It’s Elden Ring day, again. Shadow of the Erdtree, its long-awaited and massive expansion, is finally live and, surprise, it’s really, really hard. Even veteran players are getting their arses kicked.
Whether it’s new bosses or random scrubs out in the field, everything seems to be hitting harder and Elden Ring sickos appear to be having the time of their lives. The DLC takes place in a new region called the Land of Shadow which can only be accessed after completing some of the base game’s toughest bosses. In theory, that means nobody should be thrust out into Elden Ring’s deadliest chapter yet without a solid character build and a wealth of experience.
And yet even these players, who previously came to dominate the Lands Between, are getting completely murdered. Some players’ first introduction to this fresh hell is the Blackgaol Knight , Erdtree’s equivalent of the Tree Sentinel who put many unsuspecting newcomers in the ground right outside the beginning of the base game. “This dude is no fucking joke,” wrote one player on the Elden Ring subreddit .
“I found a way to beat him, but holy fuck, with 55 vigor he 2-tap me if I do any mistake.” There are cheese strats to make short work of him, but taking him head on can be punishing. “I’m doing fucking zero damage to him and he two hits me lmao, great to be back!” wrote another player.
( Here’s our guide for how to beat him ). Others are simply getting two-shotted no matter where they go. Currently.