Ready to conquer Elden Ring Nightreign? Mastering rune farming is your key to survival and power before the Nightlord arrives. From the fierce battles in Evergaols to strategic clears of Great Churches and Forts, discover the top locations that offer the richest rune hauls and fastest leveling routes. Whether you wield a Stonesword Key or prefer to outsmart encampment bosses, these spots will maximize your rune gains and gear you up for the ultimate showdown across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Much like the leveling system from the base game, in Elden Ring Nightreign,you need runes to raise your HP, FP, and other stats, and to unlock weapons. The major difference is that you can’t spend a long time repeatedly farming in your favorite spot. Due to the pace of multiplayer matches, you must be quick, balancing the most efficient rune farming locations while still seeking out upgrades like flask charges.
In this Elden Ring Nightreign guide, we’ll go over the best rune farming locations as well as detail how to increase the number of runes you receive.
Best rune farming locations in Elden Ring Nightreign
In Elden Ring Nightreign, the best rune farming locations balance ease of enemy encounters with high rune rewards to help players level up quickly for the Nightlord challenge. Top spots include Small Encampments, Great Churches, Forts, Evergaols, and Main Encampments, with Evergaols being particularly valuable due to their scalable bosses and rune caches when opened with Stonesword Keys. The central castle is also a prime location, especially for farming high-rune enemies like Crucible Knights and benefiting from rune acquisition boosts from nearby trees. Efficient farming involves prioritizing these areas, avoiding overly difficult foes early on, and making use of buffs and relics to maximize rune gains.
When it comes to farming runes in Elden Ring Nightreign, you need to be as efficient as possible. This also means making the right decision when communicating points of interest to your team.
You want to avoid picking a place where only strong enemies are found when you’re underleveled, because you might die and lose a level. On the other hand, you shouldn’t spend all your time killing low-level enemies, since you won’t get as many runes.
Below, see in order of priority the best places for you to farm runes in Elden Ring Nightreign on the first day of a match.
- Small Encampments
- Great Churches
- Forts
- Evergaols
- Main Encampments
Below, we’ll explain why these locations are the best rune farming spots in Elden Ring Nightreign. Keep in mind that the map changes each run; depending on where you land, some of these spots might not be worth visiting.
Small Encampments (3,698 runes)
We’ll call all the initial clusters of enemies you find in the game “Small Encampments.” Whenever you start a new match, once you land in Limveld, you will be close to a group of enemies – giant rats or some low-level soldiers – usually with nearby weapons or consumables to loot in the area.
Clearing these initial camps gives you close to or more than 3,698 runes, which is the amount you need to jump from level 1 to level 2.
Great Churches (9,360 runes)
Heading to the nearest Great Church is the most efficient way to progress after clearing the first camp. Depending on the enemies you find there, you can get at least 9,360 runes. You can spot these key locations on the map by looking for triangular building icons.
Although you can’t know for sure which enemies you’ll find in a Great Church before visiting it, the best scenario is to get to the ones with a golem or a group of Oracle Envoys. These guys are considered minor bosses in the game, but killing them isn’t quite as much of a lift as field bosses. Better yet, them will reward enough runes to reach level 3 in less than five minutes from the start of a match.
Forts (15,000 runes)
If you don’t have a Great Church nearby or have just cleared one, your next best option to farm sone runes is to clear a Fort. This key location is marked on the map as a small castle on the top of a cliff.
You always find a minor boss inside a Fort, alongside some lower-rank soldiers. Fort bosses aren’t necessarily stronger than the ones you find in Great Churches – that’s why visiting them around the same level works – and you can get up to 15,000 runes if you stumble upon a Golem or a mage boss. Bonus: Forts usually have more chests for you to open, too, so if you’re in need of better equipment, look for the nearest one and go clear it.
Evergaols (20,000 runes)
Battle arenas called Evergaol, which display as brown circles on your map. Once you’re at least at level 4, Evergaol are best place to farm runes. An Evergaol boss can give you 20,000 runes or more. It is, however, a situational option, because you not only need to have one close to your location, but you also need a Stonesword Key to summon the boss.
