The Elden Ring Nightreign Network Test got off to a bit of a rocky start this morning. Specifically, players selected to participate had difficulty playing online. While Xbox servers held up, PlayStation servers struggled to host all the players logging on. As a result, many of those who logged in right at the start of the first three-hour session could play for about 15-20 minutes. But after that, they could only get into the offline Roundtable Hold area.
Nevertheless, this didn’t stop the crafty and cheeky among us from making the most of the offline beta this morning. While players couldn’t enter matchmaking to play through a round, they could explore the Roundtable Hold.
Returning from the Elden Ring base game, the Roundtable Hold got a bit of a makeover. There’s now a big sparring area for players to test out combat. The most prudent players used the time this morning to try various builds on the four characters. Elden Ring Nightreign allows players to fight against inanimate dummies. By entering the gaol-like circle, they can summon a live enemy to battle.
To really mix things up, players can change their levels here to see what it would be like to hit a little harder or have a little more stamina. What’s more, they can also open a chest in the sparring area to try out any armament or gear. Literally any. These don’t always work the same as they do in Elden Ring, but Nightreign has an approximation of every weapon. For example, staffs now come pre-loaded with two spells and work differently than how they did in Elden Ring.
That’s not all that players did during the offline session. Elden Ring Nightreign boasts a higher jump than the base game. Some players decided to see how high up they could get clambering around the roundtable hold. This then presented an opportunity for hide and seek. So games were played. Just not the ones Elden Ring Nightreign intended.
Bandai Namco and FromSoftware briefly closed the servers altogether about an hour in for maintenance. Since then they’ve shared a post on X acknowledging the issues and noting that “an additional Network Test session is being considered.”
The first session of the #ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN Network Test has ended.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the game server issues.
Work is currently ongoing to improve the stability of the Network Test.
An additional Network Test session is being considered.Thank you.
— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) February 14, 2025
Hop,efully this will alleviate some of the frustration that players experienced this morning. Though I have to admit—and save your pitchforks for the beta—but I actually didn’t mind the offline play at first. It did allow me to test out a few builds. As a veteran Elden Ring player, I found more differences in combat than expected. So I appreciated getting to learn the new movesets. But yes, I’d prefer to play the game as intended.
Hopefully, we can all praise the servers later this weekend during one of the other tests. And, technically, the test is doing what it’s supposed to do. The point of the test is to see if the game works ahead of its May 30th, release. So, uh, we learned something today. But it would be nice to learn a bit more during the next test window.
We have a few more days to get online with the Elden Ring Nightreign Network Test, and hopefully, Fromsoftware and Bandai Namco can get the servers in a better place so that everyone who has a code can test out the game ahead of the official release date.
The Elden Ring Nightreign release date is May 30, 2025, for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
