Elden Ring Nightreign is a complex game that new players and Elden Ring veterans alike may find difficult to learn. The surprisingly fast-paced game demands your constant attention, and if you don't know the optimal places to go or what to prioritize at any given moment, Nightreign players may find it hard to reliably get strong enough to face each Nightlord.
Elden Ring Nightreign: Best Characters Tier List
These best classes in Elden Ring Nightreign bring synergistic abilities, party utility, or massive damage to any team composition.
To figure out the optimal way to approach every run, follow this guide to the best route in Elden Ring Nightreign to learn what to prioritize on Day 1, what you should focus on during Day 2, and other tips to effectively snowball your power and reach a strong position by the time you reach Day 3.
Optimal Day One Route In Elden Ring Nightreign
First Things First, Identify Your Route Via Boss Weakness POIs & Church Locations
As you fly into Limveld, immediately open your map and identify all Church locations and points of interest that will reward weapons with your targeted Nightlord's weakness. Though you don't need to hit the weakness locations on Day 1, it's important to remember where they are in case you need to get there quickly on Day 2.
As you land, have a plan in mind of where you will go first. Try to route to the closest Church and hit major points of interest along the way, especially locations with bosses that are easy to deal with at low levels.
Rush Level 2, Then Look For Caves, Great Churches, & Forts As You Get Sacred Flasks
Typically, you will land next to a camp or other small group of enemies. The first thing you should do in any run is kill this group to quickly get enough Runes for Level 2, then continue to your first point of interest – preferably a Church.
Elden Ring Nightreign: Hardest Nightlords Tier List
The hardest Nightlords in Elden Ring Nightreign present a significantly higher challenge, and more mechanics, than the easiest bosses in the game.
In particular, keep an eye out for these easy early locations in Nightreign:
- Great Churches, which usually have a Golem, Oracles, or Fire Monk boss, depending on the affinity associated with the location. All of these bosses are easy to kill at Level 2.
- Forts, which will typically house an Abductor Virgin, a Lordsworn Captain, an Archer Golem, or Crystalians as the location boss. Once again, these are surprisingly easy to kill in early levels.
- Caves, which always have a Giant at the end that rewards a choice between a normal boss reward or a Smithing Stone +2, something you should try to acquire in most runs.
At around Level 5 or 6, you should start to hit Camps and Ruins in addition to the locations listed above, which will expand your options for farming Runes as the first ring closes.
Both Camps and Ruins feature harder, multi-part boss encounters that can take some time to complete. The XP rewards for these locations are usually worth it, and both have a lot of Chests to open for finding more gear.
Before The End Of Day 1, Try To Reach Level 6 or 7
Optimally, you should be at least Level 6 by the end of Day 1 so that you can reach Level 7 by Day 2. After the second ring closes, mark the final ring on your map and make your way there, killing every normal enemy group you come across to get some extra Runes on the way back.
If you feel confident in your ability to deal with bosses, look for any of the best early locations on the way to the final ring. The closer to the final ring these locations are, the more time you will have to kill the bosses there and snag a chunk of extra Runes before Night 1 begins.
Optimal Day Two Route In Elden Ring Nightreign
Finish Collecting Sacred Flasks & Prioritize Boss Weakness Locations
After you defeat the first Night Boss, Day 2 will begin, the Night will dissipate, and you will be able to go back out into Limveld to get more levels and find more equipment. As soon as the actual ring disappears in the world, Surge Sprint to your next location.
Elden Ring Nightreign: All Skins (& How to Unlock Them)
There are five skins for every character in Nightreign – skins that unlock as you progress, Dark Souls skins, and a Remembrance skin.
At the beginning of Day 2, it's important to prioritize these locations:
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Boss weakness points of interest, if you didn't get to any on Day 1. This should be your main priority, and is especially important for locations that are on the edge of the map.
- If you don't reach boss weakness locations by the time the first ring closes, and if they aren't contained in the safe zone for the first ring, you will have to hope a boss weakness weapon drops from other sources.
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Any remaining Churches, which will increase your Sacred Flasks to a total of at least 6 (and sometimes up to 8 or 9, depending on how many spawn).
- Aim to get at least 6 Sacred Flask charges in a run, which will improve to 7 uses after you defeat the Night 2 boss. It's nice to have more, but if a Church is far out of your way and you already have 6 charges, there's no reason to waste time traveling to it.
