Elden Ring Nightreign Player Pushes Damage-Stacking Weapon to Its Limit — Then It All Falls Apart

Exploring the Power and Peril of Damage Stacking in Elden Ring Nightreign

In the challenging world of Elden Ring’s Nightreign, players are constantly hunting for the most powerful gear to defeat formidable enemies, especially the Nightlords. Among the countless weapons available, some stand out due to their unique mechanics and potential for massive damage. One player recently took this to an extreme, pushing a rare weapon to its absolute limits — only for everything to come crashing down in dramatic fashion.

The Weapon of Choice: The Marais Executioner Sword

This daring experiment centers around Japanese YouTuber mintius, who acquired the Marais Executioner Sword — a weapon known for its ability to increase attack power upon defeating enemies. Typically, its boost is modest, but mintius aimed to maximize its potential by carefully manipulating enemy encounters and spawn conditions.

How the Experiment Unfolded

Given that Nightreign features a time limit due to an encroaching storm, the opportunity to let the weapon’s power snowball is usually limited. However, mintius managed to find the perfect scenario: repeatedly defeating enemies in the Wormface encounter for about an hour, with the sword actively increasing attack power after each kill.

According to translation from Automaton Media, mintius was able to push the sword’s attack power to the damage cap of 9,999 after defeating 725 enemies. The last recorded damage output was an astonishing 63,375. But after defeating the 727th enemy, everything changed — mintius suddenly couldn’t deal any damage at all and was killed instantly.

Theories Behind the Crash

Many believe that mintius hit an “overflow”—a bug or glitch where the game’s damage calculations exceeded the maximum limit, causing the attack value to wrap around from the upper limit back down to zero. This phenomenon is similar to classic programming bugs where exceeding a value causes it to reset, leading to unexpected behavior.

Further Testing and Future Attempts

Despite the setback, mintius plans to continue experimenting with the Marais Executioner Sword. Future tests might include using plunging attacks on powerful enemies like the Flame Chariot to see just how much damage the sword can dish out before hitting a limit. The results promise to be both wild and informative for dedicated players interested in damage mechanics.

Advice for Fellow Players

For the average player, this story serves as a reminder not to get too greedy when farming for rare weapons like the Marais Executioner Sword. While it’s undoubtedly a powerful tool, attempting to push it to its absolute maximum can lead to unexpected crashes and wasted time. Enjoy the weapon’s strengths without risking your progress in pursuit of an unattainable high score.

Helpful Resources and Tips

If you’re looking to improve your game, there are plenty of strategies for defeating all eight Nightlord bosses. Additionally, guides exist for unlocking exclusive Nightfarer classes like the Revenant and Duchess, as well as options for changing your character setup to suit your playstyle.

Eric is a freelance writer specializing in gaming content.

Alex "Pixel" Petrov

Gaming journalist & industry insider. Covers the latest game releases, updates, and behind-the-scenes dev stories. Knows every Easter egg, patch note, and upcoming title worth hyping. Always gaming, always analyzing.