Well, well, well – FromSoftware has blessed us with Nightreign patch 1.02, and this one’s actually packed with some genuinely useful stuff – just two words: Duo Mode! Let’s dive into what’s changed in your cooperative nightmare sessions.
The Biggest Game-Changer: Two-Player Expeditions
You can now tackle expeditions with just two players instead of being forced into the full three-person madness. This is huge if you’ve been struggling to coordinate schedules with that third friend who’s always “just five more minutes” away from joining. The game balance automatically adjusts based on your party size, so you won’t be stuck fighting three-player difficulty bosses with your duo setup.
FromSoftware is taking this feature seriously too – they’ve even created a dedicated “How to play the new Duo Expeditions mode in ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN” guide to walk players through the new system.
What this means for you: No more awkward waiting around or settling for random matchmaking when your usual trio can’t assemble. This is a pure buff for accessibility and convenience.
Quality of Life Wins That Actually Matter
The relic management system got some love that you’ll definitely notice. You can now register up to 100 relic presets (up from whatever criminally low number we had before), and there are new filtering options for relic effects that let you get more precise with your selections. Translation: less time fumbling through menus, more time getting your build exactly right.
You can also sell and favorite relics directly from the rewards menu now, which means no more inventory management nightmares after a successful run. Small change, massive time-saver.
Character-Specific Bug Fixes
Some character-specific issues got sorted out. Revenant players were having trouble with backstab animations interfering with spirit summoning – that’s fixed. The “Rock Blaster” sorcery wasn’t consuming FP, which was either a delightful exploit or an annoying bug depending on your perspective – now it actually costs resources like it should.
Smaller Nightfarers like Revenant had difficulty landing hits with fist and dagger weapons – a legitimate gameplay issue that’s now resolved. This is a straight buff for anyone running those weapon types on compact characters.
Major System-Breaking Fixes
Here’s where this patch really shines – FromSoftware tackled some seriously game-breaking bugs that were ruining the cooperative experience:
Boss Fight Stability: Several boss encounters got crucial fixes – Caligo, Miasma of Night was sometimes wandering outside the battle area, and the Nameless King wouldn’t return to the fight if he moved too far away. These are huge fixes – nothing ruins a boss fight quite like your target literally leaving the arena.
Critical Revival System: There was a nasty bug where near-death players couldn’t be saved after being downed by grab attacks, and revived players would no longer be targeted by enemies. This was essentially breaking the cooperative revival system – a core mechanic of the game. Getting this fixed is massive for team play.
Terrain Collision Nightmares: Players could get stuck in terrain after being hit by Adel, Baron of Night’s grab attack. Getting trapped in geometry during a boss fight is the kind of bug that makes you want to throw your controller through a window.
Synchronization Problems: Ice block positions from Caligo weren’t syncing properly between players, which could lead to some truly confusing moments where you’re dodging attacks that don’t exist on your screen.
Item Duplication Exploit: Multiple players could duplicate dropped items – this was definitely getting patched eventually, so if you were exploiting this, party’s over.
The Verdict: Mostly Buffs, Some Necessary Nerfs
This patch leans heavily toward player convenience and bug fixes rather than major balance shakeups. The two-player expedition feature is the star of the show – it removes barriers without taking anything away. The relic management improvements are pure quality of life buffs.
The few “nerfs” here are really just bug fixes disguised as balance changes. That free Rock Blaster sorcery? Yeah, that was obviously unintended. The weapon hit detection issues? Those were hurting players more than helping them.
Bottom line: This is one of those rare patches that makes the game significantly better without making it easier or harder. You get more flexibility in how you play, fewer technical annoyances to deal with, and – most importantly – core game systems that actually work as intended. FromSoftware clearly listened to feedback about expedition accessibility, relic management, and the game-breaking bugs that were seriously hurting the cooperative experience.
These weren’t just minor annoyances – several of these bugs were actively breaking core game systems. The revival system bug and boss positioning issues were particularly game-breaking, while synchronization problems could make cooperative play feel completely broken when environmental hazards weren’t displaying correctly for all players.
Now get back in there and die gloriously, but at least you can do it with just one friend if that’s your preference – and with bosses that actually stay in the arena where they belong.
… and don’t forget to check out our other Nightreign articles as well!
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