Depending on how spread out these priority locations are, you can take on any Evergaols (if you have a Stonesword Key) or unmarked Field Bosses as you follow your route. Take care not to spend too much time on a single boss – if you don't do much damage to a boss, it's better to run away than to risk losing a level.
Go To The Castle At Around Level 8 or 9 For High XP Gains
At around Level 9, the Castle is a good place to head toward, especially if the Ring closes with the Castle contained within the safe zone. The Castle's location never changes, but the high-level enemies contained within do.
You may find Banished Knights, Crucible Knights, Giants that throw magic exploding pots, Golems, or other difficult types of enemies guarding the ramparts. At around Level 9, you should be able to deal with all of these enemy types, especially if you have a well-coordinated group.
The stronger the enemy, the more Runes you will get when you defeat them. Golems reward the least Runes, while Crucible Knights and Giants reward the most with a whopping 18,000 per kill. Spend some time here and farm Runes from these high-level enemies until you reach about level 10 or 11.
Rush Field Bosses In The Second Day 2 Ring To Get To Level 11 or 12
After the first ring closes, and you have spent some time in the Castle farming Runes, you should be powerful enough and have strong enough gear and passives from boss rewards and chests to start targeting Field Bosses exclusively.
However, some Field Bosses are much harder than others, and some specific Nightreign bosses should be outright avoided unless you are extremely confident in your skills.
On the map, Field Boss locations will be revealed at the start of Day 2 – look for the purple icons of a demon's face glowing red. As you approach each Field Boss, take care to look and assess whether your party can actually defeat it.
Complete Elden Ring Nightreign Achievement Guide
Follow this guide to all Nightreign achievements to learn how to get every achievement and earn the Nightreign Platinum Trophy.
In general, Valiant Gargoyles are the hardest Field Bosses to defeat thanks to an enormous HP pool and incredibly strong, fast attacks. The Death Rite Birds are also difficult to beat with several Ghostflame moves that can quickly kill any Nightfarer.
Most other Field Bosses are fair game for any group to beat, and you will get a lot of Runes and high-tier boss rewards for beating them. If you have played optimally, you should reach at least Level 12 after targeting at least one or two Field Bosses.
The Shifting Earth Caveat
Shifting Earth Events Are Almost Always Worth Trying On Day 2
There are four Shifting Earth events in Nightreign, and if you have any of them except the Mountaintop active, they are worth finishing at some point in your run.
If you have a Shifting Earth event active the final ring on Day 2 will always form somewhere in the area, so it's a good idea to start heading that way when the first ring starts to close so you have time to complete each objective.
Elden Ring Nightreign: How To Get Dark Souls Skins
To unlock Dark Souls skins, Nightreign players must complete a challenging encounter, then spend Murk at the dresser to purchase Dark Souls costumes.
Each Shifting Earth event is home to a variety of Field Bosses and high-level enemies that reward a lot of Runes, so they are worth partaking in for the leveling alone. Each Shifting Earth event offers a reward if you can get to it, and of the four, three are worth hunting down in every expedition:
- The Crater, which features a smithing table deep below the earth that can upgrade any armament to Legendary quality and remove its level requirement
- The Rotted Woods, which grants Scarlet Rot immunity for the rest of your stay in the woods, as well as an HP boost and the ability to recover lost HP if you attack quickly after being hit. You must activate a nearby Fort first to find the location of this power
- Noklateo, the Shrouded City, which will reward you with the ability to come back from Defeat once if you can find the way to the inner temple and defeat the Astel boss guarding this power
Notably, if you can get to the bottom of The Crater on Day 1, you will be able to equip an unequippable weapon as it removes the level requirement. If you find a powerful weapon early, it's not a bad idea to prioritize the Crater.
On the way down, earn some easy Runes by jumping on top of the Flame Chariots and hitting their weak spot, which kills them instantly, even at Level 1.
The Mountaintop is not included here, however, there is one boss who can be countered if you are able to get to the top of the peaks during its expedition: the Nightlord of the Fissure in the Fog expedition
Caligo, Miasma of Night deals Frostbite damage, and the power of the Mountaintop will grant you bonus Attack Power when Frostbite procs nearby and make Frostbite build up 50% slower. If you are targeting Caligo, and have the Mountaintop Shifting Earth event active, getting the power of the mountaintop should be a major priority for you after the first ring closes on Day 2.
Elden Ring Nightreign
- Released
- May 30, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
- 1-3
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Roguelite
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
