You’ve dived into Elden Ring Nightreign and quickly discovered its brutal truth: this game is hard. So hard, in fact, our own Nightreign review dubbed it “a merciless bully” (a term of endearment, we promise!). Conquering the Nightlord at the end of each perilous expedition demands a masterful juggle of level progression, potent weapon upgrades, and exploiting elemental weaknesses – all while a relentless flaming wall of death nips at your heels.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone. These essential Elden Ring Nightreign tips are designed to demystify its complex systems and arm you with reliable strategies for success. We’ll cover early game priorities for your first couple of days, then delve into general tactics to keep in mind as you hunt down your next Nightlord.
Before we begin, for more specialized help, consider our guide on farming runes in Nightreign. If fashion is your endgame, we detail how to unlock Nightreign’s Dark Souls outfits. And for a strategic overview of your ultimate foes, our Nightreign boss guide is a must-read.
Early Expedition Essentials: Setting Up for Success
1. Prioritize Sacred Flasks: Your Lifeline
Unless you’re a no-hit Soulslike savant, damage is inevitable in Nightreign. Limveld’s bosses hit like runaway carriages, meaning your health-restoring Sacred Flask will be your best friend. Thankfully, you can increase your maximum flask charges by visiting Churches of Marika. These will be highlighted in gold on your map if you haven’t yet claimed their boon.
Smart Start: As you fly in, scan your map for the nearest church. Land, dispatch the initial cluster of nearby enemies (usually good for an early level-up and some loot), and then make a beeline for that flask upgrade. We’ve found securing two additional flask charges by the end of day one provides a comfortable safety net.
2. Target Forts and Great Churches for Early Upgrades
With extra flasks secured, your next priority should be Forts and Great Churches. Both typically house relatively easy bosses that can be dispatched early for low-risk, high-reward upgrades and valuable drops. (Unsure about map icons? The Guide in the Visual Codex within the Roundtable Hold details map locations.)
Forts: Most will feature a room with three chests on the lower level and a knight boss on the ramparts above. Another chest on the rampart nearly always contains a Stonesword Key, crucial for opening Evergaols.
Great Churches: These will either have a boss on the ground floor or a descent into a basement with a boss and an altar guaranteed to drop incantation seals. Like Forts, they frequently yield Stonesword Keys from altar chests, with more chests often hidden in the rafters.
3. Day Two: The Boss Rush
Day one was about building a foundation. Day two is for aggressive expansion: killing bosses for more runes, superior loot, and crucial passive perks. If your squad lacks weapons matching a specific boss’s elemental weakness, prioritize clearing enemy regions on the map displaying that same affinity. You’ll have a higher chance of finding weapons with that damage type from that area’s boss.
After gearing up, your objective is simple: eliminate as many bosses as possible before day two concludes. Once Camps and Ruins are no longer a challenge, use your Stonesword Keys to tackle Evergaols. While Evergaol boss difficulty varies (watch out for Death Rite Birds!), they’re generally manageable. Day two also marks Great Enemy bosses on your map. These behemoths hit hard and have substantial health pools, but they offer some of the best gear for confronting the Nightlord on day three. Aim to be at least level 8 before engaging them (level 10 offers a safer buffer).
Character and Combat Prowess
4. Unlock The Duchess ASAP: A Game-Changing Ally
One of Nightreign’s two unlockable characters, The Duchess is an absolute powerhouse. She excels with dexterity-based weapons, but her true strength lies in her Restage ability. This skill repeats a percentage of all damage dealt to enemies in the last few seconds and is on an incredibly low cooldown. A Duchess on your team means a constant stream of free damage.
Even better, Restage duplicates elemental damage and status buildup, allowing your squad to relentlessly hammer bosses with their most effective damage types. You can unlock The Duchess very early by defeating the first expedition boss, making her an accessible and invaluable addition.
5. Don’t Underestimate Ranged Weapons (Even if You’re Not Ironeye)
Nightreign bosses are notoriously agile. Nightlords, in particular, love to leap and dash, making life difficult for melee characters. Even when you close the gap, their relentless attacks can leave little room for your own. While Ironeye tops our Nightfarer tier list for consistent ranged damage, every Nightreign character has unlimited ammunition for any ranged weapon they equip. If a boss is proving too mobile or dangerous up close, don’t hesitate to switch to a bow and chip away, regardless of your chosen hero.
6. Map Intel: Press Y for Gear Hotspots
Different zones in Nightreign have a higher likelihood of dropping specific armament types (e.g., Great Churches for incantation seals, Camps for bows, Arcane Towers for staffs). Memorizing these can be tricky. Luckily, you don’t have to! On an Xbox controller, press Y (or the equivalent key) while viewing the map to display additional details, including the types of armaments commonly found in different areas. This can save precious time when the night circle is closing in.
7. Stock Up on Smithing Stones for Weapon Enhancements
If your team has found decent blue-rarity weapons but purple drops have been elusive, make visiting a Mining Tunnel a priority at the start of day two. These tunnels, scattered across the map, house a troll, knight, or pumpkin head boss guaranteed to drop a Smithing Stone (2). These stones can upgrade blue-tier weapons to purple at anvils (often found near merchants), significantly boosting their stats. It’s an excellent way to ensure you have a powerful weapon with the right affinity for an upcoming boss.
8. Charge Your Abilities for Maximum Impact
Nightreign, like its Elden Ring predecessor, can be opaque about its mechanics. Many character abilities become significantly more effective if you hold down their respective button to charge them. Guardian’s whirlwind, Wylder’s pile bunker ultimate, and Raider’s headbutt all gain extra potency with a charge. Spend some time in the Roundtable Hold’s sparring ground to master the full potential of your Nightfarer’s kit.
9. Ultimates: Not Just for Damage, But for Clutch Revives Too!
Your Nightfarer’s ultimate art is a powerful offensive tool, but it also serves a crucial defensive purpose: reviving downed teammates. Dealing damage to a fallen ally brings them back, and this includes damage from ultimates. Since you’re invulnerable during your ultimate animation, you can safely revive a teammate even while a boss is unleashing chaos. Wylder is particularly adept at this, as his grappling hook can zip him directly to a downed ally for an explosive revival.
Long-Term Progression & Advanced Tactics
10. Gamble Your Murk for Relics (If You Dare)
Relics offer long-term progression, granting stat boosts and expedition modifiers via colored gems in grail slots. While expeditions reward relics, their modifiers are random. The Small Jar Bazaar in Roundtable Hold offers a solution. Besides purchasing predetermined relics with Murk (earned from expeditions), you can also gamble Murk for additional randomized relics. The odds are no better, but extra rolls can help if you’re chasing specific bonuses – just know it might come at the cost of those cool cosmetic outfits!
11. Weapon Passives: Understanding Your Inventory’s Power
A crucial aspect often missed: most weapon passive bonuses apply even if the weapon isn’t actively equipped. When a weapon drops, it has a randomized bonus (e.g., “increased ranged weapon attack”). You get these benefits simply by having the weapon in your inventory. This is key to build-crafting – you’re not just looking for raw attack power, but synergistic passive effects.
Exception: Some weapons have a small hand icon next to their bonus. This indicates the effect is only active while that specific weapon is wielded.
12. Cataclysms: High Risk, Variable Reward
You might notice map areas enveloped in a blue/green circle. These are Cataclysms. They buff enemy health/damage inside and trigger an invasion by a hostile phantom Nightfarer doppelganger. The result is a chaotic, difficult fight. Rewards (upgraded versions of the phantom’s default weapon) can be good but aren’t guaranteed to fit your needs.
Our Advice: Unless your squad is exceptionally skilled or feeling particularly brave, seek upgrades elsewhere. Cataclysms can end a promising run very quickly.
Armed with these tips, the treacherous paths of Elden Ring Nightreign should feel a little less daunting. Adapt, strategize, and may your expeditions lead to glorious victory against the Nightlords!
