FromSoftware's upcoming The Forsaken Hollows expansion for Elden Ring: Nightreign introduces poison swamps across the Limveld map, new Nightfarer classes, and an expansive Shifting Earth event. The DLC launches on December 4, 2025, promising a harder but fair challenge for veteran players. It aims to recapture the fresh confusion of the base game while adding vertical exploration and side quests.
Overview
Elden Ring: Nightreign, FromSoftware's standalone multiplayer co-op action game, receives its first major expansion, The Forsaken Hollows, on December 4, 2025—or December 3 in some regions depending on platform and location. Priced at $15 USD, the DLC is included with the Deluxe and Collector's Editions of the base game. It expands the Limveld sandbox with significant geographical changes, new bosses, and gameplay hazards designed to test seasoned Nightfarers.
New Content and Features
The expansion introduces two new playable Nightfarers: the Scholar and the Undertaker. To unlock them, players must defeat the first boss, Tricephelos, and speak to the Iron Menial at Roundtable Hold, who relays a message from the Small Jar Merchant.
A key addition is the Balancers boss expedition, featuring two new bosses. Unlocking it requires defeating at least two bosses (including Tricephelos) and having the new Nightfarers available. Accessing it involves heading to the chapel behind the Small Jar Merchant, which also triggers the new Shifting Earth event, The Great Hollows.
The Great Hollows offers a more expansive area with fields, city ruins, sprawling mines, caves, tunnels, and elevated points requiring light platforming. Side quests involve visiting objectives to alleviate a new curse. Swamps now cover parts of Limveld and The Great Hollows, slowing movement and inflicting status effects like poison, scarlet rot, and frenzy, emphasizing navigation and risk assessment.
Difficulty and Design Intent
Director Junya Ishizaki explained the approach in an interview with GameSpot: "[The Forsaken Hollows is] definitely a little bit harder, but it's not ridiculous or anything like that, but that's still within what we would consider to be a fair challenge." He added that the content reflects the base game's initial launch confusion, allowing veterans to "have a bit of that feeling like they had when they first played Nightreign, where there's still a bit that they're trying to figure out."
Ishizaki also addressed the inclusion of swamps, a FromSoftware staple: "[Before you realize] someone's come up with the idea, it's already sort of in there, and it's just sort of taken a life of its own." New field bosses and reworked points of interest further enhance replayability for experienced players.
