12 July. Off-camera I tried to fight Rellana 7 more times. Then I explored the Jagged Peak in the hope it would provide an exploration path to more Scadutree fragments. Unfortunately all I found were two skippable dragon fights and a single Revered Spirit Ash.

20. Divine Beast Dancing Lion (legend felled). 36:41. Friday, 12 July. Level 154. With no other paths to explore, I returned to the Stagefront and entered the big boss door to see if it might be easier than Rellana. It was another classic Elden Ring boss fight where you couldn’t see anything and the boss never stayed in one place long enough for you to hit it. Fun fun. Fortunately it was susceptible to Scarlet Rot and in the end, no amount of cavorting in the sky could save it as I watched it die from afar. 5 deaths. Remembrance of the Dancing Lion, Divine Beast Head. Unfortunately this boss did not unlock any new paths of exploration, so I have no choice but to go back to Rellana.

21. Fort of Reprimand, Black Knight Edredd (felled). 55:00. Saturday, 13 July. Level 154. Off-camera I tried Rellana 14 more times, and then 13 more times. In disgust, I went to a wiki to look for tips, and found that Rellana is optional and there’s a spiritspring to get around the Castle, so I went searching for it. That led to the back of the Fort of Reprimand, and the Black Knight Edredd boss fight, which was a straightforward (if frustrating) block-and-riposte fight.

22. Moorth Ruins. 36:49. Saturday, 13 July. Moorth Road, South. Bypassing the Ghostflame Dragon. Moorth Ruins (Site of Grace). Silent monk. Scadutree Fragment. Revered Spirit Ash. Scadu Altus Map. Exploring underground in the Moorth Ruins. Shattered Stone Talisman. Golden Arcs. Bonny Village (Site of Grace).

23. Bonny Village, Bonny Gaol. 53:39. Saturday, 13 July. Level 154. Bonny Village. Greater Potentate. Bonny Buthering Knife. Bonny Gaol (Site of Grace). Stalwart Horn Charm +2. Long dungeon crawl with very little health, but died in the end.

24. Curseblade Labirith (felled), Ralva the Great Red Bear (felled). 36:12. Saturday, 13 July. Level 154. I returned to where I died in Bonny Gaol off-camera. Curseblade Labirith (enemy felled). Curseblade Meera Spirit Ash. Travel to Moorth Ruins. Highroad Cross (Site of Grace). Needle Knight Leda, Hornsent. Monk’s Missive, New Cross Map. Exploring. Ralva the Great Red Bear (1 death shown, but there were 6 more increasingly frustrated deaths afterward before I returned later for the victory). (Technically the winning fight against Ralva took place after I defeated the Golden Hippopotamus in the next video, but it made more sense to put it here.)

25. Golden Hippopotamus (great enemy felled). 43:17. Saturday, 13 July. Starting from Moorth Ruins. Church of the Crusade, Queelign invasion (vanquished, 2 tries), Flame Skewer Ash of War, Prayer Room Key. Scadutree Fragment (x2). 9:13 Moore invasion (vanquished), Verdigris Gear Set. Rauh Base, Messmer soldier camp, Battlefield Priest Cookbook [3]. 25:00 “Somewhere, a great rune has broken… And so too has a powerful charm.” Shadow Keep Main Gate (Site of Grace). 31:51 Golden Hippopotamus (4 deaths shown, 6 edited out). With Mimic Tear. Thorns Aspects of the Crucible, Scadutree Fragment. Main Gate Plaza (Site of Grace).

26. Dryleaf Dane. 25:54. Sunday, 14 July. Level 154, Scadutree 7, Revered Spirit Ash 5. Picking a fight with Dryleaf Dane (3 deaths). Dryleaf Arts, Dane’s Hat. Then, more exploration from the Bonny Village. Revered Spirit Ash. Two more Greater Potentates. The Whipping Hut, Tooth Whip. The Bridge Leading to the Village (Site of Grace).

27. Cathedral of Manus Metyr. 39:06. Sunday, 14 July. Level 155. Lots of bumpy microphone noise in this one, sorry. Starting from the Bridge Leading to the Village, exploring northeast to the Chuch District Highroad (Site of Grace). Fighting a lot of wolves, trying the Tooth Whip. Raging Beast Ash of War. Cathedral of Manus Metyr (Site of Grace). 15:33 Count Ymir. Hole-laden Necklace, Ruins Map. Buying sorceries. 23:55 Jolán. 29:47 Remembrance Duplication remains. 33:37 Flying skeletons.

