Elden Ring Nightreignhas only just released, and it’s immediately seen agenerally mixed receptionfrom fans and critics. Some fans love the mutiplayer focus, teaming up with friends to take down difficult bosses, exploring the map of Limveld, and preparing themselves for the end-of-day bosses. Others have expressed frustration with the game’s lack of balanced solo content, its class imbalances, and the lack of a two-player mode.
Another big point of contention for the multiplayer-focused title is the lack of crossplay, which limits the spectrum of players to play with. The game currently has over300,000 players on Steamand has sold over two million copies in mere hours, but with the solo mode being as difficult as it is right now, many players are essentially being forced into queuing with random people, or at least one random player if they have one friend to bring along. As it stands, I’m convincedthe hardest part ofElden Ring Nightreignright now has nothing to do with its bosses.
Finding Good Players In Matchmaking Is Hard In Nightreign
The Game Has A Learning Curve, Too
Like every new game, especially a FromSoftware game, there isnaturally a learning curve for players to adjust to the game’s mechanics, systems, and general “feel.“Nightreignmight have the skeleton ofElden Ringas a base, but the inner workings of the game are quite a bit different. UnlikeElden Ring,Nightreign’s character classes are drastically different, departing from the typical standard of a starting set of armor and abilities like previous FromSoftware titles. All eight of the classes are unique and have a high skill ceiling.
The eight classes available in Nightreign are: The Wylder, The Guardian, The Ironeye, The Duchess, The Raider, The Revenant, The Recluse, and The Executor. Six of them are available from the start, with The Duchess and The Revenant requiring a couple of prerequisites before unlocking them.
In general,Nightreign"feels” differentfromElden Ring, too. You can sprint at any time and use the spring points for high jumps without Torrent. And with each class possessing a passive ability, an active character skill, and an ultimate art, all of them feel different, and there isn’t much time to practice or learn any of them before diving into an online match with friends or random players. Without that, the game, at least right now, becomes evenmore challenging thanElden Ring.
With eight classes to learn and the lack of voice chat or crossplay to better sync with friends and plan strategies or communicate during boss battles,the hardest part of the game right now is actually finding good players to play with. The game is very new, but with forced three-player multiplayer mechanics if you want to play online and avoid the overly difficult solo mode right now (which isgetting a patch next week), you currently just have to hope you get matched with skilled players if you don’t have two friends to play with.
A Learning Curve Is Expected, But It Makes Launch Rough
The Game Was Always Going To Be Challenging
Almost every multiplayer game can have a rough launch when it comes to finding skilled players,but player skill (or lack thereof) is amplified in a Soulslike game, especiallyNightreign,in which cooperation is essential. On top of every class having different strengths and weaknesses, players need to be able to remember all the skills each class has access to and think of a strategy on the fly for each encounter. Boss fights are a major part of the game, so you also need to adapt to boss encounters and learn their attacks and how to counter them.
Nightreignhas a total of 94 bosses, including the eight Night Lords, one of which will be the final challenge for players to overcome on each run. With that many bosses, and some of the recurringSoulsbosses having slightly different move sets and timings for dodging and parrying, the game can be overwhelming at first. VeteranSoulsplayers might recognize several bosses, but with most of the boss mechanics balanced around three-player gameplay,the learning curve is high even for die-hardSoulsfans.
Elden Ring Nightreignalso has quite a bit of nuance to the way players can approach runs, which can lead to disagreements within player groups about item pick-ups, relic choices, and general team composition. In Soulslike tradition, there areseveral tips the game doesn’t tell you, and you’re left to figure out how to play on your own. As players are still just learning the game, some more experienced players may get frustrated at their partners' learning pace.
Elden Ring Nightreign Matchmaking Will Hopefully Improve Over Time
Time Played And Other Statistics Should Be Taken Into Account
When first startingNightreign,players must choose the Tricephalos Expedition; the other Night Lords are not available until that one is defeated for the first time. That decision does provide a sort of training ground for newer players. However, it also limits the type of players that can be matched with. Higher-skilled players will likely be able to get through that expedition with minimal trouble, while newer players may find themselves matched with other newer players, making it hard to synchronize and overcome the challenge.
To add to the potential frustration, the Tricephalos Night Lord is clearly designed to be fought with a full three-player party. The creature even breaks off and forms three independent beings at one point, leading to each player dueling against one part of the boss. With so much to learn and a time limit as an inherent part of the game’s design, the matchmaking currently has quite a few holes in it. Hopefully, more matchmaking elements will be taken into account in the future when looking for a match, besides just which Night Lord to pursue.
Additionally, the Character Remembrances are a matchmaking factor. These lead to unique objectives on the game’s map for each class and offer pieces of lore. If one is active, you cannot match with other players who have an active objective. That issue can be bypassed by using your console or PC’s invite system, but if you don’t have a full party of players, the matchmaking pool gets even smaller.Elden Ring Nightreignis a great experience when everything works, so hopefully, the matchmaking system gets addressed as players get better at the game.
