Understanding how to level fast in Nightreign is one of, if not, the most important aspect to succeeding in a run.
This is because it represents the best way for your Nightfarer to scale in power. Leveling up:
Higher rarity weapons require a certain level
Blue requires level 3
Purple requires level 7
Legendary require level 9
Leveling raises all stats such as Health, Stamina, and FP (mana)
Increases your overall survivability and damage output as a result
To give you an idea of how much leveling up empowers your character, here's a look at the Wylder's leveling progression.
Level
Hit Points
Focus Points
Stamina
1
220
55
54
2
400
60
58
3
460
65
60
4
520
70
64
5
580
75
68
6
640
80
72
7
700
85
76
8
760
90
80
9
820
95
84
10
880
100
88
11
940
105
92
12
1000
110
96
13
1060
115
100
14
1120
120
104
15
1180
125
108
To see the scalings of all characters, head to our Nightfarer guides!
If you fall behind in levels it's incredibly difficult to make a comeback as every hit you take will become less forgiving and enemies become stronger.
It may be possible to still succeed if your mechanics are insane but you wouldn't have trouble leveling up if that were the case (no offense!).
Stick around for the rest of this guide as we'll explain how leveling works and tips + tricks to help you level faster in Nightreign.
How Leveling Works
To level up, you must acquire Runes by defeating enemies and then spending them at a Site of Grace.
When you visit a Site of Grace, you'll be able to see how much Runes you need to level up next if you don't have enough.
Stronger enemies will drop more runes - but be careful because if you die, you will LOSE a level.
After dying, you can go back to retrieve your dropped Runes. However, if you die again on the way back to getting those Runes, they will disappear permanently.
Also keep in mind that some enemies will take your dropped Runes, but you can kill them to drop it.
Runes can also be used at vendors so be sure to weigh your options carefully.
Tips and Tricks
Understand how long a Day is
Every second counts in Nightreign, you really don't have the time to smell the roses.
If you're an absolute beginner, consider planning around Churches and Sites of Grace.
Churches will allow you to increase your overall max Flask charges while Sites of Grace will replenish your resources and act a home base to return to when you're ready to level up.
You should also make note of points-of-interest like Spectral Hawk Trees and Spiritstreams to give you more options to traverse the map in a pinch.
Focus weak enemies until level 3
Your initial health pool is tiny so many enemies can one-shot you early on. Once you hit level 3, you'll be able to use Blue rarity items and much better suited to ramp up to Field bosses.
Field bosses grant you character perks and a solid amount of runes to keep your early momentum going.
As you continue to collect loot and weapons, be sure to know strong Build possibilities for your class - you might not always find best-in-slot but you should know viable alternatives.
Use Consumables and cooldowns efficiently
If you don't have a big fight coming up, don't be stingy in using your ability cooldowns and Consumables.
Have some a spare Fire Pot? Use it to clear a group of weak enemies faster rather than hacking them down.
Are you a Wylder? Use your Claw Shot to engage enemies faster! After all, it only has a 6-7ish second cooldown.
Time the Rune increase buff for before a major boss
As you explore, you will sometimes find activatable flora that grant you a temporary buff to the amount of Runes you gain for a short duration.
If possible, try to save using it until before a major boss fight to maximize your Rune gain.
Have target levels for the end of each day
Finally, you'll want to set target benchmarks for each of the Days.
As general rules of thumb, try to get as close as you can to level 7-8 for Day 1 and levels 11-12 for Day 12.
It will take practice, and some days are better than others, but if you can keep that pace you should be in good shape for your Day 3 Nightlord.