28. Shadow Tower Main Gate. 49:42. Sunday, 14 July. Level 155, Scadutree 7, Revered Spirit Ash 6. Church Distict Highroad, Rabbath’s Rise, Rabbath’s Cannon. Examining some giant tombstones near Highroad Cross. With nowhere else to explore outside, I returned to the Shadow Keep. 15:32 Fighting a lot of Messmer soldiers (and dying a lot because I kept trying to use the Tooth Whip). Main-gauche. Talisman of Lord’s Bestowal. 45:56 Domain of Dragons Painting. Then, stumbling on a secret door that led down to a 47:12 sarcophogus that took me to the Castle Watering Hole and a whole new area.

29. Recluses' River. 43:17. Sunday, 14 July. Level 155, Scadutree 7, Revered Spirit Ash 6. Castle Watering Hole. Ruins of Unte. Revered Spirit Ash. Recluses’ River Upstream (Site of Grace). Recluses’ River Downstream (Site of Grace). 28:18 “I shall find my center under the cascading waters.” Dryleaf Seal. Dryleaf Gear.

30. Darklight Catacombs. 47:25. Sunday, 14 July. Level 155, Scadutree 7, Revered Spirit Ash 6. A pair of hippopotamuses at the end of Recluses’ River, Scadutree Fragments (x2). Darklight Catacombs (Site of Grace). Scadutree Blessing (8). A good old-fashioned Catacombs dungeon crawl. 24:39 Death Knight Gear. 36:38 Jori, Elder Inquisitor (great enemy felled, 2 deaths). Barbed Staff-Spear. Forsaken Graveyard (Site of Grace). Level 158 (+3 Endurance).

31. Abyssal Woods. 47:02. Sunday, 14 July. Level 158, Scadutree 8, Revered Spirit Ash 6. Forsaken Graveyard. “It awaits inside.” “The spectral steed is frightened and cannot be summoned.” Woodland Trail (Site of Grace). A spooky stealth mission through a spooky forest full of frenzied creatures. Abyssal Woods (Site of Grace). 15:22 “Combat is not an option.” Divided Falls (Site of Grace). 24:57 Mad Craftsman’s Cookbook [1]. 38:31 Mad Craftsman’s Cookbook [2]. 45:31 Midra’s Manse.

32. Meet Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame. 46:16. Sunday, 14 July. Level 158, Scadutree 8, Revered Spirit Ash 6. Manse Hall. Torn Diary Page. 17:58 Mad Craftsman’s Cookbook [3]. Midra’s Library (Site of Grace). Revered Spirit Ash. Second Floor Chamber (Site of Grace). 31:55 Meet Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame (6 deaths, gave up). Revered Spirit Ash. Revered Spirit Ash Blessing (7).

33. Storehouse First Floor. 43:14. Monday, 15 July. Level 158, Scadutree 8, Revered Spirit Ash 7. Shadow Keep Main Gate. Specimen Storehouse, Storehouse First Floor (Site of Grace). 13:45 Boltdrake Talisman +3. 18:49 Ansbach again. Followed by a great deal of dying and difficulty with the denizens among the bookcases, especially the ones with the red capes. 6 deaths.

34. West Rampart. 35:28. Monday, 15 July. Level 158, Scadutree 8, Revered Spirit Ash 7. Storehouse, First Floor. Down the elevator. Wall of Sparks Ash of War. West Rampart (Site of Grace). Across a long bridge. Salza’s Hood, Rain of Fire. Viaduct Minor Tower (Site of Grace). Ancient Ruins of Rauh. 32:43 Antiquary Scholar’s Cookbook [2].

35. Blackgaol Knight (enemy felled). 43:20. Tuesday, 16 July. Level 158, Scadutree 8, Revered Spirit Ash 7. Returning to the Western Nameless Mausoleum to fight the Blackgaol Knight (enemey felled, after 13 deaths this time). Then, back to explore the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, which was kind of dull, to be honest. Ancient Ruins Cross Message, Scadutree Fragment, Miquella Cross. Rauh Ancient Ruins, East (Site of Grace). Scadutree Blessing (9).

36. Rellana, the Twin Moon Knight (legend felled). 41:31. Wednesday, 17 July. Level 158, Scadutree 9, Revered Spirit Ash 7. First, I returned to Ensis Castle to fight Rellana again while I listened to a podcast. On the fourth attempt of the night, Rellana the Twin Moon Knight felled in a near-perfect fight that made it look shockingly easy. If I’m counting right, it took a total of 73 attempts from when I first encountered her. Rellana’s Twin Moon Blades. Level 159 (Endurance +1). Then, a return to the Rauh Ancient Ruins East for some relatively fruitless exploration around a Furnace Golem, not to mention spilling water on my laptop. 22:53 Dryleaf Whirlwind Ash of War. 23:36 Trying in vain to kill that flying centaur Crucible Knight (5 deaths). Re-entering the Ruins to look for other pathways. 37:34 Fine Crucible Feather Talisman. An abrupt end, to even out the length of the episodes.

