Elden Ring DLC launches to "Mixed" reviews as players bemoan difficulty, PC performance in Shadow of the Erdtree: "There's a big problem with balancing"
Vanilla Elden Ring felt pretty good in that regard (granted it's been a while since I played it). As I recall between weapons, spells, Ashes of War and Spirit Ashes you had a lot of tool choices and were free to sort of make the game as difficult or easy for yourself as you liked.
Sounds like they lost that aspect in the DLC, which is a shame.
From Software's games and their toxic fanbase completely changed what a difficult game is. Their games aren't difficult, they're just punishing. And yes there's a huge difference.