Elden Ring: Nightreign Releases First Patch Hours Before Launch

Elden Ring: Nightreign hasn’t even released yet, and it’s already getting it’s first minor patch. This Patch, version 1.01, improved the handling of Nightfarers — the characters you play as in game. It also makes a variety of adjustments, bug fixes, and balancing changes. The full list of announced changes is as follows:

• Improved handling of playable characters
• Soundtrack addition and adjustments
• Text adjustments
• Balance adjustments
• Added character scenarios
• Bug fixes

This patch, then, seems to address some of the criticism from early reviewers about things like character handling and balance. While the game has received relatively high marks from critics (receiving 79/100 on both Metacritic and Opencritic at time of publication), those were both common factors for many reviewers to lower their scores.

There has been some speculation, as well, that this last-minute patch could add in some additional content like bosses, events, or weapons in order to ensure there is more in the game than content creators and reviewers (whose embargo for reviews lifted yesterday) could reveal. If this is true, then the existing patch notes also double as an excuse for also adding an update to unlock that content. Though it should be re-stated that this is just speculation.

In any case, this 1.01 Patch will be live by the time Elden Ring: Nightreign fully launches for everyone later today or at midnight tonight. Whatever makes for a smoother, richer experience as we step into Limveld for the first time — with friends, hopefully — is sure to be a boon. See you in the field, Nightfarer.