Elden Ring Solo Player Conquers All Nightlords Pre-Patch

Elden Ring Nightreign Patch 1.01.1 is now available, adjusting the single-player experience to reduce difficulty for those tackling FromSoftware’s latest title alone. However, one dedicated player completed every Nightlord solo before the update eased the challenge.

Solo play difficulty in Elden Ring Nightreign has sparked heated discussion since the game’s release. Many players have voiced frustration over the stark contrast between solo and trio gameplay. Here’s what IGN’s Elden Ring Nightreign review noted:

"Solo play isn’t impossible, and I’ve had some successful runs on my own. Yet, the balance for solo players feels incomplete, making the frustration of going it alone outweigh the satisfaction for me, leaving little desire to continue without a team."

This feedback prompted Bandai Namco and FromSoftware to release a patch today, aimed at lightening the load for solo players. For many, this update is a welcome change.

On the r/Nightreign subreddit, user "Valseran" shared proof of their solo clears of every Nightlord, from the opening expedition to the final boss. Their motivation? "I wanted to defeat them all before the nerf."

Managed to Solo all Nightlords before the nerf
byu/Valseran inNightreign

This feat is remarkable. While other players, like YouTuber Ongbal, have shared solo victories against specific Nightreign bosses, Valseran’s pre-patch completion of every Nightlord stands out as both impressive and true to the game’s spirit.

Clear times displayed on the right show steady progress, with Valseran defeating bosses in the days leading up to the patch, as if racing against the update. Their victories relied heavily on the Ironeye character, with occasional use of the Duchess and Executor early on. Valseran provided further insights in the comments, offering a glimpse into their strategy.

"Focus less on getting a top-tier bow and more on stacking weapon passives in other slots," Valseran advised for Ironeye players. "Ranged damage, two-handed damage, and full-health damage bonuses can stack to boost your output significantly. Any purple-quality bow will perform well with strong passives. I use Ironeye’s dash for dodging tough attacks rather than damage, and his Art for invulnerability against bosses more than for its damage."

While Valseran mainly used Ironeye, the ranged archer among the Nightfarers, they switched to melee for certain bosses, even wielding melee weapons as Ironeye. Some bosses, they noted, are "extremely tough solo" without ranged attacks. They ranked the final boss as the most challenging but died most frequently to the centaur boss, Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow.

Extra lives were a key focus, essential for solo play without teammates to revive you. Valseran prioritized buying extra lives from merchants and noted that some field bosses drop them depending on the expedition. "In one boss fight, I had four extra lives," they said. "But always secure at least one early."

Patch 1.01.1 introduces a helping hand for solo players with the "Automatic Revival Upon Defeat" effect, granting one free revival per night during solo boss battles. Valseran believes this extra life will be "fairly impactful" for solo play, especially since stacking lives is already a strong strategy.

Every IGN FromSoftware Game Review

While solo Nightfarers may now face a less daunting challenge in Elden Ring Nightreign, one player has earned undeniable bragging rights. For others, the game is available now with a lighter load for solo players, inviting more Nightfarers to tackle its trials.

Check out our Nightreign tips and tricks to defeat all eight Nightlord Bosses, and learn how to unlock the Revenant and Duchess classes, plus how to switch characters.