How to prepare for the Elden Ring DLC

FromSoftware has kept all of us Elden Ring fans waiting longer than usual to release the DLC for its breakout hit. Sure, we did get Armored Core 6 between Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, but that is a very different style of game from the massive open world and almost limitless build possibilities of Elden Ring. As we have been waiting (not so patiently) for the DLC to come out, we also learned that this will be the only extra content we will get for the game. It will cost a steep $40 but is said to be on the scale of Limgrave, the first area in the game. That places a lot of expectations on this content to be not only worth the wait but also enough to hold us over until whatever FromSoftware delivers next.