This guide is fantastic for following quest lines. The best help I can offer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/s/jfx8xzgKbc

General rule of thumb: lighting graces in new areas beyond Limgrave seem to be the trigger to propelling questlines forward with the only two exceptions I found being Diallos and Patches where merely visiting those areas are what propel them forward.

Getting to Mt. Gelmir automatically moves Patches to that zone which causes you to miss his encounter in Limgrave and Liurnia. Likewise, I've seen it to where going to Liurnia too soon even without lighting graces can cause Diallos to not show up in the Roundtable Hold at all nor his location in Liurnia.

As long as you keep these two in mind and try to at least do those quests in Limgrave before proceeding, you'll generally be okay going to whichever area you want out the gate as long as you make sure to not light graces before you've successfully checked off each NPC's starting quests in those starting areas.

I always play the game by myself first and then for NG+ I follow a 100% guide on YT. Weapons, spells, quests, items, etc. this game is MASSIVE the DLC alone is a game itself. You are bound to miss a ton of things, hence why following a guide on YT might help, they warn you about things not to do so that you don’t mess up any quest lines which in souls games are very easy to mess up. Hope this helps.

Welcome to the wacky wonderful world of FromSoft >Is there any way to keep track of side quests?

No. Not in-game, anyway. There are apps and websites that can help manually track them, though.

>Is there a list of missable weapons or spells like Milicent Prosthesis, Ansbach Crossbow, Sword of Light or Bale's Tyranny?

Yes, online. I don't have one specifically for you, but there are multiple you can find.

>Is there any way to make navigation easier?

Again, online you can find interactive maps. The map and points of interest will also stay revealed in NG+, as well as any markers you put down.

> but it often like I was thrown in a fantasy world with no guide whatsoever.

That's the point. These games are designed to make you feel that way.

Basically what the other comment has said. imo it's harder than Old Hunters on base ng, assuming you're going in solo melee. Roughly the same in difficulty on max ng+ cycle.

Get the best spirit summons (look these up) and level them up. There are more than a few dragons and deathrite birds that you're better off just summoning and getting it over with.

Unless you're checking a guide you're bound to miss a lot of stuff, especially the character quests. Don't fret too much over them.

1+2: Beat the base game for the best start in it. Around 120-150 would be pretty good.

3: Whatever you like, bring in whatever. You can go back to the base game at any time.

4: Probably.

5: Collect Scadutree Fragments to increase your damage and defenses. This is how you actually get strong enough to take on the DLC. If you do not, no matter what level you are, you're gonna get ground to dust.

You don't need all great runes, and I don't believe you can softlock yourself out of any of them, so it wouldn't be necessary. Even after the end of the game, you can go defeat any great rune boss at any point.

You don't have to, but you can. Basically, as soon as you enter Leyndell, acquiring great runes is no longer necessary. But of course, hunting down bosses is a lot of fun, so I recommend at least trying.

I am still on my first play through. Just got the game as well. Been playing ds 1 and 3. My experience is to start with something simple. And for me that is a strength build. And when things get too difficult I google on that specific problem. There is a joy in going in blind. And do not trip if an enemy is too difficult. Go somewhere else and come back later. It’s a beautiful game. Maybe the best I have ever tried. Enjoy.

In my experience this is all you need:

1. Level up vigor

2. Have fun with your favorite build

3.Don’t spread stats unless you know what you are doing

4. It’s ok to miss some quests

5. Gather Scooby doo blessings for the DLC

6. Use your consumables!

Fextralife was a great guide, very helpful for me. I also recommend quitting your job and leaving your wife and child. Commit to ER.

Bro I found this WiKi

Imo it’s best to experience this game blind from the start. The discovery just adds so much to it. The only thing I would think is worth looking up are some of the side quest as they are easy to miss and have cool gear and weapons/spells but even then I would try them out before looking it up. Don’t be afraid to try out different things. You can respec at some point like mid game. On a second run through or after you beat the game I would then look up a guide to find everything you might have missed. And also to add on to my point about my side quest, it’s no big deal if you miss them. I have 200+ hours in the game and have not done them all. There is just a ton to explore and find. I feel like a comprehensive guide would take a lot of the fun out of it.

When you say first boss are you talking about the knight or the obvious big boss with a cutscene (trying to not spoiler)

If it's the knight, you really have to focus on his attacks and decide if you play safe and punish the crossbow or go hard and get rekt from his sword over and over like me.

If it's the other, good luck, he's really hard or medium depending on build and weapon.

Go get the Scadutree fragments. They are the DLC's power progression system, and the bosses are scaled to them. If you can't find any, you can look up a guide online.

