What Should We Expect from Elden Ring's "Shadow of the Erdtree" DLC?

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TIMESTAMPS ▼▼▼
00:00 Why is this video worth making?
01:02 Who is riding Torrent?
03:19 Who IS Torrent?
06:25 What is the "Shadow of the Erdtree"?
12:51 The god graves
14:00 When will the DLC release?
14:24 Soul Arts V2 shoutout
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[@IronPineapple]

I knew it

[@Nick_308]

And it’s 15 minutes long at that 😂

[@epicmcpixels]

this man is a prophet

[@benb405]

A JPEG! Tell us the lore, Vaati

[@ThePianoKing64]

Vaati gotta pick up the phone because Iron Pineapple called it!

[@valkordarkmoor9108]

Asmongold requested thirty five minutes

[@shade0636]

I'm here for the fifteen minute vaati speculation on a single image.

[@mitchsz]

I'm here for the comment about the fifteen minute Vaati speculation on a single image.

[@sluggy1739]

@@mitchsz I'm here for the comment about being here for the comment about the fifteen minute Vaati speculation on a single image.

[@raghav1026]

@@sluggy1739 i’m here for the comment about being here about the comment about being here for the comment about the fifteen minute Vaati speculation on a single image.

[@daedaedragneel3239]

That is correct

[@jigglyjeffjumpsjoyously4297]

BROTHER WHO ISNT

[@ElSolRacNauj]

With the trailer announced, it stated that's going to last 3 minutes, and if we assume it will be played at 60fps, that's 10 800 frames. VaatiVidya made a 15:54 long video on a single image, so I calculate we will have a 2862 hours long video, witch is about 3 months 3 weeks 6 days 6 hours of peak content. Hope it's ready for the DLC release.

[@blorbdestroyer]

Checks out

[@casamir1]

You’re a prophet bro

[@aidanbyrne8267]

Who else rewatching after the trailer dropped to see what he got right?

[@ramazangultekin1]

Me 😁

[@jedddd]

Im hoping for atleast 4 erdtree avatars and 3 ulcerated tree spirits

[@Diree]

Ulcerated Erdtree Avatars and "Unulcerated" Tree Spirits, please!

[@k1xnt]

the real question is, how many catacombs can we squeeze into this dlc

[@matthewcallow8971]

Absolutely, I need way more golden seeds

[@Alelobo869]

No more recycled or repeated boss fights/enemies please!

[@IceBen4444]

Crystalian Quartet?

[@gabekeener7071]

I'd actually like to see a bit more of Melina, and the gloam eyed queen. Or some possible connection

[@nutslut]

If past fromsoft dlc is anything to go by, we're just gonna more questions about shit we didn't know existed.

[@quantumastrologer5599]

@@nutslut Londor ds3 dlc when?

[@Eladelia]

I'm hoping that if we get something about Miquella, we'll get more about Melina in the package. She was wandering around with HIS spirit horse after all. Torrent was with her for some kind of reason, and hopefully that reason will give us some insight into his thinking.

[@ngovandang1997]

Or see a bit of queen Marika in her human form 😌

[@metallipwn]

DLC 2

[@greiratOS]

I really hope the DLC expands the open world as opposed to creating a parallel smaller open world similar to DS3's dlc where you get teleported.

[@dominiclane8538]

​@Don Lobo what do you meen it's a huge troll

[@ArthaxtaDaVince777]

They said its taking place in the lands between, so I think it's just a future version of the same map, maybe a new continent but I doubt it will be somewhere completely different.

[@Proud2bGreek1]

Would it be an issue if it was a place like Mohgwyn's palace that you get to travel to through a portal? I don't think it would be too much of a problem.

[@greiratOS]

@@Proud2bGreek1 I suppose, but I think it would be cool to literally get out of spawn and immediately ride torrent to the new area added by the DLC. Considering how they have made DLC before in dark souls I imagine it won't be that simple, but something along the lines of going to the Altus Plateau through either the lift or mines would be perfect I think.

[@tobereed]

I hope they do 4 expansions over the next few years

[@vlagtr]

Came back to this video to say I can't wait for your breakdown of the new trailer!

[@matthewwhittall1205]

The craziest part of this to me, is that this means that the Tarnished was chosen by Miquella from the very beginning. Miquella was playing 5D multiversal chess, I swear down.

[@ttd0000]

Then Mogh flipped the fucking table. Unless...

[@ihappy1]

An idea I like is that what if Melina is Miquella, maybe not directly, but like a projection or manifestation Miquella put out. Melina mentions being born under the Erdtree, she can hear echoes of Marika, and she guides us to the Erdtree, but gives us the information and means to burn it to the ground. I hope the DLC gives an answer to who Melina really is, I like the idea of her either being a part of Miquella or even Marika. Someone they send out or manifest to try and get someone to finally take down the golden order for good. Which means they've been guiding us from the beginning, although manipulation feels like too strong of a word, more like trying to find someone worthy. Since it's likely the last person they picked before the player was Vyke, their choices aren't always guaranteed.

[@asdergold1]

@@ihappy1 nah

[@LonelySandwich]

Gonna call it now: It's a painted world of Ariandel deal. Only the world you enter is death. Your character gets here by interacting with Miquella's cocoon at Mohg Palace. I reckon the story will revolve around Miquella being there to try to save Godwyn, who may be the big bad. The Miquella/torrent connection I agree with, it stills fits in the present as Torrent moves between these two places on the reg (being a spirit).

[@mightythundermuffin]

i like this

[@heyitzdaredevil8305]

I'll check back here if you were right

[@nicknibs6554]

This was my first thought as well. Miquella was likely trying to harness the power of the eclipse to save Godwyn, but when it failed he may have used dreams to get there.

[@schmaniel86]

From will not lock a DLC behind a difficult end game boss fight. Even if it's possible to gain access to Mohgwyn's palace in the mid to early game, you still have to defeat Mohgwyn who is considered an optional end game boss. That is not going to happen.

[@masterofunicorns1801]

@@schmaniel86​ ​I can see where you’re coming from, but in Dark Souls 3, to get to The Ringed City you have to either reach the final boss of the base game or defeat the final boss of the second DLC. So it is comparable to an extent.

[@Cruxfire]

I really like the idea of the DLC taking place in the spirit realm. Since Miquella is dreaming it would make sense that we would confront him in the spirit realm given the concept of astral projection and being able to interact with spirits while dreaming.

[@thikim7056]

ok

[@liam6653]

bloodborne elden ring split dlc

[@FloNess1]

I could see the entrance to the dlc being miquella's cocoon in mohgs boss arena

[@RobinMancenido]

Aged like fine wine

[@reganmccarthy8409]

Elden Ring is without a doubt, one of my absolute favourite games of all time. This game is simply incredible, I couldn’t put it down the first time I played it, the world, the atmosphere, the lore, I love every single thing about it. So this DLC has me so unbelievably excited, I cannot wait to see what new content it brings. I hope it’s massive.

[@WealthyHomeless]

hope we get a trailer and a release date at the game awards.

[@Ruuinx]

It should be a big dlc, supposedly it was going to be two separate dlc’s that they are combining into one

[@dramaproofbunker8296]

Also, there are the "Baleful Shadows" that the two fingers send to assassinate Ranni. There's plenty of darkness-themed lore associated with the Erdtree.

[@karlwikman3874]

Where there is Light, there is shadow

[@maddogbasil]

I had a sneaky feeling that we might be seeing lands outside the lands between I just hope Mogh gets more lore in the DLC My 2 favorite characters in this game were the 2 omen Brothers. The blood entity behind mohg and other greater beings beyond the voids really need to get more character development.

[@KillerGothChick]

​@@maddogbasil god yes mogh is my favourite too just justice for the omens

[@funnyjyritsah9519]

And hey, maybe that means dark magic will be back, full time I can't play Eldem Ring as of right now, but from what i've researched, dark themed spells aren't as prevalent as they were in the Dark Souls trilogy

[@jeralikin8250]

I think there is another important connection between Miquella and Torrent. Miquella was very kind towards omen people that were considered as cursed by the Erdtree. Omen people typically have horns. Torrent is the only horse in Elden Ring that has horns. Is it possible that Torrent was an “omen horse” that Miquella took sympathy on and used as a symbol for the freedom from oppression his Haligtree represents?

[@brandon-eo5mg]

i think your spot on

[@war.neverchanges]

Also the only reason why our horse is the only horse to double jump… I don’t remember sorcerers on horse even making their horse double jump Edit: aside from the ancestor spirit who also has horns as a horse

[@batonnikus]

@@war.neverchanges horns aside, ancestor spirit looks like an elk to me.

[@kestrelynn]

I think it's likely torrent is naturally of that same "beyond the golden order" life that the ancestor spirit is rather than an omen for horses, even though they are very similar ideas

[@hieronymuswiesenkraut3628]

But why are there skulls of spectral steeds all over the land for example in limgrave?

