Helldivers 2 Dev Comments on Elden Ring DLC Difficulty

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: A Difficulty Debate

The release of Elden Ring's highly anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion sparked a heated online discussion about its difficulty. Many players, both newcomers and veterans, voiced concerns about the challenging new bosses, with some even suggesting they were overtuned. Johan Pilestedt, CCO of Arrowhead Game Studios (creators of Helldivers 2), weighed in on FromSoftware's design philosophy.

Pilestedt, also the creative director of Helldivers 2, publicly agreed with streamer Rurikhan's assessment that FromSoftware intentionally creates challenging bosses to foster a sense of accomplishment and player engagement. He argued that effective game design prioritizes evoking strong emotional responses, even if it means appealing to a more niche audience. He famously stated, "a game for everyone is a game for no one," emphasizing the importance of staying true to the intended player base.

Helldivers 2 Developer's Perspective on Elden Ring's DLC Challenge

FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki had already preemptively warned players in interviews that Shadow of the Erdtree would be demanding, even for seasoned Elden Ring players. He explained that the DLC's boss balancing assumed players had significant progress in the main game and that FromSoftware considered player feedback regarding enjoyable and frustrating aspects of the base game's boss fights when designing the expansion.

Shadow of the Erdtree introduced the Scadutree Blessing mechanic, boosting player damage and reducing incoming damage within the Land of Shadow. Despite this in-game explanation, many players either overlooked or disregarded it, prompting Bandai Namco to issue a reminder about its importance amidst the negative feedback surrounding the DLC's difficulty.

Despite achieving the highest rating for any video game DLC on OpenCritic, surpassing even The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's Blood and Wine, Shadow of the Erdtree's reception on Steam has been more mixed. Negative reviews frequently cite both the high difficulty and newly introduced technical issues.