If you want to know what level you should be for Shadow of the Erdtree in Elden Ring, then you need to be at least around 150 before heading in to this DLC. It's meant as post-endgame content after all, but there's more to it than just levelling requirements. So, as a 150ish player about five hours in, let me explain what you need to know about the Shadow of the Erdtree levelling requirements, and what I've learned from other players at a range of levels.
Shadow of the Erdtree recommended level and other requirements
So, as I mentioned above, you want to be at least level 150 for Shadow of the Erdtree. That's probably the bare minimum you can get away with if you want even a chance of surviving the Realm of Shadow. If you're not there yet then these Elden Ring Rune farming locations will help you level up faster. Realistically, close to level 200 is probably going to be better overall but as a currently level 154 player, I'm doing okay so far, with a couple of bosses down and working my way deeper into the map.
There's more at play here than just your existing level, though. This expansion has its own levelling system that uses Shadow of the Erdtree Scadutree Fragments to increase player level. It's a DLC specific thing that will only benefit your character in the expansion area but it means that, to some extent, your actual player level is less important than how many fragments you can find. There are also Spirit Ashes that do the same thing for your summons and, again, only have an effect in the Realm of Shadows.
However, there's arguably something far more important than both player level and Scadutree Fragments combined and that's your Vigor stat. Erdtree enemies hit hard and even the most basic enemies can oneshot an otherwise high levelled character. If you haven't got at least 60 points in Vigor you are probably going to struggle and want to Respec in Elden Ring with a quick visit to Rennala at Lucaria Academy. More than my level, or the fragments I found, this is the thing that made the most difference. I had to tweak my build a little and power up a different weapon to better use my redistributed stats, but I went from barely being able to move without dying to taking down the Shadow of the Erdtree Dancing Lion boss first go.
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The new Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree patch buffs are way smaller than you'd think, but they let me instantly defeat a boss I'd been stuck on for hours
Good news, Tarnished: Your Scadutree Fragments carry over in the Elden Ring DLC, so you won't start back at square one as New Game Plus gets harder
