Spoilers, but posting these here. Some images have leaked from the Elden Ring DLC Expo.
A few areas not seen in the trailers yet
A few areas not seen in the trailers yet
Soulsborne Discussion, Feats & Analysis
- Thread starter Papa Nier
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select people and review sites have had access to the first 3 hours of the game. I haven't had a chance to watch much, but read one of them. Obviously don't read if you plan on going into the game blind, but I'm really only highlighting two things I think have some lore/feat significance
the Lion Dance boss can control the weather. It uses not just thunderstorms but also snowstorms. There is another boss called "Twin Moon Knight" which is fascinating, first character we have seen with an allegiance to both major moons?
There's also a character who fought alongside Radahn before coming to the Land of Shadows, so interested in that
There's also a character who fought alongside Radahn before coming to the Land of Shadows, so interested in that
Vaati thankfully notated every single item description and piece of dialogue he encountered when he got to play, obviously spoilers inbound
been following updates closely as I can so my initial impressions/theories (any item descriptions I'm referencing are mostly from Vaati's video, as he's the only person so far to document them)
EDIT: other theory regarding the Omen
There's a heavy emphasis with the Crucible/Lion Dancer culture about Divinity, "Divine Beast" is a unique classification, and for the first time Heavens are mentioned, which Storms represent (could this tie into Placidusax's storm outside time? More pressing though, when the Lion Dancer is killed, there's another npc called the Empyrean Grandam who narrates the cutscene, and refuses to speak to you. They hate you and Marika (they basically call Marika a whore, I'm taking this also to mean Messmer is a bastard child as others have theorized), but they specifically say the Divine Beast was sent from a Higher Sphere, so we could be getting some truly revelationary cosmology in this DLC. This is the first time a higher plane beyond the universe is implied at all.
There's another, very minimal line, I haven't seen anyone speak on, but the Solitary Knights have two crests and one represents the "light of birth", given the tower of Belarut leads to the "Gate of Divinity", I think this light is where Marika became a god, and why the trailer scene of her ascending the fleshy steps, has two skies in it, one resembling the Elden Beast's summoned realm and one being more of a purple stormy hue. Also the strings Marika pulls from the unknown womblike object(?) resemble not just the strings of the Elden Ring in her hammer in early trailers, but also the galactis supercluster Laniakea in real life, which the strings in the Elden Beast's body resemble.
There's also been debate about the timeline, as the Wicker Men have Fire Giant heads on their waists, even though Fire Giant war was at the very beginning of the Erdtree. Now that we have clearer footage, these look to be metal masks modelled after Giants. My current theory is Messmerflame (it's actually called this) was modelled after the Giant's Flame of Ruin, which is why his fire is given so much emphasis in the trailer. The color is similar, and he is the only character to have a flame named after himself, which emphasizes its unique and important properties, possibly similar to Giant's Flame being able to burn something that only exists in abstract non-physical form.
One big lore bomb mentioned offhand is an item called Marika's Blessing,, this one's a major spoiler so I'll keep it under a second lock
There's another, very minimal line, I haven't seen anyone speak on, but the Solitary Knights have two crests and one represents the "light of birth", given the tower of Belarut leads to the "Gate of Divinity", I think this light is where Marika became a god, and why the trailer scene of her ascending the fleshy steps, has two skies in it, one resembling the Elden Beast's summoned realm and one being more of a purple stormy hue. Also the strings Marika pulls from the unknown womblike object(?) resemble not just the strings of the Elden Ring in her hammer in early trailers, but also the galactis supercluster Laniakea in real life, which the strings in the Elden Beast's body resemble.
There's also been debate about the timeline, as the Wicker Men have Fire Giant heads on their waists, even though Fire Giant war was at the very beginning of the Erdtree. Now that we have clearer footage, these look to be metal masks modelled after Giants. My current theory is Messmerflame (it's actually called this) was modelled after the Giant's Flame of Ruin, which is why his fire is given so much emphasis in the trailer. The color is similar, and he is the only character to have a flame named after himself, which emphasizes its unique and important properties, possibly similar to Giant's Flame being able to burn something that only exists in abstract non-physical form.
