Elden Ring: Nightreign's Big Patch Drops, And My Spidey-Sense Is Tingling About What FromSoft's Really Up To
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Elden Ring: Nightreign's 'Deep of the Night' update is dropping with a hefty patch that buffs a surprising number of Nightfarer abilities, leading me to wonder if FromSoft is arming us for an even more brutal DLC experience.
Right, so Elden Ring: Nightreign's *Deep of the Night* update is basically at our doorstep, ready to land in the wee hours of September 11th. And, as is tradition with any major FromSoft drop, it's bringing a chunky balancing patch with it – version 1.02.2, to be precise. I've been poring over these notes, and honestly, I'm a bit perplexed. Or maybe 'cautiously concerned' is a better way to put it, like when you accidentally summon a lesser demon instead of a helpful imp. Because, fair dinkum, the word 'increased' pops up more times than a new cryptocurrency scam, usually in relation to making enemies hurt a bit more, or *us* hurting *them* a bit more.
What are you cooking up for us, FromSoft? What fresh hell awaits in the Deep of the Night that requires such... generosity with our damage numbers? It feels a bit like they're handing us slightly bigger sticks before throwing us into a pit with a significantly angrier dragon. My instincts are screaming 'trap', but my heart is whispering 'more power, Jeff, *more power*!'
Let's dive into the Nightfarer changes, shall we? Seems like everyone got a little something, except for our stoic mate Ironeye, who's presumably already peaked and needs no further fiddling. Lucky sod.
First up, **Wylder**. This scrappy legend has gained more poise while casting their claw shot, which also now deals more stamina damage to blocking foes. More poise? Mate, FromSoft is basically saying, 'Go on, tank that hit, you beautiful maniac!' And the stamina damage is a sneaky, clever buff, isn't it? It’s not about raw damage, it's about breaking their guard, opening them up. It's like kicking someone's shins until they drop their shield, then going for the face. Brutal, effective, and very much in line with a high-dex, aggressive playstyle. It suggests they want Wylder players to be more confidently aggressive, perhaps to keep pace with whatever horrors are lurking.
Then there's the **Guardian**, getting boosts to strength and dexterity gains on level up, plus an increased range on their steel guard passive. This is a straightforward 'make them tankier and hit harder' buff. A bit vanilla, sure, but a strong foundation. More stats mean more versatility and resilience. The steel guard range is interesting – are we going to be seeing more area-of-effect defensive moves from Guardians? Are they subtly trying to push Guardians into being more effective front-line disrupters, holding wider swaths of the battlefield?
**Duchess** isn't left out either. Her dexterity gain on level up has risen, some dagger attacks are more powerful, and her Finale ultimate art has had its duration lengthened. Ah, the old 'give with one hand, slightly tap with the other' routine. The trade-off here is a decrease in her two-handed dagger’s second heavy attack damage. Longer ultimate duration? Yes, please! More time to dance around and carve up foes. But that specific two-handed dagger nerf... someone must have been absolutely *shredding* with it. Fair dinkum, FromSoft. They’re clearly keeping an eye on those player metrics, balancing the specific outliers while generally boosting the archetype. It's about fine-tuning, not gutting.
Meanwhile, **Raider's** greataxe and great hammer-induced stagger, **Recluse's** Magic Cocktail spells, and **Executor's** cursed sword attacks have all gotten more effective. These are pretty broad buffs, suggesting these classes might have been underperforming a tad. More stagger for the Raider means they're even better at crowd control and breaking tough enemy stances. Recluse's spells getting a boost is always welcome – who doesn't love more magical chaos? And Executor's cursed sword just being 'more effective' is deliciously vague. Does it hit harder? Apply status effects faster? We love a good mystery, don't we? It gives players a reason to go experiment.
And then there’s **Revenant**’s spirits, Helen and Frederick. You can now walk straight through them. Is that a buff? A nerf? A quirky little 'don't mind me, just phasing through your ghostly pals' moment? I'll call it a quirk. It might mean less accidental path-blocking, which is a net positive for flow, I reckon.
Beyond individual classes, there's a wider tweak to jump attacks. Dual-wielded jump attacks for small and medium arms have had their stagger damage boosted across the board, while it's been dialled down for larger weapons. This is where it gets interesting, isn't it? Are they trying to shift the meta? Make those nimble, dual-wielding assassins a bit more viable against some of the big lads, while stopping the colossal weapon spammers from just staggering everything into oblivion? It’s a subtle nudge towards variety, perhaps.
Flipping across to the Everdark Sovereigns, the famously tough **Equilibrious Beast** has gotten the most adjustments. And in classic FromSoft fashion, they note a known issue where 'condemned Nightfarers summoned during this fight may not be rendered under specific conditions.' Oh, excellent. So not only is the beast getting tweaked, but sometimes its reinforcements might just... not exist visually. Fantastic! 'We know it's broken, we'll fix it later. In the meantime, enjoy your slightly more powerful, potentially invisible foes!' Pure charm, that is. Aside from that, **Sentient Pest** and **Darkdrift Knight** look to have gotten slightly more powerful. Because the first two bosses weren't enough of a warm-up, right? They want you feeling *that* pressure, mate. Pure FromSoft sadism, dressed up as 'balancing.'
And for those of us on PC, FromSoft reckons they've improved Nightreign's stability 'in some environments'. Classic 'some environments'. Fingers crossed it's *your* environment, eh? Because nothing breaks the immersion like a sudden desktop crash when you're about to land that final, glorious hit after an hour-long boss fight.
So, there you have it. A veritable smorgasbord of tweaks that seem to be setting the stage for something big. My gut tells me FromSoft isn't just buffing us for the sake of it. They're arming us for a fight, and if history is any guide, that fight is going to be brutal, glorious, and probably require a few new controllers. Best of luck rolling in the deep, fellow Nightfarers. May your builds be strong and your framerates stable.
Tags: EldenRing, Nightreign, FromSoftware, PatchNotes, DLC
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun