TL;DR
- DLC releases December 4, 2025, priced at $15 with base game required
- Two new Nightfarers: Undertaker (Strength/Faith) and Scholar (Arcane/Intelligence)
- New expeditions feature Fire Knight, Messmer Soldiers, Gladius raid, and Divine Beast Dancing Lion
- Artorius returns as a Night boss with updated mechanics from Dark Souls legacy
- The Great Hollow introduces crystalline enemies and new Shifting Earth mechanics
FromSoftware has officially confirmed that Elden Ring Nightreign: The Forsaken Hollows expansion will launch on December 4, 2025, bringing substantial new content to the acclaimed action RPG. This premium DLC requires ownership of both the base Elden Ring game and the expansion itself to access the new content.

The expansion introduces two major expeditions located beneath Hoelstor, exclusively available to DLC owners. These new areas promise to significantly expand the game’s endgame content and provide fresh challenges for seasoned Tarnished. Players should prepare for these expeditions by ensuring their character builds are optimized for the specific challenges ahead, particularly focusing on status effect resistance and burst damage capabilities.
Strategic preparation for the DLC should include reviewing your current character progression and considering respeccing options to adapt to the new content. Many players overlook the importance of preparing their character builds in advance, which can lead to frustrating difficulty spikes when encountering the new Nightlords and bosses.
The Forsaken Hollows expansion introduces two distinctive Nightfarers who will join the Roundtable Hold, providing new narrative depth and gameplay options. These characters introduce crucial intelligence about the emerging ‘Abomination’ threat, revealing that the Night represents only one facet of the dangers facing the Lands Between.
Character Backgrounds and Specializations
Here’s an in-depth look at both new Nightfarers and their combat capabilities:
- Undertaker: This formidable female Nightfarer serves as an abbess dedicated to eradicating Nightlords. She specializes in Strength and Faith attributes, wielding a one-handed hammer as her primary weapon. Her unique Ultimate ability manifests as a spectral hammer emerging from her mouth to deliver devastating blows to enemies. For optimal performance with Undertaker, focus on timing her Ultimate for breaking enemy stances and creating openings for critical attacks.
- Scholar: The male Nightfarer excels in Arcane mastery, beginning with a thrusting sword. His combat philosophy revolves around gaining tactical advantages through careful battlefield observation. His Ultimate ability applies debilitating debuffs to enemies while providing self-buffs upon defeating affected targets.



Advanced players should note that Scholar’s observation-based mechanics reward patient playstyles and careful positioning. His debuff stacking capabilities make him particularly effective against high-health pool enemies and bosses with multiple phases.
The two new expeditions introduce a diverse array of hostile encounters, from common enemies to challenging field bosses. These additions significantly expand the game’s combat diversity and provide new tactical challenges for players to overcome.
Trailer analysis reveals several significant enemy additions that will test players’ combat proficiency and adaptability:
- Fire Knight and Messmer Soldiers: These formidable foes imported from the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC present unique combat challenges in the Limeveld region. Fire Knight encounters require careful management of fire resistance and timing dodges to avoid area-of-effect attacks.
- Gladius raid: The trailer showcases Nightfarers confronting a single-headed Gladius in open terrain, suggesting this will function as a dedicated raid encounter rather than a standard field boss. Gladius represents one of the Nightlords that lacked dedicated raid content in the base game.
- Field Boss: The Divine Beast Dancing Lion appears as a newly introduced field boss, likely serving as the culminating encounter for the New Shifting Earth event based on trailer evidence.



Beyond these confirmed enemies, players can anticipate additional hostile encounters imported from Shadow of the Erdtree appearing throughout both new expeditions. Preparation should include stocking up on consumables that counter various status effects and upgrading weapons that perform well against the specific enemy types showcased.
Common mistakes when facing these new enemies include underestimating the Gladius’s area denial capabilities and failing to properly manage aggro in multi-enemy encounters. Successful players will master positioning and learn attack patterns during initial encounters.
The expansion introduces a substantial new Shifting Earth Nightreign event titled ‘The Great Hollow’, an expansive subterranean region extending deep beneath Limveld. This new area features striking environmental elements including massive crystalline formations emerging from the terrain.
The Divine Beast Dancing Lion appears positioned as the culminating encounter for this Shifting Earth event. Environmental clues suggest players will encounter crystalline-based enemies throughout this region, requiring adjusted combat approaches and potentially new weapon strategies.