[@lars-NE]

If it is in the past, this could be the story of Miquella discovering the Haligtree. And because of the player's interventions in the events that took place here, it would give a concrete reason for Miquella to specifically try to help the player out in the future, when they start their journey, and for Torrent to recognize them by scent.

[@evanpeterson8634]

WE ARE GETTING A THIRD LAYER. Just like in the image of Yggdrasil. There are 3 layers. Asgard, Midgard, and Helheim. Miquella's plan succeeded just not in the way people had hoped. He was able to travel to Helheim by putting himself in the Haligtree, thus becoming Saint Trina, being able to move through space and time. Saint Trina was able to manipulate the entire story of Elden Ring by being the Snowy Crone, teaching Ranni about the Dark moon and giving Torrent to Melina. The mystery lies with why Miquella/St Trina/Snowy Crone would want with us. But i imagine we will get a third layer and travel to the "spirit world" where we will encounter Godwyn, Miquella and hopefully Merika. Also, since there are so many literal references to Shadows in Elden Ring (Ranni having Blaidd and Merika having Maliketh), what if Torrent is the Shadow of Miquella, that is why he is so sure with guiding us. Secondly, what if the ErdTree itself has a Shadow and that is the tree we see in the image? Questions......

[@afflatusstep6247]

Torrent being the shadow of Miquella, I can see that...

[@firehorse1410]

Deepwoken

[@MastroGillord34]

This is a very interesting theory. But since shadows can't physically go against the Greater Will, how is that even once we are clearly on the "wrong" path, Torrent stays on our side.?

[@LucaRobold]

@@MastroGillord34 That can partially be blamed on gameplay. Unless the character got a new mount for one specific ending, wouldn’t really make sense. Besides, Blaidd is a shadow, and stands with Ranni till the very end. The very idea that anyone believes him to be a traitor drives him insane. Ranni actually calls Blaidd ‘another failure of the two fingers.’ A shadow standing against the erdtree.

[@RetroVideoGamer23]

I like this theory

[@mcthejeanjeanie]

Do you ever think that the wolves guard the graves because miquella asked them to? That they might be there to keep those who live in death in their graves as part of miquellas war against godwyns curse?

[@GameDevYal]

Most of the graveyards aren't actually guarded by wolves, they use something area-difficulty-appropriate... the one near the Academy Town has Glintstone Mirandas, Caelid has slimes and wandering nobles, the ones in Consecrated Snowfield has gladiators. Even in Limgrave one of them is guarded by skeletons instead, so the wolves were probably used for the others because they're one of the easiest enemy types in the game.

[@loganproksch9305]

Thought about this too. We know Fromsoft likes to recycle ideas so maybe there is something here that will make sense after the release.

[@jim0_o]

ref. wolfs, anyone know why the human(oid) statue at 5:14 surrounded by wolfs has the face of Sellen's mask? (This seems like it could have been obvious and mentioned somewhere and I just missed it.)

[@possiblymaybe6711]

@@jim0_o it just looks like her. its miquela

[@jim0_o]

@@possiblymaybe6711 The reason I wondered was that the "mage" masks usually depict a specific person of renown and I hadn't head of a Miquella mask tho. (but still it could be in the item description I just can't check right now.)

[@gian2255]

Just an idea, empyreans are given shadows right? Then where are Malenia and Miquella's shadows? If the statue is of Miquella, then it would make sense that the three wolves are their shadows. And if Malenia, Miquella, amd Melina are triplets it would make sense that there would be three wolves. (this just popped into my head, and it might not make a whole lot of sense so I'm sorry haha)

[@elwynnquinslais2776]

And since they are fairly young and all the Shattering war happened, the Greater Will didn't domesticate them yet. The problem with that is that shadows seem to have some sort of human intelligence before their binding (Maliketh was Marika's half-brother and Blaidd being Ranni's childhood friend, almost brother)

[@Rasengu57]

Isn't Maliketh Marika's shadow bound beast though? And I felt like I saw a video of Smoughtown where he explained that Malenia took up the position of "shadow" to Miquella (though he speculated that I think). Cool theory though

[@elwynnquinslais2776]

@@Rasengu57 Lorewise, there is nothing saying that she has the ral role. They don't have any. That where the three wolfs theory comes in. Malenia has the position of shadow in the way that she is protecting Miquella but isn't bound by the Greater Will.

[@Rasengu57]

@@elwynnquinslais2776 Oh completely fair, I just thought it was a cool theory. I didn't mean to imply it as a fact.

[@elwynnquinslais2776]

@@Rasengu57 Sorry for sounding aggressive, I feel like I needed to respond! ♡

[@slipinoy]

Damn you youtube stop putting this in my feed while i'm waiting for Vaati's new video

[@cman8650]

Another detail that could be relevant is the multiple Erdtrees that you can see in the Elden Beast arena. In one way or another, physical or non-physical, we've seen many Erdtrees already.

[@dominant_jelly4767]

I do feel like the dlc will deal with miquela and godwyn, considering the appearance of the 2nd tree, and the "o" in Shadow looks similar to the death blight from Godwyn. There's also the fact that miquela is just laying there after Mogh's bossfight, so that could be the entrance to the dlc if it does take place in the dream world.

[@snazzyjovialwyrm3314]

If it's a DLC about Miquella and Godwyn, I hope we'll see Fortissax before his corruption, or even saved by Miquella, and that we'll get to side with him for a side quest that involves him trying begrudgingly having to put down Godwyn, similar to how Siegward helps us fight Yhorm in Dark Souls 3.

[@jsbfkdls]

​@@snazzyjovialwyrm3314I support this causd I want more insane dragon miracles

[@carterallison5739]

Literally copy and paste Gael kneeling with the painting scrap in DS3.

[@virtualdominus5504]

I'm hoping the entrance is behind the castle where the giant grave with the hole in the center is. I remember doing my first playthrough. I thought it was a portal, or it had some sort of significance other than being scenery.

[@Smokinbacon]

I find FromSoft rarely does the most obvious DLC threads as their actual next DLC.

[@afriendofjamis]

I believe this is Miquella's Dream and we're witnessing the "Eclipse" that he sought after. Similar to real life, notice how sunflowers always face towards the source of light -- the Erdtree. This this artwork could be depicting Miquella's Dream in both sense of the word: an eclipsing of the Erdtree by the Death Blight, casting a shadow onto the lands between. When we sleep, we enter a deathlike state. I think Miquella's Dream and the Helphen interact in some way. This is aided by the fact that castle Sol, the location where we find the other half of the medallion, is located near the Tibia Mariner that drops the Helphen.

[@kimashitawa8113]

Yo, i haven't thought of that one before. That the eclipse they were talking about isn't a literal eclipse of the sun, but instead a tree growing around the Erdtree. Hiding it's light like an eclipse and the Erdtree is almost like the sun in Elden Ring with it's light and abundance. So that really isn't far-fetched. Good one.

[@N_Human]

This is the most informed unique theory I've seen so far. Kudos.

[@michaloe]

Great idea! I was also thinking the picture might be a glimpse of the future by Miquella.

[@jetpilledmyron2056]

As someone pointed out, it could also be something to do with Godwyn

[@krakenteethgaming]

Holy shit

[@whitefangoftheleaf3978]

Its been 5 months. I would like my dlc now.

[@sethedward]

I mean….the Tree looks burnt and charred. Looks to have ash falling from it. We could be looking at the aftermath of the Erdtree’s long burn. We are in the Shadow because the Golden light is gone and now all the Erdtree provides is a shadow. Shadow could be being used as a tense, shadow being used like remembrance, “a shadow of what it once was”. You could even translate it to “events that take place after the Erdtree. Who knows? Can’t wait!

[@Z.O.M.G]

The fact Vaati doesn't bring this up drives me crazy

[@John_James]

​​@@Z.O.M.Git drives me crazy that Vaati didn't mention we're getting an Femto boss battle

[@bloggs24]

The ghostly headstones could also be symbolism for the life that used to be present here, everything died long ago and now the landscape is thriving fields, In the current game the lands between is war torn from the events of the shattering and is why the tarnished was eventually gifted the guidance of grace. This dlc could be way way into the future in a time where Miquella has awoken and what is left of the erdtree is being taken over by deathroot.

[@TheMaxCloud]

The problem with that theory is that DLCs in these games never take place after the main story, but as optional zones with stories that happen during the main adventure. And doing them, usually gives you a better view of the hole story, meaning that after we get the DLC, the Elden Beast will STILL BE the final boss, although whatever its at the end of the DLC, will have titanic implications to the story, or MAYBE even changing the Elden Beast into something different, but still being "That Fight, That ends the Game"@@Z.O.M.G

[@pachong1933]

@@TheMaxCloudI agree and i’d say it’ll probably happen this way but the description that this dlc is telling the tarnished ‘let us walk a new path’ could be interpreted as the tarnished now elden lord (assuming normal ending is canon) is continuing a new journey. Would be cool to see that but it could very well be just like bloodborne dlc like you said

[@andrewrangel320]

If you talk to the Ranni doll in Nokstella she talks about herself, Miquella and Malenia being the 3 chosen Empyreans and that when she received that title she also received Blaidd. If Miquella is in fact Torrent's old master then I think it's a cool nod to the fact that you a tarnished who will become Elden Lord is given wolves as a spirit summon. I would also really like to see who Miquella and Malenia's shadow wolves are since they aren't mentioned.

