Elden Ring Nightreign Gameplay: How a Run Actually Works

Elden Ring Nightreign gameplay takes Elden Ring's combat and turns it into a run-based co-op game. You pick a Nightfarer, drop into the map of Limveld with up to two other players, and have three in-game days to get strong enough to kill a Nightlord. Most of what you earn during the run is lost at the end; what persists is your unlocks, your relics and your knowledge.

The basics

Released	30 May 2025
Platforms	PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Players	Solo, duo (added in patch 1.02) or trio
Map	Limveld, plus Shifting Earth variations
Hub	The Roundtable Hold
A run	Three days, ending in a Nightlord fight
DLC	The Forsaken Hollows (4 December 2025)

How a run works

Choose an expedition

Each expedition is named after its Nightlord, for example Tricephalos (Gladius) or Gaping Jaw (Adel). The Nightlord is fixed, and the expedition screen tells you about it, so you know from the start what you are preparing for.

Day 1

You start at level 1 with your character's starting weapon. The day is a race: clear camps, forts, churches and field bosses to gain runes, level up at Sites of Grace and pick up better weapons. Levelling raises your stats automatically; you do not choose where points go.

As the day goes on, the Night closes in: a shrinking circle forces the team toward the centre of the map. At the end of the day you fight a Night boss inside the circle.

Day 2

The circle resets and the pattern repeats with tougher enemies and a harder Night boss at the end. This is the day to finish your build: the right damage type for the Nightlord, flask charges and upgrades.

Day 3

No more exploring. You go straight to the Nightlord fight with whatever you have built. Win and the expedition is complete; lose and the run is over.

What carries over between runs

Your level, weapons and runes reset every run. These do not:

• Relics, which you equip before a run in your vessel's slots. See the builds overview.
• Murk, the currency you spend in the Roundtable Hold.
• Unlocked characters, garbs and vessels.
• Remembrance progress, each character's personal questline.
• Nightlord progress. Defeating four Nightlords unlocks the final expedition against Heolstor.

The Roundtable Hold

Between runs you return to the Roundtable Hold. It is where you:

• Choose your Nightfarer and expedition.
• Equip relics at the Relic Rites station.
• Shop at the Small Jar Bazaar for vessels and relics.
• Read your character's Journal to advance their Remembrance.

Solo, duo or trio

Nightreign was designed for three players, and most of its systems, such as revives and character synergies, assume a team. Solo play was available at launch. Duo expeditions arrived in patch 1.02 in July 2025: set the number of players to two in the Roundtable Hold, and the game adjusts its balance to the player count.

Multiplayer works only within a platform family; see cross-platform play.

Shifting Earth

Some runs change a region of Limveld with a Shifting Earth event, such as the Crater, the Rotted Woods, the Mountaintop or Noklateo, the Shrouded City. Each one replaces part of the map with new enemies, loot and a secret to find. The Forsaken Hollows added another, The Great Hollows.

How it differs from Elden Ring

Elden Ring	Nightreign
One long character, stats you allocate	A fresh level 1 every run, stats that grow automatically
Open world at your own pace	Three timed days in a shrinking circle
Classes you build freely	Fixed Nightfarers with their own skills
Slow traversal on foot and horseback	Faster movement on foot, built for a timed map
Mainly single-player	Designed around three-player co-op

Where to start

• Pick Wylder or Guardian for your first runs; see the character tier list.
• Play Tricephalos first. Beating Gladius unlocks the Duchess and the next layer of the game; see Gladius.
• Learn the weakness before Day 1. Every Nightlord's is on the all bosses page.