The video where YouTuber Syrobe kills Elden Ring Nightreign's final boss solo with a bell is paused right now, but I can still hear the ringing. I just watched them fling orbs at this Night Aspect guy for eight minutes straight with one of the most annoying items I've ever seen.
It works, but at what cost?
The Wraith Calling Bell in Nightreign is much stronger than it was in Elden Ring. It's an item you can find at almost any gravesite and only costs a small amount of your mana bar to use. Ringing it casts a magic projectile that lazily floats towards whatever enemy you've targeted. My YouTube recommendations tell me it's extremely overpowered and breaks the game, but it's easily outclassed by most spells as long as you build for them during your run. Like a lot of things in Nightreign, consistency is key, and that seems to be the real reason why players are hyping this thing up right now.
Syrobe put the Bell strat to the test by using it against the final Nightlord in a solo run as the witch Recluse. Other than some relics that boost their damage a little bit, they used nothing but the bell. I won't lie: It's pretty funny to watch every enemy in the game try to survive what is effectively 20 slow-moving bubbles hitting their face. I just can't stand the ring ring ringing you're forced to hear every time you activate it.
Against the final boss, Syrobe rings the bell about 80 times to cut through his big health bar. Their patience is impressive, especially given how much dodging you have to do against that guy's brutal attacks. Syrobe eats through three revive items trying to squeeze in enough ringing to bring him down. Their win doesn't prove the bell is overpowered, but it does prove it's no slouch, and strong enough for an entertaining challenge run—as long as you aren't driven mad by the noise.
It's not our first example of an item most people ignored in Elden Ring getting buffed in Nightreign. Players have already discovered that boluses, for example, give you permanent resistance buffs instead of just cleansing whichever status effect you're afflicted with. I've also found that throwing knives deal considerably more damage than they ever did before.
When you're racing against the clock in Nightreign, everything needs to hold its own, so I'm not surprised FromSoftware juiced some of the weaker items. I wouldn't call the Wraith Calling Bell OP, but I would advise my fellow Elden Ring players to not be afraid to pick up anything in Nightreign that looks remotely useful and give it a try. Chances are it's stronger than you remember.