37. Storehouse, Fourth Floor. 39:20. Wednesday, 17 July. Level 159, Scadutree 9, Revered Spirit Ash 7. A new, unexplored area in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. Another Hippopotamus and a Scadutree Fragment (x). 5:30 An area that looks too far down to jump. 11:10 Reaching a dead end, I returned to the Shadow Tower and the dreaded Storehouse, First Floor. 25:10 Dueling Shield. Storehouse, Fourth Floor (Site of Grace). Scadutree Fragment, Storehouse Cross Message. Scadutree Blessing (10), Level 160 (Endurance +1). 35:24 Secret Rite Scroll. Fighting my way upward, only to die to another red-caped Fire Knight in the end.

38. Storehouse, Seventh Floor. 36:52. Thursday, 18 July. Level 160, Scadutree 10, Revered Spirit Ash 7. Most of the first 20 minutes of this recording were cut because I kept dying over and over again trying to get back to where I died at the end of the last video. But I finally reached the Storehouse, Seventh Floor (Site of Grace) by running past all the super annoying flask-evaporating red-capes. Freyja wants me to deliver a message to Ansbach. Ansbach deciphers the Secret Rite Scroll and answers Freyja’s question. Golden Lion Shield. 14:18 Revered Spirit Ash. 21:11 A lever. 25:01 Kood, the Captain of the Fire Knights and a Winged Serpent Helm, Flame Spear Ash of War. Scadutree Fragment. Ascending to the Dark Chamber Entrance (Site of Grace). 27:33 Meeting Messmer the Impaler. Hoo boy he seems impossible. 4 quick deaths before stopping.

39. Ancient Rauh Base. 43:38. Friday, 19 July. After 17 more deaths and not making any further progress with Messmer, I went looking for hints on a wiki and ended up locating the cave to the long-lost Ancient Rauh Base.

40. Taylew's Ruined Forge. 41:16. Friday, 19 July. Wandering around Ancient Rauh Base area and finding Taylew’s Ruined Forge, where I was killed by a troublesome firepot-wielding golem-type dude.

41. Dragon Hunting, Taylew Ruined Forge Continued. 38:30. Saturday, 20 July. Dragon-hunting on a Saturday where I didn’t feel like doing live commentary. (I recorded a post-game overdub.) Jagged Peaks Drake felled, Ghostflame Dragon felled. However, not shown are several attempts to kill the Ghostflame Dragon near Moorth Highway, which was a tedious and unsuccessful effort where I died about 5 times. Then, returning to continue through Taylew’s Ruined Forge.

42. Northern Nameless Mausoleum. 39:18. Saturday, 20 July. Level 160, Scadutree 11, Revered Spirit Ash 7. Northern Nameless Mausoleum and another Black Knight felled. Then, wandering around Scorpion River and finding the Scorpion River Catacombs.

43. Messmer the Impaler (demigod felled). 40:51. Sunday, 21 July. Level 160, Scadutree 11, Revered Spirit Ash 7. I started out exploring the Scorpion River Catacombs (1 death) and killing the Death Knight at the bottom (0 deaths). Death Knight’s Longhaft Axe, Cerulean Amber Medallion +3. Level 161 (+1 Mind). Then, with some extra time left over, on a whim, I tried the Messmer boss fight again and felled him on the second try. All totaled, I counted 98 deaths (give or take a couple) before the victory. Messmer is yet another Elden Ring boss fight design where the best strategy is to wait for that one lucky break where everything works out perfectly and you get through the fight. There’s not much skill involved. Sigh. Remembrance of the Impaler, Messmer’s Kindling. Messmer’s Dark Chamber (Site of Grace). Level 162 (+1 Mind).

44. Romina, Saint of the Bud (legend felled). 56:25. Sunday, 21 July. Level 163, Scadutree 11, Revered Spirit Ash 7. Level 163 (+1 Mind). First, looking for where to go. Rauh Ancient Ruins, East. Message from Leda. Previously I didn’t see this at all, but it turns out you can run past the Furnace Golem, which leads to another area. Rauh Ancient Ruins, West (Site of Grace). Fighting through bouncy grenade attacks and Deathblades (2 deaths). Scadutree Fragment. Kindreds of Rot. Pest-Thread Spears. Church of the Bud, Main Entrance (Site of Grace). A little more exploring to find a Revered Spirit Ash. Then we meet another boss, Romina, Saint of the Bud. I edited out 12 deaths before the final victory. Remembrance of the Saint of the Bud.

45. Enir-Ilim Outer Wall. 27:19. Monday, 22 July. Level 164, Scadutree 11, Revered Spirit Ash 7. The Searing Tree and Enir-Ilim. First Rise (Site of Grace).