[@angbald]

I never even thought about the wolves. Good point.

[@Ryanrulesok]

Isn't there a wolf mini boss

[@ballsballsballs3617]

@@Ryanrulesok I mean u fight Blaidd if that’s what ur talkin about

[@shinobiofashina2168]

Yeah the shadows are some of my favourite characters in Er and maliketh and blaidd are so different I want to see what the twins shadows would look like I'm pretty sure there all meant to wield destined death but blaidd forgo his for rannis cold magic which is why the baleful shadow still has it correct? that's crazy to think that bliadds swords weapon art could have been malikeths DD Somersault but it's still awesome

[@Nonregional]

@@Ryanrulesok Are you thinking of the Red Wolf of Radagan in the Academy? If so, it’s unlikely to be one of the shadow beasts. Maliketh and Blaidd are anthropomorphic wolves. If the twins were granted their own shadows as well, it stands to reason that they would be “beast-men” rather than simple beasts.

[@daydreamer2257]

One thing Ranni's relationship with Miquella puts into perspective is how Kale and his donkey fall to sleep when she first appears, and that at one point during her quest she says she will fall into a deep slumber. Maybe she is communicating with Miquella? Does that mean they are working together? I mean, at least to some point their goals seem to align, since Ranni's goal of gaining freedom from the outer gods might help Miquella to cure his sister's rot.

[@Cat--Gamer]

Would have to be a shaky relationship, since Ranni's involvement with the black knifes killed Godwyn , someone Miquella seemed to look up to a lot. But it could make sense if Ranni says she has some way to help save Godwyn's soul allowing for the collaboration.

[@daydreamer2257]

@@Cat--Gamer True, but maybe Miqualla simply doesn't know Ranni took part in killing Godwyn. I don't remember it being that common knowledge in the world (tell me if I'm wrong. I just don't remember seeing that anywhere). It wouldn't the first information the player has access to but other important players have not, like that Mohg being the one who stole Miquella and where he is kept.

[@Nata-ch2bk]

@Bill Clinton Enjoyer When theories create their own clues to explain themselves ^^

[@Nemo.404]

​@@Cat--Gamer let's remember that it is implied that Marika was also part of the plot of the night of the black knives and Godwyn was her first-born, the favourite son and the most beloved demigod of the entire realm. So I don't think it would be too far fetched if Miquella was also part of that same plot, specially because there are some similarities between him and Griffith from berserk. The "bewitching branch" tells us that "The Empyrean Miquella is loved by many people. Indeed, he has learned very well how to compel such affection." Sort of implying here that he is a manipulative person. If Griffith is in fact the inspiration for him then it wouldn't surprise me at all. Also, he could have done it thinking about bringing his brother back to life later on with the so long waited eclipse described in castle sol. This is mere speculation of course. But Ranni's, Miquella's, and Marika's goals align perfectly well, or at least a lot for them not to be working together to vanish the greater will from the lands between

[@dynamicflashy]

Perhaps, Ranni’s moon is required for Miquella’s Eclipse. Radahn may have realised this and halted the stars to stop Ranni’s destiny and thus Miquella’s Eclipse.

[@lew.wright]

And now we have 13hrs till the trailer drops. Couldn't be more excited

[@Morbid_Stoner]

Damn bro didn’t miss

[@rololopez1505]

It may be far-fetched, but to me the "O" in "SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE" looks a lot like the mending rune of death, with shallower strands but in spin-ish motion After checking, no other letter has that stylization to it, just that particular "O"

[@uhoh7545]

It also looks like the number "zero" (0) This could be a reference to Gundam 00 A Wakening. Hinting at a Char clone in the upcoming FROMSOFT software video game; Armored Core: Fires of Rubicon!

[@monojuice]

@@uhoh7545 ok

[@Practicallypreposterous]

@@uhoh7545 preach

[@midhatervinfetahagic1144]

was about to make the same comment, I entirely agree, it would thematically fit the blackened tree, Miquellas connection to Godwyn, the whole 9 yards

[@crash-testproductions9341]

Godwyn incoming.

[@jeejee2176]

I always believed torrent was related to the regal ancestor spirit. They both have the same double jump ability, along with matching sounds, effects, and animations when using that ability. Perhaps this DLC will be a journey with miquellas spirit form in whatever dreamscape they are in while their body still sleeps with Mog.

[@findlaymurray397]

That actually makes a lot of sense, it also makes the horns make a little more sense too.

[@TheEldenKing]

Wtf

[@anorak8934]

This encouraged me to finally get my copy of the Soularts and I cannot be more inspired and awestruck by this amazing book. I'm really looking forward to drawing some inspiration for some of my own stories from these amazing artists

[@rosaeruber225]

And what are you going to do with those stories, Publish them?

[@TimeBucks]

Maybe the DLC happens years after the current game

[@uerror8498]

Nice information

[@franciscobutte]

Or before...

[@DnVFMVs]

Which ending so we make conclusions from?

[@ayra_mehrin]

DO NOT POST ANY REPLY! DO NOT MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT TIMEBUCKS OR I WILL REJECT YOUR SUBMISSION, JUST THUMBS UP AND THATS IT!

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

Never happened before and it certainly wouldn't happen now, it would force a canonical ending in the only FromSoft game where you actually take power and get to shape the world

[@jaredhumpherys8335]

If Vaati can't speculate on a vague screenshot, nobody can

[@PaolinoChannel91bao]

Well, there's people that are better than Vaaty in lore knowledge. You know, English is not the only language in the world

[@Ahoniu]

@@PaolinoChannel91bao ​ well elaborate then, instead of just saying “English is not the only language in the world”. If you know something outside of English or more than vaati, please share instead of posting a totally irrelevant comment.

[@celestialowl8865]

​@@PaolinoChannel91baoWho

[@burningknight7]

I love vaati in his presentation skills and he is probably the best in that but for lore speculation, just glance the internet and you'll find a ton of more knowledgeable people

[@SrBlacken]

​@@celestialowl8865 Sinclair lore

[@jontheartist]

If vaatividya can figure this much out from a simple picture what will he discover from today's trailer that just dropped? I'm excited

[@PaperBoatTV]

Wow, we're almost one year past this video now and still no DLC, not even a sign of life

[@TheWither129]

I think the two best theories are that the tree is the Helphen, being a “shadow of the erdtree”, and the ghostly graves and all are to link it to the afterlife, and that there are two trees, one breaking and squeezing the life out of the other, it being of deathroot and godwyn, and i think its possible its both. Miquella is known for trying to put an end to Godwyn’s life in death, allowing his brother to be freed from his stagnation and curse, so he may move on fully. His whole thing is trying to expel the curses of those he cares about. As he is linked so closely with dreams, and Godwyn and Fia shared a dream you could enter, I think it’s possible we may enter Miquella’s, who has gone to find the soul of his brother, and here we find the afterlife, the spirit world, with the mighty Helphen being choked and bled by death blight, the Helphen and Erdtree being mirrors of each other, a bodiless soul and a soulless body killing the Erdtree and its “shadow”. I think its possible we may get another ending or two, as well. Obviously Miquella, being an Empyrean, may have an ending linked to his questline, but it also never sat right with me that collecting all the great runes had no bearing on the ending, and im wondering if Miquella’s and potentially Ranni’s may become available, as we know they are shardbearers, but Ranni cast hers aside, but unlike her body, we don’t get access to that, and Miquella simply isn’t present outside of his body in the cocoon. I really hope some kind of reward comes with acquiring all nine, surely that won’t be an easy feat. Only once has any other tarnished obtained even TWO, let alone SEVEN. And yet, nothing.

[@lobomen8843]

I really hope your right, getting some more insight to Godwyn's curse on the lands between and Miquella's involvement would make an amazing DLC.

[@m.ubaidaadam]

I think you might be on to something! Now the question is will we fight some sort of twisted godwyn

[@buckyhurdle4776]

Speaking of Helphen whats up with the Forbidden Lands? Its the only place you see that "red" version of the guidance of grace which is supposed to be a feature of the Helphen. So why can we see it in the forbidden lands? And only there?

