Elden Ring Nightreign keeps the roguelike loop exciting by introducing a variety of events into the mix. One such event is the Sentient Pest raid, which spawns armies of locusts in a region. The locust groups explode shortly after spawning, and any player caught in the blast loses one level. If the source of the swarm isn't dealt with, you risk losing all your levels, all the way down to level one.
To prevent the locust swarms from draining your levels and recover any lost levels, you must actively seek out the source of the swarm and defeat the corresponding raid boss. The following is a guide on dealing with locust swarms, defeating their source, and recovering lost runes in Nightreign.
What Is Trace Of Night Used For In Elden Ring Nightreign?
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How To Avoid Locust Swarms In Nightreign
As the Sentient Pest raid intercepts your run, multiple groups of locusts will swarm the map and try to encircle players before exploding. Getting caught in a locust explosion results in losing a level, which can bring it all the way down to level one if you aren't careful. So, it is critical that your party drops their exploration goals when the locusts hit the map and beeline to discover their source.
The locust swarms tend to deliberately target players who remain stationary or move at a jogging pace. The swarms also emit an alert sound whenever they are about to form, giving you a short window of opportunity to escape the blast.
Even though the locust swarm dies down in time, failing to defeat the source of the swarm will result in permanently losing your levels for that run. Moreover, if the swarm invades the party while you're closer to a boss fight, you risk engaging with the boss severely under-leveled. Therefore, make it a priority to seek out the Sentient Pest (source) to eliminate the swarm and recover the lost runes.
What is a Post-Damage Attack in Elden Ring Nightreign?
Some of Elden Ring Nightreign's mechanics aren't explained very well, and many players are wondering what counts as a post-damage attack.
How To Locate The Sentient Pest
Given how overwhelming locust swarms can be, locating their source can feel quite impossible, unless you pay attention to where the swarms fly off to after they explode. You'll notice that all locust swarms fly in a particular direction after the explosion, and you can follow them to locate the Sentient Pest boss, fueling their assault.
Unlike the Nightlord version of the boss, the Sentient Pest encountered during the raid is considerably weaker and with a small health pool. Moreover, it also has a limited moveset, making it easier to take it down in a couple of minutes.
Defeating the Sentient Pest rewards you with the Integration of Intelligence power, giving you the chance of gaining a great amount of runes for defeating enemies. Additionally, you also recover the amount of runes equal to your lost levels and extra runes for beating the boss itself. Resolving the Sentient Pest raid for the first time also earns you the Plague of Locusts trophy/achievement.
Elden Ring Nightreign
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
- Released
- May 30, 2025
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
WHERE TO PLAY
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
- 1-3
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- May 30, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- May 30, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- May 30, 2025
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Roguelite
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
