Elden Ring Nightreign Items and Progression Systems: What You need to know.

Last updated on November 18th, 2025 at 07:54 am

Honestly speaking, when I initially plunged into Nightreign, I was not even quite aware of how the progression system worked. Key questions that kept populating my mind included why my stats had not been transferring between runs, and the nightmare that was the matter of weapon upgrade that was confusing.

The point is as follows: Elden Ring Nightreign Items & Progression Systems are used totally in a different way as the base game. They might be coming to Elden Ring bored, or you may be a first-time player and have no idea what to prioritize or neglect, this document is here to help you understand what is important and what you can get away with.

Relics Are Your Actual Progression (Not Levels)

This is what surprised me – at the end of every expedition, your character reset. But Relics? There are the ones that hang on.

Equippable items can be received at the end of each run and are known as relics. They improve your statistics and also give you passive skills, which will transfer to your next expedition. Each character has three Relic slots in the Relic Rite and the slots are filled with a colored Relic.

There exist three levels of quality:

• Delicate Relix-– a single passive gift (base art).
• Refined Obligations — Two prizes (improving)
• Grand Relics –Three passive bonuses (which is what you desire)

The more successful you are in your mission, the better Relics you will win. The first time to beat a Nightlord boss? You receive a particular Relic of the character that is unique to that battle.

The pro tip that I want someone to tell me before: do not equip high-tier Relics at random. Combine combinatory ones – such as combining flask-boost Relics and healing passives. Then that is how you really come out alive in those boss battles.

Weapons Have Four Rarities (And Upgrading Is Easier Than You Think)

There are four levels of weapons, including Common (grey), Uncommon (blue), Rare (purple) and Legendary (gold). They can be upgraded on their expeditions, when you find Ghostly Merchants, on the approach of forts or townships.

Weapons Have Four Rarities (And Upgrading Is Easier Than You Think)

• Buying from merchants
• Shattering Those Glowing Cracked Statues (simply get the enemies to smash them)
• Smithing Stones were guaranteed by exploring Tunnels in which Trolls drop.

Here is where the game is changed: there is the Crater in the World Event (volcanic fissure) and there is a Smithing Table which will automatically upgrade the weapons to the Legendary rarity. No stat requirements. This was on Day 2 and it turned my run totally round.

The Magic of Runes and Leveling During the Runs.

Each enemy will drop the Runes depending on the toughness of the enemy. You upgrade your character by using those Runes in Sites of Grace during that particular expedition.

However keep in mind that those levels are not transferable. To the extent that your run is over, you are again at the starting point in terms of statistics. That is the reason why Relics are significant in terms of long-term progression.

The gameplay consists in choosing the appropriate balance between the amount of Runes you use on levels and purchases made by the merchants. My personal level priorities include low-cost (Days 1-2) and Runes purchasing at a later stage in case of an emergency.

Machines Do Not Work in the same way Here.

Arguy forget armor and equipment load – Nightreign threw him away altogether. In its place, you receive Passive Buffs as a reward of gathered items.

The maximum of three weapons per hand are equipable, and the best part is passive effect that takes place even when you are not holding the weapon. See whether the passive has a red box–with that you are bid the buff with no more than the carrying of it.

It allows you to have weapon passives on top of one another, which is useless. I also have a poison dagger in my inventory just because it has the bleed resistance buff, despite the fact that I was using the greatsword.

So You Don’t Waste Time: What to Prioritize.

Not everything I tried worked but the following order does work:

• Weapons of elements that counteract weaknesses of bosses.
• Additions to the flask that make it more survivable.
• Weapon and Relics Passive abilities.
• Character levels
• Talismans

Status ailment (bleed, poison, scarlet rot) weapons are fundamentally king in this game. They have a very high scaling ability with Relic combinations and correspondingly can scale with most of the Nightlords.

FAQs

Q: Do I need to equip a weapon to get its passive effects?

A: Nope. Where there is no red box on the passive buff it is granted merely by holding the weapon. TV red-boxed buffs just demand that you draw that weapon. This allows you to have toacks of passive effects.

Q: What’s the penalty for dying during an expedition?

A: When you get revived during the same run upon death, then you lose one or two levels. When your entire team wipes you lose all your Runes and have to start over again. This is why flask control and survival is much more important than fierceness leveling.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is that Elden Ring Nightreign Items & Progression Systems are based on smart planning rather than on grinding. Concentrate on accruing a good Relic assortment, snatch on those Smithing Stones as soon as you can and, do not bother about degrees, they fade away at any rate.

As soon as you learn to work with the flow, you will go out of expeditions regularly, rather than hope that you will live through.

check out our guide on Elden Ring Nightreign Relics and Relic Rites Explained.

 How to Get Wending Grace in Elden Ring Nightreign

Elden Ring Nightreign Gameplay Mechanics Guide