Thanks to Bandai Namco, I had the opportunity to playElden Ring Nightreignin late January 2025. This was essentially an early look at the upcomingNightreign’s Closed Network Testbuild, which is a significantly pared-back version of the full release, but is nonetheless enlightening. FromSoftware’s co-op action roguelite is a surprising successor toElden Ring, which won its fame by continuing the developer’s run of deep single-player RPGs. DespiteElden Ring Nightreignbeing initially familiar, there are a number of significant changes to the experience.
Elden Ring Nightreignhas you drop into a map in a region known as Limveld, a parallel world toElden Ring’s starting area, Limgrave. From there, a three-day cycle begins in which a squad of three Nightfarers must acquire gear and gather Runes (to level up with) in preparation for a boss fight at dusk. Much like in a battle royale, there is a constantly shrinking ring which pushes you toward said final confrontation. Three end-of-day bosses cap each leg of a run, which, if completed in full, runs for nearly 40 minutes. This general gameplay loop was revealed shortly afterNightreign’sreveal at The Game Awards 2024, but my experience with the game has shed some light on more subtle, but impactful mechanics.
Please note that the following article is based upon my experience of the game preview, pre-launch. Some gameplay elements may be changed, or may not have been a part of the preview I attended.
10You Don’t Pick Where You Drop Into Limveld
Spawn Areas Are Predetermined
Each round inElden Ring Nightreignbegins with the three chosen Nightfarers leaping off a cliff and latching onto the leg of a sort of spectral bird. Following this brief cutscene, players are given control far above Limveld, where they’ll be dropped into the action. The idea has become popular thanks to the rise of the battle royale genre, butNightreigndoesn’t give you a lot of agency in determining your drop zone.
After dropping, you’ll want to get to level two as quickly as possible to nearly double your HP and stats. Try clearing a nearby camp then immediately finding a Site of Grace.
You can direct the bird a little bit, but there are only a few seconds before your character is dropped into the action. There seems to be a handful of predetermined spawn locations around the randomized map, usually near Limveld’s edges. All you can really do, therefore, is use the bird’s-eye view to get a lay of the land to quickly consider where you want to go first.There are also ghostly trees around the map that send you back into the sky on a spectral bird, this time with a bit more control to get across Limveld quickly.
9You Can’t Crouch, But You Can Sprint Very Fast
Some Stealth Is Still Possible
A major advancement thatElden Ringinherited fromSekiro: Shadows Die Twicewas the accommodation of stealthy approaches.Elden Ringlets you crouch to help avoid detection by enemies, letting you often get a powerful backstab in before a fight breaks out.Crouching is not possible inNightreign; instead, the new Surge Sprint is mapped to L3/LS, which lets your Nightfarer run much faster than the regular dash, which is still mapped to the Circle/B button.
Stealth isn’t completely removed from the game, though, andone of Duchess' special abilities can be very powerful when used when going for an early backstab. Holding Triangle/Y and pressing L3/LT while playing Duchess causes her and both teammates to turn invisible for a short while. you’re able to walk right in front of an enemy and they won’t even know you’re there, but the invisibility will wear off once you perform an attack.
8There Are No Flasks For Recovering FP
HP Flasks Are Always Equipped
FromSoftware’s default control scheme for its action RPGs has long reserved Square/X as a pretty flexible slot, usually where the Flasks of Cerulean and Crimson Tears are by default inElden Ring.Nightreignfollows this tradition, but that button is exclusively for HP flasks, andthere is no equivalent to the Flask of Cerulean Tears. This makes FP a resource that’s much more difficult to manage. There are places in Limveld to restore your FP, but there are also special mechanics, like the Recluse character being able to pull FP from their surroundings and siphon HP from enemies.
10 Games To Play While Waiting For Elden Ring Nightreign
Elden Ring Nightreign’s fast-action, co-op gameplay shakes up FromSoft’s combat style in an exciting way; here are games that do something similar.
This broadly affectsNightreign’s streamlined inventory management. With Square/X exclusively used for HP flasks, consumables, and throwables are mapped to up on the D-pad, with the down button cycling through them, much like it does inElden Ring’s default controls.
7Day 3 Of A Nighreign Run Doesn’t Have Any Exploration
You Go Straight Into A Boss Fight
The first two days ofElden Ring Nightreign’s three-day cycle are nearly identical. When you defeat the first-day boss, the map is refreshed with new enemies and loot, and the cycle repeats for Day 2. Once you beat the second-day boss, you’re given one more opportunity to grab some better gear or a buff and level up if you have enough Runes, then Day 3 takes a different tack.
You are not given another chance to explore, and are instead dropped into a nebulous realm in front of a large stone door.Beyond this door is where you’ll fight a Night Lord– the Target you selected prior to matchmaking and the beginning of the run. This odd area seems to be where all final bosses are fought, and while only one was available in the preview build, eight are expected to be inElden Ring Nightreign’s full release on May 30.
6Points Of Interest Still Have Lesser Boss Fights
A Good Source Of Loot
Despite the end-of-day bosses being the most important, Limveld is littered with other boss fights. Many significant points of interest will have a boss fight, many of which will be familiar toElden Ringplayers. Seeking out a boss can be worth it since they offer exclusive loot. For instance, when you open a chest, the items that pop out have to be shared among the party, butwhen you beat a boss, you are offered one of three Dormant Powers, which can be loot or a permanent buff. Each player gets to make this selection.
