Elden Ring Nightreign matchmaking finds players then fails to start

Elden Ring Nightreign matchmaking searches forever or fails after finding players. Restarting sometimes works, which makes the cause hard to pin down.

How should region, cross-play, party size, firewall, and co-op matchmaking, Easy Anti-Cheat, the 60 FPS cap, and controller conflicts be tested before assuming the servers are down?

Start with party consistency.

1. Everyone restarts the game and launcher.
2. Confirm matching versions, cross-play settings, region, and privacy.
3. Make the player with the most open NAT the party leader.
4. Remove VPNs and pause background traffic.
5. Test solo queue for every member.
6. Rebuild the party one player at a time.

For Elden Ring Nightreign, include co-op matchmaking, Easy Anti-Cheat, the 60 FPS cap, and controller conflicts. If solo works for all but the full party fails, compare the last player added before reinstalling anything.