Big boy season is officially upon us in Elden Ring Nightreign, as its first souped-up Nightlord is finally here, allowing players to take on an even more powerful version of Gaping Jaw. However, we'll only be able to do so for a limited time.
Earlier this month, developer FromSoftware stated that stronger versions of the existing Nightlords would be added to the co-op action RPG in the future, and the first one of those has now dropped out of nowhere. As per a blog post from publisher Bandai Namco, the beefed-up bad guys are called Everdark Sovereigns, with the Gaping Jaw expedition's Adel, Baron of the Night currently taking the stage for anyone who's already beaten the original boss.
Bandai Namco warns that the Everdark Sovereigns are "extremely challenging and pose an even greater threat to the Nightfarers with new moves and increased power," but the good news is that defeating them will reward you with Sovereign Sigils, which can "be exchanged for special Relics and other items." Players have also noticed that the option to summon Shifting Earth events freely is unlocked after defeating the new boss.
However, there's a catch that not everyone is too thrilled about – these fights are only available for a limited time. Adel, Baron of the Night's battle will disappear after June 26 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET (June 27 at 2am GMT), so there's only a week to beat it before it's replaced by another. The Sentient Pest and Darkdrift Knight Nightlords are already confirmed to be on the guest list, with the Tricephalos, Augur, Fissure in the Fog, and Equilibrious Beast to follow in the future.
"Not permanent? Are we for fucking real?" one fan responds. "Nah bro why are they doing FOMO in the Elden Ring game. Not the right move at all," says another.
"I don't love the FOMO aspect," another agrees. "Gaping Jaw isn't hard but locking special rewards behind a unique currency that is locked behind an LTM feels really shitty. One of my favorite aspects of Nightreign was the play when you feel like it aspect and that's kind of gone now."
The good news is that Bandai Namco has basically confirmed the bosses won't vanish forever after their allotted time. "When this time is up, the Sovereign will disappear from the available Expeditions... for now," the publisher teases. It sounds like there'll be a kind of rotation, although it's not clear how long you might have to wait to fight a specific boss if you miss out or fail to beat it during a given slot, which could prove to be frustrating.
Be sure to check out our Elden Ring Nightreign review, as well as our Elden Ring Nightreign tips if you want some help taking down the toughest bosses.
