Look, we get it. You’ve been grinding through Elden Ring Nightreign for weeks now, and you’re starting to see the same map patterns over and over again. Even though the layout changes with each run, there isn’t enough randomization to keep you coming back. Fear not, help is here!
Limveld doesn’t feel like the home of a true roguelike, despite the eight different Nightlords and sheer volume of gear on offer. Sound familiar? Well, congratulations—you’ve officially reached that point where even FromSoftware’s roguelike formula feels predictable.
But fear not, fellow Tarnished! The modding community has once again swooped in to save us from our own mastery of the game. Enter thefifthmatt, the absolute madlad who decided that what Nightreign really needed was even more chaos. A new mod introduces a randomizer to Elden Ring Nightreign, allowing gamers to modify their runs in FromSoftware’s popular title.
What Exactly Does This Randomizer Do?
The “Nightreign Randomizer and Derandomizer” isn’t just some simple tweak—this thing goes deep. By modifying the files loaded when the game starts, it creates wildly unique layout combinations that breathe new life into the Limveld map. Think you know where that annoying Night Boss is going to spawn? Think again, because this mod just threw your game knowledge out the window and lit it on fire.
Under the hood, it’s creating map patterns nearly from scratch and has a tremendous amount of freedom in its placements. Translation: the mod basically says “screw your carefully memorized routes” and creates entirely new nightmare scenarios for you to stumble through. And honestly? We’re here for it.
The Three Flavors of Chaos
The mod comes with three preset options, because apparently there are different levels of “I want to suffer today”:
1. The “Almost Normal” Preset
The first is similar to the base game, as it emulates how it works while giving you any Night Boss for any Nightlord you choose. This is for you cautious types who want to dip their toes into the chaos pool without immediately drowning.
2. Balanced Random
Then there’s balanced random, which changes the item reward types you get from enemy camps, alongside the circle timing and size. Now we’re talking! Because why should you know when that circle is going to close or what loot you’re going to get? Predictability is so last patch.
3. Extra Random (AKA “Good Luck, You’re Gonna Need It”)
Some of the placement restrictions, which are essential to keeping Nightreign balanced, are completely gone, making the whole experience tougher. This is the “hold my Estus Flask and watch this” option. Choose this if you enjoy pain and want to explain to your friends why you’re screaming at your monitor at 2 AM.
But Wait, There’s More!
Because thefifthmatt apparently believes in giving us maximum customization for our suffering, “In addition to these presets, you can also select any custom combination of these options or other options like greatly increasing the frequency of double Night Bosses.”
More double Night Bosses. Let that sink in. It’s like the mod is asking, “How attached are you to your sanity?”
The Derandomizer: For When You Need Therapy
Here’s where things get interesting—the mod also includes a “derandomizer” feature. Derandomizer is an optional feature added by NightreignRandomizerHelper.dll, a dll which is distributed with the mod and can be used standalone. It allows setting the expedition seed directly, which determines the map pattern and other expedition behaviors which are seeded in advance.
Basically, if you find a particularly enjoyable (or traumatic) seed that you want to share with your co-op buddies or replay, you can lock it in. It’s like bookmarking your favorite nightmare for later consumption.
Co-op Compatible (Because Misery Loves Company)
The best part? Interestingly, the new project is compatible with the popular “Seamless Co-op” mod. So now you can drag your friends into your randomized hell! Just remember that if you’re using Seamless Co-op with other people, your seed and all settings must match exactly in advance, or game-breaking desync will occur. Nothing ruins a friendship quite like desynced chaos.
Installation: Not for the Faint of Heart
Fair warning: this isn’t a plug-and-play situation. me3 (Mod Engine 3) is the only supported way to use randomizer, which generates game files and a mod profile to launch the modded game. You’ll need to download the mod from Nexus Mods, install Mod Engine 3, and follow the somewhat technical setup process.
And please, for the love of Marika, never use randomizer or derandomizer with your main save file, and always revert or delete your save file afterwards if you accidentally do. We can’t stress this enough—back up your saves unless you want to explain to yourself why your 100-hour character just vanished into the digital void.
The Future of Chaos
This is just the beginning, folks. In the future this can be extended to randomizing enemies and bosses within maps and in-depth placement customization. Imagine facing a Crucible Knight where you expected a lowly soldier, or stumbling into Margit when you were just trying to grab some crafting materials. The possibilities are both exciting and terrifying.
Bottom Line
So, if you’ve mastered Nightreign to the point where you can predict every enemy placement and boss spawn, this mod is your next logical step into madness. As far as Elden Ring Nightreign mods go, this is already one of the most essential. It takes an already challenging game and cranks the unpredictability up to eleven.
Just remember: when you’re inevitably crying into your controller after the fifteenth attempt at a randomized nightmare scenario, you chose this. We warned you. The mod warned you. Even thefifthmatt probably warned you somewhere in that Discord server.
But hey, at least you’ll have stories to tell. Terrible, traumatic stories that will haunt your dreams, but stories nonetheless.
Ready to embrace the chaos? The Nightreign Randomizer and Derandomizer is available now on Nexus Mods. May the grace of Marika protect you—you’re going to need it.
And when you inevitably need guidance through all this beautiful madness, we’ll be here with more Nightreign content to keep you ahead of the curve.
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