All is not what it seems in Elden Ring Nightreign. The co-op Elden Ring spin-off appears to use a slightly different stats system to its forebear, but growth is extremely similar, and some aspects matter much more than others.
Zullie the Witch, a popular YouTuber who explores FromSoftware games in-depth, has dug into the Nightfarers (the new action RPG's playable characters) and what each one actually offers you. They start by noting the game's use of letter grades for character stats, then looking at the overall progression.
During each run of Nightreign, you can grow your character up to 15 levels. On its face, this streamlines Elden Ring's approach where you pick statistics to push during your play-through. But ultimately, the same thing is happening across the two games, since boosts are uneven level to level.
As an example, Ironeye's vigor and dexterity grow considerably every time you level-up, but almost every other stat is much more staggered. Strength barely moves in the upper levels. In contrast, Raider's strength is always getting buffed, but their dexterity tapers off.
What constitutes each grade varies as well, as Zullie notes an S in intelligence is not the same as an S in dexterity. It's all a bit muddy, but a big takeaway is getting to level 15 isn't as useful as you might think. In a lot of cases, getting as far as 10 may suffice, as the overall changes are less dramatic in the later levels. Zullie notes that there seems to be a bit of a soft cap of sorts around level 12.
Even Relics aren't helping you so much. When you're late into your run and into the teens level-wise, other buffs are considerably more helpful.
Zullie provides stat sheets to help guide you towards what's optimal for your playstyle. A real benefit is not wasting potential buffs in areas you won't really see a tangible improvement. Defeating the Nightlords is hard work, you need every advantage.
If you're jumping in, have a look at our list of Elden Ring Nightreign tips and our Elden Ring Nightreign characters tier list.
