Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

You need to defeat both Starscourge Radahn (Caelid's Crater of Sellia in vanilla Elden Ring) and Mohg, Lord of Blood (Mohgwyn Palace) before you can enter Shadow of the Erdtree. After both fall, touch Miquella's withered arm protruding from Mohg's cocoon at the back of his arena to teleport into the Land of Shadow. Recommended character level for entry is 90+, though Crystal Tears can ease earlier attempts at Mohg.

Source: PC Gamer: How to start the DLC

Scadutree Fragments level up your Scadutree Blessing — the DLC's separate damage and damage-reduction stat that only applies inside the Land of Shadow. Spend them at any Site of Grace under the new Shadow Realm Blessing tab. Costs scale: level 1 = 1 fragment, levels 2-9 = 2 each, levels 10-20 = 3 each. There are 50 fragments total in the DLC; max level is 20 (2.05x damage, 0.487x damage taken). Levels 10-12 are typically enough for most bosses.

Source: Game8: Scadutree Fragment locations

Standout DLC weapons by build: Backhand Blade (Dex S-scaling, dodge weapon skill, found east of Three-Path Cross), Milady (Dex light greatsword with Wing Stance, at Castle Ensis watchtower), Star-Lined Sword (top-tier Int katana with magic-swing skill), Spear of the Impaler (Messmer's remembrance weapon, AoE magma pool throw), Rakshasa's Great Katana (best bleed weapon, Dex/Arcane/Str scaling), and Black Steel Greathammer (early Str/Faith with holy guard counter).

Source: GamesRadar: Best SOTE weapons

Main story takes about 23 hours for skilled players or 35 hours average. Most players finish all major bosses and side quests in roughly 37 hours. Full 100% completion (every Scadutree fragment, every NPC questline, every optional boss like Bayle, every Remembrance weapon) lands at 45-60 hours. Difficulty and your Scadutree Blessing level swing the time significantly — under-leveled players bounce off bosses and rack up retries.

Source: GamesRadar: How long is SOTE

Patch 1.14 (September 10, 2024) significantly nerfed Promised Consort Radahn after community backlash about his unfair attack chains. Three categories of nerfs: general damage reduction, stamina damage cuts, and shorter attack ranges. His opening sequence was rechoreographed, and visual telegraphs on some attacks were enhanced. Pre-patch Radahn could chain attacks too rapidly to counter; post-patch he has more forgiving openings. Many veterans dug out their 'I beat Radahn before the nerf' memes when the patch landed.

Source: TheGamer: Update 1.14 nerfs Radahn