by Dom's Roundtable
There are 2 key rogue-lite mechanics in Elden Ring: Nightreign, Murk and Relics. We'll go into Relics first as that's the feature we were really able to sink our teeth into and I know much more about already. Really pay attention to how you obtain Relics and how they work, because they are absolutely VITAL for winning consistently and defeating the tougher Nightlords.
You will earn both Murk and Relics each time you finish a match, win or lose. The better you do, the more you earn, and the higher quality your Relics will be. From what I can tell, there are 3 rarities of Relic:
Delicate
Polished
Grand
Delicate relics have 1 buff attached to them, Polished have 2, and Grand have 3. These modifiers will COMPLETELY change your playstyle in certain circumstances, each offering hugely varied and extremely powerful buffs, from additional HP and Stamina, to a reduction in FP costs, 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.
Relics are also coloured based on their primary purpose, and different classes have a different combination of coloured sockets available to them, as an example the Recluse will favour Relics that increase your ranged damage, FP and offensive stats. Whereas the Guardian will favour Relics that boost your defence and survivability.
Possibly the most important and best feature of Relics is that they are interchangeable, and it is free to do. So if you have 2 classes that would both benefit from the same Relic, you can only play one at a time, so just remember to go into the Relic interact screen before your next match, and switch it from one character to the other, it's as simple as that!
Next up we have Murk. This is the currency you will earn for each completed run, win or lose. Obviously you earn more if you win, and 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..
