7 mistakes I made in Elden Ring Nightreign that you don't have to

The newest game from FromSoftware, titled Elden Ring Nightreign, deviates significantly from the standard action RPG experience fans are accustomed to with their titles. Although the essence of Soulsian combat remains – featuring stamina-based fights, a focus on evasion, and numerous blends of magic and melee attacks – the method of progression has undergone a complete transformation.

Rather than progressively enhancing your character by methodically traversing diverse zones and stages, Nightreign adopts a much swifter tempo. Players are prompted to dash swiftly from one part of the map to another, gathering unpredictable loot, enhancements, and defeating minibosses en route. Concurrently, they must avoid getting caught outside an advancing circle that ultimately forces them into intense showdowns with major bosses at the end of each in-game day.

Adapting to the swift, roguelike gameplay may require some time, particularly if you’ve been deeply immersed in FromSoftware games for an extended period, as their structure is quite different. Indeed, it took me some time to grasp Nightreign’s mechanics, and I made several significant errors that you can learn from and avoid. Here are those mistakes, along with suggestions on how to rectify them, so that you can become a more proficient player as well.

Splitting up from teammates

If there’s one key lesson from this article, it emphasizes the importance of staying united with your teammates during gameplay. While it may seem intuitive since we’re playing cooperatively, there will inevitably be instances where the targets you wish to tackle diverge from those your allies are highlighting. At times, I found myself tempted to break away to pursue objectives that might yield weapons of a particular damage type.

I want to make it clear to you that it’s not advisable for you to proceed on your own, especially if your squad has decided to take a route through Limveld. If you happen to find yourself alone with no one around, remember that there won’t be anyone available to bring you back if something goes wrong. This could lead to your demise, causing you to lose a level and all the experience points (runes) you were holding.

Option one (the latter) can be retrieved by sprinting close to your demise spot, fortunately, but option two (the former) is quite a hindrance – particularly in the endgame when stages become pricey and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to elevate as high as you potentially could have if you hadn’t dropped a level.

Regardless of how small the possibility might seem, I wouldn’t advise embarking on this solo journey alone. Moreover, formidable adversaries such as Bell-Bearing Hunters can be quite challenging to overcome individually, and it would probably be more productive to focus on defeating multiple opponents with your team instead.

Wasting time on trash mobs

Instead of engaging every foe you encounter inside hostile territories and buildings, particularly given how enjoyable Elden Ring’s combat system is, it’s generally more beneficial to avoid such battles throughout your Expeditions. Slaying common mobs can help you gain a few levels swiftly at the outset of your journey, but beyond that, it’s wiser to concentrate primarily on the mini-bosses found within areas of interest.

In a humorous twist, bypassing confrontations with adversaries has proven to be an amusingly efficient strategy for advancing in FromSoftware’s Soulsborne action RPG series. Interestingly enough, this method is also the most productive way to utilize your time before the encircling Night’s cycle concludes at the end of each of your farming days, starting around Level 5. Instead of engaging with camps and fortifications, you should sprint directly towards their mini-bosses to defeat them, obtain an upgrade or a new weapon, and then continue onward.

This approach might appear daring, but it’s usually not because, more often than not, you’ll swiftly dissipate the hostility of most enemies by rushing past them using Surge Sprint. If mobs manage to chase you and disrupt your fight against a miniboss, take them out. However, disregard them if they don’t interfere with your battle.

Not prioritizing flask upgrades

In Elden Ring Nightreign, besides battling minibosses to acquire upgrades and weapons, or increasing your power with the runes you’ve gathered, another crucial method to become stronger is enhancing your healing flask. Enhancing it will provide you an additional use beyond the three you start with; you receive one for defeating the main boss at the end of Day 2, but you can actually obtain three more for a total of seven – one from each of the church structures scattered across Limveld.

The yellow building icons on your map mark locations where you can find upgraded structures (if they appear gray, you’ve already improved them there). These buildings offer an additional flask charge upon interaction with their altars. At first, I didn’t make a point of seeking these out, instead focusing on boss battles. However, having plenty of healing flasks is essential when taking on the Nightlord at the end of your runs. Make sure to visit as many churches as possible in your gameplay for this reason.

