Summary
When it comes to FromSoftware games in general, bosses can often be seen hogging the spotlight. While the developer has more than proven its abilities in world design, especially with the release ofElden Ring,FromSoftware’s boss fightsare still largely recognized as the star of each show, highlighting the studio’s commitment to delivering gameplay experiences that are as challenging as they are rewarding. Now, withElden Ring Nightreignon the horizon, FromSoftware has yet another chance to show its prowess when it comes to boss fights, but it may need to change its approach a bit this time.
Despite being anElden Ringspin-off,Elden Ring Nightreignis a game that has been designed to be played cooperatively. Most FromSoftware games allow players to join others' sessions, and they have generally emphasized multiplayer components in other ways as well. However, the concept ofElden Ring Nightreignbeing a co-op experience is largely unfamiliar territory for FromSoftware, which means the way it has always approached its boss design might have to be altered just a bit to accommodate the new design, especially when it comes to the difficulty of said encounters.
Elden Ring Nightreign’s Bosses Need to Account for Its Cooperative Gameplay
Elden Ring Nightreign’s Bosses Need to Be Challenging for Every Player
WhileElden Ring Nightreigncan be played solo, the design of the game encourages players to play the game in teams of three. Of course, this is possible inElden Ringand its Shadow of the Erdtree DLCas well, which allows players to summon other willing players to any encounters they might have been struggling to overcome by themselves. The main difference here, however, is thatElden Ringand Shadow of the Erdtree are designed for solo players and encourage cooperative play, whereasElden Ring Nightreignhas been designed for cooperative play and yet still allows solo play. Essentially, this means the rules have potentially been reversed forElden Ring Nightreign.
GivenElden Ring Nightreign’s change in formula, there is potential for its bosses to not be challenging for every player. Shadow of the Erdtree’s refined aggro mechanics made things difficult for every player in the boss arena, as bosses would occasionally (and seemingly at random) lose interest in one player and attack another, even if the player currently being attacked wasn’t doing anything to draw the boss' attention in the first place. That being said, it was still possible, as it often has been in FromSoftware games, to invite someone into a session and simply watch them defeat the boss alone — asplayers like LetMeSoloHerhave shown.
The concept ofElden Ring Nightreignbeing a co-op experience is largely unfamiliar territory for FromSoftware, which means the way it has always approached its boss design might have to be altered just a bit to accommodate the new design, especially when it comes to the difficulty of said encounters.
In light of FromSoftware’s history andElden Ring Nightreign’s reliance on cooperative play, it should avoid instances like this, where one player defeats the boss while the other two players stand back and watch. Instead,Elden Ring Nightreignneeds to ensure its bosses are challenging for every player on the field, and it can do that in a few different ways that don’t simply revert things back to Shadow of the Erdtree’s seemingly random aggro swaps.
How Elden Ring Nightreign’s Bosses Can Ensure Every Player Feels Challenged
One thingElden Ring Nightreigncan do to ensure its bossesfeel challenging for every player is for these encounters to include plenty of AoE attacks for players to avoid. This is a common strategy among MMO bosses, andElden Ring Nightreigncould apply the same. Another stepElden Ring Nightreigncould take toward this principle is implementing a “reverse” aggro system, which sees bosses paying more attention to a player if they aren’t participating in battle. In other words, the more passive a player becomes, the more aggro they draw from the boss. This will ensure each player remains active at all times, and the aggro of the boss should, in turn, be balanced among the party members.
FromSoftware’s historyof offering challenging, memorable boss encounters faces an unprecedented test withElden Ring Nightreign. As the studio goes headlong into cooperative gameplay design, it has an opportunity to change how bosses engage with players in an experience that is intentionally designed to be shared. By implementing mechanics like a “reverse” aggro system and AoE-heavy bosses,Elden Ring Nightreignshould be able to balance its boss encounters for cooperative play.
