24
Feb

Nightingale: Realm Cards explained – How to find and use them

Nightingale Guide

One of the things that sets Nightingale apart from other survival games is Realm Cards. They play a big role in how you will progress, so it’s important to have a good understanding of them. In this guide, we will explain what they do alongside finding and using them. 

What are Realm Cards?

As mentioned, there are three main types of Realm Cards, each carrying out a distinct job. Ultimately, though, they all affect the various Realms you will travel to throughout your adventures in one way or another. The three types are Biome, Major and Minor. Let’s run through what those are. 

Biome Realm Cards

As you’ve probably guessed from the self-explanatory name, Biome Realms determine what environment the next world you explore will have. At the time of writing, there are three variants to choose from – Desert, Forest, and Swamp. 

Each has different resources to collect, creatures to battle, and distinct hazards to contend with. Depending on the card, you will also find different quests and NPCs. 

Biome Realm Cards are used in Realm Card Machines alongside Major cards. They can be crafted using an Enchanter’s Focus – more on that later.

Major Realm cards

The most simple way to describe Nightingale’s Major Realm cards is that they determine the difficulty of the world you create and effectively act as a way to gate progression. As mentioned, you will partner them with a Biome card at a portal before heading through it to explore the new world you’ve conjured up. 

With the exception of the Abeyance and Antiquarian Major cards, the others are obtained by purchasing them from the various Essence traders scattered throughout Nightingale. Aside from the two mentioned, the other Major cards are:

  • Utopia
  • Astrolabe Ascended
  • Provisioner Ascended
  • Hunt Ascended
  • Gloom Ascended
  • Herbarium Ascended
  • Antiquarian Ascended
  • Vault

Minor Realm cards

For me personally, Nightingale’s Minor Realm cards are the most interesting of the bunch. Rather than using them to create a Realm, you can change the characteristics of the one you’re already in by approaching the Realmic Transmuter and interacting with it.

In general, by using a Minor card, you will get one benefit and one disadvantage. However, that’s not always the case. For instance, the Feast Card prolongs the effects of a meal, staves off hunger for longer and helps you heal more quickly – No drawbacks there.

But, in some cases, such as with the Dragon’s Hoard Eminent card, your chances of finding rarer loot increases. Sounds great, right? Well, the downside is your damage resistance is lowered. So, it’s up to you to weigh up the pros and cons of each card before using it.

Of course, if the drawbacks prove too detrimental, you can always activate another card. The effects of a Minor card remain in place until you decide to change them. You can only have one active at a time and activating another will remove the current effect so you can’t go too wild with them. Still, they add a lot of customisation, allowing you to adjust things to suit your current needs, which is pretty cool.

Where to find Realm Cards in Nightingale

Now that we’ve discussed all Realm Card variants, we should probably discuss where to find them. Fortunately, it’s not all that difficult, to be honest. For the most part, you can simply buy them from Essence Traders. Some are locked to specific traders, but once you find them, all you need is enough Essence.

Alternatively, you can earn cards as rewards for completing quests or investigating points of interest on the map. This includes completing Occupations and Bastilles of Intellect. 

Enchanter’s Focus

But wait, there is a third option. Once you unlock the ability to build an Enchanter’s Focus, you can craft Realm cards of all varieties. To make this magical workbench, you will need one Lumber, two Ingots, and five Glass. 

Once built, it’s a simple case of scrolling through the available options and crafting them. In terms of material, the general rule is a Biome card requires one Paper and one Ink, while Major and Minor cards need one Paper, one Ink, and 25 Essence Dust. Of course, there are usually exceptions. In this case, one of those is the Cleansing card, which requires the same first two materials and slightly less Essence Dust at 10.

How to use Realm Cards

As we’ve briefly touched upon, Biome and Major cards are used in Realm Card Machines, while Minor cards go in the Realmic Transmuter. Neither is particularly difficult to use. 

Realm Card Machine

Found next to portals, a Realm Card Machine is used to create a new world for you to visit. To use one, approach the device and hit ‘E’. You will then need to drag a Biome and Major card into their slots.

From there, press ‘R’ or click ‘Open Portal’. In this menu, you can also check out what to expect in your newly created Realm by browsing the Overview and NPCs & Creatures tab.

Realmic Transmuter

Found somewhere on each map, the Realmic Transmuter is where you can use Minor Cards to affect elements of the world you’re currently in. That’s an important note to remember. If you have other portals open, those worlds will not be affected. So when you hop between them, do remember that the Realm state could be different unless you’ve activated the same card in both. 

They are quite easy to spot in the distance. Usually built on pedestals, the Realmic Transmuter looks like an astrological device with many spinning parts. To use one, much like Realm Card Machines, approach and interact with ‘E’. Then drag over the card you want to activate and click ‘Apply’. You can then enjoy the awesome animation that ensues.

And that’s everything you need to know about Nightingale’s Realm Cards. If you’re looking for more tips, check out our guide to Cooking in Nightingale. Alternatively, if you randomly stumbled on this page, take a look at the game’s official website to see if it’s up your alley. 

This Article was written by: Stephen Gregson-Wood