10 Things I Learned About Elden Ring Nightreign Playing the Network Test

This past weekend, a select group of fans from across the world, myself included, got the chance to participate in the Elden Ring Nightreign Network Test. Over 18 hours, we experienced a game that takes Elden Ring and mixes in elements of roguelite and battle royal games. Here's what I learned during my time with the game.

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1. Disconnections Suck

Over the six, three-hour blocks I played of Elden Ring Nightreign, I did 78 runs total. 4 ended in death (1 of which was a suicide after the game glitched and the boss didn't spawn), 1 ended in victory, and the remaining 73 ended in disconnections. There was no rhyme or reason to why these disconnections happened but the result was the same: I was booted back to the title screen. This being a network test, connection troubles are to be expected—it's what they're doing this test for, after all—so I was never really upset when they happened. However, what happens after a disconnection makes you feel terrible.

First off, you can't reconnect with your game or group. This means that not only are you starting over from nothing, but you have effectively ruined the run of two other players by leaving them permanently down a member (and if they quit to start over with you, the game states they will receive a penalty for doing so). Worse still, disconnections are not treated as deaths, so you receive none of the relic rewards (special equipment that survives across runs) you would typically get at the natural end of the run (i.e., killing the Nightlord or dying). One person disconnecting obliterates the experience for all three people. We can only hope that a reconnect option will be available in the final version of the game.

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2. Rush the Bosses

Elden Ring is a game that rewards you for playing slow and smart—checking every blind spot, and picking off one enemy at a time. This is not the case in Nightreign. You have 15 minutes on the map before the big boss of the day spawns—and only half that time can you explore the entire map before the rain comes and cuts it off. Your goal is to hit as many bosses as you can before the end of the day (as they give the most exp and the best items)—while also quickly killing any normal enemies along your path and leveling up at sites of grace. Luckily, while it may feel reckless at first, having three people working together drastically lessens the need to be careful. Most of the time, if you are moving as a group, you can steamroll any threat you come across.

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3. Don't Think, Just Go

In Nightreign, you have no time to take it slow. Every moment you spend not moving is time wasted you could be using to make yourself stronger. If you want to succeed, you need to pick a location and go as quickly as possible—even if it's not the most optimal choice. And if you find yourself ahead of the pack, kill a normal enemy or two while you wait for them to catch up. Doing something is always better than standing around doing nothing.

This is doubly true for picking up new items, weapons, or upgrades. Don't waste time debating with yourself about which is the perfect choice. Consumable items are everywhere, grab what you see and use them ASAP. If a weapon has a green number, it does more damage so take it. Or, if you like your current weapon, look at the stat-boosting ability each weapon gives—you don't need to even have it equipped to get this bonus. Or if you see a weapon with the bleed status effect, just take it. Your choices should take no more than 5 seconds—10 at most—and you'll rarely be using a weapon or item from early in the run by the end so even if you make a bad choice or two, it's not that important.

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4. Learn the Map

In the Network Test, we were confined to one map—though two different versions. The topography was the same in both but the locations (enemy camps, buildings, and boss spawns) were not—except for the castle in the middle (which we'll get back to in a bit). It only takes a few runs to start to build a route through the map to maximize your time—especially at the start.

For the first half of the first day, it's important to hit bosses in the outer areas of the map. You also want to drop by the nearest church as each one gives you an extra healing flask. Then, for the second half of the first day, you head to the castle at the center. It is a goldmine with three easy-to-reach bosses and a talisman. Best of all, no matter how the rain closes in, the castle is always accessible right until the final few moments of the day. This will leave you well prepared for the day one boss and everything beyond.

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5. Follow the Leader

There is no voice chat in Nightreign. Without using a separate app, waypoint markers will be your main form of communication. A good rule of thumb is whoever drops a waypoint first is the party leader. If nothing else, they have a route in mind. And as doing something is always better than doing nothing, go where they say, even if you know a more optimal route. Arguing is a waste of time and not moving as a group is an even bigger one.

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6. Playing with Random People is a Mixed Bag

Of the 78 runs of Nightreign I had, only the last 10 were with people I knew, communicating over voice chat (the party grouping feature was turned off until the final two testing sessions). With random parties, there was often a clear level of skill difference. Some people didn't understand core gameplay mechanics (like hitting a downed ally to heal them or how to use each character's special skills). Meanwhile, others were seemingly born veterans and the run felt impossibly smooth (like in my complete run above).

Early on, I started taking the leader role—teaching people the route I had figured out and what to do. For the most part, people followed my waypoints and we got a good run going. However, there were other times when they would go off on their own, ignore important waypoints, get lost, and die isolated and alone. These runs were incredibly demoralizing because it was clear from the start that they were little more than a waste of time.

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7. Relics Change Everything

When you either die to an end-of-day boss or clear a run, you get a handful of relics. Each of these can be equipped on your characters to give them one kind of boost or another. Some are general boosts, like raising a particular stat by a few points. Others give special skills to a specific class, like granting the Recluse Terra Magica each time she uses her special skill to draw magic from an enemy or ally. These relics give each run lasting impact and meaning—win or fail—so you always feel you're progressing (unless your run ends in a disconnect and you get nothing, anyway).

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8. Nightreign is Elden Ring

The more you know about Elden Ring, the better you will do in this game. Do you know the class of every weapon in the game by name? Do you know what stats they scale with? Do you know just by looking that the Recluse is centered around intelligence and the Duchess is leveling dexterity? If so, you can min-max your characters in a way most others can't hope to.

But it's not just the backend information that can give you an edge. Knowing the layout of commonly used buildings gives you map information. Knowing enemy attack patterns and weaknesses allows you to breeze through battle. Simply put, knowledge is power and the more you know about Elden Ring, the stronger you'll be in Nightreign.

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9. Nightreign is Not Elden Ring

On the other hand, one of the biggest traps you can fall into while playing Nightreign is assuming that it is completely the same as Elden Ring. While the weapons and many of the enemies appear the same, there is a lot that is different—especially the gameplay. Of course, there are obvious changes like sprinting, climbing walls, and character-specific actions. However, there are a ton of little background details that contradict common Elden Ring knowledge.

One of these is that status effect buildup on enemies is way faster. This makes them, especially bleed, even more devastating than in the normal game. Another is that any weapon or shield can block 100% of physical damage—though the damage to your stamina is what you would expect. Another cool note is that while the new sprint ability takes no stamina to start, you can recover stamina while sprinting—something incredibly helpful in boss battles. So while knowledge of how Elden Ring works is a boon in this game, it is also a box that you shouldn't stay trapped within.

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10. The Duchess is a Goddess Made Flesh

While all the characters in Nightreign are useful, the Duchess is guaranteed to be the MVP. Her unique abilities are game-breakingly overpowered in the best way. Her stopwatch, which can be activated every few seconds, makes enemies take all recently received damage a second time. Combine this with status effects like bleed and frostbite, and even the biggest, baddest bosses die in moments. Her other ability is a magic cloak that gives your entire party invisibility for a good 10 seconds. During this time, while you can be hit, you can't be targeted—so you can pretty much attack with reckless abandon. Whether playing as the Duchess or having one on my team, I was always happy to see her.

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Elden Ring Nightreign is scheduled to release on May 30, 2025, on Microsoft Windows.