Elden Ring Nightreign is out, and players are already diving into the shifting lands to fight the Nightlord. If they warmed up a bit on the original Elden Ring, though, they might be finding themselves a little turned around by some control changes.
While the controls in Elden Ring Nightreign are mostly the same as the original Elden Ring, a few changes have been made, either to accommodate new abilities or simply move things around a bit. Some of these are just for new moves, or updated versions of old tools. One in particular, though, seems to be causing at least a little confusion: the flask.
In FromSoftware's Souls games and Elden Ring, the "flask" is a mainstay of your kit: a refillable potion holder that acts as your main source of healing in combat. Usually, the flask is one of several consumables, and you'd cycle through them and use them mid-combat. In Elden Ring Nightreign, the flask is a static element. You hit the left-most face button (X or Square, depending on your controller) to drink it, by default, while Up on the D-Pad becomes your 'use item' option.
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Well, it seems like some folks are already reporting some muscle-memory confusion. It is a little bit funny that players who have been playing Elden Ring, either to warm up for Nightreign or just happened to line it up that way, are now re-learning muscle memory thanks to the change.
Alongside the flask, there's now the Nightreign-specific super-sprint mapped to L3. Though you won't have your trusty steed Torrent in Nightreign, FromSoftware has instead given players a surprisingly fast sprint option. The wrinkle is, there's also a sprint option from the traditional method of holding your dodge button. And as one player notes, they keep defaulting to the original Elden Ring sprint, rather than the new one.
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The really odd change, though, is that there doesn't seem to be a way to crouch now. I booted up Elden Ring Nightreign myself just to check and, sure enough, I couldn't find a crouch option anywhere in the controller settings. While it was clicking in the left-stick on controller, by default, it seems like the option didn't just move, but was completely ejected. Granted, Elden Ring Nightreign does seem like it's more about moving fast and wiping out enemies than sneaking around.
Other players report that mouse-and-keyboard default controls also feel strange in comparison to the original Elden Ring. Granted, this is not the first time FromSoftware has shifted control schemes. Every Souls or Souls-like usually has some degree of change, especially for games like Bloodborne, which have very notable mechanical and systemic differences from other FromSoft Souls-likes.
Ultimately, controls are re-bindable, so you can still make things fit as comfortably in your hands as you'd like. Maybe take this article as a PSA, then, to spend some time acquainting yourself with your control scheme for Elden Ring Nightreign and fine-tuning it before heading out on your first venture. And maybe spare some sympathy for a player who keeps accidentally chugging their Estus mid-fight. We've all been there.
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.
