I thought Elden Ring Nightreign was a flop at first — here's the one thing that made me love it
Elden Ring Nightreign is a game of highs and lows.
After more than 20 hours played, and every major boss (known as Nightlords) vanished, it's provided me with some of the best co-op moments I've ever had in gaming, but also some of the most tedious, frustrating and just plain unfun multiplayer sessions I've ever endured.
My experience can be neatly categorized into runs that offered pure joy and ones that were, frankly, an unmitigated disaster. But it's not because of a skill issue (even if I am an average Souls player, at best), but rather because I started by relying on 'random' companions rather than pulling together a squad.
If you're not aware, Elden Ring Nightreign is a new multiplayer-focused spin-off from 2022's smash hit, and very challenging, Elden Ring. It sees you and two online companions attempt to survive across three days in a procedurally generated mishmash of the base game's map.
It's a highly streamlined take on the Elden Ring gameplay loop, and that proves to be a lot of fun, but you need to get just the right conditions to see the game's true potential.
Elden Ring Nightregin is a new co-op spin on the best-selling RPG. It combines roguelite and Battle Royale elements and drops you and two companions on an ever-shifting map as you look to survive three days and take on an uber-powerful boss. You have the choice of playing as one of eight unique characters, each with their own playstyle and unique abilities. Plus, for those who enjoy tough encounters, Elden Ring Nightreign offers some of the most difficult bosses developer FromSoftware has ever made.
In my first two hours of Elden Ring' Nightreign I made one crucial mistake: I opted to group up with fellow Nightfairers via the game's online matchmaking system.
Essentially, I was teamed up with 'random' players from around the globe. I didn't know these players personally, and beyond placing pins on the game's rapidly shrinking maps (the closing circle mechanic from battle royale games like Fortnite is shamelessly cribbed), we had no means of communicating.
In a tough game like this, communication is key. In these initial runs, my companions and I just didn't have the means to coordinate properly. Instead, we bumbled around the map, often traveling in opposite directions, and failing to synergize our ability to take down the game's toughest bosses.
This led to spectacularly unsuccessful runs that were significantly more frustrating than fun. On a couple of attempts, we did manage to stumble our way to the final boss of a run, but the odds of actually beating these powerful foes were virtually nil. We wiped in seconds.
At this point, after a couple of hours of play, I was genuinely thinking that Elden Ring Nightreign was a huge misstep from developer FromSoftware, a studio with an insane hit rate. I briefly considered whether it was even worth persisting with my playthrough. But I'm glad that was just a fleeting thought.
Things dramatically changed when I did the thing I probably should have done from the start: Grouped up with some friends and industry peers.
Getting a three-man squad together, that included TG's own Ryan Epps (who reviewed Elden Ring Nightreign), took my experience from largely frustrating to remarkably fun.
Suddenly, runs became an intense race against the constantly ticking clock as my companions and I strategized on the fly to craft the most efficient path through the game's shifting world.
We became obsessed with figuring out the quickest way to acquire runes (Which allow you to level up your chosen character), loot high-powered weapons and still have enough time remaining to visit every church we could find, as these provide health-restoring flasks.
Battling bosses also became not just significantly easier, but seriously enjoyable as well. We could devise a plan, coordinate our special abilities, and call out when our oversized combatant was about to deploy a devastating chain of attacks that required us to leap out of the way.
I was also able to consistently reach the final boss of each stage and start bringing them down. Even when the repetitive nature of each run became a little monotonous, just having friendly teammates to goof around with kept me hooked and eager to keep playing more.
During a highly memorable encounter with one of the game's toughest Nightlords, my squad managed to bring the beast down with each of us having just a sliver of health left after three failed attempts. It was in this real fist-pumping moment that I got to see Elden Ring Nightreign at its very best.
There's an adage in gaming that any multiplayer game is better played with friends, but Elden Ring Nightreign takes this idea to a whole new level.
If you're on the fence about picking up the game, I strongly suggest you only cough up your cash if you can convince at least two other friends to join you on your journey. Trying to play this brutal game via online matchmaking, or god-forbidden, solo is a recipe for a bad time. It's just not worth the headache.