[@TheWither129]

@@buckyhurdle4776 idk, honestly, but theres a couple possibilities. One is that its not the helphen, it could be related to the black blade kindred and the countless vulgar militia there, plus its on the path to farum azula where the black blade himself is. It could be due to the forge, but then neither one makes sense cus you get closer and this effect is entirely absent from the mountaintops. Another possibility is that for whatever reason, the sort of “barrier” between realms is weaker here, and the Helphen tries to guide you towards the rune of death as well. The mountaintops are inexplicably covered in spirit animals and trees, and Castle Sol and the steeple are found here as well. Theres a large graveyard, a death rite bird, a mariner, lots and lots of death and undead. Hell half the mountain is covered in the corpses of the fire giants. Maybe the Helphen’s influence peeks through in this lower zone leading to the death-ridden mountains.

[@buckyhurdle4776]

@@TheWither129 Man I am so ready for some new lore and boss fights I need to know what the hell is going on lmao

[@Awkwe]

Since we currently have no information about the DLC How likely is it that this expansion will take place and show us the middle portion of the world map? We see an Erdtree but the location looks very weird as we can see it rooted on plane land not on a cliff, could this DLC finally reveal whats in the clouded part of the map and tell us why the Divine Towers are positioned to perfectly around something?

[@iboildogsalive6535]

The divine towers are positioned where they are because that’s where the meteor landed that carried the erdtree, I believe. I think we either entering Miquellas dream or perhaps traveling through time when miquellas tree “strangles” the erdtree EDIT: the meteor carried the Elden Beast; not the erdtree. My bad.

[@asdergold1]

@@iboildogsalive6535 Carried the Erdtree. That didn't happen. The Erdtree came way later. That was the Elden Beast. It also seems like Godwyn's stuff since deathblight has the whole black with gold thing going on with it. Miquella, the Erdtree and Godwyn are all tied together by the Eclipse. And some people theorize that the convergence point is actually where Farum Azula once was. Like a fucklong time ago. And also judging by the ruins and terrain, Miquella and Torrent are at some part of Altus.

[@DystopianUtopia8]

I sure hope it's not. It's tiny compared to any other region.

[@smarkies]

could be another underground region, plenty of space.

[@phantom_fox1088]

There's nothing In the middle. ? Isn't it just water an that cloud ur talking Abt on the map is just for more detail for it like more flavor I'm guessing idk I always thought that farum azula was there or either in the middle of limgrave on the lake or where radahns battle field dessert place is

[@LightsFuzzy]

Either we interact with Miquella in his dream through his cocoon, or he reawakens after learning of the Erdtree, and the golden order's destruction. The image of the blackened tree sort of oozing gold makes it seem like the Erdtree is trying to recover after having been burnt and destroyed. I believe we're still gonna be the same character, and after we become Elden Lord, Miquella seeks us out to assist him in destroying the golden order, and the Erdtree for good. We have to remember that Miquella isn't dead, and could easily awaken at any time.

[@maxrusty3596]

Sadly i believe this dlc can only take place in the past due to the varied endings. Just wouldnt make sense for it to be after.

[@LightsFuzzy]

I don't think the varied endings matter that much, the developers could easily just choose the most common ending and go on from there. Many games with multiple choices and endings do this. I'm just skeptical that the devs are just never going to progress the story in any way in the future just to preserve potential endings in the base game.

[@maxrusty3596]

@@LightsFuzzy Yea i mean judging by past From Dlc most likely gonna be a trip to the past or something. Its just easier that way. And just as exciting honestly.

[@evaeskelinen2739]

I don't know if the ending matters. When you beat the game, you get the trophy and you can return to the save file and the last boss will still be there, and the world as it is right before beating the game. But to my knowledge the ending is kind of "locked" so I can't choose another ending even if I'd completed the quests, I can only choose the one I already chose. Still I'd imagine DLC fits there just fine especially if it takes place in another realm, but in real time, not past - and maybe if Miquella has a special ending, then that could override the one I chose.

[@ghostspidertheolny1609]

You have to do a review about the new trailer

[@mrrodjones]

Could the tree that’s wrapping around the Erdtree be Godwyn incarnate? If you look closely near the top of the twisting tree, it almost looks like there’s a face in the bark, and when you look at the rest of the tree, it looks like 2 arms and 2 legs are wrapping itself (hugging) the Erdtree. Seeing as Godwyn’s body was trapped at the base of Deep Root Depths, it wouldn’t shock me to learn that his soul was somehow placed inside the tree. So much lore to unpack and uncover in the DLC!

[@aaronatkinson177]

I hope Godwin is a boss in the dlc the interesting lore surrounding him makes me wonder what he would be like to fight him as a boss

[@drazzytime9353]

I thought all souls go to the erdtree

[@mrrodjones]

@@drazzytime9353 I guess I should have said “his soul was somehow placed inside the tree *by Miquella*”. If we’re assuming that’s Miquella riding Torrent (which it most certainly is), it could be that Miquella was able to append Godwyn’s soul to the tree. But that’s 100% speculation on my part! You’re definitely right about souls returning to ole Erdy, but Miquella is quite mysterious and we don’t know the extent of his powers.

[@magimon91834]

I think it's a lot more about death and Goldwyn than we think. Even the spectral gravestones in the image hint to a connection with those who live in death

[@ArantyrDarkhand]

My dream speculation its after the end of the game... and thats the death tree killing whats left of the Erdtree. And Mikela weakup.

[@blackwaspboy]

I think that this could be a Miquella's dream and perhaps a nightmare. Riding on torrent through the wheat fields maybe from his earlier days during the shattering which is why we see these pale ghostly graves. The nightmare maybe what we the player need to beat. A dark shadow attempting to swallow the Erdtree or maybe his ideal version of the Haligtree, the fear of loosing what he was worked for. I can imagine if something along these lines is true we maybe fighting Godwin or how Miquella sees him now or what thing can scare a demi-god. If this is Miquella then i honestly don't see us fighting him, the art shows him in the light as if he was a character we may need to help so he can wake. Waking him maybe one of the ways you beat the DLC but another could involve us siding with this nightmare that plagues him. Whatever the case the community will piece the puzzle together, I'd like to hear other ideas tho.

[@AZodiacCancer]

I wonder if it's a nightmare brought on by Mohg taking him and trying to wake him up.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Please no fucking nightmare sequences or prequels. Going into the past and altering the present doing it, sure, but not some dumb nightmare sequence. That stuff is the bane of storytelling. It's always inconsequential.

[@INFINITE_STRENGTH]

I already commented this, but wanted others to respond. My theory: The DLC will take place in a dream world, where miqella now sleeps. You take miqella’s needle, which intercepts the influence of outer gods, and insert it into his hand. This prevents further influence from The Formless Mother, and now you can enter a dream-like world, in a dream like state. New ending: brings Miqella’s dream into reality, an ending of abundance. Big fights include Godwyn, who we also know to be “sleeping” (Perhaps this is Miqella’s memory of Godwyn). Another big fight could be a host from The Formless Mother, to completely sever the connection, much like a parasite. Then the hardest boss in the game thus far, will be St. Trina/Miqella as a two-stage boss (full health) and when you defeat him, the dream “becomes your own”. I think he will fight you, to ensure that his dream will come true, and upon killing him, you finally let his dream end, and come true at the same time. Ending could also maybe be like the infinite Tsukuyomi from Naruto, where everybody dreams their best life.

[@blackwaspboy]

@@AZodiacCancer I think it maybe something more simple like death. Miquella was close with Godwin we suspect so having his older brother die must of put some fear in him.

[@JennyJoyChansey]

​​@@INFINITE_STRENGTH My theory is similar to yours : I think we give Miquella the needle, touch his hand and enter the dream world with St Trina pov. We will get to access the areas where Trina's lilies grow. Berserk is Miyazaki 's fav, so we might see a similar concept of Eclipse happening in the dream world where Godwin (Sun) and Ranni (Moon) somehow come together to complete the two halves of death. The eclipse will fall on the Erdtree casting its shadow. This shadow is where Godwin's real body/soul will reside as we have seen his presence spread over in many places (deathroots). His soul will probably be powered by the dying Erdtree being grappled by the Deathroot tree, like a parasite sapping out it's energy. I also think Formless Mother will bleed into dream world with the help of Mogh when eclipse happens, just like how Melania ascended to Godhood. maybe Melania will finally come to our aid for a sibling action against Mogh, we all are dying to see that happen lol. At the end the lands between will finally release the souls of those who live in death, and under the eclipse a new order will be born, where two halves of life and death will live in synergy. Also Miquella 's Unalloyed Gold will keep the outer Gods' invasion in check once the order is established.

