Elden Ring Nightreign’s first DLC, The Forsaken Hollows, drops December 4, 2025, and GameSpot just revealed exclusive gameplay footage of the Undertaker, one of two new playable Nightfarers. This strength and faith hybrid character has a passive ability called Confluence that lets her activate her powerful trance state for free whenever teammates pop their ultimates, creating momentum-shifting combo chains that could completely change how coordinated teams approach boss fights.
The $15 DLC adds two new Nightfarers (Undertaker and Scholar), two new Day 3 bosses, the return of Dark Souls legend Artorias the Abysswalker, a new Shifting Earth event with cursed crystal mechanics, and additional points of interest across Limveld. For players who’ve exhausted Nightreign’s base content after its May 30, 2025 launch, The Forsaken Hollows promises to reignite interest through fresh character mechanics and boss encounters designed for experienced players.
How the Undertaker Actually Works
The Undertaker’s character skill is called Trance, officially described as Loathsome Hex. When activated, her running speed matches dashing without consuming stamina while her toughness and combo attack power increase. Her standard dodge improves to a dodge step, giving her better invincibility frames and repositioning options during combat.
If the Undertaker’s ultimate art gauge is full when she activates Trance, she can consume it for massive bonuses: attack power increases further, movement speed goes even higher, and she gains the ability to dodge one lethal blow just like Wylder’s signature ability. The interesting twist is that activating Trance instantly refills her stamina, meaning aggressive players can spam attacks to potentially stagger enemies faster.
Her ultimate art pulls an uncanny bone from her body and launches her through the air like a missile toward the target, unleashing a powerful attack. GameSpot described it as long range, high damage, and usable mid-air, making it perfect for closing gaps and dealing burst damage. The distance covered requires practice – popping the ultimate when you’re too far results in whiffing completely, which wastes the charge at the worst possible moment.
The Confluence Passive Changes Everything
Confluence is where the Undertaker becomes potentially meta-defining. Whenever any other Nightfarer activates their ultimate, the Undertaker gets a brief window to use Loathsome Hex (her Trance ability) completely free. This means when teammates pop their ultimates, she can activate her buffed state without consuming her own ultimate gauge or waiting for cooldowns.
The implications for coordinated teams are massive. In a three-player squad, if both teammates use their ultimates in quick succession, the Undertaker can activate Trance twice for free while still having her own ultimate available for a third activation or saving for clutch moments. This creates damage stacking scenarios where the Undertaker maintains her buffed state almost continuously during crucial DPS windows.
GameSpot specifically noted that Undertaker pairs extremely well with Duchess to stack incredible amounts of damage very quickly through these momentum-shifting chains. The ability rewards communication and coordination in ways most Nightfarers don’t, making her potentially dominant in organized groups but potentially underwhelming for solo players using matchmaking with random teammates.
The Scholar Provides Support Utility
While the Undertaker focuses on aggressive damage output, the Scholar fills a support role through enemy analysis and linked damage mechanics. His passive ability, Bagcraft, allows storing additional resources and leveling up the power and effects of items by using them repeatedly. This makes him excellent for teams that rely on consumables and want to maximize their effectiveness.
The Scholar’s character skill is Analyze, which studies enemies to gain combat advantages. The longer you observe an enemy, the better your advantage becomes, though the exact mechanics haven’t been fully detailed. This encourages patient gameplay where the Scholar hangs back initially to gather information before engaging.
His ultimate art, Communion, creates the most interesting mechanic: damage gets shared by linked enemies, and he can heal threaded allies. Against bosses with multiple phases or encounters featuring several enemies simultaneously, the Scholar can link them together so damage to one hurts all, dramatically increasing effective DPS. The healing component makes him valuable for keeping teams alive during extended fights.
Scholar Works Best Against Multiple Enemies
GameSpot’s exclusive footage revealed that Scholar pairs nicely with almost any Nightfarer but reaches peak usefulness against multi-enemy bosses. If you’re fighting the new bosses, Gladius, or Everdark Libra, the Scholar becomes invaluable for managing multiple targets simultaneously through his linking mechanics.
However, GameSpot noted they don’t think situations will exist where having multiple Scholars in an expedition proves useful. His support role fills one party slot effectively, but stacking Scholars likely provides diminishing returns compared to bringing diverse damage dealers and utility characters. This suggests FromSoftware designed him as a one-per-team support rather than a stackable force multiplier.
