So you’re wondering why you’ve suddenly been reduced to 50% HP while trying to explore The Great Hollow map? Elden Ring Nightreign’s new Shifting Earth event has a special (and somewhat annoying) mechanic called the ‘crystal curse’, which inflicts a half-health reduction whenever you enter the castles or ruins in each corner of the map.

This isn’t ideal since those areas contain the best weapons and are the most lucrative when it comes to farming runes and gaining strength to face the new night bosses. Below, I’ll explain what you need to do to complete the event and remove the curse so you can take on those areas at full HP.

How to complete The Great Hollow in Elden Ring Nightreign

You have to shatter four crystals around the map (Image credit: FromSoftware)

Except for giving you an entirely different map, The Great Hollow event inflicts you with the crystal curse, a debuff that reduces your HP to 50% when you enter one of the region’s big strongholds or castles. You can try to take these on at half health, but it’s a challenge.

Instead, to complete The Great Hollow and shatter the crystal curse, you have to find and break four crystals around the map. There are usually eight of these altogether, and they each look like a giant glowing blue crystal, pictured below. When you get close, you’ll get the option to interact and ‘Resonate’, which will break the crystal. You’ll get the message that the great crystal (that big purple thing marked towards the centre of the map) is cracking, and with the fourth, it’ll shatter.

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You need to interact with these big blue crystals to “Resonate” and destroy them (Image credit: FromSoftware)

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The great crystal will shatter after you destroy four, marking a red flag location in the centre of the map (Image credit: FromSoftware)

You can find these crystals on the first day, which is ideal if you want time to raid castles, but if you can’t, the crystals will be marked on the map when day two starts (like formidable foes are). I recommend smashing as many as you spot while running around, and then finishing them off at the start of day two. It’s unclear whether these crystals appear randomly each run, but I would assume so.

After you’ve smashed the crystals, you’ll have to head to the broken great crystal in the center of the map, which will now be marked with a little red flag like Shifting Earth event objects usually are. Travel there and grab the buff from the central crystal, pictured below, to “Gain the power of the great crystal”.

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You’re looking for the giant crystal which is now shattered (Image credit: FromSoftware)

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Drop down onto it (Image credit: FromSoftware)

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Interact with the crystal inside to remove the curse and get a buff (Image credit: FromSoftware)

This buff breaks the crystal curse, but also increases art charge rate when you’ve used all your flasks. Now you’re free to battle through the castles, forts, and ruins in each corner of the map at full HP.

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