Evergaol’s bosses tend to present more of a challenge than anything you’ve faced prior in the run. On the other hand, you’re likely in a fight of three against one, so the odds are in your favor.
Main Encampments (14,000 runes)
If you don’t have Stonesword Key to activate an Evergaol, you should consider facing a Main Encampment – indicated by an group of tents icon on the map. For this spot, you want to be at least level 5. In these camps, there are way more enemies than the previous locales, so you can easily get surrounded and die.
Most encampments have more than one minor boss and they tend to have more complicated skills to handle. You’ll get fewer runes for completing one of these – from 14,000 to 17,000 – than an Evergoal’s boss, but you can find a camp making them more of a solid option. The only advantage of prioritizing them is that you don’t have the risk of having to deal with detrimental effects common in Ruins (another key location you can visit around level 5) like poisoning.
How to get more runes in Elden Ring Nightreign
To get more runes in Elden Ring Nightreign, focus on defeating bosses and stronger enemies, as they yield the highest rune rewards. Early in the game, farming Evergaols is highly effective since bosses there scale with your level and drop substantial runes along with buffs that increase rune acquisition. Clearing key locations like Great Churches, forts, and main encampments can also provide good rune gains, but prioritizing bosses and high-value enemies like Crucible Knights will maximize your rune intake. Additionally, using consumables such as Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot and equipping relics that boost rune acquisition can further enhance your rune farming efficiency. Remember, runes are earned by killing enemies and bosses, and looting chests offers only a minor rune boost, so focusing on combat is crucial for fast leveling and upgrades.
While following the order we suggested and visiting all these places can guarantee you are strong enough to face the first major boss, there are a few things you can do to speed up the process.
The best way to help your leveling process is to look for a special buff. In Limveld, you can activate different kinds of buffs or heal yourself by using certain fields. You can spot them without too much trouble since they are small glowing areas (see the map image above).
One specific type gives you a buff that increases the number of runes you acquire for a period of time. They are characterized by having yellow fireflieson a small tree and are more commonly found in the lower area next to Castles.
There are other methods that aren’t as consistent as the buff. By using the Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot, a consumable item you loot from corpses or chests, you can increase the number of runes you obtain for a brief period.
It is also possible to receive a passive ability from a boss or a Gold Scarab talisman, both of which increase the number of runes you receive as long as you have them. However, you can’t predict when any of these might pop during your run. So, if you want to be certain in your methods for reaching higher levels as quickly as possible, considering looking for yellow fireflies.
Which rune farming spot in Nightreign offers the highest gains
The rune farming spot in Elden Ring Nightreign that offers the highest rune gains is the Evergaols, where defeating a boss can yield 20,000 or more runes. However, accessing an Evergaol boss requires being at least level 4 and possessing a Stonesword Key to summon the boss, making it a situational but highly rewarding location. If you don’t have a Stonesword Key, Main Encampments are a strong alternative, offering around 14,000+ runes with multiple enemies and minor bosses, suitable for players level 5 and above. Other notable spots with high rune yields include Forts (around 15,000+ runes) and Great Churches (around 9,360+ runes), but Evergaols top the list for sheer rune output per run.
Which rune farming spot in Nightreign yields the most runes per hour
The rune farming spot in Elden Ring Nightreign that yields the most runes per hour is the Evergaols, especially when accessed with a Stonesword Key to summon bosses that scale to your level. These bosses drop large rune caches and provide a permanent Rune Acquisition buff for the expedition, making them the most efficient for high rune gains per hour. Additionally, clearing Crucible Knights in the central castle, which drop over 10,000 runes each, combined with rune acquisition boosting trees nearby, further maximizes rune farming efficiency. While the map changes each run, prioritizing Evergaols and key boss fights offers the highest rune yield per hour in Nightreign.