The Scholar’s dexterity and intelligence focus makes him a caster archetype, contrasting with the Undertaker’s strength and faith melee approach. This gives The Forsaken Hollows two distinct playstyles catering to different player preferences and team compositions.
Artorias Returns as a Boss
The biggest fan-service moment in The Forsaken Hollows is the return of Artorias the Abysswalker from Dark Souls as a boss encounter. Bandai Namco’s recent statistics released ahead of the DLC showed that among all the returning legacy characters in Nightreign, players still demonstrate massive love for Artorias, suggesting FromSoftware knew bringing him back would generate excitement.
Artorias serves as one of the two new Day 3 bosses, the most challenging encounters reserved for the final day of each expedition. The other confirmed Day 3 boss involves an armored legion, though specific details remain limited. Additional field bosses have been teased but not fully revealed, leaving surprises for launch day discoveries.
For context, Artorias was one of Dark Souls’ most beloved boss fights, featured in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC. His tragic backstory, aggressive moveset, and iconic design made him a fan-favorite that’s been referenced throughout FromSoftware’s subsequent games. Bringing him into Nightreign’s alternate timeline narrative makes sense given the game explores what-if scenarios within the Elden Ring universe.
The Forsaken Hollows DLC Content Breakdown
Beyond the two new Nightfarers and boss encounters, The Forsaken Hollows introduces a new Shifting Earth event called the Forsaken Hollows zone. Shifting Earth events are special conditions where the map undergoes massive geographical changes, creating unique environmental hazards and opportunities. This particular zone features cursed crystals and corrupted terrain mechanics that alter standard navigation and combat strategies.
New points of interest have been added throughout Limveld, the alternative version of Limgrave that serves as Nightreign’s primary playable area. These include deeper cave and swamp POIs intended for Day 2 gameplay, featuring boss encounters in risky locations. Examples include Cuckoo Knights areas, Miranda Blossom zones, and locations associated with nomads.
Fresh adversaries populate the overworld, including the Demon Prince returning as a nighttime boss. Curseblade Labyrinths have been spotted, along with divine warriors making appearances. Mohg returns in his original form rather than the lesser version from the base game, and Death Knights are back in action alongside a new POI featuring Ancestral Followers.
Base Game Gets Updates Too
The Forsaken Hollows isn’t just paid DLC – the December 4 release includes free updates to the base game. Merchant-style camps now feature smithies that allow players to reroll Ash of War abilities once per visit, potentially refreshing passives as well. This gives players more agency over their builds without requiring complete restarts.
Additional quality of life improvements and balance adjustments likely accompany the DLC launch, though specific patch notes haven’t been released yet. FromSoftware typically uses DLC releases as opportunities to refine base game systems based on months of player feedback and data analysis.
Community Response and Concerns
Reddit discussions about the Undertaker reveal expressed excitement about Confluence’s potential while raising concerns about balance. Multiple players noted that coordinated teams with voice communication could abuse the free Trance activations to maintain near-permanent uptime on damage buffs, potentially trivializing content designed around specific DPS checks.
Others pointed out that the Undertaker’s effectiveness depends heavily on team composition and coordination, making her potentially dominant in organized groups but underwhelming in random matchmaking. This could create balance issues where she dominates high-level play while struggling in casual settings, a problem FromSoftware has dealt with in previous multiplayer titles.
Some veterans who’ve put 300+ hours into Nightreign expressed hope that the DLC’s new content provides enough variety and challenge to justify returning. The randomization of items and bosses keeps the core loop fresh, but after hundreds of runs, even slight updates can dramatically change the experience through new character interactions and boss mechanics.
Pricing and Availability
The Forsaken Hollows launches December 4, 2025, priced at $15 USD across all platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. This represents FromSoftware’s first paid DLC for Nightreign since the game launched May 30, 2025.
The pricing sits in line with typical expansion DLC from major publishers, though some players questioned whether two new characters, a handful of bosses, and one new zone justify $15. The answer likely depends on how much content remains engaging after hundreds of hours in the base game and whether the new additions significantly alter the meta or just add incremental variety.
For players who bounced off Nightreign after the initial launch but enjoyed the core gameplay, The Forsaken Hollows provides a natural re-entry point. The December release timing positions it perfectly for holiday gaming sessions when people have time off and might want reasons to return to games they shelved earlier in the year.
What This Means for Nightreign’s Future
The Forsaken Hollows represents FromSoftware’s continued commitment to supporting Nightreign as an evolving live service experience. The game launched with Everdark Sovereigns updates in June 2025 that added harder versions of Nightlords with new phases, demonstrating the studio’s willingness to provide substantial free content alongside paid expansions.