46. Enir-Ilim Spiral Rise. 40:57. Monday, 22 July. Level 164, Scadutree 11, Revered Spirit Ash 7. Continuing in Enir-Ilim. The Spiral Rise (Site of Grace). I edited out a lot of runbacks after dying in this episode. It was an aggravating area to get through because of numerous Horned Warriors strategically placed to make life difficult.

47. The Leda Roadblock. 47:41. Tuesday, 23 July. Level 165, Scadutree 12, Revered Spirit Ash 8. Oops it’s a hard roadblock immediately after I start from the Cleansing Chamber Anteroom, as I have to face Leda, Freyja, Dale, and the Hornsent in mortal combat that is very unfairly stacked against me. Ansbach isn’t nearly enough to tilt the balance. 5 deaths shown, 24 deaths not shown. I spent nearly an hour getting nowhere. Then I decided to try to search for another path, which led to a Church in the Abyssal Woods and trying to find hidden areas in the Shadow Keep. There’s a whole area and a Site of Grace on the other side that I can’t reach. Then, with some hints from a wiki, I ended up at the Church District Entrance, which I had completely overlooked when I was at the Church District Highroad.

48. Church District Entrance. 35:53. Wednesday, 24 July. Beginning the exploration of the flooded Church District, which eventually leads to the Storehouse, Back Section (Site of Grace), a lever to drain the water, and the Sunken Temple (Site of Grace).

49. Meet the Scadutree Avatar. 42:56. Wednesday, 24 July. Level 166, Scadutree 13, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Exploring the Sunken Temple, and finding the Tree-Worship Passage underground, then fighting the Scadutree Avatar, which comes back after you kill it. After finally killing the Scadutree Avatar for the second time and watching it come back to life for a third, I just left. Ain’t nobody got time for that nonsense. 11 deaths. Perhaps someday I’ll read a wiki to find out how you’re actually supposed to deal with that nightmare.

50. Commander Gaius (legend felled). 38:04. Wednesday, 24 July. Level 166, Scadutree 13, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Returning to the Storehouse, Back Section, exploring the alternate areas of the Shadow Keep. This led to the Shadow Keep, Back Gate (Site of Grace), and the boss Commander Gaius blocking further progress. It took a bit of grinding, but luck finally won out and the legend was felled. 41 deaths.

51. Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame (legend felled). 37:18. Thursday, 25 July. Level 166, Scadutree 13, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Scaduview (Site of Grace). Albinauric’s Shack, Sharpshot Talisman. Scadutree Fragments x5 (which I promptly forgot to use). Wandering around for a while trying to figure out where to go next. Then, back to the Second Floor Chamber to fight Midra, the Lord of Frenzied Flame. I didn’t expect to make any progress because, but I actually did manage to fell this legend, with the help of the most important boss-fighting strategy in Elden Ring, which is blind luck. 3 deaths, then 15 deaths (only 4 shown because dying a lot is very boring to watch). Scadutree Blessing (15). Level 168 (+1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance).

52. Finding the Cerulean Coast. 43:18. Thursday, 25 July. Level 168, Scadutree 15, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Discovering a path I missed near Dragon’s Pit Terminus. Grand Altar of Dragon Communion (Site of Grace), Dragon Communion Priestess. An Ancient Mariner. 13:38 Grave Keeper’s Cookbook [2]. Tibia’s Cookbook. Charo’s Hidden Grave (Site of Grace). Jumping down to the Cerulean Coast. Southern Shore Map. Cerulean Coast Cross (Site of Grace). Scadutree Fragment. Hands on the beach. 32:26 A pesky Cemetary Shade. 37:13 St. Trina Disciple’s Cookbook [1].

53. Putrescence Knight (legend felled). 51:03. Friday, 26 July. Level 168, Scadutree 15, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Continuing to explore Cerulean Coast. The Fissure (Site of Grace). Site of Grace. Fissure Crack (Site of Grace), Miquella Cross, Scadutree Fragment. Scadutree Blessing (16). Fissure Waypoint (Site of Grace). Multilayered Ring of Light. Fissure Depths (Site of Grace). Putrescent Knight (legend felled). 8 deaths total, 2 shown. Garden of Deep Purple (Site of Grace).

54. Charo's Hidden Grave. 26:38. Friday, 26 July. Level 168, Scadutree 16, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Roundtable Hold, Remembrance of Putrescence, Remembrance of the Lord of Frenzied Flame, Remembrance of the Wild Boar Rider. Level 169 (+1 Mind). Garden of Deep Purple, St. Trina. Returning to Charo’s Hidden Grave. Death Rite Bird (enemy felled), 4 deaths. Ghostflame Call (Ash of War). Lamenter’s Gaol (Site of Grace).

