Technologies

Elden Ring Nightreign Director Interview: He Solo’d Every Boss and So Can You

In part one of our interview with Junya Ishizaki, the director of the Elden Ring spinoff answered our burning questions about the game.

Elden Ring launched in 2022 to great acclaim as the culmination of director Hidetaka Miyazaki’s successes with the Dark Souls and Bloodborne series of games. When calls went out in studio FromSoftware to explore more modest spinoff projects, Elden Ring combat director Junya Ishizaki raised his hand — and proceeded to direct the just-released Elden Ring Nightreign, the multiplayer-only spinoff game.

Nightreign is an ambitious attempt to distill the Elden Ring experience into under-an-hour repeatable runs killing enemies and mini-bosses before taking on a unique and deadly Nightlord main boss. Faster, meaner and in some ways tougher than the game it originates from, Nightreign is FromSoftware’s expedition into multiplayer. And while it inherits a lot from Elden Ring, the studio’s next game was developed to scratch a very different player itch — a co-op pressure cooker to produce the highest and lowest moments that Souls games are known for.

There are a lot of ways the games differ, but Nightreign’s director summarized it by saying «I would describe the Elden Ring experience as more of a journey while Nightreign’s experience is more of that on the battlefield.»

In part one of my interview with Ishizaki about his directorial debut in Nightreign, we chatted about what was kept and cut from Elden Ring, how the map design changed over development and whether he himself beat every boss in the game he helmed.

(Yes, he solo’d them all.)

Read more: Elden Ring Nightreign Beginner’s Guide: The Essentials for Not Getting Wrecked in the First 5 Minutes

David Lumb: With its co-op focus and fast pace, Nightreign’s gameplay is different than Elden Ring. What was kept and what was cut from the latter?

Junya Ishizaki: While it’s not limited to Elden Ring, with a lot of our games, we keep this sense of exploring the world and traversing the world. Building on these RPG systems and growing your character was definitely an element of Elden Ring that we wanted to keep and transfer into Nightreign.

I think in terms of, not what what we cut because boss battles are still a large part of Elden Ring, but more as a good focus point on where we had to deliver something new for Nightreign — we wanted these large-scale boss battles to feel really epic and really unique to this game.

DL: What’s it like to tweak the difficulty in a FromSoftware game, especially one built upon Elden Ring’s specific challenge level from the lethality of everyday enemies to the biggest bosses?

JI: These challenging elements to our games are always under scrutiny and that we’re always looking at closely. We felt like we needed to step back and review that process for difficulty balancing with Nightreign in particular … being a multiplayer-focused title, the player is constantly evolving and changing their power level on the fly during any one session. So you really need to focus on what that power curve and that difficulty curve looked like within each session quite closely.

Of course, as I say, we do look at this approach carefully from title to title. It’s not just an all-in, make-it-hard approach. That said, Elden Ring, we did go too far in some areas and I feel we didn’t go far enough in other areas. So we’re always learning from our projects and past experiences, trying to create a game that feels fair and satisfying and gives you a feeling of accomplishment when you do overcome these challenges.

DL: Hold on — I think everyone would like to know your opinion on which bosses in Elden Ring went too far and which didn’t go far enough!

JI: This is not necessarily related to the difficulty specifically, but I think in terms of the battle system with Elden Ring — which is something I was quite involved in the development of that game — where the player feels too pressured or too restricted in what they can do within that framework and that setting, I feel like that created a lot of the feeling of difficulty for a lot of players.

That is somewhere that we felt we were able to release the valve a little bit with Nightreign and allow for more player freedom and to have a more liberating experience. So with Nightreign, I think really leaning into something new was at the heart of this game, even though we’re using Elden Ring as a base, that really gave us a lot of room to explore these battle systems and explore how the player traverses the world. Really really lean into creating a fresh experience there that doesn’t feel like it’s too tied to the original game in that sense.

DL: Speaking of traversal, I can’t be the only one who’s wondered this: Was there ever fall damage in the game? I love dropping down from a great height.

JI: There was actually fall damage at one point, very momentarily. We did study it and try it for a bit but we felt like the game could exist without it. We felt like the game stood up on its own and didn’t need it in order to feel thrilling or to feel trepidation of other areas of the game.

DL: What are other things players might be surprised to discover had been cut during development or refined into something totally different?

JI: I’d say one example of this is the terrain changes that occur in Nightreign. At one point, there was the idea to have different maps — specific set maps for when you play each session. At one point, we had the idea to try to collapse this into a single map, and instead have these different layers and transformative changes that occur during that session.

