The first entry into the two-part Dark Souls 3 expansion launched recently to the excitement of its fans. Players are dragged into the Painted World of Ariandel, a snowy landscape reminiscent of Norse mythology. Unfortunately, it became apparent that the DLC, while well designed, is incredibly short and potentially not worth the cost at this time. Be warned, spoilers ahead.
Trailers released prior to the launch revealed almost all of the significant elements of the PvE additions. The DLC feels strongly that the main focus of Ashes of Ariandel is the reintroduction of fan favorite PvP arena duels. Unlocked during the course of the PvE content, players are able to access Undead Matches from Firelink Shrine for 1v1 3v3 and a six man free for all matches. Currently it is not difficult to find matches however this feature may lag as player count dwindles.
The overall enjoyment of Ashes of Ariandel depends almost entirely on player preference of PvP or PvE. For players who aren’t running a strong enough build, this DLC will be a large difficulty spike without the usual rewards. A character around level 100 with at +10 weapon will have little trouble carving through the Painting in around 3 hours. For being the first of a two part conclusion to a long running series of five games, Ashes of Ariandel is a disappointment.
That's not to say the content is lacking in quality. Textures and overall layout of the Painted World of Ariandel has improved from the original Painted World of Ariamis from Dark Souls but therein lies the biggest problem. Many of the locations are reused assets from the first Painted World. If there was enough content for perhaps six hours of play time, the reuse of assets from the first game wouldn't be so disappointing to the fans. Instead, the developers introduced another snowy area into the dark souls series. Almost all the games have snow levels to explore.
There are a handful of armor sets with middling stats and 16 weapons and shields added in the dlc all of which have unique abilities. At this time none of the new weapons are particularly overpowered but as the community continues to explore their uses that may change.
In total there are two bosses in the DLC. The first boss, known as the Champion's Gravetender, grants access to the PVP arena. It is a somewhat easy boss fight between a humanoid npc and a wolf. If a player could invade during the Sif boss fight in Dark Souls then it would be almost the same. For long time fans this fight is a pushover. The second boss fight against Sister Fried is an impressively aggressive humanoid opponent. With three stages and an expansive moveset, this boss fight is one of the better fights in the entire Soulsborne series and is the highlight of the DLC. Without Sister Friede, Ashes of Ariandel would not be worth buying at all.
For PvE players it’s probably be best to wait for the final DLC and the full expanded content. On it's own Ashes of Ariandel adds little to the overall Dark Souls 3 experience and is a well designed but overall lackluster addition to the franchise.
