Tarnished, it’s time to update your builds! FromSoftware just dropped Patch 1.02.2 for Elden Ring Nightreign, and this isn’t just your typical bug-fix update. This patch brings sweeping changes that will fundamentally alter how you approach combat, boss fights, and character progression – and it’s dropping alongside the game’s biggest content update yet.
“Deep of Night” Mode Launch Preparation
With the start of “Deep of Night” on September 11th), this isn’t just a patch – it’s preparing you for Nightreign’s most brutal challenge yet.
“Deep of Night” sees players cleave through day after day of bosses and enhanced enemies to delve deeper into the night, with Depth 4 being some sort of finale that leads into an “endless battle for those seeking even greater thrills”. The new mode features:
- Five escalating difficulty depths with Depths 4-5 being endless battle modes
- Randomized Nightlord encounters – you cannot specify the target Nightlord, meaning no more build-crafting for specific bosses
- Exclusive “Depths Relics” with three extra slots for a total of six, featuring new stronger effects as well as detrimental effects to counterbalance them
- Red-tier weapons with multiple positive and negative affixes
- Rating system where successfully defeating Nightlord targets will increase your rating while failures will decrease it
Character Buffs Across the Board – Everyone’s Getting Stronger!
The biggest takeaway? Every single Nightfarer class received meaningful buffs. This is essentially FromSoftware saying “we want you to feel more powerful before we throw you into the Deep of Night,” and honestly, it’s perfect timing.
Wylder mains, rejoice! Your Claw Shot now has increased Poise while casting and deals more Stamina damage to blocking enemies. No more getting interrupted mid-combo by pesky enemies – you’re now the unstoppable force you were meant to be.
Guardian players hit the jackpot with this update. You’re getting increased Strength and Dexterity gains when leveling up, better Steel Guard passive ability angle range, increased range on Wings of Salvation Ultimate Art’s weapon portion, and more attack power on Halberd guard counters. Tank builds just became significantly more viable for both defense AND offense – crucial for the incoming Deep of Night challenges.
Duchess users get a mixed bag – increased Dexterity gains and some Dagger attack power buffs, but your two-handed Dagger’s second heavy attack got nerfed (though charged attacks remain unchanged). The trade-off comes with increased duration on the Finale Ultimate Art, so you’re still coming out ahead overall.
Recluse received major improvements with increased offensive spells attack power of Magic Cocktail and decreased time required to cast spells using Magic Cocktail. Perfect timing for tackling unpredictable Nightlord matchups.
Executor got significant damage boosts with increased attack power while Cursed Sword is in use and increased attack power of the Cursed Sword weapon skill when the skill is in use and the blade is in its unleashed state.
Boss Fights Just Got More Manageable
Here’s where things get interesting for your progression runs. The developers clearly heard player feedback about certain boss encounters being overtuned before dropping Deep of Night on us.
The Everdark Sovereign Equilibrious Beast fight received the most significant adjustments. Condemned Nightfarers now have reduced death status effect resistance, the condemned Guardian’s attack power was reduced, and the damage negation boost upon re-summoning condemned was completely removed. Translation: this fight should no longer feel like an exercise in frustration.
But here’s the kicker – they increased the Night’s Tide damage after defeating the second night boss. So while individual encounters got easier, the overall difficulty curve maintains its bite in the later stages.
Weapon Balance: Big Changes to Dual-Wielding
Pay attention here, because this affects how you should approach your weapon loadouts. Small and medium weapons got increased stagger damage with dual-wielded jump attacks, while large weapons had their dual-wielded jump attack stagger damage decreased.
What does this mean for you? Dual-wielding smaller weapons is now significantly more viable for stagger-focused builds, while those massive dual-greatsword setups just lost some of their overwhelming power. It’s a smart balance change that opens up more build diversity – essential when you can’t predict which Nightlord you’ll face in Deep of Night.
Relic Effects: The Real Game-Changers
Several Relic Effects received major buffs that could completely change the meta:
- The “Continuous HP Recovery” effect got a potency increase
- The “Critical Hits Earn Runes” effect now gives you more Runes
- HP and FP restoration effects for specific weapon types both received potency boosts
The standout change? The “[Recluse] Activating Ultimate Art raises Max HP” effect now persists until you take damage, even after the art’s duration ends. This transforms it from a temporary boost to a genuine survival tool – absolutely crucial for Deep of Night’s brutal encounters.
Quality of Life Wins
Some smaller but important improvements made it in: Sentient Pest incursions now spawn closer to player characters, and the penalties for disconnecting from online sessions were adjusted, with the ability to remove penalties by rejoining the session you left.
The Bottom Line
This patch is overwhelmingly positive for players, but it’s clearly preparation for war. With buffs across all Nightfarer classes, more viable weapon combinations, enhanced Relic Effects, and more manageable boss encounters, Patch 1.02.2 feels like FromSoftware’s way of saying “get ready, because Deep of Night is going to test everything you’ve learned.”
The few nerfs present (like Duchess’s heavy attack and large weapon dual-wielding) are clearly targeted at overpowered strategies rather than gutting player power overall. With Deep of Night requiring you to have defeated the Nightlord named Night Aspect just to access it, these buffs ensure you’re properly equipped for the challenge ahead.
If you’ve been struggling with certain builds or boss fights, now’s the perfect time to jump back in, master these enhanced mechanics, and prepare for what might be FromSoftware’s most brutal challenge mode yet. Deep of Night launches tomorrow – are you ready to descend into the abyss?
Update your game, experiment with those buffed classes, and start theorycrafting flexible builds. You’re going to need them.
… and don’t forget to check out our other Nightreign articles as well!
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