Can’t Wait For Nightreign? One Elden Ring Item Has The Solution


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For many of the developer's enthusiastic fans, there aren't really any other games that hit the same way a FromSoftware title does, especially in the immediate run-up to a new one like Elden Ring Nightreign. I count myself among that anticipatory group, and have found myself less interested in other games after getting a few brief tastes of Nightreign when I previewed it, and later played the Closed Network Test.

The wait isn't nearly as excruciating as that for Elden Ring with its multiple years devoid of news, but it's still hard to find a suitable substitute in the meantime, especially since Nightreign is such an odd, unique game, even among its FromSoftware peers. Elden Ring is the obvious stand-in, but even then, there's really no way to get the same frantic rush that Nightreign consistently provides. But still, having not touched Elden Ring since completing its excellent Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, I now find myself back in the Lands Between, and the Small Golden Effigy has given me a passable stand-in for Nightreign while I wait.

Use The Small Golden Effigy To Send Your Summon Sign Both Near & Far
Effectively Randomize Your Co-Op Experience
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FromSoftware's idiosyncratic multiplayer has long been charming to me, and is the primary reason I diligently purchase the studio's RPGs on release day. I love the wacky co-op experience where you pop into some stranger's game world, do a goofy emote and wiggle your weapons and shields at each other, then clobber some enemies together on your way to a boss. The experience is only elevated when the games are new and Elden Ring was no different; the communal discoveries sans verbal communication with a fresh FromSoft game are some of my more cherished gaming memories.

I spent a lot of time in my first Elden Ring playthrough in co-op, practicing bosses in a slightly less dangerous environment or rerunning dungeons and areas I particularly enjoyed. While the Tarnished's Furled Finger was my most cherished tool when players were flooding the Lands Between at launch, a different item rose to the task three years later: the Small Golden Effigy .

The Furled Finger is the traditional FromSoft approach to matchmaking – you put down a summon sign, and other players in your server pool can interact with it to summon you to that exact spot. The Small Golden Effigy buoys an Elden Ring innovation called Summoning Pools, which are marked physically in game by Effigies of the Martyr, small totems depicting a crucifixion – a grisly scene that can be viewed in reality throughout the Lands Between.

The Effigies of the Martyr bear a striking resemblance to Marika's crucifixion upon a Rune Arc (potentially her own Great Rune) within the Erdtree. Since Elden Ring's opening scene says, "Queen Marika the Eternal is nowhere to be found," it's unlikely to be an explicit depiction of her, since her fate is not widely known.

The Small Golden Effigy has two options when used: you can send your summon sign to "Near" or "Both Near and Far." I suggest taking full advantage of this latter option if you're eagerly awaiting Elden Ring Nightreign, even if it's not an especially convincing facsimile. What this does is send your summon sign to every Summoning Pool you've activated, regardless of where you are on the map.

The Small Golden Effigy Can't Recreate Nightreign's Randomness, But It's Good Enough For Now
Who Knows Where You'll Get Summoned?

Although it borrows practically everything from Elden Ring, Nightreign has some innovations of its own, and the gameplay loop is drastically altered. Elden Ring co-op can't match the pace of its spin-off, nor can it recreate the sheer randomness expected in Nightreign's full release, but the limited permutations of Limveld in the Closed Network Test aren't all that different from getting summoned all over the Lands Between.

I've been playing a relatively new character, one I spun up to get my Elden Ring fix in anticipation of Shadow of the Erdtree earlier last year. At first, I just wanted to play some Elden Ring, thinking it would tide me over. I'd last left this character ready to take on Stormveil Castle, having explored most of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula. I wanted to fight Margit and see how I'd fare since I'd recently faced his Fell Omen counterpart multiple times in Nightreign, which has the moveset of the Morgott alter ego.


After beating Margit, though, I got to sleuthing through Stormveil Castle again, which isn't exactly tedious, but not particularly exciting either, given the more interesting areas later in the base game and especially in the DLC. So I started putting my name in the proverbial hat for co-op. I'd used the "Both Near and Far" option with the Small Golden Effigy before, but not nearly as much as "Near," which limits your matchmaking to the distinct region you're currently in. I found "Near" much better for my initial playthrough, so I could concentrate on the area I was making progress through.

But sending my summoning sign to pools both near and far ended up being exactly what I was looking for ahead of Nightreign. Over the last weekend, I was summoned to fight the Cemetery Shade on the Weeping Peninsula, to take on Margit and Godrick, to liberate Castle Morne, to delve into the Limgrave Tunnels, to wrestle with the Runebear in Earthbore Cave, and plenty of times I was summoned on the ramparts of Stormveil to explore the massive dungeon and ward off invaders.

I've now moved on to Liurnia of the Lakes and broadened my horizons even more. It may not be flying into Limveld on a Spectral Hawk and dashing between bosses in Nightreign, but sending out my summon sign while making steady progress through my own Elden Ring world has given me a surprising amount of variety.

Use A Low- To Mid-Level Elden Ring Character For Random Co-Op
Activate As Many Summoning Pools As Possible

My most recent foray into Elden Ring co-op has primarily been within the game's earlier sections, and I recommend sticking to a lower- or middle-level character if you're similarly looking for a lot of variety. This is simply because of Elden Ring's design; late-game areas tend to be more sparse, or contain notorious bosses that dominate the co-op scene. If you're above level 100, you're likely to be summoned for Malenia, Maliketh, the Godskin Duo, Mohg, or to similarly difficult DLC bosses if you have Shadow of the Erdtree installed.

You can only be summoned if you're within a level range relative to the host's level. The game also takes into account your highest weapon upgrade. These restrictions are removed, and damage is scaled, if you use a co-op password to play with friends.

It's much easier to activate a lot of Summoning Pools earlier in Elden Ring – if you get Torrent, you can ride all over Limgrave, the Weeping Peninsula, and Liurnia (and their respective underground areas), discovering mini-dungeons and their Effigies of the Martyr. The same goes for mid-game areas like Caelid, Mt. Gelmir, Altus Plateau, and Leyndell. Activating Summoning Pools in Legacy Dungeons like Stormveil Castle and the Academy of Raya Lucaria also seems to help avoid only getting summoned for boss fights.

There isn't really a perfect substitute for Nightreign, considering it's something of an oddity, but hopping back into Elden Ring and making liberal use of the Small Golden Effigy has been a decent stand-in for me. Using a lower-level character also gives me a bit more flexibility in trying out different weapons I find. I'm eagerly anticipating the action roguelite experience Elden Ring Nightreign is promising, but revisiting Elden Ring's unwieldy co-op has at least made the wait more bearable.