[@azeemtravadi6128]

11 months in the making,,,, can't wait to see next week's video

[@declandonohoe7178]

I'm a little late for this but I think we might get to see miquella and malenia shadows. We know that empyrean's are given shadows we saw blaidd and malaketh but we never saw the other two shadows. I think based on the name of the DLC it basically confirms that we will see one of them if not both. Sorry for the English Im Very special

[@Semperf11]

Agreed

[@narcodium]

Should note that the tree in the picture is resembles the prince of death staff which also twists around itself. The staff enhances death magic and if you look closely it looks like millions of flies around that tree in the picture and the sap pouring out of that tree resembles the sap in the staff. I believe, much like dark souls 1, we’ll be going back in time and are going to be the bootstrap paradox in Elden rings time continuum

[@Tanwolly]

I don’t think it even remotely resembles the Prince of Death staff personally. I think this one is a huge stretch.

[@narcodium]

@@Tanwolly e Explain what's different? There is next to nothing in death magic and it's usefulness in vanilla game. Godwyn and Miquella are loose ends and the staff is vague and absolutely has very similar colors scheme as that tree as well as intertwined branches symbolic to that tree

[@tylerthorson2610]

I think the shadow might be the erdtree's dark nature being separated into this alternate world/reality. We can already access an altered reality with Godwin's dream. So what if we enter another dream or world that is leaking into ours and now must be kept out. Maybe Godwin could return as a vengeful spirit (think draugr mixed with wraith), and miqualla is trying to stop his return

[@pumpkinspicesbs]

Oh please elaborate on this Godwin's dream thing, because I think I missed this 😭

[@m.lonely]

totally impossible

[@KRAFTPUNK]

@@pumpkinspicesbs look up Fias quest line and the age of duskborn ending and you’ll see.

[@HaruHoneybun]

I think you might actually be onto something, what if the art work tweet is that of Miquella's dream state. Torrent is unsaddled, miquella's alter ego is St. Trina, and the Erdtree definitely looks off, so it might be that something has corrupted this dream state world that Miquella is in charge of. Being Empyrean they have the capability to become gods themselves, how do we know they didn't already succeed in making their own realm to be gods over?

[@deltazenturo1701]

@@m.lonely why

[@knstn]

It could be as above so below kind of thing. Although we do know how the roots of the erdtree are, it could also be a message for an alternate dimension of the lands between, which is the shadow world of it, somehow connected, whether it was always there, or something to do with miquella who lives in a limbo.

[@Limits7684]

I was thinking that maybe that Shadow of the Erdtree would take plcae in Miquella’s dream as he is in the cucoon and at the end he’ll break out to show us in his new form

[@hermisejasper9865]

I didn’t even think about Marika I instantly thought about Miquella I just felt that the dlc needed to be about the one demigod we did not fight. Miquella remained one of the most mysterious characters. The question I’m wondering is weather the events of the dlc will take place in the past present or future.

[@hermisejasper9865]

Additionally I am curious if in the dlc the player will take a more supportive role like Sekiro pushing your master forward to help fulfill their dream

[@Alex-bw6yd]

Yeah Marika never cross my mind, even before I saw the picture I’ve always been saying it’s gotta be about Miquella. I agree he’s an extremely mysterious character that we don’t know a ton about. Honestly with how mysterious they left such an important character like him it was just inevitable.

[@Grothgerek]

It could be neither present nor future. But a "shadow" world. Another dimension, created by the slumbering Miquella.

[@ohyeahyeah879]

not to mention in the intro cinematic, we see that exact hairstyle ON MIQUELLA, when mohg took him

[@demilung]

It would be a really fun underhanded hit if it would actually be in the past with Marika's young self.

[@TempaFlare]

The amount of detail in the environment of Elden Ring is astounding. So is the fact that you can recall things like these and tie them together! I can barely take in details while frantically rolling away from enemies, let alone think deeper about them.

[@soulofash9751]

I wonder if there’s an association between the wolves protecting the cemeteries and the spirit wolves associated with Miquella, or the wolves protecting the emperyans in general

[@phoenix15_]

Had the same thought.

[@redfox9446]

You might be on to something. In Maliketh's boss room there is a statue of a child surrounded by wolves. And wolves are the shadow of the Empyreans.

[@TheMaxCloud]

So... Were is Miquella´s Shadow, if they are all wolves.@@redfox9446

[@bryceoconnor3927]

Awesome video, and amazing attention to detail in regards to your book. It seems you have a great attitude bent on excellence which is admirable.

[@rubeng370]

I'm excited if there's 2 Melania duo boss fight for the DLC 🙃

[@jacobwhitman5701]

Please God, don't give them any ideas..

[@sovviedan6791]

Ahh, i can just see it now, "Rotgod Duo"

[@Gacha-Ritual-Master]

Don't forget that since it's two of them, the arena must be a rot lake.

[@gabekeener7071]

Or even better, miquella and malenia fighting like the lothric princes, but you know, scarier

[@chovue2363]

Malenia* she didn't repeat her name hundreds of times for us to misspell her name. 😅

[@bancelutters8654]

I also just noticed that the "O" in shadow has a special design that is distinct from the other letters. To me it looks like two trees growing into each other. Maybe this could mean that those trees in the picture are about to merge and form a symbiotic relationship.

[@ravingamer5750]

It also looks like the complete rune of death in Fia’s ending

[@gabrielghabsheh2412]

That’s Melina and ranni’s eyes tattoo.

[@LostInTheFloatingWorld]

It's similar to an ouroboros!

[@MitridatedCarbon]

Or an Eclipse

[@Stinkmean]

@@MitridatedCarbon I just watched berserk 97 so that word gives me ptsd

[@benkolbinger537]

I like the suggestion about Godwin being included; the "O" in Shadows of the Erdtree has spikes similar to the Cursemark of Death

[@Mr._Lister_The_Sister_Phister]

Theres a cut-content helm called the Braves Cord Circlet, and its item description states: "Warrior's headband of woven leather. Garb worn by warriors of the frigid uplands. The small flags, white cloths and SHEAVES OF WHEAT often found hung from these headbands are prayers of farewell from the people of their home. In bidding farewell to warriors departing on a journey from which they aren't like to return, this small act offers only meager relief." I think its certainly possible that the area shown in the image is part of the "frigid uplands" referred to in the description. Also, The chestpiece from the Braves Set, called Braves Battlewear, states: "The red cloth signifies participation in the Long March long, long ago and this ceremonial garb beseeches the favor of the Warrior King who led them." To me this suggests an obvious connection to Godfrey, and the exile of the tarnished. We already know that Horah Loux was a badlands chieftain, so maybe "Barbarians of the Badlands" was a working title for this DLC. I dont think that the badlands and the frigid uplands are one-in-the-same necessarily, because the champions set is stated to be badlands attire, and it doesnt look like something that would be worn in a "frigid" environment. But i do think its possible that both areas are part of the same "continent" so to speak, like the badlands are one part of the area, and the frigid uplands are a colder more northern part. The alternate headpiece for the Braves set is a leather helm that looks remarkably similar to the Kaiden helm, and the Braves Battlewear has similarities to the Kaiden Armor. Kaiden sellswords are known to be from a cold mountainous Northern area, so theres certainly some food for thought...

[@Nakna_ankaN]

The more I think about it, the more I think that there is something to the theory of another Primordial tree existing before and perhaps for a time, alongside the Erdtree. A couple of things that has stood out to me is how Godfrey was sent off, supposedly because there were no more enemies to fight, but what if there is more to this? The crucible knights are scorned because of their association with the crucible, but they supposedly served the Erdtree at one point, however one important detail is that in their item descriptions it is stated that they served Godfrey specifically, not Marika. Godfrey is seen in the cinematic before his boss fight, holding the body of Morgott, his son, and say that it has been a long time. To me this suggests that Morgott and Mohg being shunned for being omen babies went against his wishes. This Combined with his knights close relation with the crucible, I feel, makes it quite clear that Godfrey too was closely associated with the crucible, perhaps that is why two out the three children born of him and Marika were omen? My theory is that Marika, in order to establish her new age of the Erdtree, recruited Horah Loux, not just for his skills as a warrior, but also because of his association to the crucible. Then, just as she manipulated him to use his strength for her own purposes, she used the old tree of the crucible to bring life to her new Erdtree. When Godfrey realized that he had been used and betrayed, he and his knights turned against Marika, but there wasn’t much they could do, perhaps because the primordial power from which their power stemmed, had already greatly diminished by that point. Marika has been shown to manipulate others for her own purposes too, like Maliketh and it has been suggested that she was part of the plot that resulted in the death of Godwyn, could this have been because he was loyal to Godfrey, his father and therefore had to be removed in order not to revolt against his mother? Another detail I find interesting is how there are two versions on the Crucible knights, wearing different armor and wielding different weapons from one another. Ordovis and his knights, wearing the crucible axe set and Siluria and her knights who wears the crucible tree set. What if the knights had different tasks once Marikas betrayal of Godfrey was discovered? Siluria and her knights were ordered to protect the crucible tree and Ordovis and his knights, were tasked with destroying the Erdtree and that’s why the former wears the tree set, representing the tree they are sworn to protect, while the latter wears the axe set, representing their duty to destroy the Erdtree. This would explain why we see Siluria, the foremost of the protectors, still guarding the last remnants of the old tree in the Deeproot Depths after it has been buried far beneath the Erdtree and why one of the axe knights has sided with Tanith and Ryckard. What we see in the teaser image would then be the Erdtree in the process of devouring the crucible tree, in a time of the past during the war between those loyal to the crucible and those loyal to the Erdtree. The destruction of the crucible tree would also explain Miquella’s reason to create a new one that can bring hope to those scorned by the Erdtree. Perhaps Marika would even become an unwilling participant in all of this? That after realizing her mistake turned against the greater will and that her shattering of the Elden ring was done in an attempt to break free from the greater will. Her desire to break free while still being under the influence of the greater will is perhaps what resulted in the creation of Radagon, the part of her forced to remain loyal to the greater will. She destroyed the Elden ring and he repaired it.

