Nightreign Dragons Feel Like a Downgrade From Elden Ring (And They Are Not the Only Issue)

by

Over the last ten years, FromSoftware has been refining its dragon combat, experimenting with fresh concepts to provide players with unforgettable clashes against dragons, the iconic beasts of fantasy. In Elden Ring, it appears they found a perfect balance by scattering various types of dragons across the game world, creating swift and powerful challenges that necessitated proficiency in horseback maneuvers. Additionally, Elden Ring boasts two of the studio’s finest boss battles, Bayle and Placidussax – fearsome dragons designed to engage players in a thrilling, close-quarters battle. As anticipated, dragons make a comeback in Elden Ring: Nightreign, FromSoftware’s foray into crafting a roguelite experience. Regrettably, although the dragons are similar in both games, fighting them in Nightreign is significantly less thrilling due to the absence of Torrent, which impacts the pacing of certain battles.

Warning: Spoilers below for Elden Ring Nightreign

In the game “Elden Ring Nightreign,” you’ll often encounter two-legged dragons in open areas, serving as optional battles for players to conquer. Defeating them rewards a generous amount of runes. Additionally, there are colossal four-legged ancient dragons that may show up at the end of each day cycle as final bosses. The attack patterns of both types of dragons remain consistent with those seen in “Elden Ring,” with them wreaking havoc from above and using their powerful wings to escape, only to return with another blast of fire. In “Elden Ring,” these dragon animations typically signal the need to call upon Torrent, your trusty steed, to outrun the flames and swiftly approach your target, maintaining the offensive pressure on the dragon.

In the game Elden Ring Nightreign, since there’s no transportation method similar to Torrent, engaging in dragon battles can turn into a tedious task that requires you to dash from one location to another after dealing only a few blows. This is because the health pools of bosses have been substantially boosted in Nightreign to accommodate the collaborative aspect of gameplay. As a result, dragon encounters are now drawn-out battles of endurance, which often aren’t worth your precious time, especially given that each day cycle is brief. There’s only so much you can accomplish before darkness falls, and you need to hasten to a particular spot on the map.

Essentially, Nightreign introduced a ‘sprint’ feature that significantly boosts your character’s running speed, making it seem like you’re on horseback when covering distances quickly. This sprint doesn’t drain stamina when there are no hostile enemies nearby, but it consumes the stamina bar rapidly during combat, especially against dragons, rendering it unreliable in such situations. Consequently, the most effective way to tackle these powerful creatures is by using ranged classes, as melee-based ones face significant disadvantages in this scenario. Regrettably, this issue isn’t confined to dragons alone; even the Nightlords share this challenge.

The Nightlords Show the Issue with Removing Torrent from Elden Ring Nightreign

In the game “Elden Ring: Nightreign,” your objective is to endure two consecutive days and vanquish a formidable boss each evening, warding off the night’s encroachment. Following this, you are teleported to an otherworldly coliseum where you and your allies engage in combat against a Nightlord, a fearsome entity that embodies the perils of the night itself. Although there are eight distinct Nightlords to confront, they all battle within the same arena – a vast expanse of white sand extending to the horizon without any visible obstacles. This design mirrors the coliseum used for the Elden Beast in the original game, the final adversary you must overcome in “Elden Ring.” Much like the Elden Beast, most Nightlords utilize this open space to its maximum potential, swiftly moving from one location to another, compelling players to pursue them.

For years, the Elden Beast has been infamously disliked among Elden Ring‘s Remembrance Bosses, primarily due to its combat feeling less exciting than the electrifying duel against Radagon. Without Torrent, a considerable part of the Elden Beast fight becomes a chase rather than a battle, as players spend more time running from one location to another instead of engaging in combat. Unluckily, some Nightlords share this sentiment, making the battle lengthier due to the challenge of staying close to them as melee characters. The same issue affects even the visually stunning Caligo, the ice dragon, to a certain degree, detracting from the fight’s potential perfection. The problem becomes more pronounced when it comes to Nightlords like Augur, a swift-moving watery blob that patrols the arena. It’s incredibly frustrating for melee players to land an attack on Augur, taking away much of the enjoyment from the fight.

In Nightreign, since your character doesn’t rely on classes with weapon-specific skills or strategies for varied attacks, it can be challenging to access ranged attack options. Moreover, due to the game’s time constraint, you often need to enhance your existing offensive abilities rather than focusing on secondary damage sources. This strategy is crucial to avoid being overpowered by tougher bosses in the game. It’s frustrating when enemies use ranged attacks excessively, especially since you lack Torrent to quickly close gaps and regain an advantageous position in battle.

It’s important to point out that in Elden Ring, players were eventually able to summon Torrent for the fight against the Elden Beast, indicating that FromSoftware recognized the issue of limited mobility affecting enjoyment. Nightreign could address this concern in several ways: by equipping all classes with some form of ranged combat, reincorporating Torrent into gameplay, or more straightforwardly, lowering the stamina used when sprinting. These adjustments would help rectify one of the main issues with the game at launch, making each boss battle more thrilling rather than a lengthy chase.

Elden Ring Nightreign is currently available for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5.

How’s your journey through Elden Ring Nightreign going so far? Have you found that it might be beneficial to have additional ranged or mobility abilities when fighting certain bosses? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Read More

2025-06-01 04:13