Summary
TheElden Ringboss rush that players always wanted is finally here, in the form of a roguelike,co-op experience calledNightreign, that requires teamworkand careful decision-making to take down the devastating foes that await at the end of the run. But before players can take on the fearsome Nightlords, there are still some major barriers in their way that vary in their difficulties and demand a pretty significant amount of skill to defeat without losing a life.
Each expedition has its own set of night bosses that come from all areas in the FromSoftware catalog. Returning foes from all theDark Souls, some familiar faces from the originalElden Ring,and a couple of new opponents to test players to their limits, the list is pretty diverse, and the level of difficulty can be quite brutal right from the first night. Sometimes players get lucky and have a nice, easy fight to lead into the next section of the run, but other times a fearsome foe can spell the end for even the strongest of players.
8Bell Bearing Hunter
An Early Barrier That Can Put Up Quite The Fight
The Bell Bearing Hunter is one of the first night bosses that many players will face, and may also be their first encounter with the loss screen. There is nothing particularly flashy or insane about him, but his attacks have deceptive reach and hitboxes, and his overall damage output is pretty high, especially considering he can be fought on the first night when players are at their weakest.
For groups with a lot of range, he isn’t too much trouble as his mobility is somewhat limited, but for melee users, the onslaught of attacks can be quite tough to deal with, especially for newer players who aren’t as comfortable with his patterns. Even with a full team of three, going down is pretty common, and players will likely need more than a few revives in order to progress into the second day.
7Duke’s Dear Freja
The Duke’s Dear Freja is, for many players, a memory from a time over a decade old. But she is back and better than ever, bringing many of the same attacks and all the arachnophobia with it. The reason she is so troublesome isn’t because of her attack patterns or damage output, both of which are fairly manageable, but it’s the sheer number of spiders that can quickly overwhelm the players if they aren’t paying attention or a high enough level to burst her down quickly.
It doesn’t matter how many are killed; they just keep coming, and for a player facing the challenge alone, it can be more than a nightmare to fight. The fight requires a good amount of patience, as it is pretty difficult to get more than a few blows off at a time before a creepy crawly sneaks up to grab the player. And the webbing attacks can be infuriating, slowing the player to a halt and making it even more difficult to dodge the oncoming attacks from all sides.
6Outland Commander
Reach And Summons That Hit Like a Truck
He might have a different name, but he brings all the same power. The Outland Commander takes Commander Niall from the frosty mountains and throws him straight into the land of Limveld, keeping many of the same attacks and maintaining his status as a foe to be reckoned with. The biggest difference maker is the ability to take him on as a party of three, but the trouble is that even the individual spirits pose a serious threat in 1v1 scenarios.
The Commander has some deceptive reach and can quickly close the gap between himself and a player looking to heal up some heavy damage. Also, because of his attack sequences being mostly area attacks, approaching him from behind will never guarantee safety, and at times it can be best to let a single player take on the main threat, while the others poke from afar. For playerswho are not prepared for the challenge,he can be a real run killer.
5Dancer of the Boreal Valley
Deadly Before, Just As Deadly Now
The Dancer is back and glides around the rainy arena with all the same elegance as inDark Souls 3.Many attacks remain the same from her previous appearance, but for players unfamiliar with the speed and aggression she boasts, the challenge may be too much to handle. The biggest difficulty barrier in the fight is understanding where the attacks are coming from and going to, particularly due to the speed at which they come out.
No one is safe, no matter how far away, and if she decides to swap aggro to a lone Ironeye on the outskirts of the fight, that safety is soon gone as she pounces at the opportunity with a quick set of slashes that can take out even tankier players in just a few blows. It’s all about timing and aggro-juggling, ensuring that the right player has her attention at the right time and that she doesn’t overwhelm the whole group with her viscous chains.
4Astel, Naturalborn of the Void
Area Attacks Where No One Is Safe
Astel has shown its face several times throughoutElden Ring,both as a side-quest boss and a foe to face at the end of a dungeon. The fight has always been a mixed bag of easy clears and serious struggles, partly due to the immense size of the beast and also due to the lack of clarity surrounding its attacks. Sometimes, a player might feel safe standing just outside its snapping tusks, but within a second, that security fades away.
The trouble is the area size. With such a large creature taking up what is a pretty small arena, it can be tricky to know when to attack and where is safe from the AoE blows. Its health pool is also quite a bit higher than most of the bosses in the night, which is made worse by the awkward weak spot being positioned in the danger zone on its head. When it finally falls, the reward is more than justa nice injection of runes, as the challenge itself is an accomplishment in itself.
3The Full-Grown Fallingstar beast
Speed That Comes Out Of Nowhere
An enemy that never knows when to quit, the Fallingstar Beast is one of the most aggressive and hard to manage fights both in the original game and out in the Limveld plains. It’s a beefy boss that boasts a long list of attacks that can hit both from afar, up close, and in large areas, catching players off guard who would normally rely on spamming their dodge button. The boss really preys on those who are not ready or are inexperienced with its attacks, rolling across the arena at great speeds and quickly swiping at players in quick succession.
The fight is a long one, and later on in the battle, rocks can spawn in the arena that work both as cover for ranged attacks but also as obstacles that need to be accounted for when the beast decides it’s time to charge. Many players who have faced similar creatures before may feel overconfident and believe the fight to be an easy feat, but will quickly be knocked out of their place and potentially cost the group a win.
2Ulcerated Tree Spirit
A Game Of Hitboxes Rather Than Skill
Another large and bulky boss that has plenty of deception baked into its kit, the Ulcerated Tree Spirits have never been a fun boss to fight. The amalgamation of flesh and wood smashes around the arena at great speed, having not a single care in the world for anything that might be in its way, and at times, it is incredibly hard to tell where to stand to avoid the incoming hit.
It doesn’t have a huge amount of crazy attacks, but it brings more than a few moves that can come out of nowhere and deal insane damage to players who weren’tgeared up enough. Like many of the larger bosses, ranged users are normally fairly safe but can never get too comfy as the foe can slide along the ground and whip around at a much faster rate than it appears, making everywhere a potential damage zone that needs to be approached with caution.
1Nameless King
The Spectacle Fight Returns
It was pretty obvious from the trailers that with the Nameless King making a return, players were in for a wild ride. He certainly doesn’t disappoint, bringing back the same two-phase encounter that many consider to be one of the best in the genre and requiring just as much, if not more, patience than ever before.
Players who didn’t manage to get a good sequence going in their run and gear up enough ready for such a fight will quickly find themselves being one-shot left and right, with a series of blows that can take out both individual targets and entire groups at once. Taking turns can be a great way of engaging him as a group, with one player taking the brunt of the aggro while the rest wait their turn and get in any chips of damage they can against his absurd health pool. It’s a mountainous fight that requires a lot of persistence and timing, but once he goes down, the feeling is comparable to taking on a full-blown Nightlord.
