Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will kick players’ ass, but an optional dungeon called the Fog Rift Catacombs induces a special kind of despair. After being stuck in this place for a while, I understand why: this dungeon is simultaneously the best, worst, and funniest thing FromSoftware has ever done.
Obviously this post will contain it spoilers for this one dungeon. Once you cross the large bridge leading away from the DLC’s starting area, the map may draw your gaze north, towards a path that appears to lead to a new Shadow of the Erdtree map fragment for you to collect. This is FromSoft’s first trick. After getting past a fortress with piles of enemies literally raining fire on you and surviving a misty valley full of stealthy little gremlins trying to stab you in the back, you’ll see messages from other players to the effect of “no card.” . Come on, all the more tears.”
That’s when the valley path takes you to the Fog Rift Catacombs. At first glance it looks like any other crypt-style dungeon in Elden Ring, with a number of stone paths and a few enemies hidden in hard-to-spot locations to scare you. Then the giant spike traps come out of the ceiling. Then along come the crazy guys with foghorn mouths that belch fireballs at you, like Birdo shooting eggs in Mario 2. Than you start to realize that not only do you have to avoid those spike traps, but you also have to ride them to find hidden paths.
Catacombs crack in the mist and, honestly, what the hellJune 21, 2024
As you play online, you will continue to see messages from other players suffering from increasing levels of despair. There’s a room with several soldiers, which you can quite easily pull back to fight one-on-one. The last enemy in this room is a knight with his back to you – and so am I, really should have done realized this was a trap, but the secret man around the corner from this knight killed me anyway. By the time I reached this room, my desperation level was there, with all those messages I had found.
Perhaps the ultimate middle finger that the Fog Rift Catacombs give you is a gigantic, long hall with another ceiling spike trap that covers the entire distance. On the other side is a wizard who pelts you with machine gun style magical arrows. Between each spike trap drop, you’ll need to sprint around the room and dodge into side alcoves to avoid damage. The catch? The second alcove you dive into is basically just a hole that drops you into a sewer area where you have to fight what I can only describe as sentient piles of feces.
“I want to challenge whoever created the Fog Rift Catacombs to a cage fight,” as one Reddit thread puts it, and I understand where that sentiment comes from. I also understand why so many people call it ‘so fun’, a ’10/10 catacomb’ and ‘my favorite Elden Ring dungeon’. You just feel the level designers laughing at you to a point where it’s honestly a bit endearing.
This post from Reddit user Magistrates sums it up for me: “This is honestly the funniest location in From Software history. Basically just a series of proprietary FromSoft jokes with you as the player as the punchline. It’s not particularly difficult, especially compared to the rest of the DLC, but damn, is it any good? Oh, you survived several bombniezers, a variety of death traps, a few messages saying ‘first a message, then an explosion’ and then take a little imp. Still alive? Have a hole with a sewer, fight some literal shit, and then try again.
Then there’s the boss of the entire dungeon, who is literally called Death Knight. As with many Shadow of the Erdtree bosses, Death Knight has numerous quick attacks that hit difficult and extremely limited windows in which you can deal damage. The kicker is a hasty grab where the boss grabs you and drains your life to restore his own health bar. Even though I finally defeated Death Knight, I still don’t know if it’s even possible to dodge that attack.
“I don’t know where else to go in this catacomb :(“Miyazaki: OH HO HO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A TINY HIDE ROOM IN THE FALLING SPIKE TRAP?🥹 pic.twitter.com/XeCb2KM7YPJune 23, 2024
And while I was looking for commentary on the Fog Rift Catacombs to expand on this story and justify my own complicated feelings about the DLC, I just stumbled across the above tweet and discovered that I still have more to find in this dungeon. Damn, I don’t think I’m done yet.
Need help surviving the DLC? Check out our guide at where to find Scadutree fragments in Shadow of the Erdtree.