Challenging field bosses on Day 1

During Day 2, significant “Great Enemy” bosses are found near key points in the game field. However, these bosses appear at their locations at the onset of Day 1 and can be encountered randomly throughout your journey. Although it might seem enticing to engage them early for a large number of runes and an impressive upgrade, I advise against it.

On the second day, these bosses are typically Level 7-8 or above, making them extremely formidable opponents if you’re significantly weaker on Day 1. Engaging them would result in substantial damage to you, which means it would take a long time to defeat them. Additionally, their attacks could potentially instant-kill you due to your low stats. I recommend recalling the location where you encountered them and returning on Day 2 when you’re better equipped to handle them.

Ignoring clues from forts

At the summit of adversary strongholds, beyond the elevated areas typically hosting their mini-bosses, you’ll find a room containing a map on a table. Engaging with this map will uncover several unlabeled points of significance in the vicinity of the fortress. These spots often yield an abundance of consumable items and, more crucially, the whereabouts of Teardrop Scarabs. For quite some time, I overlooked these maps, but now I always remember to use them when exploring a map with one.

In Limveld, these skittish dung beetles are the sole providers of talismans – charms offering strong and exclusive benefits to various character traits. Although you can locate them independently by listening for their distinct, sharp jingling noise, having a map marker indicating their exact location is advantageous. You can carry two talismans simultaneously, and by tracking down multiple beetles, you’ll increase your chances of finding two that suit the character build you’re designing.

Keep in mind that these Teardrop Scarabs can disappear by vanishing into thin air if they are startled, but avoid attacking them immediately. Instead, pursue them actively to ensure they don’t despawn before you can engage effectively.

Not playing to your character’s strengths

It’s worth noting that, despite being apparent, seasoned Soulsborne players should still bear in mind that most classes in Elden Ring Nightreign exhibit distinct idiosyncrasies and specializations. In contrast to typical Tarnished adventurers in Elden Ring, these unique traits need to be considered and leveraged during combat with bosses and while exploring Limveld.

For instance, The Guardian character from the game possesses a robust defensive guard that ensures his shield can withstand powerful attacks from formidable bosses. However, this enhanced stability comes at a cost as he has reduced evasion capabilities compared to other characters, resulting in fewer invincibility frames. Consequently, instead of instinctively dodging large moves when playing with him, you’ll find greater success by blocking them instead.

A great illustration is the Executor, who excels at dodging enemy attacks to momentarily disorient his opponents. In most situations when you are subjected to damage, your instinctive response may be to roll away from it; however, in many instances, it would be more effective to try and deflect the attack instead.

Initially, it took some time for me to adapt my thinking a bit with games like Nightfarers, making them challenging and uncomfortable to handle at first. But as I became accustomed to utilizing their unique abilities, my performance significantly improved.

Being too reserved with your Ultimate Art

Hey Nightreign players! Here’s my two cents: Don’t forget to frequently unleash your Ultimate Art moves. It might be tempting to save them for that ideal moment, but remember, there’s a time and place for everything. Some of these abilities, like Guardian’s Wings of Salvation and Revenant’s Immortal March, are truly game-changers because they can bring back teammates who’ve been knocked down. So, use them wisely!

You’d typically get better results if you used these items shortly after charging them, a fact I discovered only after some time. These Ultimate Arts recharge both passively over time and when you inflict damage, so if you’re consistently dealing blows in combat, they’ll regenerate quicker than expected. Consequently, it’s generally advisable to use them more frequently to maximize the HP and stamina damage you inflict during boss fights.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is an innovative spin-off from FromSoftware that infuses the original game’s Soulsborne combat with a roguelike, cooperative twist. Despite some significant challenges such as featuring only one map or having limited enemy variety, it promises to be among this year’s top games for fans of action seeking a Souls experience. It retails at $39.99, but you can get it for $33.99 on Newegg with the promo code XVSAVE.

2025-05-30 06:40

7 mistakes I made in Elden Ring Nightreign that you don’t have to