Elden Ring Nightreign’s first major paid expansion, The Forsaken Hollows, launches with fresh challenges, new characters, and intense multiplayer content. Priced at $15, this DLC promises to reignite the roguelike frenzy by expanding the game’s punishing yet addictive loop. Players diving into this update will face revamped difficulty curves designed to recapture the thrill of first-time exploration.
Global Launch Times and Platform Differences
The Forsaken Hollows rolls out on staggered schedules across platforms. PC players gain access on December 3 at 6:00 p.m. ET, while console users wait until December 4 at 12:00 a.m. ET. Xbox Series X/S owners can manipulate time zones for earlier entry, but PlayStation 5 and PS4 players face the full delay without workarounds.
Unlike free updates that often unlock at 9:00 p.m. ET, this DLC maintains strict timing. Prepare your squad in advance, as servers will see heavy traffic during launch windows. Cross-platform play remains supported, allowing mixed teams to tackle the new content together from the start.
Unlocking DLC Content Step-by-Step
Accessing The Forsaken Hollows requires specific progression milestones beyond simple purchase.
– Defeat Tricephalos, the three-headed wolf Nightlord, to unlock initial DLC features.
– Visit Roundtable Hold and speak with the Iron Menial.
– Receive the message from the Small Jar Merchant to access Scholar and Undertaker classes.
– Defeat a second Nightlord to reveal the chapel behind the Small Jar Merchant.
– Activate the Shifting Earth event, The Great Hollows, from the chapel.
These steps ensure only dedicated players experience the full expansion. Progression carries over from your main save, rewarding veterans with immediate access.
New Nightfarer Classes: Scholar and Undertaker
The DLC introduces two distinct Nightfarer classes that shake up team compositions.
Scholar serves as a tactical support specialist. His Analyze skill debuffs enemies through scoped targeting, while Bagcraft passive expands inventory capacity. The ultimate Communion links enemies and allies, sharing damage and heals across the chain for devastating group plays.
Undertaker brings aggressive melee prowess. Trance grants free stamina and speed boosts during engagements. Loathsome Hex unleashes rapid attack flurries, and Confluence passive triggers extra ultimates when allies activate theirs, creating chain reaction potential.
Both classes demand precise timing and coordination, fitting Nightreign’s high-stakes multiplayer formula perfectly.
Exploring The Great Hollows and New Challenges
The centerpiece, The Great Hollows, emerges as a brand-new Shifting Earth event map. Players fly to this separate zone filled with ruins, underground mazes, and unique points of interest. Director Junya Ishizaki emphasized its difficulty, aiming to humble even seasoned players while maintaining fair challenge balance.
Additional content includes the Balancers Nightlord boss, poison swamps invading Limveld, and fresh field bosses. New weapons expand build variety, encouraging experimentation with DLC synergies. The expansion restores that fresh discovery feeling amid Nightreign’s familiar brutality.
Patch 1.03: Key Changes and Fixes
Version 1.03 launches alongside the DLC, focusing on quality-of-life enhancements without Nightfarer balance shifts. Major additions include relic preset naming, customizable display orders, and equipped relic visibility in results menus. New shop items like Deep Large Scenic Flatstone and Fire Pots bolster preparation options.
Balance tweaks broaden low-HP relic triggers and boost various attack improvements. Wrath of Gold incantation sees reduced FP cost with higher power. Extensive bug fixes address Raider’s Retaliate, Sites of Grace activation, and UI inconsistencies across menus.
Balance and Relic Adjustments
Patch notes detail comprehensive passive and relic refinements.
– New passives: Improved Melee Attack Power, Dash Attacks, Rolling Attacks.
– Enhanced two-handing effects for Attack Up and Chain Finishers.
– Broadened low-HP triggers with reduced effectiveness for Damage Negation.
– Increased Physical Attack Up, Critical Hits, Guard Counters across relics.
These changes promote aggressive playstyles while fixing exploitable conditions.
Bug Fixes and Performance Boosts
The update squashes critical issues like Augur invasion teleportation failures, Night’s Tide range discrepancies, and Raider skill cancellations. Parrying, stagger damage, and elemental defenses receive corrections. UI elements in expedition and relic menus now display accurately, alongside graphical and audio improvements.
Why The Forsaken Hollows Matters
This DLC solidifies Nightreign’s position as FromSoftware’s bold multiplayer experiment. By blending roguelike replayability with Soulsborne precision, The Forsaken Hollows delivers meaningful expansion. Squad up, master the new classes, and conquer the hollows—victory demands nothing less.
Expect hours of coordinated chaos as poison swamps, linked ultimates, and brutal bosses test even the most hardened Tarnished. Nightreign evolves, and The Forsaken Hollows ensures no one escapes unscathed.
