At night, the bustling city of Nivalis Nights turns into a militarized nightmare out of the pages of a dystopian future. In an instant, people walking around the streets will disappear into the dark, and the entire city will be filled with surveillance cameras covering the streets in the militarized hellscape. While for the civilians, Curfew is the call to hit the bed, for us, the player, the real game begins.
Think of the Night Mechanics in Need For Speed Heat or Dying Light; the game just warns the player about the night, but you can still cause havoc on the street if you know what you are doing. In this guide, I will help you catch up on everything you need to know about the nighttime curfew in Nivalis Nights.
Nighttime Curfew Explained in Nivalis Nights
When the clock hits 2:00 AM, the martial curfew will begin to take place on the streets of Nivalis Nights. One second in the real world equates to one minute in the in-game time progression. This time schedule follows every night and runs on a strict timeline, creating a cycle of enforcement and order. Here is a brief look into the curfew details:
| Phases | Time Clock | Effect |
| Phase 1 Dinner Rush Closes | 22:00 or 10:00 AM | The Customer football game ends at Ramen Noir. You will see the staff wiping the kitchen counter, and inventory balances are calculated automatically. |
| Phase 2 Pre-Alert Siren Gets Released | 01:00 | The horns start to fire three warning waves. All public billboards will switch to yellow cautionary curfew symbols. |
| Phase 3 Emergency Siren Will Be Played | 02:00 | Emergency sirens will start to blare out all through the city. All HOVA taxi lanes and metro stations will be locked. Surveillance drones will begin roaming the area. |
| Phase 4 Blackout | 02:30 | The Player’s vision will get blurry, walking speed drops to 60%, and stamina drains out. If you manage to stay beyond 3 in the morning, you will meet with an unavoidable blackout. |
You have the option to take a nap and skip the night by heading to your apartment or scan for shelter and take a rest. While it’s the proper thing to do, on the downside, there is tons of stuff you will miss out on by just heading to bed. Nighttime features a whole new different gameplay and adds more variety to Nivalis Nights gameplay.
Drone Surveillance
At 2 in the morning, surveillance drones will project searchlights on the street. Once anyone gets caught in the searchlight, the light will switch from blue to red. If you are not careful, you might get caught in the drone’s line of sight. Here are the things that will play out after:
- Paying Citation: The drone will scan the chip and issue a penalty of 500 Credits; the money will be taken off your account at 6:00 AM.
- Blackout Penalty: If you blackout on the street, then you will be admitted to the clinic; you will then open your eyes at 8: 00 AM with an emergency medical bill of 1,200 credits.
If you want to maintain your business’s overall rating or review, you better show up at the restaurant during the opening hours. Taking part in nighttime violations will result in you missing out on the business’s opening hours, which will lead to the lowest review scores.
How to Survive the Night Curfew in Nivalis Nights
If it’s your first curfew night and you want to follow the rules and don’t want to get caught in any accidents, here are the things you can do to survive the night.
- Sleeping at Cabin: There is zero drone presence in the Waterways. If you are gathering fish past the curfew time, you don’t have to walk back to your apartment. Just dock the boat and take a well-needed rest in the cabin. It will reduce fatigue, protect you from the drone scan, and advance the time to 6 in the morning without facing any penalties or fines.
- Having More Apartments: Invest in secondary apartments across various districts; it basically creates various sleeping points on the map. Currently, there are over 11 bed locations available in the game.
- Find Shelter: If you find yourself in an unfamiliar district, then scan to find a nearby shelter to rest inside. Shelter is the perfect option if you are too far away from your home. I will recommend taking the road to your apartment if the route is short or you will get caught by the drones easily. While an apartment is the best solution to be safe from the drones, if it’s far away, the alternatives are always preferable.
- Secret Places: Certain catwalks, drainage tunnels, or closed-up teahouses are some of the areas drones will not be able to get through. So if you do get caught by the siren, take refuge in any of the places to effectively hide from them.
- Reduce Drone Detection Range: This requires completing a questline with Salma, where you can buy passive radar scramblers that will help you cut the drone detection range by 40%. Do note, you will need to reach Tier 2 reputation with Salma to get the item.
The game is generous, as it provides you with a timer on the curfew before it takes place; it’s up to you to plan the proper route, plan the shopping trip, and take a long or short walk to places. Once the warning makes its first appearance, it’s up to you what to do, whether to stay on the street or quickly rush back home.
Tip: A common route can appear short, but if you arrive at the wrong level, you can easily enter the curfew time. Finding the correct staircase, exit, entrance, or apartment door will take time, so even if the route is short, always have some spare time on the clock to find the proper way to get inside.
Making Money & Completing Specific Nighttime Activities
If you are planning to roam the street like a vampire, then there are strategies that you can apply to get the most out of your time. While the rest of the city rests, you can make bank at night; just don’t get caught. This section will be about the ways to make a good amount of money during curfew hours:
- Catch Rare Fish: Rare fish such as Apex Zander and Ide show up at lower canal trenches between 12:00 and 3:00 AM. If you are planning to catch them at night, make sure to turn off the light of the motorboat.
- Blackmarket Discounts: Lowtown smugglers near the Canal Dock #4 will offer a whopping 30% off on rare culinary spices and high-grade beef between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning.
- Getting Collectible Achievement: The game has various underground graffiti murals all over the town; these are required to pop the Neon Archivist trophy or achievement in the game.
- Objective Completion: Some missions appear at night; for example, Gladstone’s secret mission shows up during the curfew. Hanging out at night has its own set of perks, so don’t give up right away; take your time and explore the streets at night.
- Mini-Games: Head over to local hubs and challenge NPCs to minigames; you can take part in a chess tournament to help you get more out of the night.
- Stealing: You can steal furniture and any equipment from a store; just carefully bring them over to your place without getting caught by the camera. Each time you steal something, you are going to add 10% to the Security Awareness Level. I recommend stealing until you reach 90% at the Security Awareness Level. After hitting 90%, it’s time to pack up and look for a shelter to crash out and get a good sleep. The next day, you will see the store you stole the item from is in complete lockdown; now it’s up to you to decide what to do with the stolen item, either you can keep it or sell it for a price.
You will need to pay attention to Security Awareness and Security Level; both are tied to each other. Stealing something from anyone raises the Security Awareness Level. The max level is capped at 100%, where you will get fined the next day.
What Not to Do
There are plenty of common mistakes that new players might commit on their first curfew; here, I will cover all the things that you shouldn’t do after curfew.
- Don’t wait out the clock: Standing in the same spot hoping the night will turn into day is a wild fantasy. The best course of action is to seek shelter; staying outside will easily get you caught by the surveillance drones. Never try to expose yourself to the drones past curfew time.
- Abandon the Quest: After curfew hits the street, worry about the shelter and look for accessible doors quickly. Always make sure to confirm your destination before committing to travelling. Always have spare time for pinpointing the stairs, door, or level.
- Missing Shelter Prompt: During the early session in the game, you might not see the shelter prompt appear, or it will appear and vanish seconds later. The best thing to do here is to inspect the full objective and HUD information. The shelter icon will share some resemblance to the home-style icon used for rentable apartments. Sometimes the prompt gets buried beneath other objectives on the screen.
