Speedrunning Nightreign: How the 1.03.2 Update Affects Routes and Glitches

Speedrunning Nightreign: How the 1.03.2 Update Affects Routes and Glitches

Hook: If you race Nightreign leaderboards, you already know patches can instantly reshape routes, invalidate tricks, and force rewrites of category rules. Patch 1.03.2 (late 2025 / early 2026 rollout) is one of those updates — and this guide breaks down exactly what changed, what to test first, and which speedrun categories will likely need formal rule adjustments.

Quick summary: the patch impact in one breath

Patch 1.03.2 makes significant gameplay adjustments: targeted buffs to Nightfarer classes (Raider, Executor, Revenant), raid-event softening (Tricephalos, Fissure in the Fog), multiple relic/spell fixes, and a handful of bug corrections that directly touch exploitable mechanics. For speedrunners that means immediate route changes for runs that relied on raid pressure or specific relic interactions, possible rework for boss-manipulation setups, and a need for leaderboard moderators to clarify version rules — fast.

Why this matters to speedrunners (the pain points)

Speedrunning communities work on razor-thin optimizations; a single frame of extra damage or a visibility tweak can flip a skip from "reliable" to "deadly". Runners juggle:

• Route stability vs. patch churn
• Exploitable mechanics that might be fixed
• How leaderboards treat pre-patch WRs
• Tool-assisted runs that rely on old RNG or physics states

What 1.03.2 changed — the headlines

From the official patch notes and community reports in late 2025:

Decreased the continuous damage received by player characters during the "Tricephalos" Raid event. Adjusted the visibility during the "Tricephalos" Raid event.

The patch also:

• Buffed Raider and Executor class skills and tuned Revenant damage scaling
• Adjusted several relics and spells (casting windows, cooldowns, damage calculations)
• Fixed a persistent collision/clip bug used in a handful of high-tier skips
• Nerfed or rebalanced some passive items (notably changes that affect sustained DPS)

Immediate effects on popular routes

Below are the most affected route archetypes and why. Use this as your triage checklist if you hold a top-50 time or are grinding PBs.

1. Raid-centric routes (Any% routes that lean on Tricephalos timing)

Routes that intentionally lure the Tricephalos raid to manipulate raid timing or exploit the pre-patch heavy-visibility state are now less reliable. Reduced continuous damage and improved visibility alter the time window where runners used panic heals or forced dismount cancels to clip through geometry.

• Some risky sequences that used the raid to mask input timing now lose their edge and may take longer heals/animations, costing seconds.
• Strategies that used the raid's heavy screen shake to desync enemy aggro may be less effective.

2. Boss-manipulation and damage-burst setups

Buffs to Raider and Executor change encounter pacing. If your route relied on one-shotting a phase with a class-specific skill or stacking relic DPS at a very narrow timing, expect differences in how fast a boss enters next phase or gets staggered.

• Some fights may now be faster if you adapt to the new damage ceilings. Re-evaluate stagger windows.
• Runners using Revenant builds should re-test late-stage damage ramping; minor scaling changes can push or delay phase breaks.

3. Relic/spell route branches

Several relics and spells had casting window or cooldown corrections. Any route that sacrificially picks a relic for a glitchous interaction (like swapping mid-cast to desync animation cancel windows) must be tested.

• Previously available frame-perfect cancels may be impossible; alternate relic choices could be faster overall.

4. Clip-based movement tech

The patch fixed a collision/clip bug used in some early-game skips. That directly impacts a handful of top times and the runners who practiced those sequences daily.

• Expect a short-term leaderboard reshuffle as runners adapt or revert to fallback skips.
• Tool-assisted routes need TAS authors to update scripts and reconfirm frame inputs.

Which glitches were fixed, which were preserved, and what's ambiguous

Not every exploit was removed. The patch targeted a few collision and timing bugs tied to raid events and relic-cast inconsistencies. Community testers have logged three categories:

1. Fixed exploits: certain geometry clips and an input-queue exploit during the Tricephalos event.
2. Tweaked mechanics: raid damage/visibility and some relic cooldown math.
3. Preserved or side-effect resilient tricks: several multi-step movement cancels still work but require slightly different timing.

Which speedrun categories should expect rule changes?

Not all categories will need formal changes, but several will be affected enough that moderators and communities should act. Below I outline likely candidates and recommended rule language updates.

Any% (current leaderboards)

Impact: Moderate to high. Any% runs that exploit raid-timing to skip content or rely on the fixed clip will need route revisions.

• Require patch version tagging for leaderboard submissions (e.g., "1.03.1 or earlier" vs "1.03.2+").
• Temporarily allow a mixed-era category or split leaderboards until the meta stabilizes.

Glitchless

Impact: Low. By definition glitchless runs shouldn't depend on the affected exploits, but spell/relic balance changes could alter class choices.

• Clarify what counts as a "glitch" post-patch if new emergent behaviors appear.

Low% / Minimal Relics

Impact: Moderate. Some low% strategies leveraged relics or raid states to preserve low-item constraints.

• Redefine allowed relic interactions and be explicit about fixed-clip replacements.

Tool-Assisted / TAS

Impact: High but contained. TAS communities will need to recompile and re-check scripts because physics/collision corrections change deterministic inputs.

• Force TAS entries to list game version and emulator builds. Require frame-by-frame proof of adapted inputs.

How leaderboards should handle pre-patch WRs and submissions

There are two fair approaches that tournaments and sites like Speedrun.com have used in similar cases (notably in 2023-2025 with frequent Soulslike DLC patches):

• Split leaderboards by patch version when changes materially alter routes or available glitches.
• Keep a single leaderboard but tag runs with the patch and let community moderators decide on acceptance.