We thought this could be a new challenge that could set it apart from previous and existing games, give us a new challenge to work with on Nightreign and provide a different gameplay experience as well to extend the breadth of each play session by having this layering feature to the terrain features.

We found this added very different gradients to the exploration and to the way each session pans out. When we tried this, we felt like there’s no one right answer. There’s no one correct way you can do this, it just depends on the game. And this presented a new and interesting challenge for us and a way to, again, spice up the new gameplay in Nightreign.

DL: That’s interesting and sounds like a lot of development in the game experience. Was Nightreign ever considered as a full-size game like Elden Ring?

JI: In a word, no, Nightreign was always considered a smaller, lighter title in comparison to the likes of Elden Ring. But to give a little bit of context to that, during the development of Elden Ring, I myself expressed interest in wanting to direct my own title, and this was picked up by Miyazaki and the other staff at From and I was given this opportunity.

Being a new director, we wanted to take things from a smaller scale and a smaller perspective and start with a strong base with Elden Ring. Of course, having had this experience as director, I’d very much like in the future to start completely from scratch and have my own project and see where it can go scope-wise, so I’m looking forward to that opportunity as well.

DL: Now that you’ve finished Nightreign, what’s your favorite part of it?

JI: There’s a lot of nice things to choose from, a lot about the game I like. But I think one thing we’ve honed in on with Nightreign in particular is the feeling of being both approachable and light in terms of an RPG, but also quite involved and quite in-depth if you want it to be. I think this is an area that we’ve managed to hit quite well.

DL: And what have you and FromSoftware learned from making Nightreign?

JI: I think there’s a lot of experience we can take forward into future projects. One thing in particular I think has been really successful and really valuable to work with is this new approach to characters and character design, both from a gameplay and narrative perspective.

I think this is a really unique aspect of Nightreign and it’s something I think could be developed even further with our future titles, characters feeling unique and interesting in terms of the way they play, the way their controls translate to their unique game feel, and also how you as a player approach and explore their backstories and narratives. These are areas that make Nightreign stand apart from other titles and I think this is something we could definitely improve on and refine going forward.

DL: Great. Last question: I beat the final boss yesterday and I just want to know — have you, in fact, beaten every boss and the final boss yourself?

JI: Yes, I can hopefully give you reassurance to know that I have beaten all of the game’s bosses. I’ve seen everything it has to offer, both in multiplayer and as a solo player. So I want you and players to know that this is very possible and I want you to have the confidence to give it a try yourself.

And in terms of secrets and a narrative as well, I think there’s a lot there for players who were invested in that side of it to uncover and I hope you look forward to experiencing everything that Nightreign has to offer.

DL: Just to clarify: you solo’d every boss in the game?

JI: Yes. And without relics.

Elden Ring Nightreign launched on May 30 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles for $40. Owning the original Elden Ring is not required to play this game.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Sept. 19, #361

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Sept. 19, No. 361.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

The yellow category in Connections: Sports Edition is always easy, but today’s seemed like a no-brainer. The other categories aren’t too tough, either, especially for midwesterners. But if you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Spotted on TV.

Green group hint: Unusual team names.

Blue group hint: Air Jordan.

Purple group hint: The Big House is another one.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Things seen on an NFL sideline.

Green group: NBA teams with singular nicknames.

Blue group: Teams Michael Jordan played for.

Purple group: Big Ten stadiums.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is things seen on an NFL sideline. The four answers are benches, chains, coaches and medical tent.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA teams with singular nicknames. The four answers are Heat, Jazz, Magic and Thunder.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams Michael Jordan played for. The four answers are Barons, Bulls, UNC and Wizards.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Big Ten stadiums. The four answers are Beaver, Camp Randall, Ohio and Spartan.

Technologies

AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods Pro 2: Should You Upgrade?

Here’s a look at the key differences between Apple’s latest flagship noise-canceling earbuds compared with their predecessor.

With Apple releasing the AirPods Pro 3, folks who already own the AirPods Pro 2 may be wondering whether it’s worth upgrading.

A good portion of my full review of the AirPods Pro 3 is devoted to discussing the differences between the two models. Here’s how I conclude my review: «Several new features, such as Live Translation, will be available for the AirPods Pro 2, so many AirPods Pro 2 owners won’t feel the need to upgrade right away. But if you’ve been using AirPods Pro 2 for a while, it might be worth passing them on to a friend or relative and upgrading to the Pro 3s.»

Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025

AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods Pro 2: What’s stayed the same

The AirPods Pro 3’s list price is still $249 (£219, AU$429). That wasn’t a given with all the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration tariffs, but we’ll see how the price shakes out on Amazon and other retailers, where AirPods models often get discounted.
The AirPods Pro 3 are powered by Apple’s H2 chip, the same one that powers the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 and Beats Powerbeats Pro 2. Rumors pointed to an H3 chip, but that didn’t happen.
No new color options; white is still the only option.
The AirPods Pro 3 stick with Bluetooth 5.3, just like the AirPods Pro 2 (though some true-wireless earbuds have already jumped to Bluetooth 6.0).
The buds still feature a MagSafe charging case with USB-C and wireless charging. However, no USB-C charging cable is included (Apple also left out a charging cable with the AirPods 4, though most people have a USB-C cable).

AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods Pro 2: What’s changed

While they look similar to the previous model, the AirPods Pro 3 have been redesigned. Their geometric shape has changed a bit, with the angle of the bud shifted. They’re the same length but slightly smaller width-wise, slightly larger depth-wise and weigh a touch more (5.55 grams vs. 5.3 grams on the AirPods Pro 2).
The AirPods Pro 3 come with new foam-infused silicone eartips in five sizes, including a new extra-extra small size.
The AirPods Pro 3 are equipped with heart-rate sensors like the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2.
2x better noise cancellation compared to the AirPods Pro 2, according to Apple.
While the AirPods Pro 3 have 10.7mm drivers like the AirPods Pro 2, those drivers have been upgraded to take advantage of the buds’ new multiport acoustic architecture, which moves more air through the buds and improves sound quality.
The AirPods Pro 3’s microphones have been upgraded.
The AirPods Pro 3’s Transparency Mode has been enhanced.
New Live Translation feature (also available for the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 series, but not the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2).
The AirPods Pro 3’s battery life has improved to 8 hours with noise cancellation on and up to 10 hours in Hearing Aid mode with transparency on. The AirPods Pro 2 are rated for up to 6 hours of battery life with noise-canceling on.
Instead of being IPX4 splash-proof like the AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods Pro 3 got an IP57 rating (so did their charging case), which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water. (I poured water on them and they survived just fine.) They’re also dust-resistant.
The AirPods Pro’s case now includes a U2 chip, boosting Precision Finding range in the Find My app by 1.5x (requires an iPhone 17). The AirPods Pro 2’s case has the U1 chip.
Like with the AirPods 4, the AirPods Pro 3’s case no longer has a button for Bluetooth pairing. You simply double-tap on the front of the case to put the buds into Bluetooth pairing mode. The AirPods Pro 2 have a physical button for Bluetooth pairing.

The AirPods Pro 3’s new geometric shape and eartips are among the biggest changes

While the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Pro 2 look very similar at first glance, they do feel different in your ears. That’s because the AirPods Pro 3’s new eartips are made of silicone but infused with foam toward the front of the ear tip. Also, the angle of the bud has been adjusted so the eartips point more directly into your ear canals.

If you’re someone who couldn’t quite get a good fit with the original AirPods Pro or Pro 2, the new design could very well help you get a snugger, more secure fit. The fact is that a tight seal is crucial for optimal sound and noise-canceling performance, and Apple redesigned the eartips to make sure users could hear the sound and noise-canceling upgrades with the AirPods Pro 3.

Alas, the new AirPods Pro 3 tips don’t work with earlier AirPods Pro models; they attach differently.

Do you really need the AirPods Pro 3’s heart-rate monitoring?

I personally don’t feel that heart-rate monitoring is a must-have feature, particularly if you already own a smartwatch with the feature. But for some folks, it will be a welcome addition. The heart-rate sensors have been custom-designed for the AirPods Pro 3 (they’re Apple’s smallest heart-rate sensors) and aren’t identical to the ones in the Powerbeats Pro 2, but the experience using the heart-rate monitoring feature is the same.

How much better are the AirPods Pro 3 than the AirPods Pro 2?

It’s always hard to put an exact percentage on how improved one generation of a product is to the next, and there are always some people who will prefer the older model for whatever reason. But for me, the AirPods Pro 3 are about 20-25% better.

While they both use the H2 chip, the newest AirPods have been redesigned on the outside and inside, and most people should notice the improvements to sound quality, noise cancellation and fit.

If you own the original AirPods Pro, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend upgrading, especially if your battery life has decreased.

If you’re happy with your AirPods Pro 2, there’s no hurry to upgrade unless your battery life has become an issue (some people have the older AirPods Pro 2 with a Lightning connector for charging instead of USB-C). The previous generation supports most of the same features as the AirPods Pro 3 (aside from heart-monitoring), including Live Translation and Hearing Aid mode.

