ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Walkthrough: Start to Endgame

FromSoftware released Nightreign on 30 May 2025 as a three player roguelike built on Elden Ring's combat. Every expedition drops a squad into Limveld for three in-game days, with the layout of camps, churches and forts reshuffled each run. Day three always ends against one of eight Nightlords, and losing wipes the entire loadout you spent the run assembling.

This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase	Area	Focus	Build	Duration
1. Start	Roundtable Hold	Three day expedition loop basics	Guardian	1-2 hours
2. Early	The Crater	Night's Tide closing ring mastery	Guardian	3-5 hours
3. Mid	The Mountaintop	Rune levelling at Sites of Grace + gear	Wylder or Guardian	5-10 hours
4. Late	Rotted Woods	Build optimization	Wylder	5-10 hours
5. Endgame	Noklateo, the Shrouded City	Min-max	Wylder or Recluse	Ongoing

See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.

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Phase 1: Getting Started (Roundtable Hold)

The hub between expeditions where you equip Relics, pick your Nightfarer and select which Nightlord to hunt. Sleeping in the bed here advances time and rotates out an active Shifting Earth event.

Level/Difficulty: Between runs Key Rewards: Relic loadouts, Nightlord selection, Shifting Earth rotation

What to Do in Roundtable Hold

1. Learn Three day expedition loop. Days one and two each finish with a Night Boss, and the third night is the Nightlord fight the whole run has been building toward. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Guardian as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
3. Look up your target Nightlord's weakness before you queue. Gladius and Adel take extra damage from poison, Gnoster and Caligo from fire, Maris and Fulghor from lightning, Libra from madness and Heolstor from holy. Picking a matching weapon on the first church visit saves ten minutes of hunting.
4. Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Moonveil or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand Three day expedition loop fundamentals
• Guardian selected and functional
• Roundtable Hold main content cleared
• Ready for The Crater

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Phase 2: Early Game (The Crater)

A volcanic gash that overwrites the northern half of Limveld and packs the area with fire enemies. Clearing it lets you promote a weapon all the way to Legendary rarity.

Level/Difficulty: Day 1 to Day 3 Key Rewards: Legendary weapon upgrade, fire resistance gear

What to Do in The Crater

1. Work on Night's Tide closing ring. Rain sweeps in twice per day and squeezes the squad into a shrinking circle, draining health if you linger outside it. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Moonveil if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. Two rune acquisition relics is the community standard opener because level 15 needs 513,336 runes and a squad without rune bonuses rarely clears level 12. Damage relics only matter if you actually reach the levels that make them worth slotting.
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to The Mountaintop.
5. Consider whether Wylder might suit your playstyle better than Guardian.

Phase 2 Checklist

• Night's Tide closing ring integrated into gameplay
• Moonveil acquired
• The Crater fully cleared
• Ready for The Mountaintop

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Phase 3: Mid Game (The Mountaintop)

A frozen peak that replaces terrain with frostbite hazards and cold weather enemies. The blessing you earn from clearing it makes frostbite far less punishing on later Nightlords.

Level/Difficulty: Day 1 to Day 3 Key Rewards: Frostbite resistance blessing

What to Do in The Mountaintop

1. Master Rune levelling at Sites of Grace. Any Site of Grace converts runes into levels, capped at 15, which needs 513,336 runes across the run. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward Rivers of Blood. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
3. Reviving a downed ally means hitting them with your weapon, and heavier weapons fill the revive bar faster per swing. Do not stand around waiting; two people swinging revives roughly twice as fast as one.
4. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in Relics and Relic Rites for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• Rune levelling at Sites of Grace mastered
• Rivers of Blood acquired or in progress
• The Mountaintop fully cleared
• Ready for Rotted Woods

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Phase 4: Late Game (Rotted Woods)

A Scarlet Rot forest that takes over the bottom right corner of the map. Working through it grants a blessing that raises health, improves recovery and blunts rot buildup.

Level/Difficulty: Day 1 to Day 3 Key Rewards: Health and rot resistance blessing

What to Do in Rotted Woods

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Wylder or Guardian with optimized gear.
2. Rivers of Blood should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. Churches upgrade your Flask of Crimson Tears charges, and those upgrades compound across the run. A squad that skips churches on day one shows up to the Nightlord with half the healing of a squad that did not.
4. Shifting Earth events optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Noklateo, the Shrouded City.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• Rivers of Blood upgraded to max
• Rotted Woods fully cleared
• Ready for Noklateo, the Shrouded City

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Phase 5: Endgame (Noklateo, the Shrouded City)

A dense enemy filled city that is the last Shifting Earth event to unlock. Its rewards let you duplicate a weapon and gain a power that revives you after a fatal hit.

Level/Difficulty: Day 2 to Day 3 Key Rewards: Weapon duplication, self revival power

What to Do in Noklateo, the Shrouded City

1. Noklateo, the Shrouded City tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. The Night's Tide ring gives enough warning to reach one more point of interest if you commit immediately. Hesitating for five seconds usually means you arrive with rain damage already ticking and no time to loot.
3. The endgame loop: run Noklateo, the Shrouded City, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Recluse for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where Shifting Earth events mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Noklateo, the Shrouded City fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

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Common Progression Mistakes

• Ignoring the Nightlord's elemental weakness and brute forcing the fight with whatever dropped first
• Chasing Evergaol bosses on day one and arriving at the Night Boss underlevelled
• Skipping churches, then running dry on flask charges during the third night
• Staying together for every fight instead of splitting to farm runes faster on day one
• Hoarding an Ultimate Art for a perfect moment that never comes instead of using it on cooldown

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

1. Look up your target Nightlord's weakness before you queue. Gladius and Adel take extra damage from poison, Gnoster and Caligo from fire, Maris and Fulghor from lightning, Libra from madness and Heolstor from holy. Picking a matching weapon on the first church visit saves ten minutes of hunting.
2. Two rune acquisition relics is the community standard opener because level 15 needs 513,336 runes and a squad without rune bonuses rarely clears level 12. Damage relics only matter if you actually reach the levels that make them worth slotting.
3. Reviving a downed ally means hitting them with your weapon, and heavier weapons fill the revive bar faster per swing. Do not stand around waiting; two people swinging revives roughly twice as fast as one.
4. Churches upgrade your Flask of Crimson Tears charges, and those upgrades compound across the run. A squad that skips churches on day one shows up to the Nightlord with half the healing of a squad that did not.
5. The Night's Tide ring gives enough warning to reach one more point of interest if you commit immediately. Hesitating for five seconds usually means you arrive with rain damage already ticking and no time to loot.

For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.

More ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Guides

• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Overview
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Best Builds
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Tier List
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Beginner's Guide
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Tips & Tricks
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Weapons Guide
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Combat Guide
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Boss Guide
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Maps & Locations
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Crafting Guide
• ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Classes & Characters

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