My recommendation: if a fixed exploit is central to top-10 times, create a patch-split leaderboard. That preserves historical runs while giving a clear competitive field for the updated meta.

Practical, actionable checklist for runners — what to do first

This is a runnable checklist for runners who want to triage their routes within 48 hours.

1. Tag your runs: Label all VoDs and uploads with the game version used.
2. Re-run critical sequences locally: Start with the clip/raid segments you used in WRs and see if behavior changed.
3. Isolate changes: Toggle builds or revert to pre-patch saves (if possible) to compare timing windows and collision states.
4. Benchmark class swaps: If you're a Raider/Executor/ Revenant main, run single-boss practice loops to re-evaluate DPS windows.
5. Communicate: Post a short findings thread in the game's speedrun Discord and ping leaderboard moderators; consider organizing a streaming mini-event or joint testing stream to reproduce issues live.
6. Update splits conservatively: Until sequences are stable, use fallback segments that are slower but reliable to avoid losing runs on inconsistent tricks.

Advanced strategies to exploit the patch (for those hunting new optimizations)

While some fixes remove exploits, the patch opens new speed potential if you look for it.

• Leverage buffs: Raider/Executor buffs may make alternate boss orders faster. Re-run routing tools to see if swapping early bosses saves time.
• New stagger windows: Increased damage ceilings can allow earlier stagger chains. Test different relic combinations to maximize early-phase burst.
• Raid-softening as a tool: Reduced damage from Tricephalos means you can bait raids without the same survival cost—use this to create safer timing windows for mid-game cancels.
• Hybrid relic sets: If a fixed-clip is gone, multi-relic DPS combos might be faster than pure movement tech in the new meta.
• Consider machine-assisted routing work: recent experiments in 2025 used genetic algorithms and reinforcement learning on local hardware and cloud builds — if you run optimizers or local models, see how small inference nodes and local tooling can speed up test cycles.

Tool-assisted implications and TAS best practices

TAS authors should regard 1.03.2 as a deterministic shift. Physics tweaks mean re-recording and proving frame-perfect inputs. Best practices:

• Recreate pre-patch sequences in the new build to measure delta frames.
• Publish diffs: Show before/after frame lists and the rationale for any newly-added inputs.
• Archive old TAS versions and label them by patch to preserve history.

Community coordination: how to handle disputes and verification

Patch-driven meta changes are as much a social problem as a technical one. Here’s a checklist for moderators and runners to reduce friction:

• Mandate patch version in run submissions.
• Form a short-term review panel (3 experienced runners + 1 moderator) to vet disputed runs.
• Create an "adaptation period" of two weeks where community testers can submit evidence that a trick still functions.
• Host joint testing streams where top runners reproduce sequences live — transparency accelerates consensus; consider interactive overlays and low-latency streaming tools described in modern guides for streamers and event producers like interactive live overlays and micro-event playbooks.

2026 trends and what to expect next

Looking at late-2025 / early-2026 patterns across speedrunning communities, a few trends are clear and relevant:

• Developers increasingly ship targeted fixes rather than sweeping rewrites, which creates a series of small but meaningful meta shifts rather than one huge rework.
• Speedrunning communities are standardizing patch-tagging and version-split leaderboards — expect Nightreign communities to follow. If you manage a leaderboard, improving site metadata and submission UX (see the 30-point SEO audit checklist) helps make version tags easy to surface.
• Tool-assisted runs will accelerate discovery of new routing possibilities using machine-assisted optimization tools (genetic algorithms and reinforcement learning), which had major wins in 2025 optimization experiments for other titles. See experiments using local inference and small compute nodes for faster iteration: Run Local LLMs on a Raspberry Pi 5.

That means runners who invest time in quick adaptation, solid documentation, and community coordination will gain a competitive edge over those who wait for the meta to settle.

Case study: a hypothetical route rebuild (quick example)

Consider an Any% route that used the pre-patch Tricephalos raid to mask a mid-game geometry clip. After 1.03.2 the raid no longer sustains the same state and the clip fails.

1. Immediate action: revert to last working segment or optional boss route for consistency.
2. Research: test whether the raid-softening can be used to bait a different timing that allows a micro-glitch elsewhere.
3. Alternate optimization: if the clip is truly gone, re-evaluate the tradeoff between spending ~8–12s on a safer route vs. retooling a new movement tech that saves 5–10s but requires more RNG control.

Most runners will prefer the reliable route until a new stable trick emerges — patience often beats constant risky adaptation.

Final takeaways — what every Elden Ring runner should remember

• Test first: Don’t chase PBs without confirming critical sequences.
• Tag runs: Always annotate game version in VODs and submissions.
• Communicate: Post findings in Discord and Speedrun.com threads; coordinated testing accelerates rule consensus.
• Prepare for leaderboard splits: Advocate for clear, versioned categories if fixed exploits materially alter the meta.
• Explore buffs: Buffed classes can open faster routing if you adapt builds and relic choices aggressively.

Call to action

If you run Nightreign: start a 48-hour test loop for your critical sequences, tag your VoDs with "1.03.2" or earlier, and post raw clips to the community testing thread. If you moderate leaderboards, propose version-tag rules this week to avoid chaotic submissions. Want a checklist PDF, a splits template, or a community testing schedule to coordinate live streams? Join our Nightreign speedrun Discord (link in the comments) and drop your findings — we’ll help synthesize a moderator-ready proposal.

Keep racing — adapt fast, document everything, and let the meta evolve with transparency.

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