Elden Ring Nightreign is finally adding its missing duos mode on July 30

While Nightreign's 5 million players have clearly proven the Elden Ring experiment a successful one, the co-op spinoff has still had one glaring flaw: No duos. Today, we know when Nightreign's original sin will finally be set right. Two-player mode is coming with patch 1.02, which will arrive in less than a week.

Bandai Namco announced the incoming duo expeditions with an official trailer for two-player mode, which in itself proves how wild of an absence this was. Shortly before Nightreign's launch, even game director Junya Ishizaki acknowledged that only recognizing one person or three people was an oversight.

"We kind of overlooked and neglected the duos aspect," Ishizaki said, "but this is something that we are looking at and considering for post-launch support."

In the meantime, looking for some casual Nightreign time with a buddy has meant subjecting ourselves to the whims of the matchmaking pool for your forced third wheel. It's hard for one random player to entirely tank a run, but the added unpredictability can be a drag when you and your friend are just looking for some laidback Nightlord-hunting.

There have been, let's say, "unsanctioned" alternatives while we've waited for official support, however. Less than 24 hours after launch, preeminent Seamless Co-op mod creator Yui released an easy-to-use Nightreign duos mod. Its only problem, however, is that it uses a different save file to spare you from any retribution from Bandai Namco's online services, meaning you'd have to work with a separate pool of relics and unlocks.

Luckily, we only have to wait a few more days for the official two player mode. Nightreign patch 1.02 will add duo expeditions, as well as "quality-of-life UI improvements, including more Relics filtering options." And the timing couldn't be better: It'll arrive just as we're gearing up to face the next round of Everdark Sovereigns. It's almost like they plan these kinds of things.