One Year In, It’s Still Fun To Suck At Elden Ring: Nightreign

Despite my modest skill in Elden Ring’s Nightreign expansion, I’ve found a way to navigate its challenges. By employing an Astrologer build that leverages spirit summons to absorb damage while I cast spells from a safe distance, I avoid the steep learning curve of parrying and the time‑consuming process of mastering attack patterns. In Nightreign, I switch to a Recluse, and more recently a Scholar, standing back to support my husband and friend as we attempt to defeat the night bosses. Unfortunately, we’ve lost many times, and even after six months of new DLC, we still haven’t cleared the two additional bosses—though part of the delay is simply because we haven’t played in a while.

In short, I’m terrible at Nightreign—yet it’s incredibly enjoyable.

I’ve never experienced such enjoyment while repeatedly failing, yet we keep returning. For newcomers, it may be hard to grasp why we’re still invested after a year when each playthrough feels similar. The key lies in those nuanced, incremental shifts: will new points of interest align with the night boss’s vulnerabilities? Will a random encounter throw our strategy into chaos, forcing a frantic dash across the map as we’re besieged by dogs, hail, or locust swarms? Is the Bell‑Bearing Hunter still lurking in the castle basement?

Nightreign rewards incremental progress with a sense of triumph. My team once defeated the Night Aspect, the campaign’s final boss, long ago. When the Forsaken Hollows DLC arrived last year, we revisited the fight using the newly introduced Scholar and Undertaker to finish their quests. It took time to master these roles, but the moment we finally succeeded was electrifying. The very next day, we were mistakenly queued for Night Aspect again instead of the first DLC boss, Balancers. Unprepared, we entered the arena, yet without the usual pressure we cleared him with ease. The rush was unforgettable.

More than a year has elapsed since Elden Ring Nightreign first launched, and most players have given up hope for new content beyond The Forsaken Hollows. Yet the subreddit remains vibrant, with users sharing uproarious moments, exchanging tips, and debating relic builds. I’ve logged 130 hours myself and expect to hit 200 before we finally tackle Balancers and Dreglord. We haven’t even entered Deep of Night or faced the Everdark bosses, and I can’t imagine what it would be like. I crave additional DLC, and I believe the game deserves it, yet I can’t complain when I’m still enjoying the challenge of a game that consistently tests me.

We’re currently tackling Balancers, learning the new DLC map filled with treacherous pits and hidden crystals, and devising optimal tactics for the second‑night boss Mogh, Lord of Blood—whose mid‑fight instant kill and trident‑laden blood mist can be maddening. I’m slowly honing my Scholar build, deciding when to master throwing knives versus when to switch to pot‑throwing and crab‑eating. Each run ends with a prayer for a better relic that could strengthen my Scholar, but luck has been scarce. Earlier this week, we endured our worst Nightreign session yet: bad luck, a flaky internet connection, and overall shaky gameplay kept us from making progress toward Balancers. The following night, we relaxed, practiced the new map, and improved.