Elden Ring Nightreign is designed primarily around multiplayer, but matchmaking and playing with friends still isn’t as straightforward as many other games. Nightreign is designed for teams of three, and rather than the summons and invasions that have defined FromSoftware action RPG multiplayer since Demon’s Souls in 2009, the spin-off takes a more traditional approach to session-based co-op. There’s no PvP at all, in fact, since opposing players cannot enter a game, and Nightreign is intended to be a fast-paced PvE experience.
Since the idiosyncratic matchmaking was first laid down in Demon’s Souls, FromSoftware games have had obtuse multiplayer mechanics, which many would argue are needlessly so. Specific items are usually required to engage in multiplayer in various ways, whether that be PvP, co-op, or more specific avenues of both via certain covenants in the Dark Souls trilogy. Elden Ring continued that tradition with mixed results due to its novel open-world nature, but Elden Ring Nightreign has drifted toward a more commonplace matchmaking system, even if it’s not entirely straightforward.
How To Matchmake In Elden Ring Nightreign
Use The Table Of Lost Grace
Like many modern multiplayer games, Elden Ring Nightreign makes use of a hub area which acts as a sort of explorable menu. Like a Helldiver’s Super Destroyer or the Space Rig in Deep Rock Galactic, most of Nightreign‘s functions can be found by interacting with certain things in the Roundtable Hold, though it does have a different appearance than that found in Elden Ring. To start matchmaking, all you have to do is interact with the Table of Lost Grace. It’s the large, round table in the middle of the main room, with weapons sticking out of its surface and a bright golden aura hanging above it.
The Roundtable Hold is a great place to try out all of Nightreign‘s weapons. Head out into the courtyard and look for training dummies; equipment can be changed nearby.
Interacting with the Table of Lost Grace brings up a matchmaking menu from which there are a few different options. In order to start a game, select a Target, then choose to start matchmaking. The Target is essentially the run’s final boss, should you make it all the way through to the third day. In Nightreign‘s Closed Network Test, there is only one Target to choose from; in the full game, there will be many more options, conceivably more difficult as players progress through the game.
How To Play Elden Ring Nightreign With Friends
Set A Matchmaking Password
Despite Elden Ring Nightreign having a matchmaking menu, a big quality-of-life step over Elden Ring, there still isn’t a way to invite your friends to a session. You’ll have to coordinate with your squad and set a matchmaking password, the option for which can be found in the same menu when interacting with the Table of Lost Grace. What this does is essentially limit your matchmaking pool, making it so you’ll only connect to other players using the same password. It’s not an ideal solution, but should be effective enough.
Despite the novelty of FromSoftware’s multiplayer systems, the studio has long been criticized for how cumbersome they can be, especially of late, when Elden Ring co-op mods became incredibly popular on PC for their removal of the vanilla game’s limitations. Such lengths to play with friends would be understandable if crossplay were the reason, but just like its predecessor, Elden Ring Nightreign seemingly doesn’t feature cross-platform matchmaking, keeping sessions locked to console families. For instance, a PS5 player can play with someone on PS4, but not with a person using an Xbox Series X.
Action RPG
Soulslike
Roguelite
- Released
-
May 30, 2025
- Developer(s)
-
From Software
- Publisher(s)
-
Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Multiplayer
-
Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
-
1-3
Source link
Add Comment