The challenge of playing Elden Ring Nightreign solo has been a hot-button issue since the game's launch, but director Junya Ishizaki has confirmed solo clears are quite doable. He knows, because he's cleared every boss in Nightreign already, by himself.
Speaking to CNET in a recent interview, Ishizaki was asked whether he has beaten every boss, including the final one, himself.
"Yes. I can hopefully give you reassurance to know that I have beaten all of the game's bosses," said Ishizaki. "I've seen everything it has to offer, both in multiplayer and as a solo player. So I want you and players to know that this is very possible, and I want you to have the confidence to give it a try yourself."
CNET followed to clarify that Ishizaki was saying he had soloed every boss in the game. "Yes," Ishizaki confirmed. "And without relics."
While that's a pretty dang impressive accomplishment in and of itself, I do like the notion that Ishizaki's clears are also meant to be encouraging for other players. If he can do it, essentially, then you might be able to as well. I don't know about the "without relics" part, though. You can give yourself a little bit of leeway on that.
There have been other players who have been clearing both individual bosses and the full roster of Nightlords solo as well. Still, the solo experience of Nightreign has been under scrutiny, and not just for its difficulty, but also for how some mechanics (like revival) feel more oriented around teamplay than solo.
It's clear FromSoftware is both hearing and addressing those concerns, too. The most recent patch, 1.01.1, arrived days after Elden Ring Nightreign's launch and took aim directly at the solo mode, increasing the runes gained by lone players and adding one free automatic revival for night bosses.
Even if the difficulty is getting tuned down, though, Ishizaki's clears can still be inspiring for those struggling against the Nightlords in their own runs. When the rains pick up and the storm closes in, you can know someone else has already done it, and so can you.
We’ve got plenty of Nightreign tips and tricks to help you take down all the eight Nightlord Bosses, and if you’re wondering how to unlock the two locked Nightfarer Classes, check out How to Unlock the Revenant and How to Unlock the Duchess, plus How to Change Characters.
Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.
