FromSoftware has once more made a huge monster in the world of Elden Ring, and the players’ reactions can be summarized as a small scream. The ELDEN RING Twitter account shared a mysterious post about the distortion of balance and the maiden’s burden, but the main news is the launch of the Livestock of Salvation, which is the developed variant of Balancers’ Everdark now in Limveld. This contains the ongoing NIGHTREIGN content; if we follow the players’ reactions, then it is a deadly, stunning, and entirely crazy new challenge.
So what’s the deal? In a nutshell, if you regard the normal Balancers as tough, then you haven’t seen anything. The Everdark versions are one of the common features of the DLC—hyped, nightmare, and weighing up the existing bosses. This one takes the sword-and-shield-toting, teleporting agony of the Balancers and drives it to the highest level possible. The replies to the tweet are overflowing with astonishment, dread, and sheer thrill. A player named Tatakai Soul immediately called it a “New S-tier Boss” and complimented the OST, saying it is “f^#ing awesome….again.” It looks like there is a common trend; the fight music for these Everdark fights is always great, which almost makes it a character of its own.
What can we expect in terms of gameplay? Adjayliss describes it as “INSANE,” and he particularly emphasizes the second phase. Another player, John, said it was “Eldritch levels of horror that I was not prepared for!” That fight is apparently much more aggressive, in fact, the bosses are always in a state of recovery. Misa referred to it as “hauntingly beautiful with the bleed elements,” but she was totally unprepared for the phase change and most players seem to share her sentiment. AO Productions just stated, “Idk what I was expecting out of this but I CAN tell you it wasn’t that. Insane!”
The topic in the replies shifts quickly to speculations about what is going to happen next. The most important question that is on everyone’s mind is: when will we get the Everdark versions of the other main DLC bosses, Heolstor and the Dreglord? There is a whole small debate going on about it. Naga claims that Heolstor may not be the one getting an Everdark since he is a single-phase boss while other three-phase enemies are the ones getting the Everdark-treatment because their original OST has not been played in full. But others, like Grim Universe Comics, believe it is unavoidable, betting that first it will be Heolstor, then Dreglord. There is even a far-fetched theory from Acridclient that the Dreglord might turn into an Everdark boss himself, which Decibel AO found to be a brilliant idea. The consensus? Players are coming from the same place regarding their craving for more, with Queen_Nunz crying out for “MORE WEAPONS!! WE NEED MORE VARIETY IN WEAPONS, INCANTATIONS AND SORCERIES!!”
Not all the chat is about fun and partying, however. Some players are having practical problems. NoJustSenpai took his anger out on the Fire Hound world event that cannot be spawned on the first day of a run and requested the developers to modify it so it does not end up spoiling everything. And then there is the classic FromSoftware community spirit—help-offers. When user black.sludge_ (ToastLarge) seemed to be struggling, Sweet Tomato Pie and TheTrellster both offered to help and were giving fighting winning strategies. It is this combination of shared suffering and camaraderie that renders the Soulsborne community so unique.
And, naturally, with the introduction of the new boss come the…uh, appreciative comments. Indiewu1f’s succinct declaration, “I wanna kiss her belly button,” is a sentiment that is hard to articulate yet somehow fits perfectly into the internet gaming culture. On the other hand, Xoa merely posted a GIF of someone being completely baffled with the caption “They’re literally,” which could be the most accurate review ever.
So, what’s the conclusion? FromSoftware does not stop at Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree world, it continues to keep the door open and, at no moment, forgets about it. The NIGHTREIGN updates will continue to replenish the players’ addiction with new, torturous, and artistically brilliant content. The Salvation’s Standard-Bearers have already arrived; they are indeed very scary and are now searching for your Tarnished to become a blood spot on Limveld’s floor. The anticipation for the possible Everdark versions of Heolstor and Dreglord is already so high, demonstrating that the demand for this beautiful yet cruel world is simply endless. Sorry, The DLC is available on PlayStation and Xbox.
