Fortnite-dropping into The Lands Between wasn't exactly how I thought I'd spend my weekend, but I also couldn't pass up on the opportunity to experience Elden Ring Nightreign for myself. Despite being a bit confused and very afraid to start with, I soon got the hang of the fast-paced fights and chaotic boss battles, except for Margit's repetitive surprise attacks.
Various FromSoft bosses can spawn at different times in Nightreign; there are some locked behind Evergaols, some wait for you at the end of each night, and others can just show up randomly, my favourite.
After landing next to the Cathedral of Manus Celes and fighting a couple of grunts that were stationed there, one of my party members decided that they wanted to start the round off with a bang and use the Evergaol nearby. Before I could protest, the Godskin Noble was inflating himself into a tire and rolling around the summoning circle. We were all still level one and hadn't really become accustomed to fighting as a team, but we made it work somehow.
- 3 hours with Elden Ring Nightreign helped me accept it's not the co-op FromSoft game I asked for, but damn fun in its own right
- I finally understand why all those Soulslike bosses hated me so much, thanks to The Dark Queen of Mortholme, which pits you up against some plucky upstart who just keeps coming back
It was all going as well as possible; we'd managed to knock the Godskin Noble down to the last third of his health when Margit emerged from the ground and just started swinging. I was not expecting this, and I don't think my last surviving teammate was either because we got smushed pretty quickly. Unfortunately, that wasn't the last time I saw Margit. He turned up a couple of other times during other play sessions, and every time, it felt like he was angrier than the last.
But I wasn't the only one who felt Margit's wrath over the weekend; players who took part in the playtest came together afterward to decide that Margit was probably the most annoying invader possible. "I respect the absolute humongous hater energy of Margit," fable-30 says. "I strive to be half the hater he is." Some players were invaded in mine elevators, at the top of one of the Rise towers, or after a boss battle. But despite Margit being a handful that can appear at any moment, he does make for some thrilling fights.
Chances he can invade you at any point in nightreign sessions. from r/Nightreign
"It adds so much tension, too," a player says. "I kinda hope they add other bosses in like that. Had an instance where he invaded as we were finishing a cave or mine. The storm was closing in, and it was cramped. The intensity was amazing. I really like this game."
It actually seems like most people prefer this version of Margit/Morgott. "Nightreign is really giving Marg/Morg some shine," another player says. "I always thought the final Morgott battle at Leyndell was under-tuned. Nightreign Margit really puts the fear of god back in the player."
I found Margit's first appearance pretty annoying and incredibly overwhelming, but my inability to deal with an invader who was that strong was my own fault. I was complacent, thinking that Nightreign would be just like Elden Ring or Shadow of the Erdtree, a stressful but predictable experience. Where you'd only come across beasts when you'd purposefully wander into a boss room, not while picking berries from a Rowa bush or, god forbid, during another boss battle. But that's just how the cookie crumbles in Nightreign; Margit doesn't care if now's not a good time for a fight or if three of you can't deal with a 15'5" Omen in a tiny room without getting absolutely obliterated.
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