Fellow Tarnished! FromSoftware has dropped another significant patch for Elden Ring Nightreign, and this one’s packed with quality-of-life improvements that’ll make your descent into the Deep of Night feel less punishing. Let’s dive into what’s changed and what it means for your co-op adventures.
The Deep of Night Gets a Safety Net
The biggest news here is that FromSoftware has added rank demotion protection when you reach Depth levels 3, 4, and 5, preventing you from losing a Depth level after defeats. This is massive for player retention and reducing frustration. You’ll get protection for 1 defeat at Depth 3, and 2 defeats at Depths 4 & 5.
What this means for you: No more rage-quitting after a single bad run undoes hours of progress! This is absolutely a buff for players, especially those who’ve been hesitant to push deeper into the rankings for fear of losing everything.
They’ve also added a feature to voluntarily decrease your Deep of Night Depth level by one level, placing you at the midpoint of the lower tier. Perfect if you’re struggling at your current depth and want to step back without the shame of a defeat.
Combat Balance: Weapons Get More Bite
The weapon adjustments are where things get spicy. Most weapon types received increased attack power and stagger damage for Dash & Strong attacks, which is a clear buff across the board. Your heavy-hitting combos will now pack more punch and break enemy poise more effectively.
However, there’s some give and take: dual-wielding jump attacks for Curved Greatswords and Heavy Thrusting Swords got their stagger damage decreased, while Thrusting Swords received increased stagger damage for dual-wield jump attacks. This suggests FromSoftware is fine-tuning the power dynamics between weapon classes.
Boss Nerfs Across the Board
Here’s some welcome relief: several major bosses including Ancient Dragon, The Duke’s Dear Freja, Tibia Mariner, and Great Wyrm all received HP reductions. The Valiant Gargoyle is now easier to stagger and has reduced HP, while the Fallingstar Beast variants got reduced resistance to poison, rot, and blood loss.
What this means: Fights that might have felt like slogs should now feel more manageable, especially for co-op teams still learning the encounters.
Relic and Passive Effect Tweaks
Some interesting balance changes here. The “Taking Damage Causes XXX Buildup” Relic Effects no longer activate when guarding, which is actually a nerf if you were relying on guard-tanking to trigger these effects. However, the “Gradual Restoration by Flask” effect now provides a small instant heal upon use, making it more immediately useful.
The Wylder class got some love with increased Blood Loss inflicted by their Character Skill Relic effect, while Raider’s debuff effect now has extended duration for the damage weakening.
Bug Fixes That Actually Matter
Beyond the usual technical fixes, there are some important gameplay corrections. The “Siluria’s Woe” Skill follow-up wind vortex attack was fixed to properly hit enemies, and several Flask-related healing bugs were resolved.
Most importantly for Deep of Night players, they’ve applied a provisional fix for ranking calculation issues where changes weren’t being applied correctly or were being applied cumulatively. If you’ve been wondering why your rank seemed off, this might explain it.
The Bottom Line
Patch 1.02.3 feels like FromSoftware listening to player feedback about the Deep of Night’s punishing progression system. The rank protection alone makes this a win for the community. Combined with widespread boss nerfs and weapon buffs, this patch makes Nightreign more accessible without dumbing it down.
For veteran players: You’ll appreciate the smoother progression and refined balance. For newcomers: This is probably the best time to jump into the Deep of Night with these safety nets in place.
The only real “nerfs” here are the guard-related passive effects and some specific weapon adjustments, but these feel like necessary balance tweaks rather than harsh punishments.
Keep an eye out for future updates addressing the remaining ranking calculation issues. Until then, praise the safety net, and may your descent into the Deep be ever fruitful!
… and as always: don’t forget to check out our other Nightreign articles as well!
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