55. Lamenter's Gaol. 41:18. Friday, 26 July. Level 169, Scadutree 16, Revered Spirit Ash 9. A long and confusing dungeon crawl through the maze of caves that is the Lamenter’s Gaol. 2:58 Prattling Pate “Lamentation.” 8:37 Call of Tibia. 16:47 Clarifying Horn Charm +2. Level 170 (+1 Mind). 29:54 Lamenting Visage. 33:22 Lamenter (enemy felled), 1 death. Lamenter’s Mask.

Extra. St. Trina and trying to find Thiollier. 10:34. Saturday, 27 July. After reading a bit more of a wiki, I returned to St. Trina to see if I could find Thiollier, but I wasn’t able to. I think he’s just gone from my game.

56. Southern Nameless Mausoleum. 31:54. Sunday, 28 July. Off-camera, I spent some time wandering around the Southern Coast, picked up a few random gravebird items, and ran away from another Ghostflame Dragon. Then, I stopped at Cerulean Coast (Site of Grace) to resume recording. I made my way to a hole in the ground, traveled underground, and emerged on a pair of islands where I found the Southern Nameless Mausoleum and the Dancer of Ranah (enemy felled, 0 deaths).

57. Finger Ruins of Rhia. 35:28. Sunday, 28 July. With my interest in the DLC waning (and my enthusiasm for going back to fight Leda without Thiollier at an all-time low), I consulted a wiki to find remaining loose ends. First I went to the Finger Ruins of Rhia in the Cerulean Coast, where I rang a bell and reported back to the Count. Then I went back to Bonny Village to pick up the O Mother gesture I was missing. Then I went back to Scaduview, used the gesture, and unlocked the Hinterlands, where I found a pair of Tree Sentinels.

58. Finger Ruins of Dhea. 42:43. Monday, 29 July. Level 172, Scadutree 16, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Continuing into the Hinterlands to find a Fallingstar Beast (1 death). Gravitational Missile (Spell). Fingerstone Hill (Site of Grace). Level 173 (+1 Mind). Then, on to the Finger Ruins of Dhea to ring another bell. Cerulean Seed Talisman +1. Count Ymir. Ruins Map (3rd).

59. Metyr Mother of Fingers (legend felled). 24:05. Monday, 29 July. Level 173, Scadutree 16, Revered Spirit Ash 9. Finger Ruins of Miyr. Swordhand of Night Anna (Recusant Vanquished, 0 deaths). Claws of Night. Metyr, Mother of Fingers (Legend Felled, 5 Deaths). Remembrance of the Mother of Fingers.

60. Meet the Promised Consort. 26:09. Monday, 29 July. Level 174 (+1 Vigor). Leda and Allies (1 death). Leda’s Sword, Freyja’s Greatsword, Freyja’s Armor, etc., Falx, Caterpillar Mask, Braided Cord Robe, etc., Dane’s Footwork, Leda’s Armor. Ansbach. Divine Gate Front Staircase (Site of Grace). Level 175 (+1 Vigor). Meet Promised Consort Radahn (6 deaths before giving up).

61. Promised Consort Radahn (God Slain). 26:55. Tuesday, 13 August. Level 176, Scadutree 19, Revered 9. Finally, after two weeks of patient and impatient practice, and about 150 total deaths, a victory. Using a Godskin Peeler, Scorpion Stinger, Hefty Rot Pots, Mimic Tear, and some luck. A somewhat anticlimatic ending in that there was no fanfare or credits, just a very short memory cut scene. Not even an achievement. Weird. I knew it would probably be an unsatisfying victory but this is ridiculous.

62. Montage of Upgrade Collection Adventures. 29:33. Tuesday, 13 August. A montage of clips showing the various bits and bobs I gathered to help my chances with the Promised Consort boss fight. Talismans, Scadutree Fragments, Cookbooks, etc. Even a Ghostflame Dragon, which didn’t help with the final boss, but at least it was something I could beat.

63. Ansbach, Rakshasa, Scadutree Avatar. 23:45. Tuesday, 20 August. Level 178, Scadutree 19, Revered 9. Ansbach’s Gear, Obsidian Lamina, Furious Blade of Ansbach (Ash of War). Eastern Nameless Mausoleum, Rakshasa (Enemy Felled) (4 deaths shown, 48 previous deaths not shown). What a pain. Rakshasa’s Great Katana, Rakshasa’s gear. Scadutree Avatar (Legend Felled) (3 deaths shown, 18 deaths not shown, plus the 11 deaths from earlier in the playthrough). Didn’t care for it much. :) Remembrance of the Shadow Sunflower, Miquella’s Great Rune.