[@mopslap]

A lot of this is very logical! Nice speculation

[@unluckyone1655]

Honestly this is an eloquent and thought out explanation, and interesting speculation

[@tsavage4337]

I thought the tarnished and Godfrey were sent off in order to gain strength from battle so that way they could become powerful enough to become Elden lord upon returning?

[@16caldwellj95]

This interpretation is interesting but problematic seeing as the Tarnished were evidently banished by Marika in order to foster additional strength in the face of death, and Godfrey intended to return to Marika’s side.

[@wilburforce8046]

Godfrey doesn’t seem at all mad at Marika though dude came back for her and speaks kindly to you. Marika also supports the tarnished and seemed to not like the greater will for quite some time.

[@pliablebones]

I’m so damn excited man, I can’t wait for more of Godwin’s lore to be explored, and just Miquella in general. It looks like the roots are reaching up around the Erdtree, and what do we know that’s directly below the Erdtree?

[@Simon_Azrael_The_Doctor]

Godwin's corpse and the deathblight

[@samf.s.7731]

@@Simon_Azrael_The_Doctor isn't it under Stormveil? I went down there today and that face was so ... Grotesque.

[@pamafa3147]

@@samf.s.7731 that's a second body that grew from the deathroot. Godwyn basically spreads like cancer

[@Simon_Azrael_The_Doctor]

@@samf.s.7731 there are two Godwin's One under stormveil And the other underneath the erdtree In the deeproot depts

[@samf.s.7731]

@@Simon_Azrael_The_Doctor yeek

[@ashlybaeli5318]

I was watching your lore videos from before and saw one where you described st Trina and a dream world, i think you're into something! LOVE LOVE LOVE your videos ❤️

[@zonk1580]

my theory for the dlc is that it will involve all three of the butterfly children, malenia, miquella, and melina. maybe you’d have the inherit and then rid yourself of the flame of frenzy to save melina, then free moquella from the cocoon, play theough the dlc, and unlock a new ending (or even a new final boss) involving the three of them, with one of the empyreans likely becoming a god.

[@Grxblrg5757]

Okay, some thoughts: If Miquella is Torrents former Master, and he also once owned the wolves, could the wolves be Miquella's shadows? Like Blaidd or Maliketh? Maybe this new Erdtree isn't the Haligtree OR the Erdtree? What if its a new sprout from the original Erdtree? This also explains the "strangling" second tree, since theres a theory that the Erdtree formed after a process real trees undergo called "sprouting", where many sprouts for new trees grow from a single stump.

[@JaxKangaroo]

the 3 wolves might even be the individual shadows of miquella, malenia and melina (assuming she is a demigod, who knows)

[@valkoroska2369]

@@JaxKangaroo or godwyns, as he seems to be the third person in the haligtree statues. who knows

[@rainbowkrampus]

@@JaxKangaroo Might explain why there are three of them yet they are called "lone". Item description says they were chased away from their pack and later accompanied a nameless tarnished on hunts. I'm not sure what this means in context. The closest thing to a nameless tarnished in game is the player, since we all have different names. But what does chased away mean here? One thing to consider is that the tarnished were in the Lands Between but were sent away. Perhaps the wolves were ours before banishment, death and return? It's possible that our character was involved in this plot before leaving the Lands Between.

[@JaxKangaroo]

@@valkoroska2369 id never actually considered that godwyn might’ve been an empyrean, it makes sense tbh

[@JaxKangaroo]

@@rainbowkrampus that is a really good insight, there’s no way “nameless tarnished” doesn’t refer to the player character

[@Bones_]

Surprised there was no mention of the spirit wooden crucifixes that we prominently see across the image. In the same way that we saw the crucifixes early on in Limgrave that were in fact the same shape as Marika's symbol, I would expect the shape of these to be very intentional and perhaps even being the rune symbol for Miquella.

[@jakebrian3452]

Malenia and Miquella's great runes are the same since they are twins.

[@iconoclast485]

@@jakebrian3452 IDK Mohg and Morgott are twins and they both have seperate runes.

[@jakebrian3452]

@@iconoclast485 They do have separate runes but since they are twins their runes should be similar. According to Mogh's Great rune item description: Mohg and Morgott are twin brothers, and their Great Runes are naturally similar. But Mohg's rune is soaked in accursed blood, from his devout love for the wretched mire that he was born into far below the earth. The same thing should apply for Miquella and Malenia. We have to note though that Malenia's great rune has been affected by rot as well so Miquella's rune may be similar in form but may look different in other ways.

[@iconoclast485]

@@jakebrian3452 oh ok so you are saying there runes will look similar not that they will both share the same rune gotcha.

[@Bones_]

@@jakebrian3452 I saw the other replies, and while this could mean that Miquella’s should look more like Malenia’s they doesn’t have to be the case. Malenia in many ways feels like she relates to the Radagon half of her parentage (Red hair, mighty warrior), where as Miquella is clearly closer to Marika. In that case I wouldn’t be surprised to see Miquella’s rune to be like an inverted form of Marika’s.

[@ashlybaeli5318]

The amount of knowledge you have on this game is mind-blowing and incredible. I watch your videos almost everyday ❤️

[@SamuiNoBaka]

One thing that is also interesting to note is the image's overall colour scheme is black and gold, similar to Fia's deathmist or Fortissax's death lightning. It might be a bit of a stretch, but perhaps the DLC is going to take place in the realm of death/spirit world.

[@Feanor1988bis]

Could the dlc be about a different ending added to the game, one where we free Miquella from Mohg and follow a questline to bring about a different mending of the elden ring, one resulting in the haligtree and the dying erdtree fusing?

[@Nemo.404]

I like the thought that maybe the DLC will take us to the dream world or spirit world to wake Miquella up. And then later on, maybe in the same DLC, maybe in another, the eclipse will happen...

[@MissFlyingUnicorn]

I thought the same! The tweet does say "expansion", which makes me think about more content added to the base game. If this were an option for a new ending, based on Miquella's storyline and possible ambitions as pointed out by Vaati, it would solve the issues that come up if we consider this picture to be set after the player becomes Elden Lord. It wouldn't matter if one chose the Frenzied Flame ending, or Ranni's, because the picture would be showing us a different ending entirely. Plus, Miquella's storyline is one of the few things that were left unexplored in the base game, so it'd give us a lot more information about the lore we're currently missing

[@ramidp]

That would be awesome .. Or an Ending where Godwyn is involved .. I would like to see Godwyn's revenge to all of this, in some point.

[@ELELME]

Probably not. They would want the dlc to be relevant even if you finished the game already.

[@Feanor1988bis]

@@ELELME that is fair, but you decide which ending to trigger after beating the elden beast, so going through a questline to get a new mending rune wouldn't necessarily be irrelevant even if you have already basically beaten the game. The issue I could see with that is the difficulty of the new area, but then scaling things up even higher than they are now would probably be a bad idea for game balance. I'll add that I'd like to see two mending runes, one from Miquella and one from Malenia for a scarlet rot ending not unlike there is a frenzied flame ending, since both are tied to an outer god, same with the lord of blood on a way, just more destructive.

[@btchplease9758]

In my opinion, Torrent was named like that to prevent this game from being pirated.

[@samf.s.7731]

Lol I've seen this conspiracy theory before, and I wholeheartedly agree with it 🤣

[@AlexGordonMusic]

I thought that was verified

[@00Vanir00]

As a pirate myself, I can say that this mostly works on anyone who knows next to nothing about piracy. Most pirates don’t just search “[Game] torrent” , Doing that is a good way to get viruses or malware.

[@franciscodetonne4797]

I'd just google thepiratebay though.

[@Wiyana0]

That doesn't make sense

[@verygoodboy2688]

I think it makes a lot of sense for this to hear prequel to Elden Rings main story. Miquella still being torrents owner. Erdtree being born. Godwyn and miquella still being alive and expanding their story. Makes sense for them show how Godfrey and all the tarnished were killed and how the prophecy of their return to be one elden lord came to ve

[@KhaosDCrab]

With how you explained how Marika has Maliketh and Ranni has Blythe as living shadows, its made me think its a possibility that the final boss will be the living “Shadow” of the erdtree itself, maybe being a shadow of the greater will or the elden beast, who knows but that is very interesting to me and it’d be funny how in our face the answer is without seeing it immediately

[@Gentapi5]

Or, a literal "Grace Mimic" A Tarnished form of grave grace, without the tears... You? The player themselves?