One big lore bomb mentioned offhand is an item called Marika's Blessing,, this one's a major spoiler so I'll keep it under a second lock
which indicates Miquella was blessed by her for his journey into the Shadowed Lands. This is pretty huge and I have no idea what to make of it, as it had long been thought Miquella, like many other characters, was working against Marika. The more I learn about her the more of a puppetmaster character she is.
EDIT: other theory regarding the Omen
In the DLC there's a people called the "Hornsent", like the Omen and Crucible tied things in the base game, they are covered in horns, and I assume Lion Dancer is one of them. I don't actually think there is anything different about them from the Omen, as we are never clearly given a reason WHY the Omen are hated in the Lands Between, it's just weird fantasy racism. The Hornsent are considered like royalty in the Lands of Shadow, and give they are enemies of Marika, this racism could entirely be based in cultural bias due to her stamping out the Shadow Lands cultures and people. iirc the Omen's souls don't return to the Erdtree, but given Marika hates the Crucible and reformed it into the Erdtree, I can easily see how this just reinforces this, not contradicts it.
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someone compiled all dialogue and descriptions vaati provided
Closer observation on the Empyrean Grandam's dialogue
Closer observation on the Empyrean Grandam's dialogue
She speaks of the Divine Beasts as being something from the higher sphere/heaven that she prays will inhabit the body of the Lion Dancers. This is really goddamn interesting and I think also goes a way towards explaining why the hell the Elden Beast is considered a Beast at all, something that always confused me. There's also Zullie pointing out recently the Elden Beast has five fingers, and the Beastmen are said to have gained intelligence along with their 5th digit. Something going on here
big updates and more lore from another participant of the early 3 hour playtest, he also clarifies that the Big Spoiler I mentioned earlier was not actually true, it’s something else
The extra secret spoiler dialogue Vaati was keeping for later has been posted, interesting stuff
not a spoiler at all but an analysis on the physics of comets and magnetic fields and why shard spiral and comet azur function how they do
red bull did their livestream yesterday with some new footage and reveals, I didn’t see anything super lore spoilery but there is one really cool thing we are getting
Ashes of War based on Malenia’s dive when she uses scarlet aeonia, and one where we can do General Radahn’s psycho crusher style gravity spiral attack. Sick as hell
leaks are dropping and what the fuck
if they're real what the fuck and if they're fake what the hell
(most fun part of the prerelease cycle)
if they're real what the fuck and if they're fake what the hell
(most fun part of the prerelease cycle)
LMFAO NOT INLY WERE THESE RIDICULOUS ASS LEAKS REAL WE HAVE A DIRECT CONFIRMATION OF LIGHTSPEED ATTACKS 
this dlc is gonna be a cluster fuck for powerscaling n I can tell you that
this dlc is gonna be a cluster fuck for powerscaling n I can tell you that
You can also now use Torrent in the Elden Beast fightLMFAO NOT INLY WERE THESE RIDICULOUS ASS LEAKS REAL WE HAVE A DIRECT CONFIRMATION OF LIGHTSPEED ATTACKS
this dlc is gonna be a cluster fuck for powerscaling n I can tell you that
So no more needing to stack Holy Resist equip to negate needing to spend 90% of the fight chasing that asshole across the map
really shocked that took so long for them to add, not only did it make sense from a gameplay perspective but Torrent's our guy...why would he not be there for the final battleYou can also now use Torrent in the Elden Beast fight
So no more needing to stack Holy Resist equip to negate needing to spend 90% of the fight chasing that asshole across the map
minor but absolutely hilarious spoiler
Mohg innocent
no he’s literally a Miquella victim
Lol now the tables of the relationship have been completely turned.no he’s literally a Miquella victim
Some thoughts, mega spoilers inbound, but I'll keep those in a second spoiler
So from a scaling standpoint, at least going through item descriptions and such thus far, it's actually much more barebones than I expected. Miquella's Eclipse seems to be a red herring...I haven't found any mention of it at all, and this is despite Godwyn having a pretty notable presence and lore in the DLC. There's...kind of a possible reason for this but I'll get to that later.
