The key to entering the Land of Shadow and beginning Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is to defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood . Potentially unfortunate for many players hoping to hop in on the DLC's launch day is the fact that Mohg is something of a sequestered boss – an optional fight in an optional late-game area. It's entirely possible to beat Elden Ring without stepping foot in his arena, but there's luckily an easy path to Mohg that may be of use if you never took on the Lord of Blood during the first go around.
Miquella's cocoon, which must be interacted with to begin Shadow of the Erdtree, is located inside of Mohg's boss arena, which is itself at the end of an optional dungeon called Mohgwyn Palace . Mohgwyn Palace is a subsection of Siofra River, the subterranean region primarily under the surface regions of Limgrave and Caelid. There is not, however, a direct route from Siofra River proper to Mohgwyn Palace, as Mohg is one of Elden Ring's hardest boss battles, and Siofra River can be accessed almost immediately upon starting a new game. Mohgwyn Palace is conversely a late game area, typically explored by characters well over level 100.
The Fastest Route Through Elden Ring To Mohg's Boss Fight
Do White Mask Varré's Questline
Regardless of character level or story progression, the quickest way to reach Mohg in Elden Ring is by doing White Mask Varré's questline. This is because, late in Varré's questline, he will give you an item called the Pureblood Knight's Medal, which will transport you to Mohgwyn Palace when used. Once Mohgwyn Palace has been visited, there are no restrictions on movement, so the only obstacle to reaching the boss fight is the dungeon itself.
The quest for White Mask Varré consists of multiple steps, but they are all doable with very few hoops to jump through. First, Varré must be spoken to in Limgrave; he is near The First Step Site of Grace, just outside the Stranded Graveyard where the Tarnished is sent after dying to the Grafted Scion at the Chapel of Anticipation at the start of the game. You must then speak with Finger Reader Enia in the Roundtable Hold, who can be found attending the Two Fingers.
After Enia has been spoken to, Varré will move to Liurnia of the Lakes , where he's found standing near the entrance to the Rose Church, almost directly west of the Academy Gate Town Site of Grace. You need to speak with him and select the "They didn't seem right" dialog option (in reference to meeting the Two Fingers), then listen to the rest of his lines. He'll give you five Festering Bloody Fingers, which are used to invade other players' worlds. Invade three other players – actually killing the other player is irrelevant – and then return to Varré at the Rose Church.
Alternatively, if you don't want to invade other players, you can travel to Altus Plateau and invade an NPC named Magnus the Beast Claw. Either defeating Magnus or invading him three times will progress Varré's quest. Magnus' invasion sign can be found near the Writheblood Ruins , down the road southwest from the Road of Iniquity Side Path Site of Grace in northern Altus Plateau.
Returning to White Mask Varré at the Rose Church after the three invasions, he'll give you the 
Lord of Blood's Favor , an item which must be soaked in the blood of a maiden. There are four possible sources of maiden blood:
Maiden | Location | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
Unnamed Finger Maiden | Chapel of Anticipation | An Imbued Sword Key must be used to activate a waygate at the Four Belfries on the western edge of Liurnia. The correct belfry will be noted by a message that reads, "Precipice of Anticipation." |
Vyke's Finger Maiden | Church of Inhibition | None; the Finger Maiden's corpse is inside the church. |
Irina of Morne | Weeping Peninsula, southeast of Bridge of Sacrifice Site of Grace | Irina must be killed to use her blood. Killing her prematurely ends her questline and prevents Lightseeker Hyetta from appearing, also nullifying Hyetta's questline. |
Lightseeker Hyetta | Dependent on Hyetta's questline | Hyetta only appears after the conclusion of Irina's questline. Hyetta must be killed to use her blood; this will prematurely end her questline. |
After coating the Lord of Blood's Favor with the blood of a maiden, you must return to Varré at the Rose Church. Exhausting his dialog will reward you with two items: the Bloody Finger and the Pureblood Knight's Medal. Using the Pureblood Knight's Medal will transport you to Mohgwyn Palace, and you'll end up near the Dynasty Mausoleum Entrance Site of Grace. Enter the mausoleum and continue through the dungeon to reach Mohg.
If any NPCs don't appear where they are supposed to, try fast traveling between Sites of Grace or quitting to the main menu and reloading the game to reload the area, potentially triggering any queued NPC movements.