[@StealthMaestroSharpe]

What about the old crucible, the precursor of the Erdtree? Wasn’t there the cut roots of the crucible in the deeproot depths or something?

[@StealthMaestroSharpe]

Sorry everyone I commented like 30 seconds before it was acknowledged there haha

[@Glettification]

My theory is still that this is in Miquella's dream, which has become (or always was) connected to the deathbed dream in which we fight Fortissax. That explains Miquella's appearance, as it is how he remembers himself, Torrent, who Miquella may be able to summon, may simply go there as a spirit, or who may even just be Miquella's memory, and the encroachment of what looks like a deathblighted tree. It also fits with your own theory about the connection between Miquella and Godwyn and the former's attempts to save the latter. And if Miquella's dream is also an actual spirit world, you can only imagine how bad it could be if Godwyn's deathblight were to infect it entirely. The 'trees' that we see may even be symbolic of Godwyn - the prince of the golden lineage bleeding gold as he's consumed by deathblight. This is all to say that I think the goal of the DLC will be to complete Miquella's wish of granting Godwyn a true death. How that fits with what has become of Miquella after Mohg's ritual, who knows. Although, another theory that I need to get out of my head is Miquella's involvement in our journey, as you touched on. Miquella's ability to manipulate people and the fact that both Torrent and the spirit bell end up in our hands, and the latter through Ranni, no less, might be a step in his plan. What if the Ranni ending, or at least some part of her quest, is the eclipse that Miquella needed? The moon covering the sun or, more symbolically, the source of light in the Lands Between; the Erdtree. It's a bit of a swing but it could also make sense given Ranni's connection to Godwyn and their shared death. Perhaps Godwyn can't be brought back and granted a proper death as long as Ranni remains, but her ascension in the Age of Stars separates them? It also results in the end of the Golden Order and the dominance of the Erdtree, which Miquella may deem preferable. This fits with other theories I've had and seen that suggest that Ranni's ending might be the 'true' ending as intended by Marika buuuuuut at this point I'm kind of rambling. Just needed to write this down, as I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

[@ykiikii]

9:37 I'm so amazed that even to this day, I still find new items I have never seen before. Absolutely amazing...

[@igee1605]

the trailer just came out and its so good

[@Samsonsamurai]

Any speculation this could be a prequel DLC, kind of like the DS1 manus DLC Or maybe it’s sometime after, with Miquela hatching from the egg

[@matty_daddy]

Look at the tree. It’s been burnt already. Such a cute submissive photo. I hope it’s about Miquelon because he could be a femboy!!!!

[@RandoPerson7777]

​@@matty_daddy that's so cursed

[@matty_daddy]

@@RandoPerson7777 it’s literally a DLC about a femboy. I think that’s a blessing!

[@Breakingbad33]

Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some kind of time travel shenanigans like DS 1 or DS 3

[@Hypnobong]

I would really enjoy going forward instead of back or across like in previous soulsborne

[@marvelouspatches8577]

One theory I have about Miquella is that he is also a form of a rebus like Marika and Radagon. That when it is a "he" it is Miquella and when is is a "she" it is St.Trina. So all the more feminine aspects of Miquella are because it is two people sharing a body. But unlike Marika and Radagan they are more in-sync with each other and share each others traits more strongly. Such as the noble woman way of riding Torrent, Hewg"s dialogue. But then the slightly more masculine features in the statues and when other demi-gods refer to it as him. So a harmonious rebus rather than what his/her parents where. And something to connect with that is maybe why there are three wolves to summon/ in the statues with Miquella, are the shadow bound beasts. One for Miquella, one for St.Trina, and one for Melania. A shadow to watch over the young empyrean's. A thought to why the wolves are spirits is maybe because of Miquella's godly allure, and that he convinced them to become spirits of their own volition.

[@alenezi989a3]

That's really good I never thought of it this way, and exploring that in the DLC would shed some light on the whole Marika is Radagon thing, did they start as two different people? Where they always like this? How did it happen? ...etc

[@Radiotomb]

Underrated comment

[@Alex-bw6yd]

Damn this is actually genius and makes a ton of sense. Well done brother!

[@Practicallypreposterous]

Oh my god and Miquella/ Trina being a harmonious rebus would parallel their worship(?) of unalloyed gold, a pure, untainted metal, whereas the broken rebus of Radagon/ Marika is tied to tarnished gold

[@coburn2391]

I wouldn't be surprised if a duality of existence may be a requirement to become an Empyrean/God of the Lands Between

[@wollins7244]

One thing that is kinda interesting is that I don’t think the architecture that appears in the image is located anywhere in the Lands Between currently. I could be wrong but I went to a lot of different areas and couldn’t find anything that matched

[@AutoCorrwct]

Awesome Video Vaati!✨ I love speculating over this photo, FromSoftware has a funny way of making they’re teasers both literal and metaphorical at the same time, endless speculation!! Fingers crossed the expansion drops sooner than later 🤞

[@DERyuga]

I'm almost wondering if this is even the Erdtree at all- I think you're on the money that this could have a tie into the crucible and great tree's history, where one tree sprouted out of the other, but I think it might actually be the Haligtree, with a new Erdtree sprouting from its remains, in response to Miquella's miraculous return. That would explain why this doesnt really look like the land's between, and it what it could instead be is some sort of revitalized consecrated snowfield, or something like that. Because thats what this angle reminds me the most of when I see it- the path to the Haligtree, but if it had fields of wheat instead of Snow. And yeah, its weird to imagine the snowfields with fields of wheat, but considering the cut content where Miquella is known as being of abundance, it wouldnt surprise me to see that he has the ability to give life back to barren lands. I have a feeling that the dlc will function like the end of the ringed city, where it will fast forward us through time to see when this event happens- and it will likely happen in Mohg's boss room where Miquella's body currently is. But this is just my crackpot theory based on one image. I think that what Id be most happy to see is some of the cut miquella content brought in/restored (and some sort of covenant system), but we'll see what we get. Im honestly most happy that we dont have to hear anymore crying for dlc, because it was exhausting to hear for Sekiro and it got very old very fast for Elden Ring (especially since it hadnt even been a year yet)

[@JuanCarlos-oj3qr]

Well it’s called Shadow of the Erdtree, would be pretty pointless title if it wasn’t an Erdtree

[@MattyBudzzz]

@user-ux6xb6jd8r the title could simply be a metaphor or something indicating that this tree in the image sits in the shadow of the true erdtree. As if this tree is not an equal to the erdtree, it failed where the erdtree succeeded? Maybe im just being to poetic but if it isnt literally THE erdtree then maybe its another tree that failed to grow like the erdtree did. I'm kind of in agreement with another comment and his theory. It's basically in some way godwyns souls growing through the deep root depths. The gold on the image lines uo with godwyn, it looks like death root strangling the tree. Maybe we enter miquellas dream and godwyns soul is there and he's trying to give him mercy. Maybe we end up fighting godwyn at the end and release him from his torment.

[@rudrod95_41]

@@JuanCarlos-oj3qr the key word being NEW here 🙄

[@LostInTheFloatingWorld]

Perhaps the future and the past are one and the same, in this world, and thus the Elden Ring completes the circle, the snake swallows its tail, the shadow catches the flame

[@diie2slow]

love this theory this is what im goin with until further notice 😂👌

[@SNESpool]

I like the theory that this image is depicting Miquella's dream. In the image, the darkened erdtree is blotting out the sky, and unlike in the game thus far, it almost seems (to me) that it is absorbing/sucking all the light out of the world, rather than being a source and provider of light. The vague golden glow behind it makes me think more of twilight, rather than early dawn. That concept of duality/inversion would be consistent in a way to how Godwyn's Dream (where you fought Fortissax) seemed to be a sick perversion of the real Deeproot Depths where his corpse is resting/spreading from. If we are to enter Miquella's dream for some purpose, no doubt the DLC will have us visiting new locations... but it also could involve revisiting certain areas in their 'perverted' dream state (a 'dark world' version of the Lands Between would be sick, even though that concept has been done before). Goddamn it I need more Elden Ring. Hope the DLC comes out sooner than we expect.

[@hayanoob6392]

i was talking to my friend who loves elden ring and about how i think the next dlc was gonna be about miquella, and i see miquelle in the image. when i first saw that i was like "YES I'M RIGHT"

[@RommelStorm]

I'm probably one of the few people who wish that Godwyn will somehow be part of this DLC. I really wish to explore his story more. And yes, fight the Prince of Death himself.

