If you’re struggling with Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, there’s a new Sorcery that will let you cheese everything.
FromSoftware’s expansions are notoriously difficult from Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters to Dark Souls 3’s Ringed City DLC. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is no exception with its suite of incredibly tough new bosses.
Complaints about this challenge have actually caused Shadow of the Erdtree to drop to a mixed rating on Steam. Discourse on the expansion’s difficulty has seen major streamers like Kai Cenat telling players to “put their big boy pants on”.
If you don’t feel like wearing pants or you just want a merciful reprieve from the struggle, one of the DLC’s new Sorceries could be just what you’re looking for. The Impenetrable Thorns Sorcery makes light work of even the toughest foes in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Impenetrable Thorns might be slightly mildly broken in Elden Ring. tl;dr its a multi-hit bleed spell, when scaled with Arcane with a specifically arcane-scaling staff, the bleed rate is nearly tripled and you get this dumb shit. Will make a video on how to optimize it soon pic.twitter.com/EBwU43NrpH
— Scott Jund (@ScottJund) June 25, 2024
A clip shared on X by streamer Scott Jund shows Impenetrable Thorns melting through boss health bars. What makes it even more impressive is that in the various fights, he appears to be a summoned assistant meaning that these enemies have a significantly increased health pool.
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The Sorcery itself actually requires Faith to use rather than Intelligence with a minimum of 24 in the stat needed to cast it. Interestingly, its damage and Bleed build-up scales with the Arcane stat so some respeccing will likely be needed to bring a build together.
Using a Staff that scales with Arcane like the Albanauric’s Staff as a catalyst for Impenetrable Thorns will bolster its effectiveness. The Godfrey Icon Talisman will also see an increase in the spell’s power if you charge it.
Impenetrable Thorns can be found in the Shadow Keep Legacy Dungeon. After you pull the lever in the Storehouse and climb the suspended statue, you can walk slowly off the ledge immediately outside and find the Sorcery there.
We recommend resting at the Site of Grace in front of Messmer, the Impaler’s boss room first so you don’t have to make the journey twice. Happy spell slinging Tarnished.