A new update for Elden Ring Nightreign has been shadow dropped, bringing stronger Nightlords to defeat on a weekly basis.
These limited-time versions of bosses are known as the Everdark Sovereigns and will have new moves and increased power. The first to appear will be an enhanced Adel, Baron of the Night (Gaping Jaw) for this week, to be followed by the Sentient Pest and Darkdrift Knight.
The remaining Nightlords will be added at a later date. At the end of each week the “Sovereign will disappear from the available Expeditions… for now”.
Note that these Everdark Sovereigns will only be available once the original form of that Nightlord has been defeated.
What’s more, defeating the Everdark Sovereigns rewards players with Sovereign Sigils. These are unique tokens that can be exchanged for special Relics and items. Additional Sigils will be rewarded the first time an Everdark Sovereign is defeated.
“This is only the beginning of the Everdark Sovereign cycle,” read the update notes. “As the power of the Night ebbs and wanes, the Sovereigns will soon return to the abyss they came from.”
At the start of the month, FromSoftware stated that “enhanced fights against existing Nightlords” would be on the way, while a duo mode is coming “at a later date”. Even before this, though, dataminers discovered game files for new phases of each Nightlord encounter, so this update was very much expected.
What wasn’t expected, perhaps, was the weekly cycle of these encounters. It’s a smart live service-esque twist to keep players coming back regularly and exactly what the game needs to extend its longevity.
Once all the Nightlords are defeated, the only reason to return is to complete Remembrances with each character. This may not be attractive enough for some, so seeing the beginning of regular updates is a welcome addition.
DLC is also on the way, although it’s unknown what this will include. Would a Bloodborne pack of returning bosses be too much to ask?
The Everdark Sovereign version of Adel, Baron of the Night is available from today, 19th June until 26th June at 1:59am UK time.
Elden Ring Nightreign is FromSoftware’s online multiplayer spin-off to Elden Ring. It’s “an exhilarating rush and a celebration of the studio’s prior achievements Souls veterans will devour,” I wrote in Eurogamer’s Elden Ring Nightreign review.