[@Yomamahusband]

I really want Godwyn !! But I want him back in his normal form I want to help him kill ranni

[@Yomamahusband]

@@bazah23 lmao right it’s only right we spin the block he got to get his revenge lol

[@Tanwolly]

One of the few? Literally every single person wants it to be about Godwyn and/or Miquella. What are you talking about? Lmfao.

[@likeicare1234]

Like 90% of the players want to see Godwyn in future DLC. You're not "one of the few"

[@edmaister]

I truly think that Godwyn is one of the best characters and I also believe that he’ll be part of this dlc because his and Miquella’s stories are intertwined

[@TheMightyAyegor]

I'm convinced that's the Helphen tree in the spirit world. I didn't see the other tree-like growth around it, but it makes sense that Godwyn would be corrupting the spirit world (even if by accident - a soulless demigod may not know, or even care to know, what it does) and that growth does remind me of the Deathroot. The trees and creatures we see in the Mountaintops of the Giants are spectral, like many of the spirits we see in the game - like the gravestones we see in that image. Torrent and (what is likely) Miquella is the confusing part, to me. Why would they be there? Why is Miquella riding Torrent? I'm also not sure what to think about the stone archways, either. The wheat-looking grass in that area also reminds me of the Altus Bloom flower, which is said to have been a funerary flower before the Age of the Erdtree, in it's description.

[@BackwardsPancake]

One way to make sense of it would be if "the dream world" and "the spirit world" are basically the same thing in Elden Ring. It would certainly tie in Miquella's involvement very neatly, and we get very little concrete information about how the metaphysics of it all work in the main game, so I don't think we have any lore which eliminates that possibility.

[@DOT107]

@@BackwardsPancake would also explain the Sleep status the game have. There's no way they exist without any significant lore reason why. and the Dream world being a gate tot he Spritit World makes sense considering we do enter someones dream in game.

[@frejneergaard7403]

Wrong.

[@TheMightyAyegor]

@@frejneergaard7403 Just look at the Helphen's Steeple greatsword description. Also, Godwyn is becoming the First of the Dead, the Lord of Those Who Live in Death, so it makes sense that he would be corrupting the original spirit world of the Lands Between. Unless if the Erdtree is doing that already, somehow. Because of the Deathbirds, we know that other, much older, practices of burial were common before the Erdtree burial rites and process.

[@thatdylancraa2446]

man you've got to make a video on House Marias and Eochaid. Depicting from what we know now, to what you may theorize, i think it could make an awesome video that sheds some well deserved credibility on an underrated boss (Elemer of The Briar).

[@aidanbraski]

vaati, to your speculation on the “gods graves” gravestone at castle mourn, there are also a bunch of those same gravestones outside of leyndell near the battlefield where the revolt against leyndell was repelled (where margot/morgott shows up). i feel that they are meant to show that a demigod has died, with larger gravestones implying they were a demigod of greater stature.

[@yan-rayiller-may8443]

It's about friggin time!

[@westnavarre]

Lol. They only put out a picture. They probably arnt even close to release. They just wanted to ease the crowd

[@syrobe]

my theory video for the picture is a death blight tree surrounding the Erdtree and takes place in the past. either way im glad everyone is finally agreeing that its miquella now ive seen way too many people say its marika when its very distinctly Miquella. Also if you can double check about Torrent, he is a spectral steed when we the player meets him- does this mean in the picture it was before he died/became ethereal? The torrent whistle was made of gold made by Miquella so it could be the purpose of it…

[@SomeUnkindledAsh]

I keep wondering if Torrent is the only Spectral Steed. Maybe he's not, and they're native to this spirit world/dreamscape or wherever this is.

[@Willow4526]

I don't think it's obviously him. If this is in the passed, depending how far back, it could just as easily be a very young Marika. Miquella is a child of her & trapped in a child like state, that he could just as easily look almost exactly like his mother, even she was younger.

[@JustiniusGray]

Death blight didn't exist until Godwyn died.

[@Vugen18]

U where right! Cant wait for the DLC trailer! Prob ALOT i missed as always and need ur help to piece it together^^,

[@antotriyanto9419]

idk why, but i always love to hear ur voice,, sound calming somehow,, i watch ur vids since i searching sekiro lore and yes, cant wait for the elden ring dlc

[@odium1954]

For the fog and ghost gravestones covering the land in the screenshot, it really makes me think about the text describing the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince ending where the lands between are "covered in a harrowing fog"

[@joeliolioli4156]

Quick note about the gravestones with the hole in them, they are NOT only found in Castle Morne, there are dozens just inside the outer wall of the capital in Altus, near the merchant in the shack and a Death bird spot

[@caramelpepsi2582]

complete shot in the dark. the picture reminds me of Ghost of Tsushima. Could this DLC take place in the "distant land of reeds" spoken about in the samurai class description. Super unlikely but an idea i found pretty interesting. the "ERD Tree" in the picture also looks a little bit like a bonsai tree.

[@patflann29]

Finally got my copy of Soul Arts its absolutely stunning and so so cool thank you my friend

[@ninni1866]

11:40 The Great Tree doesn't exist Vaaty, it's a Translation error from JP to ENG. It's more likely "Great roots" , Roots of the Erdtree.

[@justinbergmans36]

If this expansion is going to be pretty vast, itll be worth the wait.

[@GRAITOM]

Considering they used the words "in development" and this is their biggest game to date. I highly expect A HUGE expansion.. I'd be will to bet 20-50 hours of time to complete. I'm sure it's release is a lot further away than people may think too.

[@kidnamedfinger2840]

​@@GRAITOM yeah I'm thinking not before 2024

[@dorianpompa8409]

​@@GRAITOM lol base er took me 50hr to complete, this dlc will be 3-4 areas at best, what shit you spitting its just a dlc not er 1.5😭

[@Kotoy1]

@@dorianpompa8409 if it took you 50 hours to complete you trolled and barely explored anything

[@ethanfortson8594]

Pretty vaasti.

[@stephenhanson2661]

I have a theory I've been think I ng about.. What if the Shadow of the Erdtree is Miquellas eclipse to bring back Godwyn. There's actually a ghost at castle sol that kind of mentions something leaning to this

[@TheFallingFlamingo]

They actually canceled the DLC months ago and have just been to afraid to tell everyone that they're actually working on Elden Genshin Ring Impact

[@yaddonatt]

With the emphasis on spirits you can see in the artwork, I wonder if this takes place in some realm within the roots of the erdtree, where souls are laid to rest, and what life after death is truly like for those experiencing erdtree burial.

[@Av8r0214]

Boy, that sure looks like Miquella, fuckin’ HYPE.

[@nullentrophy]

Your voice is so calming it eases me out. I find myself sleeping after a while

[@aaricpippin5523]

Good video, super excited for this DLC!!😁

[@cahillcomics918]

While i don’t necessarily think the DLC will be about the Shadows given to Empyreans, I will say while replaying elden ring and watching Vaati, I was wondering where are Malenias and Miquellas shadows? shouldnt they have some? Maybe they’re in this? I do however think this is more likely to be tied to the land of the dead and spirits though. With more Miquella stuff in there, if not as the main plot

[@smoof5419]

Only empyreans, those chosen to be candidates to become gods by the outer will, get shadows

[@drewblock1365]

Malenia is Miquella's shadow imo. That's why she's so obsessed with him, and instead of having a wolf head like Blaidd she has butterfly wings.

[@stanharold7641]

I'm pretty sure Malenia is Miquela's shadow.

[@stanharold7641]

Or at least played the role of his shadow by giving up her right to rule.

[@hisjoeness]

@@drewblock1365 The Goddess of Rot has butterfly wings, not Malenia, Blade of Miquella. That's an outer god thing and isn't associated with the shadow part of the lore, imo. I do agree with her being Miquella's shadow, though. It's right in her title.

[@phoenixarts2834]

Idea: What if there were two erdtree's and they naturally intertwined with each other long ago as they grew at the same time but over the years, one of them eventually fell leaving only the one we know to dominate the sky of the lands between

[@poijnve3912]

you literally have lore telling you that the erdtree is a parasith that grow around the tree world of the land between, which provide reborn to the habitdad before the great orden.... so by lore that is impossible

[@mikewazowski7024]

@pojin ve source?

[@NoConsequenc3]

​@@poijnve3912 the lore "literally" does NOT tell us this. What happened is that the tree was burned down at some point and replaced by the golden, faith based tree. That's why ash is everywhere in the city - the tree has already been burned. What you see in the sky isn't real, which is why you need special fire to burn it to the ground. This is the origin of the "2 trees" theory, not a parasite or a fungus or anything like that In fact you can use this idea to pinpoint a lot about the Lands Between because The Golden Order is literally the source of this worship and faith, both of which are things empowered by and empowering Gold.

[@JJ20kil3r]

@@mikewazowski7024 this channel? What the hell? Is this your first video?