The most interesting character to me right now by far, is Count Ymir, a former Carian who knows a lot about the cosmos. Also may be From's unique way at writing a transgender character because Ymir constantly speaks of wanting to be a mother. Generally one of the nicer characters too from what I can tell. Ymir has some interesting revelations about the universe and the Greater Will
Ymir's questline is intricately linked with a major boss called Metyr, Mother of Fingers. Her remembrance is as follows
We get some more cosmic stuff from one of her items, the Staff of the Great Beyond
Fleeting Microcosm Finger Sorcery
We also get some Dragon lore. We know who took Placidusax's heads, and it wasn't Godfrey, but another Dragon named Bayle the Dread, who somehow spawned the Drakes/Lesser Dragons. The Ancient Dragons also became extremely racist after this and fomented Dragon Communion so that the Lesser Dragons would be wiped out. Fitting they would join the Golden Order I guess.
Talisman of the Dread
Ancient Dragon priestess
There's also the odd description of the Hefty Red Lightning Pot
The final mega spoiler
The most interesting character to me right now by far, is Count Ymir, a former Carian who knows a lot about the cosmos. Also may be From's unique way at writing a transgender character because Ymir constantly speaks of wanting to be a mother. Generally one of the nicer characters too from what I can tell. Ymir has some interesting revelations about the universe and the Greater Will
This seems to either be a reference to the big bang, or a supernova. If it's the former, it proves the Greater Will made the universe, which I think was always fairly clear but it's good to have a direct reference. if the latter, then it drives home further that stars in Elden Ring are "real stars" and not meteorites as some claim, so it bolsters the general upscaling we get from Radahn.
Ymir's questline is intricately linked with a major boss called Metyr, Mother of Fingers. Her remembrance is as follows
So we have confirmation that the Greater Will sends shooting stars to the Lands Between, confirming that the Elden Stars description isn't in conflict with there being real stars. Additionally, she's the mother of all the Two Fingers! That's pretty crazy, it's been theorized they came from space, but now we know the specifics.
We get some more cosmic stuff from one of her items, the Staff of the Great Beyond
So if I'm interpreting this correctly, the universe in Elden Ring is the "Microcosm", which Metyr creates a miniature version or image of, and the Greater Will exists in the 'beyond'.
Fleeting Microcosm Finger Sorcery
Straightforward, it's an image of the universe in a spell. Metyr also uses the Microcosm to use an attack resembling an event horizon, but there's no lore on this.
We also get some Dragon lore. We know who took Placidusax's heads, and it wasn't Godfrey, but another Dragon named Bayle the Dread, who somehow spawned the Drakes/Lesser Dragons. The Ancient Dragons also became extremely racist after this and fomented Dragon Communion so that the Lesser Dragons would be wiped out. Fitting they would join the Golden Order I guess.
Talisman of the Dread
Ancient Dragon priestess
Bayle is a bit confusing, he doesn't resemble the ancient Dragons exactly, or the other type of Ancient Dragon whose corpses we see in Farum Azula, but he also predates the drakes and doesn't look like them either. He uses a mixture of flame and lightning of an orangey hue, sort of the midpoint between the lightning wielding ancients and firebreathing drakes? Can't tell what his deal is.
There's also the odd description of the Hefty Red Lightning Pot
This seems to imply that Placidusax was betrayed by the Ancient Dragons who allied with the Golden Order, which I suppose explains why he lost his era.
