So you’re ready to dive into Elden Ring Nightreign? Awesome! This cooperative survival experience is quite different from the base Elden Ring game, and there’s a lot to learn if you want to survive those intense three-day cycles. Whether you’re completely new to the world or returning after a break, this Elden Ring Nightreign Beginner’s Guide will help you master the basics and set you up for success.
What You’ll find on this Elden Ring Nightreign Beginner’s Guide
Getting Started at Roundtable Hold
Master the Training Area
Before you jump into the action, spend some quality time in Roundtable Hold’s training area. This place is a goldmine for learning character movesets, testing different weapons, and getting familiar with skills and spells. Trust me, you don’t want to be figuring out your character’s abilities while dodging deadly attacks in the middle of a run.
The training area lets you practice with every character, weapon type, and spell without pressure. Since you’ll have limited time to examine new gear during actual runs, this is your chance to understand what each item does and how it feels to use.
Navigate Roundtable Hold Like a Pro
Here’s a game-changer: you can teleport anywhere within Roundtable Hold! Just open your menu and select any location you want to visit. Want to hit the sparring grounds? Click and you’re there. Need to work on your relics? One click away. This saves tons of time, especially when you’re first learning the layout.
While Roundtable Hold isn’t massive, this teleport feature is super handy for quickly moving between important areas like the expedition setup, relic management, and training zones.
Matchmaking and Network Settings
Cross-Region Matchmaking Considerations
One of your first big decisions is whether to enable cross-region matchmaking. Since Nightreign uses peer-to-peer connections, this setting directly impacts your ping. High ping can make dodging, parrying, and blocking feel sluggish and unreliable.
For the best experience, especially at launch, consider keeping cross-region matchmaking off unless you’re specifically playing with friends from other regions. The timing in this game is crucial, and 200-300 ping can make even basic combat feel frustrating.
Understanding Password Systems
Nightreign has two different password systems that serve different purposes:
Matchmaking Password: This creates a private lobby where only players with the same password can join. Perfect for playing with specific friends or joining community groups. You can also set it to allow partial groups, like if you have one friend and want a random third player to fill your team.
Group Password: This one’s for asynchronous features. Players with the same group password will see each other’s bloodstains and other environmental markers. It’s great for community play since you’ll see where other players died and can learn from their mistakes.
Map Knowledge and Navigation
Understanding the Nightreign Map
The map in Nightreign is your lifeline, and learning to read it properly is essential. You can toggle between different view modes to get a better sense of the terrain and important locations.
While certain elements like rune locations and some structures will move around between runs, the basic topography stays consistent. Spend time learning the general layout because this knowledge will serve you well across multiple playthroughs.
Using Elemental Icons Strategically
Here’s a pro tip that many players miss: structures on the map have elemental icons that tell you what kind of weapons you’ll likely find there. See a fire icon? You’ll probably get fire weapons from that location. Looking for bleed weapons? Head to areas marked with bleed icons.
This system lets you target specific weapon types instead of just hoping you’ll find what you need. Planning your route around these icons can help you build the exact character setup you want.
Coordinate with the Pin System
The pin system is incredibly useful, especially if you’re not using voice chat. Each player gets their own colored pins, so you can see what everyone thinks is important. When two players pin the same location, it turns white, showing team consensus.
Even if someone else has already pinned a location, add your pin if you agree. This confirms to your teammates that you understand the plan and are on board with the strategy.
Team Play and Survival Strategies
Stick Together for Success
While you can technically play Nightreign solo, the game shines with a full team. The balance is designed around cooperative play, and many challenges become much more manageable with teammates watching your back.
If you’re new to the game, definitely start with multiplayer. You can switch to single-player mode through the multiplayer menu if you want to try it later, but learning the game with a team will make your experience much more enjoyable and successful.
Party Composition Matters
Don’t underestimate the importance of a balanced team. Having all melee characters might seem fun, but it can lead to disaster against bosses with lots of area-of-effect attacks. When everyone gets caught in the same AOE and goes down simultaneously, there’s nobody left to revive the team.
Try to include at least one ranged character in your group, maybe even two if you’re just starting. This gives you options for reviving fallen teammates and dealing damage from safe positions.
Take time to learn what your teammates’ characters can do. For example, if someone’s playing Recluse, knowing that their ability heals and restores FP when attacking marked targets lets you take advantage of those moments. Understanding each other’s kits makes the whole team more effective.
The Relic System
Building Power Through Runs
Relics are how you get stronger in Nightreign. Whether you succeed or fail in a run, you’ll earn relics that can be equipped back at Roundtable Hold. These aren’t just stat boosts – they can completely change how your character plays.
Some relics give you more health, stamina, or FP. Others might add poison or bleed to your starting weapon, enhance specific abilities, or provide unique effects. The variety is huge, and experimenting with different combinations is part of the fun.
| Relic Type | Effect Examples |
|---|---|
| Stat Boosters | Increased health, stamina, or FP |
| Weapon Enhancers | Starting weapon gets poison, bleed, or fire |
| Ability Modifiers | Character skills become more powerful |
| Utility Effects | Various gameplay improvements |
Customizing Your Character
After defeating your first boss, you’ll unlock the ability to change your character’s relic slots using in-game currency. This is huge because it lets you use different combinations of relics that might not have worked with your character’s default slot colors.
Don’t like your current relic setup? No problem! You can completely redesign how your character works by changing these slots around. This flexibility means you’re never stuck with a build that doesn’t feel right.
Leveling and Progression
The Critical First Level
Getting from level 1 to level 2 is massive in Nightreign. Depending on your character, this single level can nearly double your health pool. Some characters get 30-40% more health, while others can see increases of up to 80%.