64. Rivermouth Cave, Chief Bloodfiend (Enemy Felled). 21:32. Saturday, 24 August. Level 179, Scadutree 19, Revered 9. Hunting bosses I missed. Temple Town Ruins (Site of Grace). Revered Spirit Ash. Finding the Rivermouth Cave. Chief Bloodfiend (Enemy Felled, 0 deaths). Bloodfield Hexer’s Ashes. The main microphone track was mysteriously empty, so I had to use the crappy backup microphone track for this one.

65. Fog Rift Fort, Black Knight Garrew (Enemy Felled). 34:31. Saturday, 24 August. Level 179, Scadutree 19, Revered 9. Hunting bosses I missed. Imbued Sword Key Portal to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. Finding the way into Fog Rift Fort, and Black Knight Garrew (Enemy Felled, 0 deaths). Black Steel Greatshield. The main microphone track was mysteriously empty, so I had to use the crappy backup microphone track for this one.

66. Rugalea the Great Red Bear (Enemy Felled). 16:06. Saturday, 24 August. Level 180, Scadutree 19, Revered 9. Hunting bosses I missed. Level 180 (+1 Endurance). Rugalea the Great Red Bear (Enemy Felled, 2 deaths). Roar of Rugalea.

67. Demi-Human Queen Marigga (Enemy Felled). 25:32. Saturday, 24 August. Level 180, Scadutree 19, Revered 9. Hunting bosses I missed. Cerulean Coast West (Site of Grace). With extensive wiki help, it still took a long time to find the right place. 16:47 Spirit Sword. Demi-Human Queen Marigga (Enemy Felled, 0 deaths). Star-Lined Sword. Level 181 (+1 Endurance).

68. Dragons, Dragons, Dragons (Felled). 43:49. Saturday, 24 August. Level 181. Ghostflame Dragon (Great Enemy Felled, 0 deaths this time), Jagged Peak Dragon (Great Enemy Felled, 0 deaths this time), Ancient Dragon Senessax (Great Enemy Felled, 3 deaths onscreen, 4 deaths offscreen). The longest, most boring dragon fight you’ll ever see. You wouldn’t think fighting a dragon could be so dull, but you’d be wrong.

69. Finding Missing Sacred Tear and Talismans. 57:43. Sunday, 25 August. Level 182. Heading back to the Altus Plateau to get the long-lost Sacred Tear I missed for all this time. Black Knife Assassin at the Sainted Hero’s Grave (Enemy Felled, 0 deaths). Stormcaller Church, Sacred Tear, Dragonbolt Blessing. Ancient Dragon Lansseax (Great Enemey Felled, 0 deaths). Dragonbarrow Cave to get the Flamedrake Talisman +2. Runebear (1 death). Beastmen of Farum Azula (Enemy Felled, 0 deaths). Back to the Fort of Reprimand to get the Flamedrake Talisman +3 from a chest. Returning to Sellia to get the Spelldrake Talisman +1. To the Hidden Path to the Haligtree to find the Spelldrake Talisman +2, but I couldn’t find it. Back to Castle Ensis to get the Spelldrake Talisman +3, which was much easier to find. Then back to the Hidden Path to the Haligtree to hunt down the invisible walkways and the Spelldrake Talisman +2 and fight a punching battle with the Stray Mimic Tear (Enemy Felled, 0 deaths), which I won mainly with Scarlet Rot damage. Blackflame Monk Ashes. My main microphone track got all wonky toward the end so I had to use the backup microphone track again. I don’t know what’s going on lately with my microphone but I don’t like it.

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Latest

This is just an anchor point so you can jump to the bottom of the page and scroll up, without having to scroll down from the top for six years.

Raw Footage

This is a list of unedited, raw videos that aren’t part of the main series. Footage that was cut because it was too boring or repetitive or unrelated.

1. Blackgaol Knight is too hard. 13:59. Monday, 24 June. Going back for a handful of failed attempts at the Blackgaol Knight in Western Nameless Mausoleum, with little commentary. 7 deaths. (K&M.)

2. Cut For Boredom - Menus in Roundtable Hold. 03:48. Thursday, 27 June. A very boring section musing on what to spend my runes on back in Roundtable Hold. Turns out I have no idea which spirit ashes are good, and I didn’t have enough upgrade materials anyway. I ended up just getting a level.

3. Side Trip - Glovewort Picker's Bell Bearing 1. 12:36. Sunday, 7 July. Returning to Wyndham Catacombs to get the Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing (1), which I somehow never got. Erdtree Burial Watchdog. (K&M.)

4. Side Trip - Ghost Glovewort Picker's Bell Bearing 3. 21:10. Sunday, 7 July. Returning to the Haligtree Roots and fighting through hordes of super dangerous Pests to get the Ghost Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing (3). I got it, but I lost 400,000 runes in the process, defeating the entire purpose of getting those two bell bearings. (K&M.)