The final mega spoiler
Regarding Radahn and Miquella
For those who don't know, Radahn is the final boss. And is listed as Miquella's promised consort. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds, but from the text I've been able to go through, I think that's the point, Miquella was always meant to be subtly unnerving, and it is my opinion (not just because I'm a Radahn fanboy, but because of the item descriptions), that Radahn didn't actually want this, and this is an example of Miquella's 'terrifying love' we've heard about.
The major thing is the Young Lion set we unlock after the boss.
We also get to see a memory of Miquella asking Radahn to promise to be his consort...however you can't actually see Radahn in the memory, and Radahn does not have a single line of dialogue in their fight, as if he's not acting on his own. It is all from Miquella's POV. There is a line in the datamined dialogue where Radahn simply says "I am general radahn son of red haired radagon and rennala" but even that is bizarre. Why would that be all he says? As far as I know it's cut however.
Now, this does not necessarily mean this was Malenia's fault either, which I initially thought. Because Miquella's Great Rune weaves an enchantment over people that causes them to blindly pursue him and manipulates their emotions. Miquella dispells it at one point and various characters react, including a former servant of Mohg, who confirms Mohg was under the enchantment as well. He actually attacked Miquella to free Mohg from the spell before falling victim to it himself. So Mohg and Malenia are to some degree probably innocent. Mohg beat the allegations. This was all an extremely bizarre and convoluted plan to obtain Radahn's soul. This may explain why Radahn actually stopped the stars, if he did not agree to being his half-brother's consort, then he may have halted fate intentionally to put an end to it. Which had the side effect of ruining Miquella's genuinely benevolent plans for Godwyn's body. Miquella was just smarter, and cast off his body and everything tying him to fate, and then somehow used Mohg's corpse as a gateway to the Land of Shadow (Ansbach says Mohg was used for this, no explanation on how Miquella's body in the cocoon factors in because that's how we get there).
A former Redmane, Freyja, had this to say
Regarding powerscaling nonsense
So yeah even in his youth Radahn could swing a sword at the speed of light, this also drives home Light in Elden Ring in general being 'real light' which we never had anything implying before. There's another item implying the lightning should be grounds to be treated as real as well but I forget which one.
Conclusion: from a writing perspective, I initially hated this reveal, but after some time to sit with it, I think it was a very calculated choice made to emphasize why Miquella's so scary. Radahn is not just a fandom darling, he's also Miyazaki's favorite boss in the game, and the Festival was his idea (the other staff thought it sounded stupid). Taking the fan favorite character and making them the victim of some weird incest scheme is the ultimate way to drive home to the players how far gone Miquella is in his quest for godhood. Unless new information comes to light, I'm unable to reach an interpretation that places this as a joint Radahn/Miquella operation, and I'm not sure what the narrative implications of that would even mean for the base game storyline (it would be incomprehensible as far as I can tell).
For those who don't know, Radahn is the final boss. And is listed as Miquella's promised consort. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds, but from the text I've been able to go through, I think that's the point, Miquella was always meant to be subtly unnerving, and it is my opinion (not just because I'm a Radahn fanboy, but because of the item descriptions), that Radahn didn't actually want this, and this is an example of Miquella's 'terrifying love' we've heard about.
The major thing is the Young Lion set we unlock after the boss.
This does not sound like Radahn and Miquella had this planned from this beginning. This makes it seem like Miquella sent Malenia to kill Radahn because he was obsessed with him, nothing we know of Radahn either in DLC (so far) or base game supports him going to war for no purpose, and the base game is explicit about Malenia marching on Caelid, she is the aggressor. The other thing that stands out is we aren't exactly facing "Prime" Radahn...we are fighting Radahn in his youth, and given Miquella put Radahn's soul into Mohg's corpse to revive him as a younger version of Radahn he fell in love with, this is a strong implication to me that none of this was consensual or planned between the two.
