Elden Ring Nightreign Beginner Guide: Runs, Levels, Relics

An Elden Ring Nightreign run, called an expedition, is a match in which up to three Nightfarers level from 1 to 15 across two in-game days on the map of Limveld, fight a Night Boss at the end of each day, then face a Nightlord on Day 3. A closing circle called the Night's Tide forces you to keep moving, and anything you find is lost when the run ends except relics and Murk. The game is on app version 1.03.2 with regulation 1.03.5, and it supports solo, duo and three-player expeditions. This guide covers how a run is structured, what to do on each day, death and revives, relics, Shifting Earth, raid events and what unlocks after your first wins.

Checked against Bandai Namco's patch notes (1.02, 1.03.2 and Hotfix 1.03.5) on November 12, 2026.

Timings, rune costs and level targets below come from the community wiki and are measured by players, so expect small differences in your own runs.

How does a Nightreign expedition work?

You pick a Nightfarer and a target Nightlord at the Roundtable Hold, drop into Limveld from a Spectral Hawk, and have two in-game days to get strong enough for the Day 3 fight. Each day lasts about 15 to 20 real minutes.

Phase	What happens
Day 1, about 5 minutes in	The Night's Tide strengthens and the safe circle starts shrinking. Stay inside the white ring.
Day 1, about 11:30	The circle shrinks faster and the Night Boss appears at the white tree marked on your map.
Day 1 Night Boss	Beating it starts Day 2.
Day 2	Same pattern, but enemies are noticeably harder. Hunt field bosses and finish your gear.
Day 2 Night Boss	Beating it opens the Spirit Shelter, with a Site of Grace, a Smithing Table and a merchant. This is your last chance to spend runes.
Day 3	Go through the large door and fight the Nightlord. The first kill of each Nightlord grants a unique relic.

You can queue for several Nightlords at once, in which case you will not know the target until Day 3. The wiki lists the full rune cost from level 1 to the max of 15 at 513,116 runes, with level 2 costing 3,698.

What should you do on Day 1 and Day 2?

On Day 1, clear easy camps, churches and forts for levels, flask charges and weapons that hit the target Nightlord's weakness. On Day 2, take on stronger bosses and upgrade gear before the final fight.

• Level targets: the wiki suggests level 6 to 8 by the end of Day 1 and 11 to 14 before the Day 2 Night Boss. That boss usually gives at least one more level.
• Churches first: visiting churches adds charges to your Sacred Flask, your healing item. Resting at a Site of Grace refills it.
• Read the map icons: icons on structures hint at the weapon type the boss there drops, so you can route toward weapons that suit your character.
• Day 2 targets: field bosses marked with red-outlined icons, Evergaols, mines for Smithing Stones and castle basements for talismans.
• Upgrade at Smithing Tables: each upgrade step costs one Smithing Stone.
• Pick the right damage: each Nightlord has a weakness, such as Holy for Gladius and Fire for Gnoster. The Nightlord bosses guide has the full list.

Use map pins to plan the route as a team. Press R3 on the map to place your pin; each player has a pin color, and a pin turns white when two players mark the same spot.

What happens when you die in Nightreign?

A downed ally is revived by hitting them until their revival gauge empties. If you die for good, you lose one level and drop your runes where you fell, and dying again before you pick them up loses those runes permanently.

• Revives get harder: each time a player enters the Near Death state, their gauge gains a segment. Resting at a Site of Grace resets it.
• Stolen runes: if an enemy picks up your dropped runes, kill that enemy to get them back.
• Sites of Grace: resting restores HP, FP, status effects and flasks, and it is where you spend runes on levels.
• Character tools: Ironeye can revive from a distance, Guardian's Wings of Salvation instantly revives near-death allies it lands on, and Revenant's Immortal March revives downed teammates in range.

Which Nightfarer should a beginner pick?

Start with Wylder or Ironeye. Wylder's Sixth Sense dodges one lethal hit until you next rest at a Site of Grace, and his Strength and Dexterity scaling works with most weapons you pick up. Ironeye fights from range, marks enemies so the whole team deals 10% more damage to them, and can revive allies from a distance.

