The newest multiplayer action RPG from FromSoftware, Elden Ring Nightreign, thrusts you into the middle of a familiar face in its tutorial ( Margit is still taking ages to get his hammer down on your head ).

But the actual showing surface is the Tricephalos mission that ends with the triple-headed dog manager, Gladius. As you learn the rules of the day and nighttime cycle, you’ll take the first step in the game, testing your abilities. You can’t waste a minute lollygagging around in this adaptation of The Lands Between because speed is essential.

There are key features locked behind the first manager: Most of the show’s various expeditions unlock after you beat the first one, fresh items unlock in the Small Jar Bazaar to improve your meta-progression and beating the second Nightlord aspect is a sure way to unlock the second key Nightfarer class.

If you’re having trouble completing the first expedition of the game, it’s likely because Nightreign is significantly faster-paced than other Beings activities. However, there are ways to level the playing field and get ready for the fight against Gladius.

Land glyphs until you reach level 12.

The stage cap for a Nightfarer on an expedition is 15– but you’ll almost always achieve that level as you run around the world farming runes and powers before the next night approaches. Level 12 is a much easier amount to achieve if you act quickly and promote clearing out bosses and camps.

Crucially, you usually don’t want to waste any time on the stores you stumble upon on time one and two. If you purchase products, you might find yourself some thousand inscriptions shy of eking out another stage before the last employer. Before the Nightlord struggle in day three, there is a merchant nearby, but gather as many degrees as you can and spend your runes at the end there.

Before the last night, get a divine weapon.

You can see these shortcomings from the voyage panel before you embark on your goal because each Nightlord in Elden Ring Nightreign has an chemical weakness that you can utilize. &nbsp,

At the conclusion of the Tricephalos expedition, you will find Gladius, the flaming dog, with little sacred damage. The group has more occasion to slam on the boss while one person hits the crucial hit by using holy-imbued attacks, giving him more stagger windows.

You can regularly get weapons with chemical infusions by beating specific enemy camps and fortresses around the chart. You’ll receive a tool that deals that kind of chemical damage once you slay the last director there if the location has an icon for the chemical type next to it.

Keep in mind that Nightreign has inherited Elden Ring’s symbol for weapon affinities, and that the elemental symbols can be confusingly similar. The lightning affinity icon is a pale yellow blade stuck in the ground with crackling bolts around it, while the similar-looking sacred ( holy ) affinity icon is a more golden blade stuck in the ground with a circle.

Grab other weapons that you won’t use

While you’ll probably want to use a holy weapon when you’re in front of Gladius, it’s still wise to have other weapons in your possession as well. Since there is no equipment load in Nightreign, it is only beneficial to fill up all of your inventory slots while on an expedition.

Melee-attacking Nightfarers could benefit from picking up a bow to revive their allies from afar, and ranged-attacking Nightfarers might be able to use a dagger in a pinch. However, the advantages that extra weapons give your character are more important.

Under the weapon stats and art of war, you’ll find a list of passive bonuses when you pick up a new weapon. These bonuses apply to your character even when you’re not wielding that particular weapon ( with rare exception ), so stocking up on armaments will snowball your power before the final fight.

Invest in fire and physical damage negation

A fire-spewing cerberus, the expedition’s final boss, veers off like a truck and hits. In this boss fight, tank characters will likely be able to avoid the hits, but it won’t be nearly as simple for them to do so. Nightfarers who have dodge rolls and other abilities that provide generous invincibility frames will likely be able to do so.

During the first two days of your run, you’ll still have the option to invest in passive abilities that will help mitigate some of the damage the boss can mete out, selecting dormant powers instead of weapons from certain boss rewards. If you can snag fire or physical damage negation passives, it will help soften some of Gladius ‘ blows because night bosses have particularly potent passive buffs.

Stock up on bottles at churches all over the map

You’ll inevitably end up taking a few hits, even if you use passives to counteract Gladius ‘ attacks. That damage adds up, and you’ll need to heal through it. You start with three flasks and earn two more by defeating the bosses in the following two nights, but running a Nightlord with just five flasks can still be a little challenging.

In Day One and Day Two of a Nightreign expedition, churches are very important to find in that context. They appear as golden, glowing structures on the minimap, so you won’t have a hard time plotting a course to these locations– they look just like the churches that you can get flask healing upgrades from in Elden Ring, too.

Each church will increase the number of flasks by one. A significant difference is when you enter a Nightlord fight with eight flasks rather than five, especially since that’s actually nine more chances for the Nightfarers to recover. Churches aren’t a distraction from rune farming: They’re an investment in your survival.

Watch out for Gladius ‘ massive chainsword attack

Nightlord Gladius enjoys melee combat and spewing fire, which gives ranged Nightfarers an abundance of opportunities to strike him with holy damage from afar. You’ll be able to tell when the boss is up against no good when he retreats from the fight rather than the Nightfarers ‘ party.

One of the hardest hitting attacks in this boss fight has Gladius grab the chainsword off of his back with one of his heads, swinging it as the blade extends across the ground. Players in Original Dark Souls will probably recall encountering Great Grey Wolf Sif, but Gladius isn’t a good boy at all.

Gladius can use this powerful attack several times in a row because it covers a sizable area of the arena. The good news is that it’s pretty easy to dodge through, if your character has a roll with decent invincibility frames. Keep an eye on how far away you Gladius is trying to fight because that’s where the trick is finding out when this move will be unleashed.

Don’t let your party follow suit when the boss splits up.

Once you beat Gladius down to half health, he adds a new move to his repertoire. You’ll want to avoid rolling through these three fireballs if you want to avoid them before turning around and returning to the party as three separate dogs. The Nightlord may occasionally split into three fireballs that scurry across the arena.

These canines are no less fiery than the cerberus-form, and they typically each target a single party member. Just because the dogs are split up doesn’t mean your team has to, though. It’s best to group up and repel this phase of Gladius as a team, as threatened Nightfarers like Ironeye or fragile glass cannons may encounter issues once they are singled out. &nbsp,

Note that in its separated form, each dog takes damage for the full boss, so big attacks targeting an area like various Nightfarer ultimates ( Ironeye and Raider especially ) are potent here. &nbsp,

Once more time is up, Gladius will fireball around the map and come back in his Cerberus form ( so long as you don’t get him out before he switches phases once more ). When he takes on his larger base form, you can revert to your original strategy to swiftly take down this very bad dog.

You and your squad will have access to a number of fresh expeditions once Gladius has been defeated. Even though you’ve finally passed the real tutorial, you’ll probably find a lot of benefit from our beginner’s guide when embarking on some of the more challenging Nightreign adventures. Good luck out there, Nightfarer.