5. Cut for Boredom - Screw That Guy. 20:32. Sunday, 7 July. The complete saga of getting killed a hundred times by that one sword dude in Belurat Tower Settlement, and running back every time. This was cut from the main video because it’s 20 minutes of repetition and whining.

6. Backtracking - Belurat Gaol Farming. 05:36. Sunday, 7 July. With post-game commentary. Returning to Belurat Gaol to farm back some of the runes I previously lost, I found some hidden items in the pot maze. (K&M.)

7. Backtracking - Retrieving Belurat Runes. 00:30. Sunday, 7 July. With post-game commentary. I went back to Belurat Tower Settlement to fetch the runes I dropped there. (K&M.)

8. Rellana Twin Moon Knight failures. 16:13. Wednesday, 10 July. 6 deaths.

9. Rellana failure 2 lightning test. 02:33. Thursday, 11 July. 1 death.

10. Rellana failure 3 scarlet rot and crystallian test. 20:20. Thursday, 11 July. 8 deaths.

11. Rellana failure 4. 29:06. Thursday, 11 July. 12 deaths.

12. Rellana failure 5. 23:10. Friday, 12 July. 7 deaths.

13. Looking fruitlessly for another place to explore. 17:28. Friday, 12 July.

14. Rellana failure 6. 48:54. Friday, 12 July. 14 deaths.

15. Rellana failure 7. 40:02. Saturday, 13 July. 13 deaths.

16. Bonny Gaol, returning to where I died. 05:36. Saturday, 13 July.

17. Relva the Great Red Bear failures. 17:08. Saturday, 13 July. 6 deaths, after the first one in the other video.

18. Golden Hippopotamus (great enemy felled). 18:42. Saturday, 13 July. 6 deaths before the victory.

19. Ralva the Great Red Bear (felled). 05:33. Saturday, 13 July. Success on the first try (7 previous deaths).

20. Western Nameless Mausoleum, Blackgaol Knight (enemy felled). 55:12. Monday, 15 July. While listening to a podcast, I went back to try the Blackgaol Knight again. 13 deaths before the victory.

21. Rellana the Twin Moon Knight (legend felled). 13:09. Tuesday, 16 July. Again while listening to a podcast, I went back to try Rellana again. This time, the cooperator Leda was gone. 3 deaths before the victory. Remembrance of the Twin Moon Knight, Rellana’s Twin Blades.

22. Shadow Tower running back. 21:24. Thursday, 18 July. 20 minutes of dying while trying to get from the First Floor to the Fourth Floor.

23. Messmer failures 1. 29:13. Thursday, 18 July. 17 deaths trying different weapons while listening to a podcast. Reached the second phase on the 15th attempt. Found that poison seems to work quickly. Otherwise I found that it’s super easy to die fast.

24. Messmer failures 2. 16:54. Friday, 19 July. 13 deaths.

25. Furnace Golem failures. 16:03. Friday, 19 July. I decided to see if a could kill a Furnace Golem. It’s hard. 4 deaths.

26. Messmer failures 3. 17:09. Saturday, 20 July. 13 deaths.

27. Lightning Sheep (no sound). 05:59. Saturday, 20 July. I found some lightning sheep! Unfortunately the sound didn’t record for some reason.

28. Moorth Highway South, Ghostflame Dragon failure (no commentary). 18:38. Saturday, 20 July. 3 deaths.

29. Moorth Highway South, Ghostflame Dragon failure (no commentary). 16:35. Saturday, 20 July. 3 deaths.

30. Messmer failures 4. 1:22:20. Saturday, 20 July. A whopping 50 deaths.

31. Romina failure (cut). 04:44. Sunday, 21 July. 1 death.

32. Romina Saint of the Bud (legend felled). 27:35. Sunday, 21 July. 11 deaths before the victory.

33. Enir-Ilim, First Rise miserable repetitious death (unedited). 15:44. Monday, 22 July. 7 deaths trying to get past a lightning Horned Warrior.

34. Enir-Ilim, Spiral Rise miserable repetition (unedited). 15:05. Monday, 22 July. 4 deaths to various enemies.

35. Freyja Hornsent Dale Leda failures 1. 22:16. Tuesday, 23 July. 10 deaths.

36. Freyja Hornsent Dale Leda failures 2 (no commentary). 34:15. Tuesday, 23 July. 14 deaths.

37. Scadutree Avatar failures 1. 14:02. Wednesday, 24 July. 8 deaths.

38. Scadutree Avatar failures 2. 09:37. Wednesday, 24 July. 3 deaths.

39. Commander Gaius failures 1. 1:03:37. Wednesday, 24 July. 33 deaths.

40. Commander Gaius (legend felled). 15:30. Wednesday, 24 July. 8 more deaths before the victory.

41. Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame (legend felled). 38:38. Thursday, 25 July. 15 deaths before the victory.

