FromSoftware has always had a certain design challenge that persisted across all of the DLC and expansions it created for its games. It has nothing to do with the quality of the content itself, or in the way it is accessed. The problem has always been that the studio has never quite found a good solution for where what’s new should sit, in terms of its difficulty and challenge.
Usually, DLC difficulty is on par with the main game’s end-game. If you took the time to optimise your build, you’d have the best shot at experiencing the new content at a fair level of challenge. I’ve never really been one to min-max, so I would always feel underpowered upon facing the first enemy in the DLC. That never felt good, and the climb to reclaim power felt arbitrary at best, and betrayed the time investment I’d made in my character at worst.
Considering how much of Elden Ring‘s design was in response to the studio’s classic tendencies, I am simultaneously not surprised, and also elated, to learn that Shadow of the Erdtree, the game’s upcoming expansion, will itself evolve the long-standing problem of balance for DLCs.
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