Collecting Traces of Night: My Journey to Unlock Elden Ring Nightreign's Final Boss

Let me tell you about my obsession with collecting these little bad boys called Traces of Night in Elden Ring Nightreign. I've been grinding expeditions like crazy since the game dropped in early 2025, and man, these seemingly innocent key items are actually the gateway to the final showdown!

When I first got my hands on a Trace of Night after beating Gladius (that pompous first Nightlord who thinks he's all that), I was like, 'Cool, another random item for my collection.' Little did I know this thing would be my golden ticket to the endgame content. Talk about burying the lede, FromSoftware!

The funny thing about these Traces is that no matter how many Nightlords you absolutely demolish, you'll only ever have ONE in your inventory. It's like some weird magical absorption thing going on - kill more Nightlords, power up your single Trace. But here's the kicker - the game doesn't tell you squat about this happening! No fancy counter, no glowing effect, nada. It's all happening behind the curtain like some wizard of Oz shenanigans.

The Magic Number is Four

So I spent days wondering, 'How many of these suckers do I need?' Well, buckle up, buttercup, because the answer is four. You need to merge four Traces of Night (by defeating four different Nightlords) to gain access to the final boss expedition. And let me tell you, that was NOT obvious at first!

After Gladius, you've got three more Nightlords to choose from. I went with Morvenia first because her design gave me the heebie-jeebies and I wanted her gone ASAP. Then I tackled Kraventhul and finally that sneaky bastard Malifax. Each one dropping their Trace into my singular item like it's some kind of supernatural Pez dispenser.

The whole time I'm thinking, 'Am I making progress? Is this doing anything?' It's like shouting into the void and expecting the void to give you a thumbs up. Spoiler alert: it doesn't.

How to Track Your Nightlord Kills

Now, if you're as anal-retentive as I am about tracking progress (and let's face it, who isn't when you're dumping 100+ hours into a game), there IS actually a way to see how many Nightlords you've beaten:

1. Drag yourself over to the roundtable (you know, that place where NPCs judge your fashion choices)

2. Open the expeditions menu (try not to get distracted by all the shiny things)

3. Click on the "Targets" tab

4. Look for black cuts through the boss icons - these show which ones you've already beaten

It's worth noting that beating the same Nightlord multiple times won't get you extra Traces. I learned this the hard way after fighting Gladius seventeen times thinking I was being clever. Talk about a waste of time! The game was probably laughing at me behind my back. "Look at this dummy, doesn't he know he needs DIFFERENT Nightlords?" Yes, game, I get it now. Thanks for nothing.

The Final Showdown

Once you've collected all four Traces (or rather, powered up your single Trace with four Nightlord essences), you'll unlock the final expedition against the Night Aspect. This is the big kahuna, the head honcho, the final boss that'll roll the credits when defeated.

The expedition itself feels similar to others, but there's this palpable sense of finality to it. Like you're walking into a room where you know someone's about to drop a truth bomb on you that'll change everything. And boy, does it deliver!

I won't spoil the actual fight (I'm not THAT much of a jerk), but prepare yourself for something epic. The Night Aspect makes the previous Nightlords look like they were just warming up the stage for the main act.

My Thoughts After Finishing

Looking back at my journey through Elden Ring Nightreign, I find it both brilliant and infuriating how obscure the Trace of Night mechanics are. On one hand, it creates this sense of mystery and discovery. On the other hand... would it kill them to add a little counter? Just a tiny number? Maybe a little glow that gets brighter with each Trace?

But I suppose that's the FromSoftware way - never explain anything directly, make players piece things together, and somehow make us love them for it. It's like being in an abusive relationship with a game developer. 'Thank you sir, may I have another cryptic game mechanic?'

So if you're struggling through Nightreign right now, wondering what the heck these Traces do, now you know. Four different Nightlords, one powered-up Trace, final boss unlocked. Easy peasy lemon squeezy... if only someone had told me 50 hours ago!

And remember, as we say in the gaming community: Git gud or die trying! 😎

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go touch grass for the first time since this game came out.