I started the DLC this week after creating a new character, which took me 80 hours just to get to it. First impressions are that this is practically Elden Ring II, and has some of the best areas and exploration that from have created.

The DLC has a unique levelling system for both summons and yourself. It's genious as it gives that constant progression feeling even with a high level character, and doesn't spoil the main game if you've not finished it.

Don't try attacking the giant flame golem unless you know what you're doing (I don't).

The first gaol optional mini boss in the start area is an arsehole. My build is a light blue dancer doll/dagger/buckler and he is a bitch for me.

Scadutree Fragments are your best friend. Welcome to the best DLC ever mate

Make sure you’re obtaining scadutree fragments so you can level up your scadutree blessing at sites of grace. It increases your damage dealt and decreases your damage taken so it’s essential for keeping up with the increased damage and hp of the dlc enemies.

As long as you get to Scadutree level 12, you’ll be getting the vast majority of the defense and attack increase. The levels after increase these values, but at a much smaller rate (think logarithmic plot). I’d recommend going to the Shadow Keep next.

I always just chase scaudtree fragments initially. Get as many as I can without fighting real bosses, then you are ready to take on anything you come across.

Here’s how to explore the dlc: go to Ensis Castle Front site of grace, pick a random direction, you’re in a secret location

The verticality of the map sounds cool at first but that shit hides so many paths, while half the higher areas aren't even accessible

I have a document that has all the quest steps in order that I follow to ensure that I don't miss anything on my 100% collection playthroughs. I just mark off tasks as I complete them. I know the image will be useless since the text is too small to read, but this is the doc with the entire SoTE questline

https://preview.redd.it/wchy8ntcpp4f1.png?width=664&format=png&auto=webp&s=3695962407f6b14753de7aa305569e9ad8797573

(Full credit to original file makers, I did not make the original or SoTE lists, I only edited them slightly to suit my needs)

The DLC has a separate scaling mechanic for damage and defense, so level matters truthfully a lot less. With the build you have, you'll be fine. I'd actually recommend against going into the DLC on NG+ considering you'll just be making it harder for no reason.

Go into the DLC before NG+ trust me. It's scaled differently so it won't be too easy and you won't have to play through a second NG+ if you want to get multiple of one item in the DLC

At very least, if you started NG+, you'd have to clear 60% of the game again in order to access the DLC. I'd recommend heading into it in NG.

After. The. DLC

Don't worry about overleveling. When the DLC came out we have lots of folks getting into SOTE with LVL200+ build and still getting two shot. The Scadutree blessing system will give you a unique scaling for damage and defense so what matters is really the blessing level instead of just a few soul levels.

Levels don't matter in the DLC.

What matters are Scadutree fragments, collectibles found scattered across the map and dropped by certain enemies. You can use them to level up your Scadutree blessing at sites of grace. What this does is basically increase your damage output and also makes you take less damage from enemies.

Revered Spirit Ashes are similar but they're used to strengthen Torrent and Spirit Ashes instead.

Backhand blade and Milady are super satisfying armaments.

As soon as you start the DLC, go collect a few Scadutree Fragments. There at least three you can grab from the open world before you enter into any dungeons. Good luck, Tarnished.

Get as many scadutree fragments as quickly as you can, they modify both damage done and damage taken. The dlc drops a shitload of runes, use them to get vig up to 60. I also found a LOT of value in getting my endurance wayy higher than I normally would. Use whatever weapons, skills, or summons you want. They are a part of the game. Dont let anyone give you shit for using anything.

I owe 99% of my progress in Elden Ring to guides, so I'm not exactly a stranger to them😭. Thanks for the help though, it's appreciated

I messed up pretty much every NPC questline on my 1st DLC run and it made >!Leda's allies so much harder, she even had Hornsent on her side!!<

Yeah, I hate that about Elden Ring. One of my biggest critiques is that its open world, open exploration but every quest has to be done in a specific order or you lock yourself out for the whole playthrough. To be fair it is their first actual open world game so they probably aren’t use to writing quests the way witcher 3 or even skyrim did.

There will be places you think you can reach when you first see it but you'll actually get there later through other means. Not every area you see can be easily reached.

Don’t ever let some Waifu body pillow having ass man-child tell you how to play YOUR game. Those are just the tryhards that think beating a boss without a summons somehow makes their dick bigger. And I’ll bet dollars to donuts most of them use summons, but in order to have some type of soulsborne god complex they pretend they don’t and make others feel bad for using them. I swear the souls community is probably the biggest heap of tryhard trash of all the gaming communities. Have fun. That’s the most important thing. But yes the DLC is far more punishing and more than likely you’re going to need those summons.

Don't ever let people tell you not to use certain mechanics or items the game offers you. It's a single player game. Use everything you need to win, unless you want the extra challenge.