If The Forsaken Hollows succeeds commercially, expect more DLC expansions adding new Nightfarers, bosses, and zones throughout 2026. FromSoftware has historically supported successful titles for years – Dark Souls 3 received two major expansions, Elden Ring got Shadow of the Erdtree, and Bloodborne maintained active player bases long after launch.
The question is whether the roguelike extraction format can sustain long-term engagement better than FromSoftware’s traditional single-player adventures. Nightreign’s 5 million units sold and consistent player activity suggest the model works, but maintaining momentum requires regular content drops that justify ongoing investment from the community.
FAQs
When does Elden Ring Nightreign’s Forsaken Hollows DLC release?
The Forsaken Hollows DLC launches December 4, 2025, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam priced at $15 USD.
What is the Undertaker’s Confluence ability?
Confluence lets the Undertaker activate her Loathsome Hex (Trance) ability for free whenever any teammate uses their ultimate. This creates momentum-shifting combo chains where she can maintain buffed states almost continuously during coordinated team play.
What does the Scholar do in Elden Ring Nightreign?
The Scholar is a support character who analyzes enemies for combat advantages and uses his Communion ultimate to link enemies together, making them share damage. He can also heal allied Nightfarers during his ultimate, making him valuable for multi-enemy boss encounters.
Is Artorias really in the Nightreign DLC?
Yes. Artorias the Abysswalker from Dark Souls returns as one of the two new Day 3 bosses in The Forsaken Hollows DLC, bringing the legendary knight into Elden Ring Nightreign’s alternate timeline narrative.
What else is included in The Forsaken Hollows?
The DLC adds two new Nightfarers (Undertaker and Scholar), two new Day 3 bosses including Artorias, new field bosses, a new Shifting Earth zone with cursed crystal mechanics, new points of interest throughout Limveld, and free base game updates including smithy reroll options.
Do I need the DLC to play updated Nightreign?
No. The December 4 update includes free base game improvements like new POIs, enemies, and smithy mechanics available to all players. The DLC content (new Nightfarers, specific bosses, Forsaken Hollows zone) requires the $15 purchase.
How many people play Elden Ring Nightreign?
Elden Ring Nightreign sold 5 million units since launching May 30, 2025, and topped May sales charts across all platforms. Recent statistics released by Bandai Namco show millions of active players continue engaging with the game months after launch.
Can the Undertaker work in solo play?
The Undertaker can function solo but reaches peak effectiveness in coordinated teams. Her Confluence passive requires teammates to use ultimates, meaning solo players can’t trigger the free Trance activations that make her potentially dominant in group play.
Conclusion
The Forsaken Hollows positions Elden Ring Nightreign for a strong finish to 2025 by addressing the content fatigue veteran players experienced after hundreds of hours in the base game. The Undertaker’s Confluence mechanic introduces genuine innovation to Nightfarer design, rewarding team coordination through free ability activations that could dominate organized play while potentially struggling in random matchmaking. The Scholar provides necessary support utility for multi-enemy encounters, creating natural synergy with aggressive damage dealers like the Undertaker when teams coordinate properly. Artorias’s return delivers the fan service FromSoftware excels at, bringing beloved legacy content into new contexts that honor the source while serving fresh gameplay purposes. The new Shifting Earth zone with cursed crystal mechanics, additional POIs designed for Day 2 risk-taking, and returning bosses like Mohg in his proper form all contribute to expanding Limveld beyond the boundaries established at launch. Whether $15 justifies these additions depends entirely on how invested you already are in Nightreign’s roguelike extraction formula – dedicated players will find substantial reasons to return, while casual fans might wait for sales or skip entirely. GameSpot’s exclusive character breakdowns provide the clearest picture yet of how these new Nightfarers function in actual gameplay, suggesting FromSoftware learned from base game balance issues and designed DLC characters with specific team roles rather than creating generalists that work everywhere. The December 4 launch timing capitalizes on holiday gaming sessions and positions Nightreign as a compelling cooperative option when friends gather online during winter break. If The Forsaken Hollows succeeds, expect FromSoftware to maintain regular content drops throughout 2026, continuing the live service support that’s kept Nightreign relevant since May. For now, the Undertaker’s momentum-shifting combo potential and Artorias’s return provide compelling reasons to dive back into the eternal night plaguing Limveld.