Elden Ring released back in February 2022 to rave reviews and a stellar reception from the wider gaming audience. Millions of players have arisen as lowly Tarnished and taken it upon themselves to make the journey to Leyndell and claim the throne of Elden Lord. While Elden Ring's expansive world holds hundreds of hours of content, a lot of players who have since achieved one of the game's many endings are looking for other ways to fill their time in the Lands Between.
Of course, there are plenty of different builds to run through Elden Ring with that can change the gameplay up massively, but once a player has heard Godrick's last words for the 100th time, or managed to take down Malenia as a level 1 Wretch, it becomes the case that additional content might be the best route to freshen up the game. Already, rumors centered around Elden Ring's DLC have filled the internet, with many pointing to the game's mysterious coliseums as a place where some new PvP content could be introduced. If this is true and Elden Ring's DLC does have a focus on PvP, it is highly unlikely that it won't include something to build on the world and narrative of the base game. Considering FromSoftware's past DLCs, it's probable there will be a story behind Elden Ring's additional content, and there are a few directions that narrative could take.
What the Leaks Imply About Elden Ring's DLC
Elden Ring's patch 1.07 brought about a bunch of potential information about the content that could be on its way to the game. As stated above, there was seemingly a focus on the coliseums scattered throughout Elden Ring in a lot of the game files spotted by well-known dataminer Sekiro Dubi. These coliseums are inaccessible in Elden Ring without glitches or modding, but because of their size, a lot of fans imagine that these structures can't just be there for show, and they must have a purpose.
This purpose appears to be to allow for some greater PvP arenas in Elden Ring, something that a lot of players have wanted for some time. However, if the sole purpose of these coliseums is to improve PvP, this doesn't tell gamers much about the story of the DLC. It could revolve around the player becoming the greatest champion through fighting in these grand arenas, but this might not please everyone, as keeping additional content centered around three coliseums wouldn't really be in the spirit of Elden Ring's game design, which has the Tarnished travel across a variety of different landscapes.
Something that has been discussed a lot online is the Great Jar in Elden Ring, which stands stalwart outside the coliseum in Caelid and has three summon signs in front of it, allowing the player to defeat invaders. The existence of this mysterious, giant character, has led some to believe that there could be an exploration of the lore of the Jars in Elden Ring's future content. Considering Alexander the Warrior Jar's value placed on becoming stronger, it could be the case that Elden Ring's DLC could use the coliseums as a way to make the player grow in power while also showcasing why it is that the Jars focus so much on becoming great warriors.
This does seem a bit of a stretch, though, and there is the potential for Elden Ring's DLC to explore a lot of other things within its story. The first piece of supposedly leaked information around the additional content stated that the title for Elden Ring's DLC was "Barbarians of the Badlands." While this has since been labeled fake, this doesn't negate the possibility that Elden Ring could move to the Badlands in the future. If the coliseums do allow for players to prove themselves against others in PvP, the Badlands could allow for even greater challenges in PvE outside the tests the Lands Between offer.
The Clues from Elden Ring's Base Game
It does seem that there are a few different clues pointing to the possible directions of the narrative in Elden Ring's DLC within the base game. Without diving into files or hoping for a new leak in the next patch, FromSoftware may have left some hints as to where future content would go. Again, a lot of these clues point toward the Badlands being at least involved in the story of Elden Ring's DLC. Fans don't know too much about the Badlands, apart from the fact that it's where Godfrey spent his time in exile.
In fact, Godfrey was actually killed in the Badlands, and was only able to come back and challenge the player because the Rune of Death was no longer around. The First Elden Lord is one of the strongest bosses in Elden Ring, and so the fact that he was killed in the Badlands means there are some strong enemies out there. Certainly, there are creatures or characters that could make for some believably difficult boss fights in a future DLC.
While the Badlands does offer a potential new area for players to explore, filled with tough enemies, there is another option that could be considered an obvious direction in Miquella. Malenia's twin appears in Elden Ring in the arena where the player fights Mohg, the Lord of Blood, but is barely moving in his cocoon. He also has a lot of lore tied to the setting and his fellow demigods, meaning there would be plenty to explore. Moreover, Miquella is one of the few demigods the player doesn't get a chance to defeat in Elden Ring, meaning a boss fight with him would be highly anticipated.
Whether Elden Ring's DLC brings in a story centered around the coliseums, Badlands, or Miquella, there are clear paths that fans expect FromSoftware to follow in the additional content for its latest title. There's even the possibility that the famed developer could cover a few of these things in one DLC, especially if the coliseums are opened purely for PvP purposes, as this would mean players would have to go elsewhere for the story aspect. If the DLCs for Bloodborne and the Dark Souls games are any indicator though, fans should expect interesting areas and difficult bosses aplenty in Elden Ring's DLC.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.