How to Clear the Shadow Above the Tower in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

One of the defining features of the skyline in the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is the massive shadow above the Tower Settlement. Short of saying what it is, you can probably guess that it’s important. Knowing how to clear the shadow above the tower will get you a long way in the DLC. Here’s how.

How to Light the Shadow Above the Tower Settlement in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Note: There are massive endgame spoilers for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree in this guide.

If you reached the doors leading to the area above the Tower Settlement after beating the Divine Lion boss, you undoubtedly came across the shadowy branches blocking the way. Know that you need to not only reach an endgame area to clear the shadows, but you also must defeat Messmer the Impaler to get the item you need.

The shadowy branches blocking access to the tower above the settlement can only be removed by burning the “sealing tree” at the western end of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. Moreover, you can only reach the Ruins by taking a specific path through Messmer’s Shadow Keep. As for burning the sealing tree specifically, you need the Messmer’s Kindling item, so while you can reach the tree itself long before you ever take on Messmer himself, you can’t actually do anything until he’s dead.

Using the Kindling on the sealing tree will trigger a cutscene that instantly teleports you to the final dungeon, a fantastical castle in the sky called Enir-Ilim, home of some of the game’s hardest enemies and, at its very peak, the final boss fight.

What’s interesting about this structure is that there are technically only two bosses in all of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree that you must kill as part of its story. You can take the shortcut to the Scadu Altus to avoid Rellana, Twin Moon Knight. You bypass the Divine Lion by teleporting to Enir-Ilim and past its boss room by clearing the shadow above the tower. You can even go around the Golden Hippopotamus by going through the Church District.

That said, do not skip the rest of the DLC. Collecting Scadutree Fragments is absolutely critical to making the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree a fun and chill experience. Without Scadutree Fragment upgrades, you will do minimal damage, take massive amounts of the same, and generally feel like the game is balanced around literal masochism. I promise you even if you only have Scadutree Blessing level 10, you will trivialize both Rellana and the Divine Lion. Hell, even Messmer is much more of a cakewalk at Blessing 10, and by the time you reach him, you can easily reach Blessing 16 or 17 and make mincemeat out of the fight.

Bear in mind that a few of the Scadutree Fragments you need are in Enir-Ilim and are thus inaccessible until you clear the shadow above the Tower. However, because you can access almost the entire world of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree as soon as you enter it, definitely even the very final dungeon of Enir-Ilim can be much easier to conquer if you take your time. The final boss is another matter, but that’s a separate issue.

For more on Elden Ring‘s first and only DLC, check out the Elden Ring guides hub, which includes where to find the O Mother gesture.