Nightreign's relic system in Elden Ring might gain insights from Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs) like World of Warcraft, having recognized that random number generation (RNG) loot without any control can be problematic for years.

Chain up, my fellow Nightreign adventurers! You've crushed some damned tough enemies, and your friends or strangers were the dream team. But last night's victory feels like it's going straight to the rubbish bin, and I'm not talking about scraping leftover chicken litter out of the dog's food bowl.

Imagine this: after an epic Elden Ring Nightreign run, you get some gear that looks kickass but has nothing to do with breaking the Nightlord's defenses. You got more knick-knacks than a yard sale. Worse yet, you dump them all and hit a losing streak at the gambling table. Sound like a familiar tale? Don't fret, mate, I've been there, and it ain't the Year of the Tarnished that's daft—it's the RNG god.

Now, I'm not picking on Elden Ring Nightreign, mind you. It's making big leaps and taking on all these fancy new toys like loot progression systems. As a newcomer, I ain't expecting perfection… but it's had its first cracked-skull encounter with trial and error, that's for sure.

See, I'm a seasoned MMO vet, and I've seen my fair share of iffy tweaks—from multiplayer to loot drops that fall under the category of 'RNG Roulette.' And Nightreign has jumped right into the same pitfalls a few MMOs and live-service games have wrestled with (sometimes literally) before.

Random number generation (RNG) can liven things up, but completely RNG-dependent loot is a dumpster fire. Take World of Warcraft's Titanforging system, for example. It bumped up the item level of an upgraded gear piece randomly. In theory, it makes high-tier gear available from lower-tier content. However, (here comes the Dark Souls musical cue for a grim reality) it often leads to frustrating feelings of disappointment and a sense of progression deserving more oomph.

Flash forward to our Nightreign relic hoard, and I can smell the gunpowder smoke once again—that's the whiff of a ton ofiences falling flat on their faces. You could rephrase a few terms to paint the picture of my problems with Nightreign's relic system. Finding new relics should be thrilling, but most of them are trash… and even when they're solid with two good passives, the fact it could've had three leaves a sour taste in my gob. And, grief, is that lack of control ever annoying!

It ain't that RNG is all bad. Look at Diablo 4, another Blizzard gem where you can socket items with gems or temper or masterwork gear to adjust affixes. They let you put your hands on the reins—just a smidgen of control can make a world of difference. You can still transform an average item into a stepping stone for that god roll.

But it's not all roses for Diablo 4, mind you. I've heard fellow players have a thousand gripes they're hankering to dish out. But it's enlightening that they still made an effort to include player control. You can keep chipping away at that usable item, rolling for that dream loot.

Some might say Diablo 4 ain't the zenith of live service design, but there's a reason plenty of ARPGs like Path of Exile follow suit. Or, to put it another way, when another game flubs the loot RNG and gets a mouth full of feedback you could bathe a small army in, it soon learns to ditch the pure RNG circus in favour of giving players more control.

Hell, I'd dare call it elementary school education for game designers, complete with judgy parent feedback evaluating their homework. I don't want Nightreign to answer with a battle pass, but I'd be happy if it took a hint from the homework Fatshark or Blizzard wrote up.

Say, recycling a relic could have a chance of giving you one of its passives, slapping it onto a relic of your choice for a healthy sum of Limveld bux. I reckon it'll set you back a pretty penny, given we're talking post-game build-tweaking, but having a clear end goal would keep my foot on the grindstone.

You could also shell out a hefty pile of Limveld bux to swap a relic's color—say you've got a bunch of passives that don't suit your current urn. It wouldn't stop the sheer excitement of scoring the perfect relic passes, since that'd still save you a ton of time-solving. But it'd keep certain runs from feeling like an endless trip to the welfare queue.

I ain't saying I want the 'perfect Executor build' now, but I've got a long and winding road to the merchant jar bazaar ahead of me, and it looks like a slippery slope to Abandon All Hope. I ain't scared of a grind, but I am a bit weary of that perpetual gamba limbo. And, for the record, it doesn't have to end this way.

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Harvey Randall

As far back as I can recall, spewing pixelated digital ink into the online abyss started when I cajOLed my parents for a World of Warcraft subscription when I was 12. I'm doomed to be a Final Fantasy 14 lifer with an unhealthy crush on G'raha Tia. I've peddled my words to various publications, including Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine, and, of course, PC Gamer! I'll devour anything that catches my eye—RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and even weird indie titles. Oh, and I've got a whole closet full of TTRPGs to keep busy in my offline hours! Don't ask me which system's my fave, 'cause I've got too many!

In the midst of celebrating last night's victory in the European leagues, specifically the premier-league game, your smartphone pings with a notification about a social-media post, hinting at a potential win on the betting app.
As you turn on your favorite entertainment show, a commercial for the latest gadgets catches your attention – a device that could potentially revolutionize the field of technology.
Amidst discussions about the latest football match, your friends bring up the topic of their latest Elden Ring Nightreign run, recounting their successes and frustrations with the game's victory and loot progression systems.
While prepping for an upcoming soccer game, you reflect on the importance of strategy and teamwork, reminiscing about a time when your 'dream team' secured a hard-fought victory.
During halftime of the football match, a group of friends place wagers on the second half, betting on the final score of the game – a classic example of trying to win big through gambling.
After a long night of grinding in the premier-league, you find yourself on social media, engaging in discussions about various online games such as World of Warcraft and Diablo 4, analyzing their loot systems and player control mechanisms.
As you consider strategies for your next Nightreign run, you take a moment to appreciate the connection between sports, games, and technology – all still bound by the unpredictability of Random Number Generation (RNG).

Nightreign's relic system in Elden Ring might gain insights from Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs) like World of Warcraft, having recognized that random number generation (RNG) loot without any control can be problematic for years.