In Elden Ring: Nightreign, you’ll be fighting a lot — and no doubt taking a lot of damage — as you try to rush through your three-day expedition to Limveld. Churches give you a chance to upgrade your maximum healing count, making them an important stop during every trip.
An example Limveld map with Churches and Greater Churches marked.
To be more specific, visiting Churches on the map will let you increase your Sacred Flask count by one each time: just interact with the Sacred Flask altar in front of the statue you find there. Note that Churches are different than Greater Churches (see image above), which do not offer the same healing upgrade. We will explain this in detail in the guide below.
Sacred Flasks
You begin each expedition to Limveld with three Sacred Flasks, which are Elden Ring’s version of the healing potion. Each flask can restore up to 60% of your maximum health, and since there aren’t any dedicated healing classes in the game, they’re your main source for regaining health.
During most of your expedition, Sacred Flasks are useful but not critical. You should be able survive trash fights and minor boss fights without using up your supply, and you’ll automatically replenish your flasks each time you visit a Site of Grace — which you’ll do a lot, since Sites of Grace are also where you gain levels.
But at the end of each day, you’ll fight a boss in an isolated part of the map, and this is where Sacred Flasks are important. You won’t be able to rush off to a Site of Grace every time you take a lot of damage, and while your companions can revive you if you die, they’ll probably be pretty busy with the boss who just downed you, and if your entire team gets killed, it’s game over.
So, healing is important, and having a few extra Sacred Flasks would be nice. You’ll be rewarded one extra flask if you’re able to defeat the boss at the end of Day 2, but where can you get some more?
Churches
The map of Limveld is randomized for each expedition, but somewhere on the island — usually along the periphery — you’ll find three Churches. These Churches are peaceful locations in the game, unguarded by enemy creatures.
Inside each Church, you’ll find a statue dedicated to Queen Marika the Eternal (whom you might remember from Elden Ring), and in front of it a small altar with a Sacred Flask. Interacting with the altar will gain you the flask. Thus, if you visit each Church, then you’ll increase your flask total by three.
Tip: Since the Churches are unguarded, that means you can run into them, grab the Sacred Flask, and then run back out — very quickly. So even if the Church is enshrouded by Night’s Tide (which slowly drains your health), you can still go there for the flask boost. In fact, you might want to save Churches as one of the final things you do each day before facing the boss.
A peaceful church, with Marika watching over it.
Greater Churches
Along with regular Churches, you’ll also find Greater Churches on the island. However, they don’t have anything to do with Sacred Flasks. They tend to be themed sites — for example, the holy fire version features Fire Cultists being led by by a Fire Prelate boss — and they’re a decent place to pick up loot (including from the chest hidden behind the altar) and Dormant Powers (from defeating the resident boss) early in the expedition.
Watch out for the Fire Prelate!
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Steven Carter
Starting with cassette tape games on the TRS-80, Steven has been playing, creating, and writing about games for a long, long time. This makes him experienced, not old. Lately, Steven has been focusing on walkthroughs, making sure everybody knows how to solve Towers of Hanoi puzzles.
