Here’s a quick guide on how Nightingale’s multiplayer will work at Early Access launch.
ALONE IN THE REALMS?
In Nightingale, you have the choice to venture forth alone or within a group of up to 6 players. Nightingale is a PvE survival crafting game with no PvP or friendly fire within the Realms at Early Access launch. By default, you will not encounter other players in your Realm unless you’re in a co-op party or set your Realm to ‘Public’.
Public Realms
A ‘Public’ Realm allows players to see everyone else occupying that specific Realm on their map. Anyone who joins these Public Realms can complete encounters independently and interact with structures that other players have built. This means that anyone can help build (...or destroy) other players’ estates. You can even choose to party up with any players you encounter.
You’ll be given the option to open a ‘Public’ Realm for any realm you visit after your Abeyance (starting or home) Realm. From here, each portal archway you find or build has a Realm Card machine (where you can insert your desired combination of Realm Cards to open a portal to a new destination). It’s in the portal machine interface that you will find the option to make a Realm ‘Public’.
PARTY MECHANICS
Playing together with friends in a party is available within any Realm (‘Public’ or otherwise) outside of the opening tutorial. All players who wish to party up while playing Nightingale will first need to complete the opening tutorial segments within the Byway Realms before party invites can be sent or received. Once the tutorial is completed and you’ve arrived in your introductory Abeyance Realm, the ability to join and send party invites becomes available. At this point, you’ll be able to join friends either in their Realm or invite them to join you in yours, as well as start in-game voice chat with the people in your party.
Whether you have friends who are seasoned Realmwalkers or friends who are new to the game, that’s okay too. There are no restrictions in terms of the level of player you can group up with when playing cooperatively - just keep in mind that lower-level players may need a bit more assistance during difficult encounters!
Once you’re in a party and sharing a Realm with other players, then you can begin your adventure together. Here are a few things you can expect:
Establishing Your Home
If you and your party dream of sharing a Realm to call home, then there are a couple of things you’ll need to do. Players can set their ‘Respite Realm’ (aka home Realm) by placing down an ‘Estate Cairn’ (this acts as a beacon transmitting through the multi-Realmic void, always guiding you back to your estate). Each player can set one ‘Respite Realm’ at a time, so if you all want to live in the same Realm, then you’ll each need to place your cairns in that specific Realm.
Similarly, anyone who sets a location as their ‘Respite Realm’ can return to that Realm and play, regardless of whether or not their other party members are online. This way groups can play asynchronously without needing a third-party hosting platform!
To Share or Not To Share
When traveling with your friends, loot chests from completing encounters are instanced per player (unlike loot you find or gain elsewhere in the Realms). Also, if you want to trade or give items to your party members, you can do that by dropping the item you want to share. Sharing is caring!
Adventuring with Friends
Quests, on the other hand, are tracked per player. Each player will need to complete the various quest steps to progress further. However, in the majority of cases, players are always able to join friends to help each other out and are not restricted by individual completion levels. When it comes to encounters like fighting an Apex creature: if the encounter is completed with everyone in the group participating in the encounter, everyone will reap the benefits/get the same completion rewards.
We wish you the best of luck as you traverse the Faewilds of Nightingale, whether you choose to do it alone or with a choice coterie of fellow Realmwalkers. We look forward to seeing you when the portals to Early Access open on 22nd February, 2024.
