Unlock the Hidden Treasures: Your Ultimate Guide to Mastering TreasureBowl Strategies

I still remember the moment I first stepped into the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. The air felt different somehow—thicker, more charged with anticipation. I’d just defeated a particularly stubborn field boss near the Minor Erdtree in Limgrave and decided to take a breather by a quiet cliffside. That’s when I noticed it: a shimmering, half-buried bowl-shaped relic partially obscured by glowing roots. Little did I know that this unassuming object would become my obsession for the next thirty hours. It was my first encounter with what the community now calls TreasureBowls, and unlocking their secrets felt like discovering a parallel game within the game.

FromSoftware has always excelled at weaving subtle mechanics into their worlds, but Shadow of the Erdtree takes this to another level entirely. Like many veterans, I went in expecting something along the lines of Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters or Dark Souls 3’s Ringed City—substantial, sure, but still a contained experience. What I found instead was what the developers clearly intended: a full-fledged, 30-hour game crafted by a team that is peerless when it comes to creating worlds that feel as dangerous and unnerving to be in as they are satisfying to conquer. This expansion isn’t just additional content; it’s a masterclass in layered design, and the TreasureBowl mechanics sit right at the heart of that philosophy.

Let me paint you a picture of my third evening with the DLC. I’d spent hours navigating the petrified forest of Morthal, a place where every shadow seemed to twitch with hidden threats. My initial strategy was straightforward: hunt for loot, avoid ambushes, and push forward. But then I stumbled upon another TreasureBowl, this one guarded by three spectral knights who only materialized when I got too close. Dying repeatedly to them taught me something crucial—these aren’t just collectibles. They’re puzzles. Each bowl I found came with its own set of rules, its own little ecosystem of challenges. One required lighting six ceremonial braziers in under two minutes. Another demanded I defeat a specific enemy using only parries. The game never explicitly tells you this; you learn by failing, by observing, by adapting.

And that’s the real magic here. Shadow of the Erdtree is full of surprises, whether it's an unexpected moment of calm, a new gameplay twist, or a narrative revelation. The biggest of these, however, pertains to my expectations. I thought I knew how FromSoftware DLC worked. I’d played them all, memorized attack patterns, farmed souls until my fingers ached. But this? This was different. The TreasureBowls forced me to rethink my approach to exploration and combat in ways the base game never did. They aren’t marked on the map. There’s no quest log reminding you to hunt them down. You either notice the subtle environmental cues or you miss out entirely. It’s brutal, but oh so rewarding when you finally unlock the hidden treasures.

I’ve tallied about 14 distinct TreasureBowls so far, though I suspect there are more. Each one grants not just rare items—I’ve snagged everything from a +7 Somber Smithing Stone to a talisman that completely changes your dodge mechanics—but also fragments of lore that recontextualize entire areas. One bowl hidden in a catacomb revealed the tragic backstory of a boss I’d fought earlier, adding layers to a character I’d previously written off as just another monster. That’s the thing about this expansion: it respects your intelligence. It assumes you’re paying attention.

Now, after dozens of hours and more than a few broken controllers, I feel like I’ve started to piece together a methodology. If you want to truly master TreasureBowl strategies, you need to adopt a scavenger’s mindset. Slow down. Look for irregularities in the terrain—a patch of flowers that glows faintly at night, a wall that sounds hollow when you roll against it. Experiment with different times of day; some bowls only activate during specific weather conditions or celestial events. And don’t be afraid to die. Seriously. I must have died at least 50 times trying to retrieve one particular bowl from a platforming section that would make Super Mario sweat.

What strikes me most is how these mechanics echo the broader philosophy of Shadow of the Erdtree. This isn’t content made to pad your playtime. It’s there to deepen your engagement, to make you feel like an archaeologist piecing together a forgotten history. I’ve had moments of sheer awe—like when I solved a bowl puzzle and the entire landscape shifted, revealing a hidden temple—and moments of frustration so intense I almost gave up. But that balance is precisely what makes it work. The team at FromSoftware understands that real satisfaction comes from overcoming genuine challenges, not from following dotted lines on a map.

So if you’re diving into the expansion, don’t rush. Let yourself get lost. Talk to every NPC twice, revisit areas after major story beats, and always, always question the environment. The path to unlock the hidden treasures is rarely straightforward, but it’s a journey worth taking. Because in the end, mastering TreasureBowl strategies isn’t just about getting the best gear; it’s about rediscovering the joy of exploration in a world that refuses to hold your hand. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.