Which character class should you play in Elden Ring Nightreign?
This BigFriendly.Guide for Elden Ring Nightreign, we’ll break down each of the characters and classes, and talk about what they bring to the (round)table.
There are six unique characters in Elden Ring Nightreign, each of which act as their own class. These characters have their own abilities — both a fast-charging, primary Character Skill and what is essentially a slow-charging Ultimate — their own starting weapons, preferred stats, and more.
You can change between these characters in-between runs with no penalty to your overall progress through Nightreign, and you can try them all out in the practice range before your first Expedition. But there’s a lot to digest with each character, and you’re much better off spending your precious in-game time jumping into matches than sifting through menus.
In this BigFriendly.Guide for Elden Ring Nightreign, we’ll break down each of the characters and classes, and talk about what they bring to the (round)table.
Wylder
The Wylder is your (relatively) straightforward sword-and-shield fighter and standard melee damage-dealer. Your attacks have an average-ish speed and you’ll deal average (but respectable) damage with them.
You’ll start out with a greatsword with the Stamp (Upward Cut) Skill attached and small shield with the Buckler Parry Skill.
For ranged attacks, the Wylder has the Claw Shot Character Skill. This grappling hook will either launch you toward a target or drag an enemy toward you.
The Wylder’s Ultimate Art is the Onslaught Stake that launches a single, fiery attack for huge damage.
The Wylder’s Passive Ability is Sixth Sense that lets you cheat death one time when your HP drops to zero.
Guardian
The Guardian is a bird-headed Pinionfolk (insert Jarnathan joke here). The Guardian is another melee character, but he’s a little more focused on protection and tanking. Your attacks are a little slower, but you’ll be swinging a halberd with longer reach.
The Guardian starts out with a halberd and its Charge Forth Skill, along with a greatshield. The greatshield doesn’t have a Skill attached to it, but your Passive Ability makes up for that — Steel Guard gives you a passive boost to guarding.
Guardian’s Character Skill is a Whirlwind attack that deals damage in a small circle around you and knocks enemies back.
For the Guardian’s Ultimate Art, you’ll get Wings of Salvation that raises a protective area around you.
Ironeye
Ironeye is the ranged, bow-and-arrow character. Luckily, in Nightreign, you have infinite ammo. Ironeye is quick and nimble, and he fires off his arrows pretty quickly, you’re just not going to be dealing massive damage with him.
Ironeye comes equipped with a bow. And, well, that’s it. The bow does have the Mighty Shot Skill that gets you past guarding enemies, though.
Ironeye’s Eagle Eye Passive Ability gets you more items from downed enemies.
If you ever get bored with ranged attacks, Ironeye’s Marking Character Skill lets you jump in close and slash your target with a dagger. This also creates a temporary weak point for you and your teammates to exploit (assuming they haven’t wandered off).
Kind of like Wylder, Ironeye’s Ultimate Art is a single, powerful shot called, creatively, Single Shot. Single Shot ignores all defenses.
Raider
The Raider’s flavor text makes him sound pirate-themed, but the reality is a lot … beefcakier than your average pirate — the Raider is just a huge dude. Being so big, his attacks are a lot slower than other characters, but he hits a lot harder. He’s also got the most health of any character in Nightreign.
When you’re as big as the Raider, you don’t need a shield — shields just get in the way of hitting things as hard as you can. Your greataxe comes with the Endure Skill that buffs your Poise and reduces incoming damage.
The Raider’s Passive Ability and Character Skill work together. Taking damage triggers the Fighter’s Resolve passive and increases your Retaliate Character Skill. Retaliate is … just a lot of punching. Fighter’s Resolve also means you can’t be knocked down while Retaliate is active.
The Raider’s Ultimate, Totem Stela, explodes a huge tombstone out of the ground dealing damage as it arrives. It also provides you some temporary high ground.
Recluse
The Recluse is a witch and the only caster class in Nightreign. Like most casters, she’s squishy — she’s tied with Ironeye for the lowest starting HP. Being a magic-user, though, means that she’s both ranged and packs a punch — her base damage is on par with the Raider.
Casting spells drains your FP, but the Recluse’s Passive, Elemental Defense, gives you a way to replenish it by collecting affinity residues. Every three times you collect those residues, you can trigger the Recluse’s Character Skill, Magic Cocktail, that fires off a powerful spell at your target.
Affinity residues are a whole thing and we have a separate guide for them.
The Recluse’s Ultimate, Soulblood Song, marks all nearby enemies with a temporary sigil. While it’s active, damaging them will restore some HP and FP.
Executor
The Executor is a weird character to play. He’s pretty nimble and stabby, and his weak attacks add up fast, but to get the most out of him, you’ll have to mix up his attacks more than any other character.
The Executor starts with the Executor’s Blade katana. Its Unsheathe Skill lets you burn some FP for extra damage. The Executor also has a second weapon, though — the Cursed Sword that is his Character Skill. This sword is also a katana, but it adds in the ability to deflect attacks. The biggest tradeoff is that you can’t consume items while it’s active and you move much slower.
The Tenacity Passive Skill means that the Executor gets a buff when recovering from status effect.
The Aspects of the Crucible: Beast Ultimate Skill is where the Executor shines. This skill turns the Executor into a huge monster that does some massive damage with claw attacks.
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