• Want to tank: Guardian has the most starting HP (280) and a shield stance that makes blocking far cheaper on stamina.
• Want big hits: Raider has S scaling in Strength and a punch that staggers even large enemies.
• Avoid at first: Executor depends on deflect timing, and Recluse needs to juggle FP and affinity residues.

Six Nightfarers are available from the start. Duchess unlocks after your first Gladius kill, and Revenant after Duchess.

How do you move around Limveld faster?

Use Spiritstreams, Spectral Hawks and wall jumps. Stand on a Spiritstream and press jump for a long Spiritstream Jump; Spectral Hawks perch on spectral trees and carry you across the map, steered with the left stick. To wall jump, jump toward a wall and press jump again, choosing the direction with the left stick.

Wylder's Claw Shot also pulls him toward large enemies or across open ground, which makes him a good pick while you learn the map. The Nightfarer tier list covers every character's movement and survival tools.

What are relics and Murk?

Relics are the permanent upgrades you keep between runs, and Murk is the currency you spend at the Roundtable Hold. You earn random relics at the end of every expedition, win or lose, and reaching the Day 2 boss or the Nightlord improves the number and quality.

Relic detail	How it works
Colors	Red (Burning Scene), green (Tranquil Scene), blue (Drizzly Scene) and yellow (Luminous Scene). Each fits only a slot of its color.
Sizes	Delicate has one effect, Polished two, Grand three.
Slots	Each Nightfarer has three color-coded slots set by the vessel they use.
Fixed relics	Remembrance quests and first Nightlord kills give relics with set effects. These cannot be sold.
Buying	The Small Jar Bazaar sells a Scenic Flatstone that turns into a relic.
Depth relics	Have their own three slots and work only in Deep of Night.

Equip relics at the Relic Rites in the Roundtable Hold. Patch 1.02 raised the preset limit to 100, and patch 1.03 let you name and reorder presets and see equipped relics on the character select screen.

What are Shifting Earth and raid events?

Shifting Earth replaces part of Limveld with a special zone, and raid events are random fights that hand out run-long buffs. Both are worth taking when your team is strong enough.

Event	Type	Reward
The Crater	Shifting Earth	Upgrades a weapon to Legendary
The Mountaintop	Shifting Earth	Less frostbite damage and buildup
The Rotted Woods	Shifting Earth	Scarlet Rot immunity and more max HP
Noklateo	Shifting Earth	A second chance after Near Death
The Great Hollow	Shifting Earth (DLC)	New targets and temple effects, only when every player owns The Forsaken Hollows
Fingercreepers	Raid	Favor of the Night: faster Ultimate Art charging
Augur	Raid	Unifying Fate: flasks also restore FP
Libra's Curse	Raid	Costs 30% max HP; paying 15,000 runes on Day 1 or 35,000 on Day 2 lifts it and grants Demon's Plating

Shifting Earth rotates after several expeditions, after resting at the Roundtable Hold, or after sleeping in a bed there.

What unlocks after your first Nightlord?

Beating Gladius in the Tricephalos expedition, the only target at the start, unlocks six more Nightlords. Beating four different Nightlords opens Night Aspect, the final expedition. After that, harder modes open up.

• Duchess: Gladius drops the Old Pocketwatch; show it to the Priestess.
• Everdark Sovereigns: stronger versions of beaten Nightlords that drop better relics and Sovereign Sigils. They are online-only, though you can face them alone.
• Deep of Night: a ranked mode added September 11, 2025, with tougher enemies, Depth levels 1 to 5, Depth relics and mutant-dropped weapons. A win adds 200 rating.
• The Forsaken Hollows: DLC owners unlock Scholar and Undertaker after Gladius, and two new Day 3 bosses after beating two Nightlords including Gladius.

Duo expeditions arrived in patch 1.02 in July 2025, and the game scales to the number of players. Solo works too, but the wiki rates it as harder. Patch history lives on the Elden Ring Nightreign hub.

Related guides

• Nightreign best class: Nightfarer tier list and unlocks
• Nightreign bosses: all Nightlords, weaknesses and order
• All game guides