Crater |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Affinity |  Fire |
| Final Boss | Magma Wyrm |
| Rewards | Legendary weapon upgrade Weak  Crater Reward Strong Crater Reward |
|
A sublime smoldering crater. An ancient temple built to honor the smithing arts that were acts of the divine. Eruptions over the ages have laid ruin to most, but one last ancient forging art remains, close to the crater. According to legend, he who braves the treacherous heights will forge a legendary weapon. |
|
Crater is a Shifting Earth in Nightreign. Shifting Earths are expedition modifiers that affect the geography of Limveld, boss and enemy spawns, challenges, and a secret that poses an opportunity to gain unique rewards.
Nightreign Landscape Changes
This shifting earth causes a giant crater to appear in the northern section of the map, with pools, rivers, and waterfalls of lava flowing in the area. A path beginning in the west leads downward through buried passageways and past fearsome enemies, ultimately dropping into an underground temple. This is the only shifting earth to feature a Church within its borders, and an unusual one at that: it features a merchant and a smithing anvil.
The edges of the crater become craggy cliffs thrusting up into the sky. While the western edge is largely the same as normal Limgrave, the eastern edge is infested with Fingercreepers and home to a Flying Dragon. Neither mine in the northern half of the map is available when Crater is active.
ER Nightreign Crater Bosses
- Three Fire Prelates
- Two Demi-Human Queens
- Red Wolf of the King Consort
- Flying Dragon
- Valiant Gargoyle
- Fallingstar Beast
- Magma Wyrm
Nightreign Shifting Earth Crater Map
Crater Guide for Elden Ring Nightreign
The Overworld
There are numerous bosses in and around the top layer of the crater, but they're spread out enough that it's hard to fight all of them and find the secret of the crater. Whichever direction you approach the crater from, it's probably worth killing the bosses along the way, but be aware that the Valiant Gargoyle and Fallingstar Beast are quite defensive, so they may take a while unless you have a good source of 
Strike or elemental damage, respectively.
The two Demi-Human Queens are easy to kill, but they're also easy to reach while night is descending, so they may be best to save for later. The church can also easily be reached after defeating the Night 2 boss, so it's not crucial to route it into your initial path through the crater.
Reaching the Forge
You can enter the crater from nearly any direction and reach the path through the underground to the forge. In the north, just to the west of the spirit hawk tree, you can drop down onto a pathway over lava. In the northeast, you can drop down through a crack in the ground to just past the same pathway. But the most common way to start the journey is in the southwest, by that spirit hawk tree, where you can head down a fallen pillar to the very beginning of the path. Although this entrance does take a bit longer, especially if you're not coming from the south or west to begin with, it takes you past two Fire Prelates who aren't named bosses but will drop dormant powers. These are quick to kill and well worth the rewards.
Once you've passed the second Fire Prelate, cross the lava river to the east using the fallen masonry. (This is also where you'll drop in if you take one of the northern shortcuts.) Once you're across, head down the path past some Thorn Sorcerers and turn left, where you'll see the Fire Prelates (a named boss this time) guarding a fog gate. Kill them for a Weak Crater Reward, then head through the door and down the corridor beyond it. You'll pass several Flame Chariots; resist the temptation to kill them, since they don't drop anything special and give relatively few runes. Go through the door at the end of this path, then continue south past Fingercreepers and a grace until the path ends. Drop down to the southwest, where the floor is partially destroyed onto a series of pillars, then turn back northeast once you reach the bottom.
Here you'll find a temple where a Magma Wyrm will emerge from the floor and attack you. Defeat it to receive a dormant power and to unlock the Special Armament Strengthening table. This unique smithing table can upgrade a single weapon to Legendary, bringing a common weapon to +3, an uncommon weapon to +2, or a rare weapon to +1. It won't add a Legendary passive bonus, but it's still a great way to get a weapon with a strong skill to the highest tier of power. The first time you upgrade a weapon to legendary, you'll unlock the 
Once you've upgraded your weapon, turn around and head for the spirit hawk tree at the edge of the temple. This will take you right to the location of the Night 2 circle, so if possible try to time it so that you finish off the Magma Wyrm just as the day ends.
Crater Strategy, Notes, and Tips for Nightreign
- The crater's reward is particularly good for lowering the variance of runs. It reduces the amount they depend on getting good random weapon drops by guaranteeing a Legendary that the player has control over. In exchange, the ceiling on the power level of that Legendary is lower than those that are randomly dropped.
- Because the drops in this shifting earth are most likely to be Fire, it's a solid choice for the Sentient Pest expedition.
- You can guarantee a strong weapon with a particular affinity by using a relic that adjusts your starting weapon's damage type, status buildup, or skill, and then upgrading that weapon all the way to legendary in the forge. This may be useful for expeditions like Tricephalos and Darkdrift Knight that are particularly difficult to beat without hitting their specific weakness.
- Crater Shifting Earth can now appear in the Deep of Night mode. This change was added in the 1.03.1 Patch Notes. This causes some Bosses, including the Final Boss, to appear as their Red variant. Red variant bosses can drop Red-tier Dormant Powers.
