How to join friends in Elden Ring Nightreign multiplayer

Elden Ring Nightreign multiplayer is more straightforward than other FromSoftware games and there are a couple of ways to go about playing with friends. While your Expedition options are limited to playing solo or as part of a team of three, the most annoying aspect of this matchmaking system is definitely the lack of Elden Ring Nightreign crossplay. That means if you and your friends are on different platforms, you won't be able to play together (the slightly good news is that a two-player mode is coming at some point).

But if you are on the same platform, be that Steam, PS5, or Xbox Series X, there are a couple of ways you can join each other in Elden Ring Nightreign, the easiest being to send invites through your system's friends list. Otherwise, you can use FromSoftware's signature matchmaking password system which isn't the most reliable, but it's good to know how it works. Below, I've explained exactly how Elden Ring Nightreign multiplayer works and how to invite or join your friends.

When is Elden Ring Nightreign duos getting added?

The official Elden Ring Twitter account has announced that support for two-player Expeditions will be added "at a later date". It's unclear whether FromSoftware will add this heavily requested feature will arrive before, with, or after the DLC releasing this year, but hopefully players won't have to wait too long to be able to team up with a buddy rather than joining two people or suffering solo. However, there have not been any updates regarding the implementation of crossplay.

How Elden Ring Nightreign multiplayer works

The Elden Ring Nightreign multiplayer system allows you to team up with your friends in two ways, both of which are accessed by navigating to the Matchmaking Settings tab when you open the Expeditions menu at the main roundtable.

Importantly, make sure your Expedition Type is set to "multiplayer" too, otherwise you'll launch a single-player Expedition and will have to play Elden Ring Nightreign solo.

Currently, there is no two-player mode that allows you to play Nightreign with one other friend – you must either play alone or in a team of three – but, as mentioned above, it is being worked on.

Invite friends to a team session

If you want to team up with players who you are already friends with on your relevant platform (Xbox network, PSN, or Steam), here's what you need to do:

1. Open the Matchmaking Settings menu and click the Invite Members button at the top. This opens your platform's friend list.
2. Select players from your friends list and invite them. When they accept, you'll see all your names pop up in the top-right corner of your screen under the "Preparing…" heading – other players can't join you in the Roundtable Hold.
3. Choose an Expedition and make sure all other players also choose the same one. If there are three of you in the same to session together, the Expedition will begin shortly. If there are only two of you, matchmaking to find a third will automatically begin and the Expedition will start once a third player has been found.

Set a multiplayer password

If you want to take down one of the Elden Ring Nightreign bosses with players you aren't friends with on your platform of choice, you'll need to use a multiplayer password (or you could add them and use the above method!). I've explained how passwords in Elden Ring Nightreign work below:

1. Open the Matchmaking Settings tab, select the box under the Multiplayer Password heading and set a password. This can be made of any alphanumerical characters so your password could be "1234", "final boss", or "poggers", for example.
2. Next, look at the "No. of password players" setting, which determines how many players you'll match with using the same password as you.
3. If you want two players to join you for a full team of three, set this to "three players". If you want only one player to join you, meaning the third player will come from matchmaking, choose "two players". Crucially, all players must have the same setting!
4. Start an Expedition to begin matchmaking and make sure the players you're trying to team up with also pick the same Expedition.

This should eventually get you into a run with other players but it can be a bit unreliable, sometimes not finding players with the same password. I would definitely recommend befriending players to make matching as smooth as possible! Then you get straight into choosing your Elden Ring Nightreign characters.

Still trying to beat the game's first boss in the Elden Ring Nightreign Tricephalos Expedition? We've got some pointers to help you out with this hellhound and our general Elden Ring Nightreign tips should be of use too!

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