Elden Ring Nightreign is tasking trios of Nightfarer’s and solo players alike with taking down some of FromSoftware’s most spectacular bosses yet, as well as plenty of familiar faces from Elden Ring and the Dark Souls series. The game’s main bosses – Nightlords – are all an impressive bunch, but which of them is the best?
We’ve put together the below ranked list of all Nightlords in Elden Ring Nightreign using our own experience with the game, factoring in things such as difficulty and spectacle into how these bosses have been ordered. Here’s all of Nightreign’s Nightlords, ranked!
All Nightlords in Elden Ring Nightreign, ranked
First things first, here are all eight of Nightreign’s Nightlords listed in the order that they appear in-game:
- Tricephalos (Gladius, Beast of Night)
- Gaping Jaws (Adel, Baron of Night)
- Sentient Pest (Gnoster, Wisdom of Night)
- Augur (Maris, Fathom of Night)
- Equilibrious Beast (Libra, Creature of Night)
- Darkdrift Knight (Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow)
- Fissure in the Fog (Caligo, Miasma of the Night)
- Night Aspect (Heolster, the Nightlord)
That said, after defeating the game’s first Nightlord, Tricephalos, you will unlock a total of seven Nightlords – including Tricephalos – to choose from for your next Expedition. Once you successfully fell four different Nightlords, the eighth and final Nightlord – the Night Aspect – becomes available for you to fight.
While you can tackle the Nightlords in any order you wish, the bosses unsurprisingly vary in difficulty, and this difficulty is not linear nor does it scale with your character. As you go down the list, if that’s what you choose to do, you might find yourself pummelling some very difficult bosses to death to then find the following boss is a walk in the park.
As a result, we’ve ranked all of Nightreign’s Nightlords in the below list with two things in mind: difficulty and spectacle, but the order in which you decide to face them is entirely up to you and your team!
8. Tricephalos (Gladius, Beast of Night)
Tricephalos – also known as Gladius, Beast of Night – is the first Nightlord you’ll come up against in Nightreign. This three-headed wolf isn’t too much to write home about, but makes for a strong start to the game and gives players a solid idea of what to expect from the final night of their expeditions.
Capable of splitting into three and spreading waves of fire, he’s impressive and agile, but he’s definitely the first of Nightreign’s bosses for a reason. Sadly, Tricephalos is at the bottom of our list of Nightlords because – as cool as this wolf and his chain-blade is – he’s simply lacking compared to the other bosses you’ll eventually come up against.
7. Augur (Maris, Fathom of Night)
Augur – also known as Maris, Fathom of Night – is one of Nightreign’s most beautiful fights and a personal favourite, but they remain seventh on this list because, well, the fight is also sleep-inducing. I mean this quite literally, given Augur deals sleep damage, but it’s also a slow fight that requires a lot of patience and doesn’t exactly get your heart racing.
One of the easiest Nightlord’s to tackle in Nightreign once you’re accustomed to its moves, Augur is all about spectacle rather than posing a challenge. This enormous jellyfish is wonderful to look at, especially as the fight progresses, but the slow nature of it and necessity for ranged attacks does put a small damper on things.
6. Gaping Jaws (Adel, Baron of Night)
Gaping Jaws – also known as Adel, Baron of Night – is this grotesque mix of Caelid’s large dogs and a dragon. Consisting of a black, rock-like body and unsurprisingly, the biggest pair of jaws you may have seen, it comes as no shock that this Nightlord will do his very best to devour you and your team.
The fight is very challenging without status ailments such as Frost or Poison to slow Gaping Jaws down as he enters his electrifying second-phase, and frankly, being scooped up by him and gnawed to death is very frustrating. He’s fast, tanky, and a general nuisance, but he is good fun, especially when you successfully poison the foe and get to witness him throw up across the arena… Nice!
Gaping Jaws remains sixth on this list because while he’s great, there are more impressive Nightlords to come.
5. Fissure in the Fog (Caligo, Miasma of the Night)
Another dragon!? I know, I know, but hear me out. Fissure in the Fog – also known as Caligo, Miasma of Night – is an abominable frost-inflicting dragon Nightlord. Think of him as a lot like Borealis, the Freezing Fog from Elden Ring but turned up by about ten notches, with a range of new mechanics and AoE attacks to be on the lookout for.
For those who love to fight dragons, Fissure in the Fog will no doubt quickly cement itself as one of Souls’ games best dragon bosses, alongside the likes of Dragonlord Placidusax and Shadow of the Erdtree’s Bayle. If, on the other hand, you’re tired of dragons, you might not be as keen on this particular Nightlord, but there’s no denying how picturesque the fight against him is.
4. Sentient Pest (Gnoster, Wisdom of Night)
Ah, the Sentient Pest, also known as Gnoster, Wisdom of Night. This particular boss is another personal favourite; it’s not often we get to fight against colossal bugs, and it’s a very unique fight. As you enter the arena, you’re presented with a beautiful, magical moth before a horrific stone-hard scorpion pops out to surprise you.
You’ll spend this fight trying to take down both bugs before the pests merge into one sick creation; a sick creation that can be very troubling to take down. This is one of the tougher fights in Nightreign that simultaneously makes you go “what the hell is happening here” at multiple points during the fight, and that’s why the Sentient Pest is fourth on this list.
3. Darkdrift Knight (Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow)
The Darkdrift Knight – also known as Fulghor, Champion of Nightglow – is an impressive centaur that is very fast and dishes out holy damage like there’s no tomorrow. To take him down, you best hope you’ve a tanky character to draw his attention and some lightning attacks to help put a stop to the beast.
This particular Nightlord might not look like much at first, but as the fight progresses and he enters his second phase, things become a lot darker and a lot more difficult to manage. As a fight that provides both a great challenge and plenty of visuals to marvel over, Darkdrift Knight sits third on this list.
2. Equilibrious Beast (Libra, Creature of Night)
The Equilibrious Beast – also known as Libra, Creature of Night – is another unique Nightlord. Taking the form of a goat-man with basilisk eyes, he’s interesting to look at and his fight is just chaos, in all of the best ways.
As you enter the arena, you’re met with the boss – cloaked – who offers you and your team a range of deals that have both pro’s and con’s. Once you make your deal (or refuse a deal), the fight begins and madness ensues, literally. I wouldn’t say he’s as difficult as Darkdrift Knight was, but his moves can quickly overwhelm you if you aren’t prepared to break the various sigils he spawns and regularly cleanse yourself of madness. This Nightlord’s fight is also home to one of the best pieces of music in the game!
1. Night Aspect (Heolster, the Nightlord)
Last, but not least, the eighth and final Nightlord – known as the Night Aspect or Heolster, the Nightlord – is, of course, first place on this list. Nightreign’s final boss provides a level of spectacle that puts Shadow of the Erdtree’s final boss to shame (not really, but you know what I mean), and the build-up to this fight is totally worth it.
Challenging, dark, beautiful, and accompanied by some brilliant music, the Night Aspect might be one of FromSoftware’s best bosses of all time. Time will only tell as players go on Expedition after Expedition and eventually beat him, but I think it’s safe to say that Heolster, the Nightlord, will go down very postively in soulslike history.
If you’ve tackled any of the Nightlords and have any different feelings about them, be sure to let us know!
For more on Nightreign, take a look at our tips and tricks to help with successful runs, how to unlock outfits for your Nightfarer’s, and all the ways you can unlock mage towers in Limveld.