All Elden Ring Nightreign Editions, Differences, & Prices Explained
Elden Ring Nightreign releases at the end of May, and there are three separate editions available to those purchasing FromSoftware’s latest.
Many ruins, churches, mining tunnels, and forts will seem familiar if you’ve playedElden Ring;Nightreigneven has Evergaols, which can be opened with a Stonesword Key. Anytime a boss health bar appears across the bottom of the screen, you have a chance to earn a Dormant Power. Not every POI has a boss, but it’s possible to complete multiple boss fights in one day.
5The Roundtable Hold Is Different From Elden Ring’s
Nightreign’s Hub Area
The Roundtable Hold returns inElden Ring Nightreign, but it’s quite different from itsElden Ringcounterpart. The area is more overgrown, and at least in the preview build and Closed Network Test, a lot of areas are closed off (though a small, empty basement is accessible).The Roundtable Hold acts asNightreign’s hub area; this is where you appear when you start the game, and where you’ll spend time in between rounds.
Here is where you’ll be able to upgrade and equip Relics, which provide buffs and act asNightreign’s long-term progression. In the full release, you’ll be able to spend a currency called Murk in the Hold as well, but the NPC who trades for them isn’t in the Network Test. There’s also a training area, where you may try out all the game’s weapons. The Roundtable Hold’s alternate appearance may have some interesting implications forElden Ring Nightreign’s lore, but my time with the game was unfortunately scarce, so I didn’t have much of a chance to poke around the place.
4Each Nightfarer Can Equip Different Combinations Of Relics
Three Relics Can Be Equipped
The reward for defeating day bosses are Relics. These provide buffs, andeach Nightfarer can have three equipped at any given time. There are some important restrictions, though. Every Relic has a color – blue, green, red, or orange, from what I’ve seen – and must be put into a slot of the corresponding color. A Nightfarer may be able to equip two blue Relics and one green Relic, for instance.
One Of Elden Ring’s Most Well-Known Features Will Not Be Returning In Nightreign
One of the most iconic and well-known features from Elden Ring will not be making a comeback in Nightreign due to session times.
These appear to broadly align with the Nightfarer’s intended play style. Wylder and Guardian are able to equip Relics that improve their melee abilities, while Recluse can use Relics that help with sorceries. During the preview event, I was told thatRelics are the primary way in which character progression is achieved across runs. More powerful Relics will be earned by defeating more formidable Night Lords later in the game.
3Nightfarers Can Be Talked To In The Roundtable Hold
Player Character/NPC Hybrids
You control one of the playable characters, known as Nightfarers, while interacting with things in the Roundtable Hold, and there’s an altar where you’re able to change which one to run around with.The others will be standing around ready for a chat, much like some ofElden Ring’s NPCs, such as Rogier, Fia, and Sir Gideon Ofnir the All-Knowing (the pretentious killjoy that he is). Sadly, in the preview build, none of them really had anything interesting to say, but this conceivably might not be the case in the full release.
It’s quite an interesting concept, especially sinceElden Ring’s main character, the Tarnished, and those that came before (e.g.,Dark Souls' Chosen Undead orBloodborne’s Hunter) aren’t really established characters in the world prior to the player’s involvement. Sekiro is the closest analog, but even then, you can’t talk to him as another character. This positions the Nightfarers as odd player character/NPC hybrids, andhopefully they’ll end up with some pretty interesting background material to discuss.
2You Lose A Level When You Die In Elden Ring Nightreign
You’ll Respawn As Long You’re Not Fighting A Day Boss
Dying inNightreignisn’t as disastrous as it can be inElden Ring, but there’s still a very harsh penalty. First, you’ll go into a state called Near Death, where you may crawl around very slowly while a timer diminishes.Your teammates can attack you to bring you back to life, but if they don’t, you’ll respawn nearby– as long as you’re not in the middle of fighting a day boss.
When you respawn, you’ll have lost one level. This seems inconsequential at face value, but you can only reach a maximum level of 15. Jumps between lower levels can be especially punishing if you lose one early on in a run;every character nearly doubles their HP between levels one and two. This ensures an unfortunate death won’t doom a run to continue with just two players, but it’s difficult to overcome the day bosses if you wind up significantly under-leveled.
1Invasion Bosses Will Chase You Even Outside The Circle
Night’s Tide Doesn’t Slow An Invader
One of the most intense scenariosElden Ring Nightreignthrew at me during my preview was a boss invasion. A couple of times, roughly halfway through the second day, Margit’s disembodied voice taunted my teammates and I before he materialized, known inNightreignonly as The Fell Omen. Invasion bosses I’d known about because of prior info revealed about the game;what I didn’t expect was for them to doggedly pursue you even through Night’s Tide, the name of the encroaching ring of burning, deadly rain.
The Fell Omen seems to be the only invasion boss in the preview and Closed Network Test build, but there will be many more possibilities to appear inNightreign’s full release.
Invasion bosses seem to target one player specifically and will chase them no matter how far they run. The second time, he appeared while we were fighting another field boss, and during the impromptu duo showdown, the circle moved in on us. A mad dash ensued, with the Fell Omen attacking and slinging incantations whenever possible, while we sprinted and gulped HP flasks. We eventually made it out of Night’s Tide and defeated him next to a Site of Grace, where flasks recharge if you keep coming into range. Keep that in mind if an invasion boss has you on the ropes inElden Ring Nightreign.