Make this your first priority when starting any run. Kill a few weak enemies quickly, find a Site of Grace, and get that crucial first level before attempting anything challenging. The survivability boost is game-changing.
Prioritize Churches for Flask Upgrades
Churches are some of the most valuable locations you can visit because they increase your flask count. More healing means better survival chances in boss fights, especially during the later stages of each run.
If you’re choosing between two objectives and one involves a church, always go for the church first. You want to have at least 6-7 flasks before tackling the tougher content on days two and three.
Smart Enemy Engagement
Here’s something that might seem counterintuitive: avoid most regular enemies unless you can kill them super quickly or need just a bit more XP to level up. The time you spend fighting weak enemies could be better spent on bosses, forts, and other high-value targets.
Exceptions include the very beginning of runs when you need quick XP for those first crucial levels, or when you can use ultimate abilities to wipe out groups of enemies efficiently. Characters like Guardian or Iron Eye can clear multiple enemies at once, making it worthwhile.
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Map Strategy and Timing
Work from Outside In
When planning your route, prioritize objectives on the outer edges of the map before moving inward. As the deadly ring closes in throughout each day, you’ll lose access to outer areas permanently. Getting caught outside the safe zone means certain death.
This doesn’t mean you need to clear the entire outer ring first, but if you’re choosing between a nearby inner objective and an outer one of similar difficulty, go outer first. You can always come back to the inner areas later.
Time Management is Everything
Developing good situational awareness about timing comes with experience, but it’s crucial for success. You need to know where you are relative to where the ring will be after it closes.
If you’re near the center when the ring is about to close, you probably don’t need to rush. But if you’re on the outer edges clearing ruins, be ready to run immediately after finishing. Getting caught in the nightfall because you lost track of time is a frustrating way to end a run.
Combat and Equipment
Status Effects Are King
Bleed, poison, and scarlet rot are incredibly powerful in Nightreign. These damage-over-time effects keep working even when you can’t safely attack, which is perfect for the limited attack windows you’ll have against tough bosses.
Use those elemental icons on the map to target locations that will give you these weapon types. Since bosses have higher resistances than in the base Elden Ring (to account for multiple players applying effects), having these status effects across your team makes fights much more manageable.
Learn Boss Resistances
Every boss in Nightreign has specific resistances and weaknesses. The matchmaking screen shows you what each Night Lord is weak to, and landscape bosses have their own resistance patterns too.
Fighting a boss that resists your damage type can make battles drag on forever. Take time to learn these matchups – it can turn a grueling fight into a quick victory. When in doubt, check community resources for up-to-date resistance information.
Talisman Hunting
Talismans are game-changers, but they’re not easy to come by. Your best bets are scarabs found throughout the landscape and forest areas, plus the guaranteed chest in the main keep at the center of the map.
That central keep chest always gives you a choice of three talismans, so make visiting it a priority before the end of day two. Getting a powerful talisman like the Green Turtle Talisman or Warrior Jar Shard can significantly boost your effectiveness.
Don’t Ignore Merchants
While you shouldn’t go out of your way to find merchants, definitely check them out if you’re nearby. They sometimes sell talismans, upgrade materials (including rare purple materials), and better weapons or shields than what you currently have.
For reliable purple upgrade materials, look for mines on the map. These usually have manageable bosses that drop valuable upgrade resources when defeated.
Consumables and Items
Prioritize Useful Consumables
Not all consumables are created equal in Nightreign. Some are incredibly useful, while others are basically worthless.
High Priority Items:
- Warming Stones: Excellent for healing over time
- Boiled Crabs/Prawns: Great damage reduction
- Rowa Raisins: Physical damage boost
- Starlight Shards: Essential for FP-intensive characters like Recluse
- Stone Sword Keys: Access to valuable locked areas
Low Priority Items:
- Most “bullet” items that clear status effects
- Fire pots (situational at best)
- Most basic throwables
Focus your inventory space on items that will help you survive and deal damage effectively.
Advanced Tips for Success
Study Your Characters
Spend time learning not just your own character, but your teammates’ abilities too. Understanding when someone uses a powerful buff or healing ability lets you take advantage of those moments instead of missing out.
The training area in Roundtable Hold is perfect for this. You can test every character and see how their abilities work without any pressure.
Resource Management
Keep track of your flasks, FP, and other resources throughout each run. It’s easy to get caught up in the action and suddenly realize you’re out of healing when you need it most.
Plan your Site of Grace visits strategically. These restore your flasks and health, so don’t pass by one if you’re low on resources, even if it means a small detour.
Learn the Meta
As you play more, you’ll start to recognize optimal routes, timing strategies, and team compositions. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t, and don’t be afraid to adjust your approach based on what you learn.
The Nightreign community is constantly discovering new strategies and optimizations. Stay connected with other players to learn about effective builds, route planning, and boss strategies.
You’re all set!
Elden Ring Nightreign offers an intense, cooperative challenge that’s quite different from the base game. Success comes from understanding the unique mechanics, working well with your team, and making smart strategic decisions under time pressure.
Remember that every run teaches you something new, whether you succeed or fail. Use those relic rewards to build stronger characters, learn from your mistakes, and gradually master the complex systems at play.
Most importantly, don’t get discouraged if your first few runs don’t go well. Nightreign has a steep learning curve, but once you understand the fundamentals covered in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to conquering those Night Lords and surviving the three-day cycles.
The key is practice, patience, and good teamwork. With these basics under your belt, you’re ready to dive in and start your journey. Good luck out there, and may your runs be successful!
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