Under the right conditions, when you have a team of (at least vaguely) competent players all communicating, Elden Ring Nightreign is truly something special. But be warned, if the conditions of play are anything less than optimal, the entire structure falls apart and becomes miserable.
Nevertheless, it's a good sign that I went from considering dropping the game after a few hours, to 20 hours later, having beaten every single boss Nightreign could throw at me, yet I remain eager to jump in again to keep getting that intoxicating adrenaline rush that only a FromSoftware game can provide.
However, I won't be making the same mistake twice, and unless I can pull together a posse each time I want to dive into Elden Ring Nightreign's pretty unique brand of co-op action, I'll opt to play something else instead.
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Essential Elden Ring: Nightreign Tips for New Players
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Usually when I pick up a new FromSoftware game, I opt to build my character into the biggest, strongest guy alive. In Bloodborne, I swung around the Hunter's Axe from beginning to end, and in Elden Ring, I beelined to the first colossal swords I could find, which include some of the game's best weapons. I'm happiest when I have enough poise to stand my ground against any attack and just keep swinging a blade at the bad guy. I was planning on playing a big, strong character in Elden Ring Nightreign, too. Perhaps I would tank the hits for my team as the Guardian or power through them as the Raider. And then my DualSense controller's USB cable busted right as the review period started. Have you ever tried to play Elden Ring with a keyboard and mouse? It's not the most intuitive control scheme. Off the rip, I was having trouble with simple tasks like flicking between enemies and swiftly changing my equipment in the heat of battle. 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Ironeye is dexterous, and can dodge through many attacks. If I'd created a large enough gap between myself and the beast, I weaved in a volley or two from my quiver before continuing my retreat. Eventually, my allies would peel the boss away from me, and I'd get back to work doing what I'm best at -- needling the giant bad guy in the face until it stopped moving. Ironeye's dagger dash keeps him safe while letting him do extra damage to any foes he cuts through. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET A Nightfarer with utility and survivability While Ironeye's damage-per-second isn't as high as other Nightfarers, I never felt like a mere nuisance on the battlefield. My ranged capabilities let me target weak points that my teammates couldn't hit, even on certain Nightlord aspects (the final boss of an expedition). I was able to do remarkable damage to flying enemies, and certain bosses -- like dragons -- would quickly fall to a flurry of well-aimed arrows. When enemies didn't have an obvious weakness, I'd create one myself with Ironeye's class ability. He can dash forward with his dagger, exposing an enemy's weak spot and granting a damage multiplier to any arrows landed there. When I'm able to destroy the mark, the team is able to take advantage of a unique enemy stagger, opening a crucial window of opportunity for free damage. I felt rewarded for approaching the battle and passing quickly through an enemy, before returning to the outskirts of the arena to double my DPS. The dagger dash is also a great survival tool, because Ironeye gets invincibility frames during the full animation and repositions himself on the other side of an approaching foe. The ability recharges within seconds, so I never felt like I was left high and dry with no way to defend myself against a particularly aggressive brawler. If one of those enemies happened to down my squadmates, all I had to do was fire a handful of arrows at an ally to get them back into the fight. There's no doubt in my mind that Ironeye is the best Nightfarer for reviving teammates -- the Recluse needs to expend FP to do similarly, and even the Revenant needs to use her ultimate to match the value the archer brings to the table in this regard. While any class can equip a bow, they likely won't have the Dexterity stat advantage that Ironeye has to do more revival "damage" to pick up teammates. Ironeye's ultimate ability cleaves through the battlefield to hit its intended target. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Most importantly, Ironeye provides great utility to the melee-focused members of his squad. His ultimate ability, Single Shot, pulls out a massive great bow that takes a couple seconds to set up, but fires through any enemies and terrain to spear its intended target. This ability absolutely clears fodder that might be crowding your allies, but I also found that it does great poise damage against bosses -- opening them up for devastating critical hits from your team. If you want to find success in Elden Ring Nightreign, half the battle is putting together an effective team composition. While archery might be a load of bunk in Elden Ring, Ironeye more than holds his own in this game. Grab your bow and arrows and play Nightreign like a third-person shooter -- you'll be able to DPS and support the squad without breaking a sweat.
