Elden Ring Nightreign is an online-focused game with hard boss battles and random loot, so people leaving matches early is inevitable. Even if you're having a great Nightreign run, there's always that one person who rage quits because they went off on their own and lost all their Runes.
Thankfully, there are systems in place to prevent players from quitting every match that doesn't go their way in Elden Ring Nightreign. The system isn't as punishing as you may think, however, since it still has to accommodate connection errors, crashes, and other issues that are common in online games like this. After a few warnings, though, early leavers will face matchmaking penalties that prevent them from enjoying Nightreign with everyone else.
Elden Ring Nightreign Announces Plans to Improve Solo Play
Solo play in Elden Ring Nightreign will be improved with a future patch that makes taking on FromSoftware's new game easier alone.
Elden Ring Nightreign Early Leaver Penalty Explained
If you leave Elden Ring Nightreign matches early, you'll get hit with a matchmaking penalty t hat will prevent you from joining expeditions for a short period of time. There are safety nets in place to account for crashes and connection issues, but repeated disconnects will result in a penalty, as the system will assume these occurrences are intentional.
After your first disconnection, you'll be let off with a warning when you return to the Roundtable Hold. You won't get any Murk, Relics, or other rewards from abandoned expeditions, but you can rejoin an existing session from the main menu if you were booted from a crash or server error.
After receiving a warning, the game won't be so lenient with your next disconnection. If you intentionally abandon a match, you'll be met with a matchmaking penalty that will prevent you from grouping up with other players for roughly 10-15 minutes. Just like in other online games, that timer will only get longer with repeated disconnections. You can still play solo and offline when you get hit with a matchmaking restriction, but Elden Ring Nightreign is significantly easier and more enjoyable with a group. Don't be that guy. Just stick with the team until the run is over.
Unfortunately, you'll still get hit with a penalty if you leave a match after another player in your group has disconnected. Some other games let the rest of the group safely abandon a match if a player rage quits early on, but Nightreign isn't one of those games. In true FromSoft fashion, you'll have to stick with whoever's left in that situation and see the expedition through to the end, battling through the added difficulty of a missing team member.
Elden Ring Nightreign
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
- Released
- May 30, 2025
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Roguelite
