It's like FromSoftware heard us. Elden Ring's first expansion pack is on its way and all we have to speculate from is a giant screenshot of what looks to be Miquella riding Torrent and a tree bleeding gold in the distance. We have some ideas for how it might tie into Elden Ring's melancholic story, and it sounds like we'll have a good amount of time to contemplate what's coming next.
Original story: We've played a hell of a lot of Elden Ring over the last three months. But too much? Considering we're now daydreaming about what FromSoftware may add to the Lands Between, there may be no such thing.
I still hope FromSoftware plans to patch Elden Ring's PC performance issues, but I'm also thinking further ahead to what Elden Ring's inevitable DLC will look like. I say inevitable because that's the precedent FromSoftware has set in recent years. Dark Souls received a meaty DLC expansion, Artorias of the Abyss, 11 months after it was first released. Dark Souls 2 received a trio of expansions just a few months after launch, while Dark Souls 3's two expansions were more spread out, landing seven months and a year later. Even Sekiro got a free DLC update a year after launch, though it didn't add a new area to play through.
FromSoftware has never made a game as big as Elden Ring—or one with its open world structure—so the possibilities for an expansion seem wide open. Will From continue to release more incremental patches, expanding on NPC stories and adding quality of life features? Should we expect whole new legacy dungeons and bosses, or additions to the existing world map?
We don't know. But we have requests.
More Miquella
Tyler Colp, Associate Editor: It’s the obvious answer given what Elden Ring dataminers found soon after the game’s release, but it’s still my answer—give me more Miquella.
Miquella, brother of the game’s most infamous boss, is an influential figure in Elden Ring's story who doesn’t really show up. There’s a late game event that ties to him, but no matter what, his story seems to be incomplete. Dataminers dug up an entire unused questline that involves dreams and St. Trina. St. Trina is actually Miquella if you read between the lines on all the associated item descriptions. That, along with the unused Rune of Abundance, suggests that there could be a whole dream-like zone we could travel to (think Dark Souls’ painted world) and find the missing Great Rune.
Nokron and Nokstella are absolutely beautiful. Imagine FromSoftware’s vision of a place that literally shifts around reality. Yes, please.
A new map, more dumb katanas
Ted Litchfield, Associate Editor: I'm picturing something similar to how the underground works now. One route to accomplish this could be a land of dreams like Tyler suggests, accessed through *Spoilers* Miquella's physical location in-game. You could also get that sweet pathos talking to a mental projection of Miquella in his prime, contrasting his current, wizened state. Just wouldn't be FromSoft without horrific body horror inflicted on a universally beloved, beautif—oh no it's another Berserk reference.
FromSoft DLCs have a reputation for hiding the best, most fun weapons like the Majestic Greatsword, but I'm not here to talk about weapons overall, I'm here to talk about katanas. My dumb land of reeds shinobi guy demands more weird unique katanas to discover and dual wield, and I just hope FromSoft hasn't expended its katana creativity budget on Moonveil and Rivers of Blood. Previous expansions gave us world beaters like Bloodborne's Rakuyo and DS3's Frayed Blade, and I want more.
Got a problem with katanas? I got a Transient Moonlight for ya, bub.
More jars, please
Fraser Brown, Online Editor: I dunno about FromSoftware's Elden Ring DLC plans, but I know what I want, and that's more of those ridiculous jar folk. What's their deal? Are they full of wine or blood? Why do some of them want to crush me? These questions can only be answered to my satisfaction if I'm allowed to be the jar. Yes, I want to roll around the Lands Between as a rotund receptacle for suspicious red liquids. I want to know everyone in Jarburg by name. I want to put a jar on the Elden Throne. Maybe I can get a jar version of Torrent to ride?
The most sensible way for FromSoftware to go about making my dream a reality is by putting Jar Bairn in the role of hero. Inspired by the deeds of Alexander, he sets off on his own adventure. Instead of runes, he juices enemies, slurping down their delicious innards and growing bigger and stronger with every level up. By the end, he's a Radahn-sized jar, filled to the brim with bile and blood and whatever else he's consumed from his fallen foes. Try not to spill any, Jar Bairn!
Just give me answers
Sarah James, Guides Writer: Honestly, I have so many unanswered questions I don't know where to start. The obvious choice would be the Night of the Black Knives. I mean, what actually happened and why? The game suggests that Marika instigated it, with the help of Ranni and Rykard, but if so, why was Godwyn targeted? Was he in on it too?
Like Tyler, I also want to know more about Miquella. For a character that is very much absent from the main game—unless you count his arm in that one cutscene—he seems to have a lot more going on than we've been made aware of. Maybe we'll get to see the Haligtree before it all went to shit when he was abducted. And then there are the Eternal Cities, and Farum Azula. Those areas are so mindblowing when you first discover them, I'd love to know more of the history behind them, and what exactly lead to their eventual downfall.
So yes, three or four decent DLCs please, Mr. Miyazaki. I don't really care what the bosses are, as long as they're accompanied by some answers.
The return of Covenants
Wes Fenlon, Senior Editor: This is likely too much of a retrofit, but I found myself really missing the more defined structure of Dark Souls' covenants in Elden Ring. Allying yourself with the Sun Bros or the Gravelords gave multiplayer invasions and duels more purpose, and the unique items for each covenant offered another fun goal to work towards. You bet your ass I earned enough Sunlight medals to get that Great Lightning Spear. I'm really feeling their absence in Elden Ring, even if NPCs still offer a less formal approximation of the old covenant system.
The popular theory is that the three colosseums scattered across Elden Ring's map will become PvP arenas in a future update, so I'm hopeful they could make a comeback. Elden Ring is a game people will be playing multiplayer in for ages; covenants would give them both more goals to accomplish and a stronger identity to latch onto when they go invadin'.
Peace
Andy Chalk, News Lead: Nothing, jesus, leave me alone. What kind of maniac wants DLC for a game that goddamn big?