Strategic considerations for The Great Hollow include preparing weapons with strike damage for crystalline enemies and ensuring your build can handle potentially limited visibility conditions.
Advanced players should focus on understanding the new Shifting Earth mechanics specific to this area, as they may differ significantly from previous events. Time estimates for completing this event range from 3-5 hours depending on player skill level and exploration thoroughness.
The most significant revelation from the Nightreign: The Forsaken Hollows trailer was the confirmation of Artorius as a Night boss. Artorius the Abyss Walker stands as one of the most beloved boss characters from the Dark Souls franchise, originally appearing in the first Dark Souls expansion.
Dark Souls veterans have eagerly anticipated Artorius’s return to Nightreign following Nameless King’s previous appearance. FromSoftware’s decision to incorporate this fan-favorite character has generated substantial excitement throughout the community.

Regarding combat mechanics, the trailer reveals a new grab attack for Artorius. Expect significant refinements to his moveset, as the original Dark Souls DLC launched nearly thirteen years ago, requiring modernization for current gameplay standards.
Players familiar with Artorius from Dark Souls should note that while core mechanics may remain familiar, the implementation will likely incorporate lessons learned from Elden Ring’s combat system.
Common strategic errors when facing Artorius include misjudging the range of his extended combos and failing to properly manage stamina during his aggression phases.
Complementing the new Nightfarers, enemies, raids, shifting earth events, and field bosses, the expansion introduces two formidable new Nightlords. While detailed information remains limited, trailer analysis provides insights into their designs and potential combat mechanics.
Here’s a detailed examination of both Nightlords based on available visual evidence:
- Seven Angels: This initial Nightlord manifests as seven angelic entities armed with polearms. The design suggests they may coalesce into a singular entity during combat, as managing seven simultaneous boss-level threats would present unprecedented difficulty scaling.
- Blighted Abomination: The secondary Nightlord presents a nightmarish visage of colossal proportions, wielding an enormous cudgel while positioned in corrupted terrain. Anticipate encountering multiple status effect afflictions during this encounter, though hopefully Deathblight won’t be among them given community feedback about overly punishing mechanics.


Strategic preparation for these Nightlords should include building for status effect resistance and ensuring your damage output can handle potentially lengthy encounter durations.
Advanced players should prepare contingency strategies for the Seven Angels encounter, considering both singular and multiple entity combat scenarios.
Is Elden Ring Nightreign the Forsaken Hollows a free DLC?
No, Elden Ring Nightreign the Forsaken Hollows represents a premium expansion priced at $15, requiring ownership of both the DLC and base game for access.
Is Artorius a Nightlord in Elden Ring Nightreign the Forsaken Hollows?
Artorius functions as a Night boss within the new Nightreign DLC rather than a Nightlord. Players will encounter him during either of the two new expeditions, appearing at the conclusion of either night one or two.
That concludes our comprehensive overview of everything currently known about Elden Ring Nightreign: The Forsaken Hollows DLC. Have you spotted additional details we might have missed? Share your observations in the comments section below.
Action Checklist
- Verify base game ownership and prepare $15 for DLC purchase
- Review and optimize your character build for the new Nightfarers and bosses
- Stock up on status effect resistance consumables
- Study enemy attack patterns from trailer footage before December 4 release
- Plan your expedition strategy focusing on the two new areas beneath Hoelstor
No reproduction without permission:Tsp Game Club » Elden Ring Nightreign The Forsaken Hollows Release Date and Everything We Know Complete guide to Elden Ring Nightreign DLC with release date, new characters, bosses, and expert strategies
