Elden Ring Night Reign was announced at The Game Awards in December 2024 and is a new standalone release by FromSoftware set in a parallel Elden Ring universe. It is not additional DLC to the main Elden Ring game.
What is Elden Ring Nightreign?
Unlike the main Elden Ring game, players will have a set roster of characters to choose from with simplified character statistics. The game is designed for up to three-player co-op with each character class having its own unique skill and Ultimate skill. When these classes come together their abilities can complement each other as players work as a team.
Players will have to collect loot and relics to help them defeat a mini-boss at the end of each day and finally the main boss at the end of the third day.
Selectable Characters and features
There’s a total of eight pre-made character archetypes and the characters that have been revealed so far include:
- Wylder – An all-rounder with a claw shot to pull in small enemies or attach to larger ones.
- Utimate is Wedge of Invasion which is a charges explosive attack.
- Guardian – Tanky with a skill called Whirlwind which knocks back and causes damage.
- Ultimate is Wings of Severance which leaps in the air and divebombs on the target dealing damage.
- Duchess – Speedy with fast attacks and the skill Restage which re-deals the last few seconds of damage.
- Ultimate is Finale which turns you and your allies invisible for a period of time.
- Recluse – A mage class with a skill called Magical Cocktail which collects damage attributes applied to an enemy and when three are stored a special attack is unleashed depending on what was stored.
- Ultimate is Song of the Blood Souls which marks all nearby enemies and healing is returned to your allies while they attack.
Unlike the main game, there’s no weight restriction and all customization to characters comes by way of loot and relics. All gear is found from drops and chests on the map but weapons will have level requirements. Also, note that players can have up to three weapons per hand.
To speed gameplay up, a new wall-jump feature has been added to allow players more freedom of movement. Thankfully there’s also no fall damage.
Known bosses you will fight
Bosses include ones seen in Elden Ring but also from the Dark Souls series. Confirmed bosses include:
Confirmed Boseses
- Margit
- Gladius
Expected Bosses based on footage
- Ancient Hero of Zamor
- Bell Bearing Hunter
- Centipede Demon
- Draconic Tree Sentinel
- Nameless King
- The Duke’s dear Freja
Players will have a choice of which main boss they will fight on the third day before the game begins.
How long are the Day and Night Cycles?
A complete game of Nightreign will last around 45 minutes and span three day and night cycles. During a day cycle which is expected to last between 10 and 15 minutes, players will have to hunt for loot to help them defeat the end-of-day bosses. At night the world is a much more dangerous place.
What happens at the end of each day?
At the end of each day, the map area will shrink due to the Night Tide (think battle royale) and players have to fight a mini-boss. As the next day begins, players have to continue the loot hunt but in the smaller map area and then take on the selected final boss at the end of the third day. Should you step out of that shrinking circle, be prepared to be killed by the Ring of Rain. Unsurprisingly it’s acid rain.
Elden Ring Nightreign Map
The Nightreign map is called Limveld and will have the same geography for each game played but the content of the map will change with randomized enemies, different ruins, and other smaller location types switching around.
Random Events
Random events in the world will appear such as meteor storms or swarms of giant insects. This should help each playthrough feel unpredictable.
Death and how it works
Elden Ring Nightreign can be considered a rogue-like game and death has consequences.
If you die during the day, your teammates can revive you by attacking you once you are down (yes, you read that right) but you need to be revived within a time limit. If you are not revived, you can respawn but with a one level of progression removed penalty.
Death gets tricky when it comes to the end-of-day boss fights. If all three players die during these end-of-day boss fights, all will have to restart back at day one and at level 1. Ouch!
Matchmaking
The game features the central hub of Roundtable Hold. Here, players can equip their relics (3 per character), practice combat, and buy cosmetics and emotes with in-game currency. Matchmaking itself is handled through your friends lists.
Standalone Game
Nightreign is not DLC and is a standalone game that will need to be purchased but it will be cheaper than the full Elden Ring game. There will also be no microtransactions in the game.
Elden Ring Nightreign Release Date
No release date has been set but it is expected in the first half of 2025.
Is there a beta test?
There will be a Network Test that will be run in February offering a taste of the game and a page is up for that now with registrations taking place from 10 January.
If we missed anything about Elden Ring Nightreign, let us know in the comments and we’ll update the page.