Summary
Elden Ring Nightreignis here, and many players, both new and old, are jumping into the world of Limveld tochallenge the Nightlordsand take on all the other threats that await them across the lands. In typical FromSoftware fashion, the game is pretty hands-off, aside from a few helpful tooltips and an okay tutorial sequence that provides a decent overview of the basic gameplay loop and mechanics.
But when jumping into a run for the first time or even after many sessions, there are still plenty of things that are left unclear or completely unknown. Some things are minor that become more obvious over time, while others are hidden mechanics that can drastically change how players interact with the world and how successful their future runs will be.
1Secret Abilities
More Tech Than Meets The Eye
When looking through the roster of Nightfarers, a lot of their kits can seem quite simple and easy to pick up, and for the most part, they are. However,one of the biggest mistakesthat people make, which isn’t listed anywhere, isn’t utilizing their abilities to their fullest potential in ways that are both helpful in combat and the game as a whole.
For example, Wylder can use his grapple to not only pull himself along the ground but also leap off to get a search of mobility, something that works in almost any direction and also in the air. And, his ultimate can actually be charged to deliver a more powerful blow, but not charging it refunds some of the cooldown. Little tricks like this can transform characters, so it is worth experimenting in the sparring grounds to see what hidden secrets each class has.
2Weapon Passives
Keep Those Extra Tools Around
One of the biggest differences inNightreignis the ability to carry any weapon right from the start, with the only requirement being level gates that are pretty easy to overcome. But an overlooked feature that can make or break a run is the ability to carry a weapon in all six slots and have six different passive effects active at the same time.
Somepassives affect abilities, some weapon damage, but having even a few minor buffs can make the player feel a whole lot stronger going into the final fight. There is a distinction between active and passive buffs, denoted by a small hand icon on the item, so players should keep an eye out for any items they could add to their slots to give them an extra boost to their overall power.
3Blocking
100% Damage Mitigation Every Time
Blocking has always been a valuable ability in any FromSoftware game, allowing players to sustain through damage that would otherwise deal significant chunks to their health pool. In the past, this took the form of blocks that would slowly chip away at the player’s health pool, but now players are free to block with something as small as a dagger and still gain all the benefits of a full-blown shield.
Now, when it comes to actually tanking the hits, the damage that would be dealt still gets converted into stamina damage and can break the player’s stance if they are not careful. But knowing this little trick can allow them to consistently avoid attacks that are particularly troublesome to dodge, provided that the attack isn’t of an elemental origin.
4Revival Mechanics
Instant Resurrections And Alternative Methods
Revives are a brand new mechanic inNightreignthat play directly into the co-op aspect of a run by letting teammatespick up their downed alliesto keep the fight going for longer. This is done by attacking the ally until all segments are drained, letting them get back into the fight in a less conventional manner.
As it turns out, this revival isn’t limited to just basic weapon damage. Abilities and ultimates can be a great way of picking up multiple teammates at once, as the damage they deal transfers perfectly to the revival sections. Also, in certain situations where a downed player is close to a site of grace, they can actually crawl over and be instantly brought back to life, along with a full HP bar and set of flasks; niche but effective.
5Secret Map Icons
Not Just A Bunch Of Structures
When inspecting the map for the first time, there are plenty of familiar icons that players will be accustomed to seeing across the Lands Between. ButNightreignnot only adds a few new ones into the mix to help with navigation, but also hides some extra ones behind certain actions that can unlock a whole new set of visuals to help players plan out their route better.
For one, the map has certain toggles like the underground and detailed views that show more information about the kinds of loot players can find at certain locations. And if they manage to take down a fort, players are given even more info like scarab locations, hidden loot containers, and an extra merchant that offers some powerful buffs that can alter the course of a run in a big way.
6World Events
Far From Uneventful
As players progress through the expeditions,even more mechanicsare added to the environment to keep the gameplay feeling fresh and to add some extra danger to the world. There are, of course, the large-scale world transformations that can occur in sections of the map, but aside from those more obvious changes, there are several others that can take place throughout a run that are never really mentioned until they happen.
Players will be happily running from camp to camp, and then suddenly get a prompt on screen about a locust swarm, or a Fell Omen invasion, and when these happen, it can either be a great boon or a horrible defeat. Some are obvious, like large storms that appear over ruins, while others can be more subtle, like a curse that needs to be cleansed to avoid the dire consequences that come with it.
7Phantoms
A Reminder Of A Fellow Nightfarer
A multiplayer FromSoftware game wouldn’t be complete without some dead players scattering the lands. As players traverse the world and scale the castles within, they may find some corpses of fallen players, shown as white or red phantoms, and each one can grant the gear that the fallen player had, as well as a class-specific buff to certain attributes.
These can be incredibly useful bonuses when found later into the runs, as some of the weapons can be incredibly powerful, even legendary tier at times. Also, the grief buff attached to the weapons is a nice addition when it aligns with the character the player is playing as. So, a Duchess phantom can give intelligence and dexterity buffs on the weapons, for example, incentivizing the Duchess player to grab them and reap the rewards of a Nightfarer who couldn’t make it through the night.
8Map Layout
Everything Is Almost The Same
A simplistic detail, but one that many players don’t realize until much later into the game, the map itself is a static area that never changes and remains identical regardless of which expedition the player is doing and how many they have completed. Obviously, shifting earth events do mix up the layout a bit and the camps, churches, forts, etc, move around from game to game, but aside from those, the actual topography and general layout are constant.
The map does tend to feel different from run to run thanks to the events and moving points of interest, but if players get used to moving around it in a specific way and know where caves go and where spirit springs are located, it can speed up their movements dramatically and the game really rewards players who are willing to learn the ins and outs of the map.
