Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC receives a balancing update (1.12.2) to ease early and late-game challenges. While lauded by critics, the DLC's difficulty proved too steep for some players, leading to review bombing on Steam. This update directly addresses these concerns.

The update significantly boosts attack power and damage reduction from Shadow Realm Blessings (like Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes) during the initial stages of enhancement. While later enhancements still increase these stats, the increase is more gradual. The final enhancement level also receives a slight buff.

This means players should find the early and late portions of the DLC considerably easier, potentially making challenging encounters like the Divine Beast Dancing Lion boss more manageable. Bandai Namco even issued a reminder to players to utilize Scadutree Fragments, highlighting their importance in overcoming the DLC's difficulty. These fragments, collected throughout the DLC, enhance damage output and resilience when used at Sites of Grace.

The update also fixes a PC-specific bug where ray tracing automatically activates when loading saves from older game versions, a known cause of framerate issues. Players experiencing instability are advised to manually disable ray tracing in the graphics settings.

Further balance adjustments and bug fixes are planned for future updates.

Elden Ring Update 1.12.2 Patch Notes Summary:

• Shadow Realm Blessing Adjustments: Increased attack and damage negation, particularly in the early stages of enhancement. The final enhancement level also received a small increase.
• Ray Tracing Bug Fix (PC): Resolved an issue where ray tracing automatically enabled upon loading older saves.
• Future Updates: Additional balance changes and bug fixes are planned.