If you'd like to play Elden Ring as a powerful bare-fisted Dryleaf monk (but don't want to wait 100 levels), this mod lets you get Shadow of the Erdtree's gear right away

A character in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree stood in a field with elaborate ruins in the backdrop, clenching their fist as they charge up an attack.

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has added dozens of weapons to the game's already 300-strong roster of kit—if you're looking for a primer, you can read our illustrious Sean Martin's legendary weapons guide, though I'd recommend letting yourself discover them spoiler-free on your first playthrough.

However, if you're done and dusted with the DLC, you might see its roster of cool stuff and decide hey, I'd love to do a playthrough as a Dryleaf Arts monk. After all, Margit's long overdue to catch these hands.

You then may quickly remember that you need to be around level 100 to kill Radahn and Mohg to access the DLC—unless you're one of those sicko mode level 1 players, and even then, that still requires a ton of prep and practice that could be spent kicking the Tree Sentinel in its stupid face.

Well, never fear—the Glorious Merchant is here to enable your fantasies. An older addon created by Nexus Mod's tomclark, this mod plonks every weapon in the game—including Shadow of the Erdtree's kit—on Merchant Kale, the first wares-peddler you meet in the Church of Elleh.

The ability to do cool punches and kicks is sadly locked behind a shocking (prepare yourself) eight strength and eight dexterity—yet in order to grab them, you need to knock down bosses that mandate 100 levels for all but the gittest of guds, not to mention Rellana and her deadly glow sticks.

I'm not saying this is a problem in itself, but I can completely empathise with the desire to pull off your cool theme build without having to play dozens of hours of game first. Besides, if you've already rinsed the game a few times and beaten Shadow of the Erdtree, you've already had the intended FromSoftware experience in Miyazaki's latest hellscape, so why not?

PRODUCTS

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.