Easiest Route To Mohg Without Doing Varré's Questline
Find The Consecrated Snowfield Waygate
There is only one other route to Mohgwyn Palace in Elden Ring: through a waygate on the western edge of the Consecrated Snowfield (the waygate's location is circled in the image above), a sub-region of the Mountaintops of the Giants . Unfortunately, the Consecrated Snowfield is another optional area, and requires certain items to access. It will not be as easy as completing Varré's questline, but if, for some reason, Varré's questline is unavailable, reaching the waygate can still be done rather easily – it simply requires more progress through Elden Ring's main quest.
In order to reach the Consecrated Snowfield, you will have to find and defeat Morgott, the Omen King in Leyndell, Royal Capital and gain access to the Grand Lift of Rold. This requires defeating two demigods and coming into possession of their Great Runes. Two Great Runes are required to enter Leyndell, thus gaining access to Morgott and, subsequently, the Mountaintops of the Giants. There are four possible Great Runes that can be acquired before entering Leyndell and without having access to Mohgwyn Palace:
Great Rune | Rune Holder | Location |
|---|---|---|
Godrick's Great Rune | Godrick the Grafted | Stormveil Castle |
Great Rune of the Unborn | Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon | Academy of Raya Lucaria |
Radahn's Great Rune | Starscourge Radahn | Redmane Castle |
Rykard's Great Rune | Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy | Volcano Manor |
Defeating Starscourge Radahn is also required for accessing Shadow of the Erdtree, in addition to beating Mohg.
After defeating Morgott, the Grand Lift of Rold normally takes you to the primary areas of the Mountaintops of the Giants, but if you find both halves of the Haligtree Secret Medallion, the lift can stop at the Hidden Path to the Haligtree, which leads to the Consecrated Snowfield. One half of the Haligtree Secret Medallion is found in Liurnia of the Lakes, while the other is in a dungeon on the Mountaintops of the Giants:
Medallion Piece | Location | Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
Village of the Albinaurics, Liurnia of the Lakes | Strike Old Albus while he is disguised as a pot. Speaking to him will reward you with this half of the medallion. | |
Castle Sol, Mountaintops of the Giants | Beat Commander Niall, Castle Sol's boss fight, and climb the tower behind his boss arena. |
Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right)
Haligtree Secret Medallion (Left)Once the Secret Haligtree Medallion is whole and the Consecrated Snowfield is accessed, the waygate to Mohgwyn Palace can immediately be found. The waygate is on the far western edge of the Consecrated Snowfield, northwest from Yelough Anix Tunnel . The waygate will transport you to Mohgwyn Palace, though a little further from the dungeon proper than the Pureblood Knight's Medal. In summary, the following is the critical path to Mohg without doing Varré's questline:
- Collect two Great Runes
- Acquire the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right) from Old Albus in the Village of the Albinaurics
- Enter Leyndell, Royal Capital and defeat Morgott, the Omen King
- Acquire the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Left) from Castle Sol
- Take the Grand Lift of Rold to the Consecrated Snowfield and use the waygate to Mohgwyn Palace
Although Elden Ring is a massive game stuffed with content, the critical path is rather straightforward, and gaining access to Mohg via the Consecrated Snowfield won't take an exceptional amount of time for an experienced player. Still, doing White Mask Varré's questline is much easier, and will take significantly less time. Invading a few players and running some nefarious errands for Varré is by far the easiest route to Mohg, should it be available, and is the optimal way for Elden Ring players to reach Shadow of the Erdtree quickly.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a popular game released by From Software, creators of games such as Armored Core, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Players assume the role of a Tarnished, a being once exiled to the Lands Between and has returned to repair the Elden Ring after the events of "The Shattering." "The Shattering" occurred when the offspring of Queen Marika battled to claim the shards of the Elden Ring, known as Great Runes. Their war has brought lawlessness, destruction, and chaos to the land, and the player will challenge them with the assistance of a Maiden known as Melina as they travel towards the great Erd Tree to face their destiny and to become the one true Elden Lord. Players can tackle the game how they choose and can adventure across realms as they build their character how they want - be it a powerful magic caster or a brutal swordsman - they will have complete control over their build.
- Platform(s)
- PS5 , Xbox One , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC
- Released
- February 25, 2022
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment , From Software
- Genre(s)
- RPG , Action
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- Proprietary
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PS4 &PS5 and Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
