Elden Ring Nightreign’s rarest merchandise may very well be hiding the sport’s largest secret

The primary time I noticed the Twine Finish on the bottom in Elden Ring Nightreign, I used to be vexed. The enigmatic merchandise had a easy description: “Achieve entry someplace.”

The place is someplace, you would possibly ask? Good query. I didn’t discover out throughout that playthrough. Painfully, I relinquished the merchandise on the ground within the ready space earlier than the ultimate boss on that run to make room for articles with extra instantly obvious makes use of, like therapeutic. Each single teammate stopped what they have been doing to examine the thing, which silently exhibited its rarity with a golden hue. Basic Souls expertise proper there: One thing, someplace, might be interacted with, if solely you would work out the precise circumstances. The sport will helpfully not let you know. Solely your curiosity or willingness to Google the reply can remedy the thriller.

I’ve stored a watch out since then, however to a point, it felt ineffective. Nightreign’s design forces gamers to zip by means of the map from icon to icon within the hopes of build up a personality who can stand up to a Nightlord on the third day, which the sport enforces by periodically corralling gamers with a Fortnite-like storm. However whereas Nightreign’s pacing is speedier than that of the unique Elden Ring, the intricate degree design and secrecy stay. Areas can have winding hallways resulting in deep chambers with a number of pathways and doorways that you could be by no means see in case you have any sense of urgency. One time, I dove deep into the magma space of the map solely to search out that the extent prolonged so deeply, I couldn’t work out how you can get out earlier than the storm claimed my runes.

In my 60 hours taking part in Nightreign, I’ve seen the Twine Finish precisely as soon as. I figured that the chance of ever determining what to do with it was small, so I just lately allowed myself to look it up. Seems, it opens a door close to the fortress residing in the midst of the map. In it, there are three Sacrificial Twigs, which forestall you from shedding runes or ranges whenever you die.

Taking a look at an image of the door itself, it’s evident why I couldn’t work out the place the Twine Finish would possibly result in. The world is poorly lit and barely seen. I had most likely run by it many occasions, on most of my runs — the fortress is a well-liked vacation spot — with out ever realizing it.

Puzzle solved… form of. Determining what it does, hilariously sufficient, was the best a part of the Twine Finish debacle. Gamers now know that the Twine Finish will generally drop in church buildings that home additional flask costs, however hell if anybody can get the merchandise to drop once more.

“I discovered considered one of these on my very first recreation and within the fifty-something video games since I’ve by no means seen one other one and now I’m going insane,” reads one touch upon the Fextralife web site detailing the merchandise.

“I wish to say I’d looted over 50 by that point, so it isn’t a quite common drop in any respect,” one other remarked.

“In 44 hours, I’ve solely discovered 2,” says a touch upon a YouTube video in regards to the merchandise.

Sacrificial Twigs are helpful objects, to make sure, however they’re not essentially vital to beating Nightreign. A part of what’s driving the curiosity right here is that lore junkies are satisfied that the Twine Finish would possibly do greater than merely open a door.

As one participant factors out, there’s a crypt space within the recreation the place an outline reads, “The Methods of Reducing level to the deep woods, bestow branches to those that are worthy and clever.” One other description in the identical space says, “The Methods of Reducing level to the deep woods, bestow branches to those that wander and roam.”

Theoretically, each of those textual content snippets might not solely reference particular areas of the map, however they may be hooked up to characters within the recreation. The descriptions are tied to coffins that gamers speculate belong to every particular person class. The Recluse, for instance, is described within the recreation as a witch of the deep woods. Crucially, this space additionally seems to have one thing that resembles an altar, and it’s accompanied by textual content that claims, “To atone for the primary sin, we elect to change into the inspiration.”

It may simply be stuff to set the ambiance; whereas Souls video games do have distinct narratives, you possibly can’t assume each little bit of textual content is an intentional tie to a wider storyline. Generally, descriptions will battle with each other or plainly not make sense within the bigger context of the sport. Nonetheless, it is a lot of references to branches, all hailing from an apparently necessary place within the recreation. The altar is suggestive; is the participant alleged to do one thing there? What occurs if gamers carry the twigs to the areas on the map?

Twigs are clearly helpful, however why does it offer you three? A single participant can solely carry two branches, as it’s labeled as a Talisman, not a traditional merchandise. If the sport expects you to share the twigs, is there an opportunity one thing would possibly occur if particular characters maintain these branches in the precise space of the map? It’s the type of factor that sounds like a basic Souls puzzle.

“I believe there’s some strategy to get these three branches to those 3 spots throughout the Roundtable,” muses a Redditor who’s satisfied there’s a deeper thriller afoot.

One other factor that’s fueling this quixotic search is the data that being given a legendary merchandise merely prevents you from shedding runes doesn’t really feel like a correct reward for one thing this unlikely.

“I consider that to unravel this Easter egg, you should have a gaggle with particularly Recluse, Wylder, and Duchess, and occur to get a twine drop and open the key door,” one other Redditor says. “Then everybody must equip the branches. After that? Who is aware of?”

The hunches may very well be proper, and there may very well be a wilder secret no Nightreign participant has discovered but. Then once more, Souls video games aren’t above merely trolling gamers. Famously, the unique Darkish Souls provided gamers a selection to start the sport with a pendant that gamers satisfied themselves should be tied to another elaborate factor within the recreation. Later, everybody came upon that the builders simply wished to prank gamers. Nightreign can be slated to get updates, so it’s potential that regardless of the twigs do — if certainly they do something — won’t be within the recreation but.

We will’t know till somebody efficiently checks out the myriad theories floating round. Good luck getting the merchandise to drop, although. Even in the event you do get the twigs, you’ve received to outlive lengthy sufficient to carry the branches to the precise areas, or finish a run with the objects nonetheless in your possession. Most runs aren’t profitable, and dying is a continuing in Nightreign. Woof.

Maybe one Redditor places it greatest after they wrote, “I want I had a constant group simply to run across the map to try to discover cords, however to whoever can do that first and see if there actually is extra to the key door, you’ll be a legend!”