A Sword of Fire. And Ice.

This week we tackle a Legacy-ish Dungeon, Castle Ensis. Don’t get us wrong, the boss fight here is very good… but the level design and lore here are both threadbare. They can’t all be winners, but the good news is that every other dungeon is better than this one.

Before we attack Castle Ensis, there’s more ground we need to cover on the far side of the Great Ellac Bridge. This week’s episode introduces a brand new kind of mini dungeon, the Ruined Forge, full of big goofy golems with obvious weak points on their butts. We also meet sleepy, insecure Thiollier before ascending the Suppressing Tower and speculating about what exactly is going on with that thing.

AREAS COVERED:

The Great Ellac Bridge crosses a dividing line in the Gravesite Plain, a large canyon that stands between the ground we’ve already covered and Castle Ensis. The far side is fortified and narrow, but has many mysteries to explore before we head into the castle itself. This week we tackle castle-front encampment before heading north into a misty valley to delve into the Fog Rift Catacombs, where Godwyn and his forces are working toward mysterious ends.

This week, for the first Roundtable Roundtable of the DLC season, we invited the excellent YouTube video essayist Noah Caldwell-Gervais to join us to talk about Elden Ring, the Shadows of the Erdtree DLC, and his travelogue approach to analyzing games. Then we read your responses to the Gravesite Plain region and the Belurat, Tower Settlement legacy dungeon.

This week's episode takes us into the highest reaches of Belurat, to fight the Divine Beast Dancing Lion and learn the sad tale of Hornsent Grandam. She just wants to make you some awful soup, as long as you catfish her enough.

It's time to tackle our first Legacy Dungeon of the DLC, the sieged settlement beneath that impossible, shadowy tower. Belurat's lower quarters are choked with the shades of its defenders, still attempting to hold the line. And there's at least one crusader still here, the annoyingly devout Messmer follower Fire Knight Queelign.

I'm not that impressed. I've seen trees bigger than that tower.

This week's episode has us cleaning up the last remnants of the Gravesite Plain, or at least the portions on the near side of the Great Bridge. We delve into our first Gaol mini-dungeon and learn a horrifying secret about the living jars, before venturing into the western mountains to meet the Formless Mother's most devoted followers outside of the Mohgwyn Dynasty.

AREAS COVERED:

Our coverage of the Gravesite Plain continues as we venture between its southernmost tip and its northernmost reaches. The path along this road introduces us to the elite Black Knights of Messmer's forces, our first meeting with Miquella's followers, and a village overtaken by a curse that makes people into bugs. Also, your ol' pal Wolverine might make an appearance. Bub.

AREAS COVERED:

We need as many graves as you have. No wait, that's too many. The Gravesite Plain more than lives up to its name, being the entry point for a land that draws in all forms of death. Some of the most recent deaths, however, are the victims of Messmer the Impaler's bloody and fiery crusade. This week we talk about the DLC's first hours, including the Scorched Ruins and their attendant Furnace Golem.

AREAS COVERED: