Elden Ring Nightreign Tips You Need To Know Before You Play

Elden Ring Nightreign is a completely new spin on the formula found in the original version of the famed RPG. Instead of traversing a vast open world by yourself, you instead get to participate in a roguelike experience with up to two other players fighting alongside you. While this is an intriguing concept, it can also be a little confusing, regardless of whether you're an Elden Ring veteran or not.

So to help you navigate the initial hours of Nightreign, we have compiled a list of tips to ensure you have all the knowledge you need to start off strong in the Living Lands. All of the tips are important, so don't worry about where they're placed on the list.

One of the most significant changes in Nightreign compared to the original Elden Ring is the three-player party system that's in place. When you set out for an expedition after reaching the Roundtable Hold, you'll be able to matchmake with two other random players who will join you for your run.

Of course, you can also form a party with two of your friends or even create a password to matchmake with other players who also have the same password. When you play with a party, you can choose to stay together or split up to explore more of the map. As the night comes to an end during an expedition, though, your entire party will be forced to come together due to the toxic gas that encloses the map and eventually only allows you to stay in a small area.

Alternatively, Nightreign also offers the ability to play solo, which you can do by switching your Expedition Type in the matchmaking settings menu. We have a more in-depth guide on playing solo and how to set up multiplayer expeditions, so check that out for more details. However, playing solo isn't recommended for most players, as the game is set up to be tackled by multiple players. Still, if you feel your skills allow for solo play, the option is always there for you.

In total, there are eight character classes you can play as in Elden Ring Nightreign. By default, you'll only have access to six classes, with the Duchess and Revenant classes being unlocked through separate methods after you've made some progress.

You can change your class at the Roundtable Hold, which allows you to practice with that class at the Roundtable's training area. However, when you go to run an expedition, you'll have to manually select your class at a selection screen. Only one class is permitted per party, though, so if one of your teammates selects the class you want to use, you'll have to select another one. The class selection is first-come, first-served, so you'll want to be quick with your pick if you're set on one class.

If you choose to play solo, your class is determined by whatever character you have selected at the Roundtable Hold. So if you want to play as Wylder, make sure you switch to that class at the Roundtable Hold before running a solo expedition.

For more, check out our guide to the best classes in Nightreign.

Similar to the original Elden Ring, the Roundtable Hold is the central location where you'll interact with NPCs and build out your characters in Nightreign. You gain access to the Roundtable Hold after the tutorial concludes, and from there, you can traverse the different hallways that are open to you. In the location's various rooms, you'll be able to speak to several different characters, buy necessary items for your class, and even practice with your chosen class at a training area.

We have a complete guide to the Roundtable Hold that explains what every character offers and where each dedicated feature is located, so take a look at that if you're getting turned around. For the most part, though, you want to always ensure you're exploring the Roundtable Hold every time you hit a milestone or make some progress in Nightreign. The Roundtable Hold tends to change as you progress, offering more rooms to explore and additional NPCs to speak to.

One of the best tips that we can offer in Nightreign is to speak to every single character at the Roundtable Hold as soon as you make some kind of progress. Progress is mainly tracked through defeating expedition bosses in Nightreign, so after you defeat a major boss, travel around the entire Roundtable Hold and talk to every character you can. More often than not, these characters will have some additional dialogue to share. Or, in some cases, you'll be able to unlock some specific content that wasn't available to you previously.

For example, speaking to the Small Jar Bazaar after beating the first expedition boss in Nightreign allows you to purchase class goblets, which give you the ability to swap your Relic Rites. Another example is speaking to the white-gowned woman in the middle of the Roundtable Hold after beating the first boss, as this unlocks some valuable content that completely changes the game.

This also applies to the Journal, which you can read to learn a little more backstory about the game's story and characters. The Journal updates every time you make progress, so reading it often gives you insights about what's happening in the game.

Relics are arguably the most important element of your class in Elden Ring Nightreign, aside from your weapons that you unlock throughout an expedition. Relics can be accessed by visiting the blue-candle altar at the center of the Roundtable Hold. You unlock new Relics to equip as you participate in expeditions, and they are given to you as rewards at the end of runs.

When you view the Relics menu, you'll see that every class has a different set of colored slots. These colored slots directly affect what Relics you can equip. You can only equip a Relic with a specific color in a slot of the same color. The color of a Relic is either evident in its central gem, but Relics without gems will have a colored dot on their icon in the Relics menu.

You want to always ensure you're using the Relics menu to see what new Relics you've unlocked and make changes to all of your classes. Making changes to your Relic selections is the primary way you'll alter a class's build, allowing you to customize how the class plays during an expedition. It's also important to customize each class's Relics just in case you're forced into using one of them due to your teammates picking your choices first before an expedition.

We have a far more in-depth guide that explains everything you need to know about Relics if you want some additional details.

When you're first dropped onto the map for an expedition, you might feel a little overwhelmed. You have a large map waiting to be explored, a toxic gas encroaching around you, and dozens of enemies and bosses to fight before the night is over. The first question you might have is where you should go to start an expedition.

Well, there's not really a right answer, but there are some tasks you want to accomplish right off the bat. First, you want to open your map and take stock of what's around you. Look at where some Sites of Grace are and try to establish a path that hits a Site of Grace every few minutes so you can stay healthy and ensure your flasks are always recharged.

You also want to try to visit as many unique locations as possible before the toxic gas closes them off. These locations always have some kind of boss that you can kill for a large chunk of Runes, which you need to level up your character at Sites of Grace. One of the best strategies to implement is hopping from one location to the other and hitting a Site of Grace in between each location. This allows you to obtain large amounts of Runes, stay healthy, and level up at a consistent pace.

The one element you want to watch out for is the toxic gas. Before entering a location, ensure that the gas won't overtake you during the time it takes to explore the location and defeat the boss. Once the gas overtakes you, it can be difficult to make your way out of it before eventually dying from it.

To build off of our last tip, you also want to make it a priority to increase your Healing Flask Charges when you're traveling around the map during an expedition. You can add one charge to your Healing Flasks by visiting a Statue or Marika, which are indicated by the church icons on your map.

These statues can be found sparingly across the map, and adding even one flask charge can make the difference between life and death when you're fighting a boss. If you play your cards right, you can add two or three flask charges through Statues or Marika per night during an expedition, which really add up for the final boss fight after the end of night two. You can read about some other ways to increase Healing Flask Charges in our previous guide.

One of the most infamous items from the original Elden Ring is Smithing Stones, and they've made a return in Nightreign. Smithing Stones are once again used to upgrade your weapons and gear, but the items work slightly differently in the Living Lands this time around.

Smithing Stones can be acquired in a variety of ways, but you can find them as loot off dead bodies or buy them from Merchant Kale around the map. Once you have a Smithing Stone, you can use an anvil, usually located by Merchant Kale, to strengthen one of your armaments. The most basic Smithing Stone you'll find is the [1] variant, which upgrades a common armament to a rare armament. To upgrade rarer items, you need higher Smithing Stone variants.

It's easy to forget about upgrading weapons when you're acquiring new ones after defeating bosses, but as long as you can find Smithing Stones, you don't have to worry about looting any new weapons.

When one of your teammates goes down in Elden Ring, they can be revived by continually attacking them until the purple meter above their head has been fully reduced. However, as you'll undoubtedly learn sooner rather than later, it can be extremely difficult to revive teammates. For starters, trying to attack a flat body on the ground with a large weapon is not the easiest thing to do. You also have to worry about a potential boss attacking you when you're focused on reviving a teammate.

To solve some of these issues, there are a couple of steps you can take to revive teammates faster and more efficiently. The first method you want to use anytime you're trying to revive someone is to place your aiming dot on your teammate. You can do this by pressing the right joystick on a controller to take the aiming dot off of an enemy and then pressing it again when looking at the person who needs reviving. Having the dot on the teammate makes attacking them much easier.

You can take things up a notch by using your character's abilities to revive teammates faster and safer. For example, the Raider class has the Totem Stela ultimate ability, which spawns a huge pillar out of the ground. You can use that pillar to lift you and a downed teammate up, which helps avoid a boss' attacks so you can revive them in a safer environment. You could also use some other class's abilities to deal more damage to a downed teammate in a shorter amount of time.

Our final tip is regarding equipment, which can get lost in the shuffle of trying to deal damage with your weapons or abilities, especially when fighting a boss. Equipment is any single-use item that you loot from chests, boxes, or off of dead bodies. It consists of items such as the Fire Pot, Warming Stone, Kukri, or anything else that goes in the bottom slots of your inventory.

While some of these items might not seem super useful in the heat of battle, they can turn out to be lifesavers more often than not. Throwing a Fire Pot or Kukris at a boss won't deal a ton of damage to them, but it can turn their attention towards you and away from a teammate who might need to be revived. This allows your other teammate to revive that teammate while the boss's attention is on you.

Non-damaging equipment is often more useful than equipment strictly meant to attack enemies. The Warming Stone specifically is an item you always want to pick up, as it heals you and your teammates within a short radius of where it's used. This can effectively act as a mini Site of Grace, allowing your party to heal up in or out of battle.

Basically, make sure you're not forgetting about equipment in Nightreign, as many of the items are helpful when you're not busy using your weapons or abilities.