FromSoftware nerfed bleed and frost in Elden Ring Nightreign after players proved they were “way too strong,” and it’s also worked on “menus and UI and onboarding”

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According to Elden Ring Nightreign‘s director Junya Ishizaki, the FromSoftware team is keeping a keen eye on certain tactics in the game that turned out to be excessively powerful during the network test. This includes two well-known status effects they are adjusting until the very end.

As a dedicated fan, I’m excited to share that we’re focusing on two key aspects for user input, and among them, the network test is particularly significant. After engaging with countless gamers, we’ve gathered an abundance of valuable feedback, primarily concerning game balance. Naturally, this is crucial to enhance your gaming experience!

During our network testing, we discovered one particular aspect of status effects that seemed excessively potent. This was an issue we had anticipated during development, and it was reassuring to see it confirmed by the players. Having detailed feedback and data from them was incredibly helpful. Now, we’re exploring multiple strategies for attacking and various playstyles that emerge in each session. This valuable insight will guide our balance adjustments, making the network test results an invaluable resource as we approach release.

Naturally, I immediately asked Ishizaki if he was talking about bleed.

In response, he affirmed, “You’re right.” Meanwhile, Producer Yasuhiro Kitao, who was also present during the interview, mentioned they had considered “frostbite” as well, which operates much like ‘bleed’ in terms of causing immediate, severe damage.

These statuses in Elden Ring are often favored due to their consistent ability to deal a set portion of an enemy’s health. This makes them particularly potent against enemies with higher health values, either later in the game or during more advanced New Game+ runs. While other builds generally become less effective as enemies grow stronger – for instance, a 500 damage hit might only account for 5% of a boss’s health on NG++, compared to 8% earlier – statuses like bleed and frostbite maintain their effectiveness by consuming a substantial, unchanging percentage of an enemy’s total health. This consistency is as predictable as daybreak.

In the network test, Nightreign appeared to adjust the amount of health that bleed or frostbite effects would reduce from a boss, to prevent beginner weapons from dealing massive damage to them in multiplayer scaling. However, they remained incredibly powerful and widely used. I suspect they will still be quite strong in the live game, but slightly less dominant following these changes.

Ishizaki mentioned they have been focusing on developing menus, user interfaces, and onboarding processes in their project. Gathering player feedback is crucial for understanding how well players are grasping the different systems. Specifically, they received feedback suggesting that characters’ abilities were initially difficult to comprehend. The areas where new characters and skills are introduced have been particularly useful in providing insights during the network test.

Looking forward to the launch on Thursday, May 29, Ishizaki mentioned that the studio is preparing their servers as effectively as possible.

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2025-05-28 17:14