Elden Ring Nightreign stats reveal FromSoftware survivorship bias, suggesting its “most deadly” world bosses had their numbers padded by bruised loot goblins

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Ahead of the release of its new ‘Forsaken Hollows’ downloadable content, Bandai Namco, the publisher of Elden Ring, shared some player statistics from FromSoftware’s popular multiplayer game. The data quickly sparked debate, especially regarding which field bosses are the most challenging. Surprisingly, the boss players find most deadly isn’t even among the top three.

The exact method for ranking these bosses isn’t public, but it seems to be based on how many players they’ve defeated. Bandai Namco simply asked which field boss posed the greatest risk, implying a focus on player deaths.

When comparing this game to others, tracking player deaths is probably the simplest way for FromSoftware to gauge difficulty – it’s similar to how we determine which animals are most dangerous to people. This approach works okay for ranking bosses, but it’s not a very accurate way to measure true danger, especially further down the list.

Here’s how Elden Ring Nightreign field boss deadliness stacks up according to Bandai’s data.

  • 1 – Royal Carian Knight
  • 2 – Draconic Tree Sentinel
  • 3 – Erdtree Avatar
  • 4 – Bell Bearing Hunter
  • 5 – Pot-Troll
  • 6 – Black Blade Kindred
  • 7 – Death Rite Bird
  • 8 – Ulcerated Tree Spirit

It’s strange that Bell Bearing Hunter, widely considered the hardest boss in the game, isn’t ranked higher. I suspect it’s because we tend to focus on bosses players actually died to, rather than the ones that were so intimidating people simply gave up trying. We remember the defeats, but not the times people were too scared to even begin.

If we’re judging boss difficulty by how many players they defeat, it’s likely the Bell Bearing Hunter is avoided altogether. In a time-sensitive game like Nightreign, players quickly realize fighting him isn’t worth the effort, so they don’t even try. Just a few encounters with him will teach you to spend your time on other challenges. It’s actually quite remarkable that he’s the second-most deadly boss, considering how feared he is.

I think I’ve figured out why the Royal Carian Knight won this contest, and it’s a bit unexpected. While it’s a challenging enemy, it’s not particularly remarkable on its own. However, everyone knows that Noklateo, a city that appears with certain map variations in Nightreign, is the best place to find powerful, legendary gear. It’s full of enemies that can drop legendary items, guarantees you’ll get one at the end, even gives you a second chance at life, and lets you copy your best weapons. And where do you find the Royal Carian Knight? Right outside Noklateo.

This powerful knight appears in multiple areas, and the difficulty of all these bosses seems to be linked to how often and where they show up. It’s interesting that one of the most-chosen Shifting Earths includes the toughest boss. I can’t say for sure, but I suspect special goblins are boosting the knight’s kill count and reputation.

The Draconic Tree Sentinel seems like a fair choice for second-most difficult boss. It can instantly defeat many enemies, and its long-range attacks are surprisingly dangerous. While some skilled players were surprised by the Erdtree Avatar’s difficulty, remember how often you fight it – that adds up to a lot of opportunities for it to defeat you. The same is true for the Pot-Trolls. They have frustratingly long reach and often appear in groups of four due to a specific map layout, inflating their total number of defeats.

I see difficult bosses as similar to venomous snakes in Australia. Most won’t attack unless provoked, but some are definitely more dangerous than others. If I had to choose, I’d rather deal with a less potent snake than a highly venomous one.

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2025-12-01 21:41