by Dom's Roundtable
Foul tarnished, it has been too long, but it is finally once again time to journey across The Lands Between. I spent a whole day playing Nightreign with Bandai Namco and FromSoftware, and it is now finally time to reveal what you are getting yourself in for by choosing to once again brave the fearsome challenges that await you!
In this preview overview, I will give you a rundown of the key points in Elden Ring: Nightreign. However, each point also has its own article where I'll do a thorough deep-dive, so if you want to know more, make sure you check out the links in each section to the dedicated articles.
Gameplay Loop - How Does It All Work?
You start by dropping into Limveld with your teammates (or solo if you'd prefer a hardcore challenge), and you're dropped off in a random area by your Spectral Hawk. It is now your job to scavenge, fight, explore, loot, level up and survive until the end of the first Day
At the end of the day, the Ring of Fire will have fully closed in, and you'll now be faced with the Night 1 boss. Defeat this boss and the Ring of Fire will be pushed back, and you'll repeat this cycle on Day 2.
Continue to upgrade your gear, explore and level your character, and if you survive, you'll once again be pushed into a specific zone by the Ring of Fire and face the Night 2 boss.
Should you overcome this challenge, you'll now enter the Spirit Shelter and do your final preparations before challenging the Nightlord.
We'll talk more about the Nightlords, activities to complete throughout the day, and the Classes available to you, in their own individual sections
Character Classes - 8 Archetypes
There are 8 classes you can choose from, 4 of these were available to us during the playtest:
Wylder
Guardian
Duchess
Recluse
Each class has 4 unique differences:
A passive skill
A character skill
An ultimate art
Their movement
All of them require a different playstyle, and each has its own individual strengths and weaknesses.
I will break down the specifics of each class in the Archetypes article.
The main thing you should take away from here is that you definitely want to try every single class, and learn how they all work before you start to pick your favourites. Nightreign gives you so much choice, and I personally cannot wait to play an endless amount of matches with every single Class (join my discord server so we can play together)
Even though we do say goodbye to Torrent in Nightreign, we say hello to a new and improved sprinting system. This allows you to run faster than ever before, whilst GAINING stamina, you can also double jump and grapple up cliffs and ledges.
You can even glide across Limveld on your Spectral Hawk, before plummeting from great heights due to ZERO FALL DAMAGE!
There are many more new Combat Mechanics, such as Character Skills and Ultimate Arts.
Enemies can now take damage from other sources whilst in the backstab animation. On top of this, there are brand new move sets for some enemies and most bosses!
Returning Features (And How They've Changed)
Of course as you'd expect, Sites of Grace still exist, however now you simply need to be near one for it to fully heal you to allow for SPEED. You can also rest at a Site of Grace to level up, but this has been simplified from level 1, to level 2, to level 3, and will automatically increase multiple stats related to the class you're currently playing
Players may also acquire additional healing flasks from ruined Churches of Marika, however each player must interact with these items individually to gain the additional flask.
Tarnished are still also able to level up their weapons with smithing stones, they will now increase in RARITY rather than in level, from Common all the way to Legendary, and again I will go into the specifics of all of these features in the dedicated article
This is the area we were given the smallest amount of insight into during the playtest, so this article will be updated as we progress through the Closed Network Test.
Matchmaking is back, along with password groups, so don't forget if you'd like to play with members of the Roundtable, make sure one of your passwords is set to KNIGHTS.
Roundtable Hold is where you can also spend all of your Murk, and equip your Relics. You can also interact with all 8 classes, learn more about them, and progress their individual storylines. There is a bell you can interact with which allows you to review all of the unique mechanics for each class.
And I'm sure there is MUCH more to Roundtable hold, which we haven't yet been privy to.
Roguelite Mechanics - Murk & Relics
Murk is the currency you will earn for each completed run, win or lose. Obviously you earn more if you win, but it has yet to be disclosed what you will spend Murk on. Based on how Relics look, my initial thoughts are you will be able to upgrade your Relics to more powerful variations, and maybe even change their traits. And I really hope there are some cosmetic purchases, but we shall see.
Relics will completely change your playstyle, each offering hugely varied and extremely powerful buffs, from additional HP and Stamina, to a reduction in FP costs, and to applying permanent Scarlet Rot to all of your weapons. You'll be spending a lot of time tweaking and perfecting your builds through the use of Relics.
The long and short of it is if you die, you fall to your knees and are able to slowly crawl towards your teammates, waiting to be revived.
Outside of the Night Bosses/Nightlords arena, you have a limited time to be revived, and if you are not smacked around enough by your teammates in order to be revived before this timer runs out, you will spawn at a nearby location, having lost 1 level.
However, if you are in a boss fight, there is no timer, and your teammates have all the time in the world to revive you, BUT if you ALL die this way, then it's game over!
There are 8 Nightlords to challenge in Nightreign, I have so far only challenged (and beaten) one of them; Gladius, The Beast Of Night.
Before joining a mission you will choose the Nightlord you would like to attempt to beat, and this will determine some of the features throughout your next mission.
There are a load of new bosses in Nightreign if you are coming from Elden Ring, but what's even better is there are loads of new MOVESETS. You may think you know how to deal with a boss, but they are very likely to change it up on you and start hitting you with a bunch of new moves you've never seen before. This game after all was developed by the director of the combat system for Elden Ring, and it shows!
Final Thoughts
Elden Ring: Nightreign takes everything we loved about Elden Ring and cranks it up with fresh mechanics, new challenges, and an immersive rogue-lite twist.
From unique character classes and Spectral Hawks to randomized events and Nightlords with unpredictable movesets, every playthrough promises something new. Whether you're exploring Limveld solo or with friends, mastering combat techniques, or experimenting with relics, Nightreign offers endless replayability and depth.
Get ready to dive back into The Lands Between and face the darkness like never before!
