To start Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, you're going to need to interact with Miquella's Cocoon at Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum. This will, in turn, open up the way to the new map and all of the quests that come with the DLC. However, some players are reporting that they can't interact with it, and as such, are locked out of the DLC. I'll run you through a fix that worked for me, as well as some other potential solutions.
What should happen when you interact with Miquella's Cocoon?
After finding and interacting with the cocoon, an NPC should show up, which will then open up the way into the Land of Shadow. However, some players are reporting just not being able to interact with the cocoon at all, or the NPC simply not showing up. Depending on which of these you're being faced with, there are some solutions.
How to fix can't interact with Miquella's Cocoon in Shadow of the Erdtree
The four things you'll need to do to fix this issue are:
- Make sure you've beaten Radahn and Mohg
- Make sure you're purchased and installed Shadow of the Erdtree on your system
- Exit and restart the game
I've explained each of these in more detail below.
Beating Radahn and Mohg
You can't just jump straight into Shadow of the Erdtree, you'll need to have beaten both Radahn and Mohg first. Mohg is arguably one of the toughest bosses in the game, but fortunately there's a bit of a cheese method that means even with a new character you can beat him in about 90 minutes, allowing you to speedrun yourself straight into the DLC.
The battle with Radahn is a little trickier, but if you advance through Blaidd's questline you'll be able to at least have some additional support to make things easier. Summoning the helpful NPC allies at the entrance to this boss fight is highly recommended.
Confirm you've purchased and installed Shadow of the Erdtree
Shadow of the Erdtree is a paid DLC, so you'll need to splash out your cash on the Xbox, PlayStation, or PC storefront of your choice to purchase it. Once you've done this, the DLC should immediately start downloading onto your system. There was no preload option for SotE, so if you've tried to jump in immediately, it might be that you didn't have the expansion installed and so Miquella's Cocoon simply couldn't be interacted with.
Once you've purchased and installed the DLC, close the game entirely (none of this suspended play/ quick resume tomfoolery on Series X|S and PS5), and load it back up. With a bit of luck, you should now be able to proceed into the Land of Shadow.
Restarting the Game
If you've definitely got the DLC installed, you've ticked off the requirements of beating both Mohg and Radahn and you're still having no luck, it's always worth just restarting the game. Sometimes, a little restart can get things working properly again, especially when it comes to questlines or in-game interactions triggering for an expansion or DLC.
Should all of the above not work, the only alternative we've got for now is to uninstall and reinstall both the base game and the expansion. A fresh install should hopefully resolve any corrupted files or other issues that may be preventing things from working as intended.
If you've found another alternative fix that we've not listed here, please note it in the comments below to share with your fellow Tarnished, and we'll add it into our post and credit you for the assist.
Chris Jecks has been covering the games industry for over eight years. He typically covers new releases, FIFA, Fortnite, any good shooters, and loves nothing more than a good Pro Clubs session with the lads. Chris has a History degree from the University of Central Lancashire. He spends his days eagerly awaiting the release of BioShock 4.