We also get to see a memory of Miquella asking Radahn to promise to be his consort...however you can't actually see Radahn in the memory, and Radahn does not have a single line of dialogue in their fight, as if he's not acting on his own. It is all from Miquella's POV. There is a line in the datamined dialogue where Radahn simply says "I am general radahn son of red haired radagon and rennala" but even that is bizarre. Why would that be all he says? As far as I know it's cut however.
Now, this does not necessarily mean this was Malenia's fault either, which I initially thought. Because Miquella's Great Rune weaves an enchantment over people that causes them to blindly pursue him and manipulates their emotions. Miquella dispells it at one point and various characters react, including a former servant of Mohg, who confirms Mohg was under the enchantment as well. He actually attacked Miquella to free Mohg from the spell before falling victim to it himself. So Mohg and Malenia are to some degree probably innocent. Mohg beat the allegations. This was all an extremely bizarre and convoluted plan to obtain Radahn's soul. This may explain why Radahn actually stopped the stars, if he did not agree to being his half-brother's consort, then he may have halted fate intentionally to put an end to it. Which had the side effect of ruining Miquella's genuinely benevolent plans for Godwyn's body. Miquella was just smarter, and cast off his body and everything tying him to fate, and then somehow used Mohg's corpse as a gateway to the Land of Shadow (Ansbach says Mohg was used for this, no explanation on how Miquella's body in the cocoon factors in because that's how we get there).
Ansbach also believes the only reason we even fight Mohg was due to Miquella's enchantment.Ansbach said:
A former Redmane, Freyja, had this to say
But again, this vow by her own words is coming from Miquella's pov to her, which makes me question whether Radahn ever actually agreed to it or not.
I've seen some use this to argue that Radahn both agreed to the marriage and still fought Malenia in order to just have another war. This seems to contradict what we know of the character and is a bit of a stretch from this dialogue imo, even assuming Radahn did truly love Miquella, this does not support it.
Regarding powerscaling nonsense
Greatsword of Radahn (Light) said:
Ash of War: Lightspeed Slash said:
So yeah even in his youth Radahn could swing a sword at the speed of light, this also drives home Light in Elden Ring in general being 'real light' which we never had anything implying before. There's another item implying the lightning should be grounds to be treated as real as well but I forget which one.
Conclusion: from a writing perspective, I initially hated this reveal, but after some time to sit with it, I think it was a very calculated choice made to emphasize why Miquella's so scary. Radahn is not just a fandom darling, he's also Miyazaki's favorite boss in the game, and the Festival was his idea (the other staff thought it sounded stupid). Taking the fan favorite character and making them the victim of some weird incest scheme is the ultimate way to drive home to the players how far gone Miquella is in his quest for godhood. Unless new information comes to light, I'm unable to reach an interpretation that places this as a joint Radahn/Miquella operation, and I'm not sure what the narrative implications of that would even mean for the base game storyline (it would be incomprehensible as far as I can tell).
Bayle's storyline might also clarify that Placidusax~=Godfrey now. Even if we assume Placidusax was the Storm Lord Godfrey defeated, it would have been Placidusax after losing three of his heads and being betrayed by some of the other Ancient Dragons. Too bad Placy had to become another mega-racist in order to get retroactive gains 
An alternative viewpoint
[21020000] Lord brother.
[21020100] I'm going to be a god.
[21020200] If we honour our part of the vow,
[21020300] promise me you'll be my consort.
[21020400] I'll make the world a gentler place.
Based on Miquella's dialogue in his memory, you could also argue that Radahn did agree to be his Consort, but changed his mind at some point and did not believe Miquella had upheld whatever their Vow was.
[21020100] I'm going to be a god.
[21020200] If we honour our part of the vow,
[21020300] promise me you'll be my consort.
[21020400] I'll make the world a gentler place.
Based on Miquella's dialogue in his memory, you could also argue that Radahn did agree to be his Consort, but changed his mind at some point and did not believe Miquella had upheld whatever their Vow was.