Elden Ring - Race to the DLC - 02 - Upgrade Mats / Irina Questline / Ash of War / Golden Seed

About Race to DLC

~ Timestamps ~
00:00:00 - Race To The DLC
00:03:04 - Grace #1 - Agheel Lake South
00:09:26 - Smithing Stone [1]
00:10:45 - Grace #2 - Bridge of Sacrifice
00:11:11 - Irina Quest Begins
00:16:52 - Ash of War - Mighty Shot
00:20:11 - Hand Ballista
00:23:03 - Grace #3 - Castle Morne Rampart
00:25:00 - Map Weeping Peninsula
00:27:37 - Golden Seed #1
00:29:53 - Grace #4 - Castle Morne Lift
00:34:48 - Golden Seed #2
00:37:30 - Nomadic Warrior Cookbook [6]
00:38:25 - Ash of War - Bloody Slash
00:39:20 - Dectus Medallion (Left)
00:41:22 - ErdSteel Dagger
00:50:00 - Deathtouched Catacombs
00:59:01 - Uchigatana (sword)
01:04:00 - Black Knife Assassin / Assassin's Crimson Dagger / Deathroot
01:06:45 - Rescue Alexander
01:10:32 - Grace #5 - Summonwater Village Outskirts
01:11:06 - Tibia Mariner / Death Root / Skeletal Militiaman Ashes
01:13:32 - Green Turtle Talisman
01:17:47 - Invaded by Anastasia / Sacred Scorpion Charm
01:19:19 - Grace #6 - Smoldering Church / Trip to Round Table Hold

About Race to the DLC

When news broke that Elden Ring was being blessed with a DLC, like the masses, I was ecstatic. However, when I learned that you had to defeat Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood before entering the realm of shadow, I was perplexed. That was until I understood the storied elements behind the decision, then it made perfect sense. It made sense, but it still sucked, because, like many, after beating the game, I stored up upgrade Mats and entered New Game Plus.

By utilizing my new game plus, getting to a starting point for Shadow of the Erd Tree was fairly simple. However, others that are attempting this feat without "New Game Plus" as springboard are struggling. One online friend even gave up outright.

Enter "Race to the DLC". This is NOT a traditional guide by any measurement. I am simply documenting a vanilla run to Shadow of the Erd Tree. I will be taking the most direct route. For example, When I reach Rykard, I will be using the shortcut to the boss fight. I will NOT be tackling the volcano manor assassinations. I will be looking for opportunities to level ASAP, being that the enemies in Shadow of the Erd Tree are NO JOKE.