Elden Ring Nightreign is the new standalone, not-DLC set in the world of Elden Ring by FromSoftware.

Nightreign is condensed and distilled Elden Ring. It even takes place in a smaller version of the Lands Between. But that distillation also makes it faster, denser, and even more challenging. As weird as it is to describe any FromSoftware game this way, Nightreign makes Elden Ring look positively cozy in comparison.

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Nightreign is a lot of things, and it’s kind of hard to describe. Below, we’re going to break down some important things you should know before diving into Elden Ring Nightreign.

What the hell is Elden Ring Nightreign?

Nightreign is a multiplayer, battle-royale-but-PvE game with roguelike elements. And what that means is, let’s just say it here, it’s kind of Fortnite-ified Elden Ring. You start an Expedition — a run — by gliding onto an island where there’s a shrinking circle that damages you if you get caught outside.

It’s not a battle royale, though. It’s you and two teammates against a parade of Elden Ring enemies that come from a wide range stages in the base game.

Your Expedition takes place across three days. Your ultimate goal is to earn Runes (by killing enemies) and pick up items throughout the day to level up both your character and your gear. Then, when the Night’s Tide (that shrinking circle) forces you to an arena at the end of that day, you’ll need to defeat a boss to progress to the next day. Day 2 is similar to day 1, and you and your buddies will need to work hard to get strong for the boss battles to come. 

After the night fight on day 2, you’ll be teleported to just outside of a boss arena where you can level up if you have enough Runes or shop at a nearby merchant. You and your squad can then take on the Night Lord, the big boss that comes at the end of each Expedition. If you kill it, you win, and will progress the game. If you and your teammates go down during the boss fight — or any of the previous night fight — you’ll fail and will need to start a new Expedition from scratch at Nightreign‘s version of the Roundtable Hold.

And you’re going to fail. Often.

Leveling up is streamlined

Just like in Elden Ring proper, killing enemies earns you Runes, but you’re not out to kill every single enemy on the map. You’re here for one reason — to survive until the third night, which means surviving three circles, defeating at least three (probably more) bosses, and then fighting the chosen Night Lord. And doing that means leveling up.

You do this at Sites of Grace scattered around the island. In Nightreign, the leveling up process is much simpler than in Elden Ring. You only have one stat to adjust — your level — and that adjusts all of your other stats.

How fast and easy Nightreign makes leveling up is good because …

Elden Ring Nightreign is chaotic

When you head out on an Expedition, it’s chaos. It’s you and two strangers — who you can’t talk to, as there’s no in-game voice chat — dropped onto an island with a lot of shiny distractions and no plan for where to go.

If you want to survive, stick with your party and watch for the shrinking circle of deadly (tick damage) rain. Use the pin function on the map to suggest destinations, but be ready to head in the opposite direction if you get outvoted (or your teammates just ignore your pin).

Speaking of …

Resist the urge to act like you’re playing solo

Elden Ring Nightreign is a multiplayer game. And while you can play solo, it is both very tough and removes the down-but-not-out state, which is a real (literal) lifesaver in combat. Solo runs are theoretically doable, and there’s no doubt that some absolute heroes out there will make it work for them, but it’s definitely not ideal for your first time through the game. It’s much more fun to play with other players — even if you don’t know them and aren’t communicating at all — than playing by yourself.

With that in mind, it’s important to play with your team once you do actually load into a match. You’re at your strongest when you’re playing together and working to help grow everyone’s power, not just your own.

Item drops are shared

When you kill an enemy, smash a crate, or open a chest, the items that drop aren’t for you alone — they’re shared and collectable across everyone in the party. Sometimes, that means you’re going to be racing to pick up the good stuff. Sometimes, that also means you’ll be better served by letting someone else grab that cool sword. Basically, don’t be a dick.

Treat smithing stones and extra flask charges like gold

Finding new weapons and leveling up is critical to success as you advance through Elden Ring Nightreign. But there are other things you need to focus on as well in order to boost your power. Namely, you should be looking for smithing stones and visiting churches. 

The smithing stones will allow you to upgrade your weapon’s rarity, which can drastically increase its damage output. While you’re leveling up, you should definitely save some Runes for a smithing stone before you take on the Night Lord at the end of your Expedition. 

As you come across churches mid-Expedition, look for the giant, angelic statue. Interact with the altar in front of it to add a healing charge to your flask.

Traversal is a lot faster and jumpier

Jumping is a lot more important in Nightreign. And there’s a wall jump now that essentially lets you climb vertically on certain surfaces. Oh, and there’s no fall damage in this version of the Lands Between.

This is good, since every Expedition involves a lot of headlong sprinting across the landscape and you’re going to take some big falls when you’re not paying attention. But it also means there are more options for climbing and just generally getting around the island.

Just because you find a boss doesn’t mean you should fight a boss

As you sprint across the map with your buds, you’re going to encounter a ton of different enemies from Elden Ring. They’ll come from every stage, area, and difficulty of the game, all mixed together.

Some of those enemies will be bosses. Bosses can drop some great loot alongside a ton of Runes — both of which you’ll need for any successful run. But, if you’re not prepared, those bosses can also wipe out your entire party, ending your Expedition before it even gets started.

There’s only so much you can accomplish over the course of a day, so don’t get too caught up fighting the biggest and baddest thing you encounter. Sometimes it’s better to save those fights until you get more powerful.

Relics make you more powerful

Not every buff and stat increase happen during an Expedition. At the Roundtable Hold, you can equip Relics by performing Relic Rites.

Relics are color-coded items that give you benefits on all future expeditions. They do things like add poison damage to your starting weapon or increase your resistances — you’ll need all the help you can get. 

You’ll earn Relics at the end of every Expedition, so even failed runs can benefit you.

Watch the UI for critical info

The UI in Elden Ring Nightreign is packed with obvious and not-so-obvious details that are extremely important to look out for. One of the more obviously helpful notifications is one that you can easily miss if you’re too focused on the fights happening all around you: the circle closing.

The game will tell you the Night Rain is coming toward you via a message box that says “rains gather, portending the tide of Night” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, just under your Rune counter. Once you get the notification, you’re going to want to mark the safe zone and book it — depending on where you are in the circle, you won’t have much time to get to the next area.

A not-so-obvious helpful UI tip is that you can tell when you have enough Runes to level up just by looking at the top left-hand corner of your screen. To the left of your current level, you’ll see an arrow pointing up over and over again if you’re rich enough to jump to the next level. Levels are extremely valuable in Nightreign, so make sure you hit a Site of Grace before the next boss fight if you see that arrow.

For more tips, tricks and guides, visit Big Friendly Guide.