FromSoftware officially dropped the bombshell we’ve all been waiting for: “Deep of Night,” a high-difficulty challenge mode designed for seasoned players who have navigated through the Night many times, launches on September 11th. If the regular Everdark Sovereigns (and their enhanced versions) weren’t giving you enough nightmares, this new mode is about to change that completely.
What Exactly Is Deep of Night?
Deep of Night is essentially a high-difficulty Expedition mode that removes several of your usual safety nets while cranking everything up to eleven. Here’s what makes this mode a true test of your Nightreign mastery:
No More Boss Shopping: You cannot specify which Nightlord you want to face – it’s completely randomized. Gone are the days of building your entire strategy around a specific boss. You’ll need to craft builds that can handle whatever nightmare awaits at the end.
Terrain Chaos is Off the Table: The ongoing terrain changes that normally occur during battles are not reflected in Deep of Night. This means you can’t rely on environmental shifts to give you tactical advantages.
Everything Hits Harder: Enemies appear much stronger than in standard encounters, demanding greater precision and strategy from players. Early mod testing by dedicated players suggests even basic enemies require significantly more hits to defeat, hinting at just how much tougher the real threats will be.
The Descent System: How Deep Can You Go?
Here’s where things get really interesting. The difficulty increases the deeper you descend, with ratings that fluctuate based on wins and losses, affecting your ‘depth’.
Depths 1-3: The Proving Grounds FromSoftware encourages players to try and see if they can surpass Depth 3, suggesting this is where most players will find their limit.
Depths 4-5: The Endless Nightmare Depths 4 to 5 feature an endless battle for those seeking even greater thrills. This is essentially Nightreign’s version of an infinite mode – perfect for the masochists among us who want to see just how long they can survive.
Exclusive Loot with a Dark Twist
Deep of Night isn’t just harder – it’s got completely unique rewards that come with a catch. Special items called ‘Depths Relics’ are exclusive to Deep of Night, along with weapons that have multiple additional effects, but also detrimental effects.
This risk-reward system is classic FromSoftware design philosophy. Want that incredible power boost? You’ll have to accept some serious drawbacks. The rarest loot players pick up can come with other drawbacks to make surviving that much harder.
Players who’ve been exploring early versions of the mode through mods have discovered additional challenges, including the Night’s Tide storm doing more damage, and new debuffs exclusive to Deep of Night gear that make players more susceptible to the toxic rainfall.
A Mode Born from the Community
What makes this announcement even more satisfying is that Deep of Night was first discovered through datamining weeks ago, with dedicated players already finding ways to access and test the mode through modifications. The community’s hunger for this exact type of challenge was so strong that people were literally modding their way into an unfinished version just to get a taste.
The datamine revealed this would function as an almost endless mode with randomized bosses and skill-based matchmaking, pairing players with others at the same “Depth” – predictions that have now been confirmed by the official announcement.
Why This Matters for Nightreign’s Future
Deep of Night represents exactly what Nightreign needed at this point in its lifecycle. As the dedicated player base continues to hone its skills, the multiple depths in the Deep of Night mode is exactly what the game needs, and could potentially smooth over some matchmaking issues stemming from its splintered playlists.
The randomized elements – both in boss selection and terrain configurations – address one of the community’s main concerns about the game potentially growing stale. Randomized final bosses and terrain configurations are huge benefits for keeping Elden Ring Nightreign from growing stale.
Mark Your Calendar, Prepare Your Build
Deep of Night launches Thursday, September 11th, giving you just enough time to perfect your most versatile builds. Since you won’t know which Nightlord you’re facing until you get there, flexibility will be key.
The mode’s official description as “a high-difficulty mode that provides a thrilling and challenging adventure” might sound like typical marketing speak, but based on what early testers have experienced, FromSoftware isn’t exaggerating the challenge level this time.
If you’ve been cruising through regular Nightreign runs and wondering when you’d get a real test of your skills, September 11th can’t come soon enough. Just remember – in the Deep of Night, there’s nowhere to hide, no terrain to save you, and no guaranteed path to victory.
Only the depths, and how far you’re willing to descend into them.
… and don’t forget to check out our other Nightreign articles as well.
Leave a Reply