42. Putrescent Knight (legend felled). 18:19. Friday, 26 July. 6 deaths before the victory.

43. Promised Consort Radahn failures 1. 17:10. Monday, 29 July. 14 deaths.

44. Promised Consort Radahn failures 2. 23:42. Monday, 29 July. 19 deaths. 21:23 First time getting to second phase.

45. Promised Consort Radahn failures 3. 07:31. Tuesday, 30 July. 5 deaths.

46. Promised Consort Radahn failures 4. 15:09. Tuesday, 30 July. 10 deaths.

47. Promised Consort Radahn failures 5. 13:30. Saturday, 3 August. 10 deaths.

48. Promised Consort Radahn failures 6. 17:11. Saturday, 3 August. 8 deaths. Trying to summon Ansbach, even though the dude gets more hit points. Technically making progress, getting his health below 50% more and more often, but it sure doesn’t feel like progress.

49. Promised Consort Radahn failures 7. 20:12. Sunday, 4 August. 8 deaths. Starting a new strategy of summoning Ansbach and saving the Mimic Tear summon until near the start of the second phase, hopefully so it lasts longer through the second phase.

50. Promised Consort Radahn failures 8. 14:35. Monday, 5 August. There was 1 death off-camera before this (sound was messed up). 6 deaths. The first one I got him down to about 10% health left (by luck, of course, but there is some minor statistical hope for my strategy of saving Mimic Tear as long as possible).

51. Promised Consort Radahn failures 9. 17:44. Tuesday, 6 August. 6 deaths.

52. Promised Consort Radahn failures 10. 29:06. Tuesday, 6 August. 14 deaths.

53. Promised Consort Radahn failures 11. 15:02. Wednesday, 7 August. 5 deaths.

54. Promised Consort Radahn failures 12. 12:56. Friday, 9 August. 4 deaths.

55. Promised Consort Radahn failures 13. 16:59. Saturday, 10 August. 1 death before I started recording. Then 5 deaths. At least the first phase is manageable now.

56. Promised Consort Radahn failures 14. 22:45. Saturday, 10 August. 11 deaths. Tried not summoning Ansbach for a while so the dude has less health. Didn’t work, of course.

57. Promised Consort Radahn failures 15. 17:39. Saturday, 10 August. 4 deaths. Guess what? Raising Scadutree Blessing from 16 to 19 made little difference. What a shock. (Technically my strong attack damage went from 861 to 894. Big whoop.)

58. Promised Consort Radahn failures 16 (with commentary). 26:24. Sunday, 11 August. 6 deaths.

59. Promised Consort Radahn failures 17 (best yet). 07:37. Sunday, 11 August. 2 deaths. In this one, I had read that the Hefty Rot Pot is useful in this fight so I wanted to try it (I already knew that Scarlet Rot was effective in the first phase, but had no great ways to inflict it other than my Rot Dagger). So off-camera I found the right Cookbook and made some Hefty Rot Pots, and it works really well. It’s just that it’s not fool-proof and you can still die pretty easily and it takes a lot of hard-to-get resources to make Hefty Rot Pots. In the first attempt I merely had to stay alive for about 10-15 more seconds and let Rot kill him. I didn’t, of course, because I had no more healing and it’s impossible to dodge all of his damage, but it was the closest I’ve come yet.

60. Promised Consort Radahn failures 18. 11:06. Sunday, 11 August. 3 deaths.

61. Eastern Nameless Mausoleum failures 1. 20:59. Sunday, 11 August. Stumbled on this while looking for a Bell Bearing. Thought I’d just quickly get it done and oh man did this bleeping infinite poise infinite stamina infinite mana bleeper make me mad. Gave up. 19 deaths.

62. Eastern Nameless Mausoleum failures 2. 26:19. Tuesday, 20 August. Tried a great shield. Still died, but almost got him once. 17 deaths.

63. Eastern Nameless Mausoleum failures 3. 03:31. Tuesday, 20 August. Tried an unupgraded parrying shield. It worked well, but I still died, because you have to parry a lot, and if you miss it, you die. 4 deaths.

64. Eastern Nameless Mausoleum failures 4. 10:01. Tuesday, 20 August. Tried more parrying in combination with guard counters. Almost got him once. 8 deaths.

65. Eastern Nameless Mausoleum, Rakshasa (Enemy Felled). 09:51. Friday, 23 August.

66. Scadutree Avatar failures. 38:10. Friday, 23 August. 15 deaths.

67. Scadutree Avatar (Legend Felled). 17:38. Friday, 23 August. 6 deaths before the victory.

68. Ancient Dragon Senessax. 27:14. Saturday, 24 August. 4 deaths before the victory in the longest, most boring dragon fight ever.

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