It’s worth pointing out that the AirPods Pro 3 offer slightly better speech clarity for Hearing Aid mode (with Automatic Conversation Boost) and better battery life — up to 10 hours with Transparency and Hearing Aid mode. That makes the AirPods 3 the better choice if you have small to moderate hearing loss and plan to use your AirPods as hearing aids.

AirPods Pro 2 vs. AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods 4 with ANC spec comparison

	AirPods Pro 2	AirPods Pro 3	AirPods 4 with ANC
Weight (each earbud)	0.19 ounce (5.13 grams)	0.20 ounce (5.5 grams)	0.15 ounce (4.3 grams)
Weight (case)	1.79 ounces (50.8 grams)	1.55 ounces (43.99 grams)	1.22 ounces (34.7 grams)
Water resistant	IPX4	IP57	IP54
Sensors	Skin-detect sensor, Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor	Skin-detect sensor, Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor, heart-rate sensor	Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone
Chip	H2	H2	H2
Conectivity	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3
Active Noise Cancelation, Transparency mode	Yes	Yes	Yes
Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio	Yes	Yes	Yes
Voice Isolation, Personalized volume	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery life	Up to 6 hours +30 hours with case	Up to 8 hours +24 hours with case	Up to 5 hours +30 hours with case
Wire in box	Yes	No	No
Launch Price	$249	$249	$179

Technologies

The Autumn Equinox Is on Monday. Here’s What It Is and What to Know About It

The equinox marks the arrival of fall in the Northern Hemisphere on Sept. 22.

Are you ready for fall? The official arrival of fall is the autumnal equinox, which occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on Monday.

After a hot summer, the September equinox marks a welcome shift in the seasons for many folks. But what exactly is an equinox? It’s all about Earth and its relationship with the sun. Here’s how to understand, visualize and celebrate the autumnal equinox.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

When is the fall equinox?

This year, the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere falls on Monday, Sept. 22. If you want to be extra specific and mark it on your calendar, mark it for 11:19 a.m. PT.

Dates can shift slightly for equinoxes depending on the year, but it’s always around this time in September. The next vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere takes place on March 20, 2026, and will mark the start of spring.

What is the autumn equinox?

The meaning of equinox is right there in the name: a combination of the Latin words for equal and night.

«There are only two times of the year when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a ‘nearly’ equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes,» the National Weather Service said in an explainer about the seasons.

The Earth spins on an axis (imagine a line running from pole to pole) and the planet sports a jaunty 23.5-degree tilt. The tilt is what gives us seasons. As the Earth orbits the sun, the tilt means some areas of the planet get more direct sunlight than others. That’s how it can be summer in the Northern Hemisphere (tilted toward the sun) and winter in the Southern Hemisphere (tilted away from the sun) at the same time. During the equinox, the sun shines straight at the equator and gives equal love to the two hemispheres.

Other planets that are also tilted on their axes of rotation also experience equinoxes. The time scales can be very different, however. An equinox on Saturn only comes around about every 15 Earth years. That means each season lasts for over seven years on Saturn. It’s even wilder on Neptune, which has seasons that last decades. We can be grateful for the relatively short seasons on our planet.

What does an equinox look like?

Wherever you are on Earth on the day of the equinox (and whether it’s a spring or fall equinox, depending on which hemisphere you live in), the sun will rise as close to east and set as close to west as possible, making it a foolproof compass. Go outside and watch the sunset and sunrise, and make a note of the landmarks in front of the sun. That way, you’ll always know what exactly is west and east.

The two annual equinoxes also feature the fastest sunrise and sunset of the year, with the sun taking just a few seconds to appear and disappear. That’s because this is the steepest angle at which the sun rises and sets during the year.

How is an equinox different from a solstice?

As with equinoxes, solstices are associated with Earth’s tilt, but instead of daylight and nighttime being even, the days and nights are at their extremes. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, while the summer solstice is the longest. This year, the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere falls on Sunday, Dec. 21.

What does the equinox look like from space?

Earth-watching satellites up in orbit have a unique view of the equinox. A NASA Earth Observatory video shows Earth from space and how the positioning of the sun’s light shifts with the changing of the seasons. It’s a great way to visualize what’s happening during our planet’s orbit around the sun.

Celebrating the autumn equinox

Equinoxes aren’t like eclipses or meteors. There isn’t a big wow moment when you see something spectacular. The fall equinox this year will look like any other day, but it’s a handy way to mark the changing of the astronomical seasons. You can go around and declare, «It’s officially the first day of autumn!» How you celebrate is up to you. Here’s a suggestion: Put on your favorite sweater, go for a scenic foliage drive, sip a pumpkin spice latte and keep an eye out for those giant Halloween skeletons.