Elden Ring: Nightreign has eight different Nightfarers to choose from, all of which have different kits consisting of skills and abilities unique to each of them. There’s the tanky Raider, the incredibly agile Duchess, and the squishy spell-casting powerhouse that is Recluse among many other characters to get to grips with.
If you’re hoping to figure out exactly which Nightfarer suits your playstyle the most, we run through each character’s kits, the stats they scale with, and their preferred weapons below to help you work out exactly which Nightreign character you should play.
Which Nightreign character should I play?
When you first start out in Nightreign, I highly recommend rotating through all of the playable Nightfarers and seeing which one you have the most fun with. You’ll wind up doing this either way if you wish to complete every character’s Remembrance quest, and of course, some of the Nightfarers’ kits cater to specific playstyles, so you might already have an idea of who you’ll enjoy.
If you like magic, try the Recluse, Duchess, or Revenant first; and if you like your dextrous builds, there’s Executor and Ironeye; and for Strength players, there’s Wylder, Guardian, and Raider. We’ll walk you through every Nightfarer and what sort of playstyle they cater to in this guide, and don’t fret if you love a hybrid build; these Nightfarers are versatile!
That said, when embarking on an Expedition in Nightreign, you don’t just want to consider who you enjoy playing, but who your teammates are choosing to play as and which Nightlord you are targeting too. Some Nightfarers are better for specific bosses (this can be dependent on Relics too), and some Nightfarers synergise together really nicely, so you’ll want to bear this in mind during character and Nightlord selection.
Wylder
- Scales best with Strength and Dex
- Can use all kinds of melee weapons, but prefers Greatswords
Wylder is the Nightfarer you will have played during Nightreign’s tutorial. He’s capable of cheating death a single time, which can come in clutch if your party is all downed simultaneously, and he’s got a grapple claw which he can use to pull floes closer or quickly flee to safety. His ultimate, Onslaught Stake, launches a stake that explodes on impact.
Wylder’s top stats are Strength and Dexterity, and he prefers Greatswords, making him fitting for anyone who loves to swing around a large sword and be aggressive during boss fights. He’s also relatively versatile, with his stats allowing for him to mess around with ranged weapons such as crossbows too.
And if there’s one thing we’ve learnt about Nightreign so far, it’s that being versatile is key; if you can afford to wield a ranged weapon alongside a melee one, you’ll have more options when it comes to taking down Nightlords.
Raider
- Scales best with Strength
- Can use a range of melee weapons, but prefers Colossal weapons, Greataxes, and Hammers
Raider is a very tanky Nightfarer ideal for those who like to hit hard in Nightreign. If you’re into wielding huge hammers and colossal weapons, he is the Nightfarer for you.
He does an abominable amount of damage from the get-go, but the trade-off is that he needs to take damage in order to deal damage, and he can be quite slow compared to other Nightfarers. I particularly like Raider in combination with Duchess, as her ability – Restage – repeats recent events. Use this after Raider has dished out a huge chunk of damage, and the foe is often overwhelmed.
Similarly, Raider’s Totem Stele ultimate is much better than you may first think. For some bosses, this allows a team to quickly retreat to a safe height where they can’t be reached if coordinated effectively. It also acts as an elevated spot to fire off some ranged attacks from. Sometimes, and perhaps not intentionally, it can even trap a boss inside of it, giving you ample time to heal, reposition, and keep wailing away.
Guardian
- Scales best with Strength
- Can use all kinds of melee weapons (and shields), but prefers Halberds
The Guardian is the bird Nightfarer in Nightreign that excels in using Strength weapons and much like Raider, he is incredibly tanky. He’s great at leading teams of Nightfarers into battle, and depending on how you play him, his kit lends really well to Guard Counter and/or Critical Hit passives that you may find across Limveld.
While he can wield a crossbow if need be, I’d recommend pairing Guardian with a ranged Nightfarer – such as Ironeye or the Recluse – to ensure all bases are covered. The Guardian, ideally, wants to be up close and personal with bosses, drawing their attention and tanking damage, while the team chips away at them. His Ultimate – which sees him diving into the middle of a fight from above and unleashing some serious damage – is also one of few that can make or break an Expedition, with it being great for quickly reviving allies without running the risk of being taken down by a boss in the process.
Ironeye
- Scales best with Dexterity and Arcane
- Can use a range of melee and ranged weapons, but prefers Bows
Ironeye is a personal favourite Nightfarer and the go-to ranged character if you want a teammate who deals consistent ranged damage. He’s also a great addition to a team, given his passive ability – Eagle Eye – increases the chances of enemies dropping loot (for the whole team).
Ironeye’s kit relies around firing off arrows from a distance, with his Ultimate dishing out a particularly powerful shot. His Skill, however, will inflict foes with a temporary weak point; attacking this quickly will extend how long the weak point lasts while also staggering foes. All in all, this makes Ironeye one of the easiest characters to master. Find a safe spot to stand in and fire away while your Raider or Guardian draws the enemies attention towards them.
And if you fancy getting in on the action here and there, Ironeye’s high Dexterity lends itself really well to some of Limveld’s swords and daggers. Just because you’re playing the ranged character does not mean you always have to tackle foes from far away!
Executor
- Scales best with Arcane and Dexterity
- Can use a range of melee weapons (or even Arcane-scaling Incantations), but prefers Katanas
The Executor is a Nightfarer who’ll quickly become a firm favourite for those who love wielding Katanas and dishing out Bleed damage in Nightreign. If you like being swift and at the centre of a battle, the Executor and their Cursed Sword Skill are no doubt for you, but they take a little while to master.
The Cursed Sword requires you to deflect enemy attacks – which is tough! – but if you manage it enough times, you’ll eventually be able to unleash some very powerful attacks. On top of that, the Executor’s Ultimate turns the Nightfarer into a huge, tanky beast that’s great for drawing aggro as well as quickly reviving teammates without putting yourself in harm’s way.
Even if you aren’t fully accustomed to the Executor’s kit, they still pack a punch and paired with other characters that are dishing out build – such as Duchess’ daggers, or Revenant’s Incantations – they can do some devastating damage.
Duchess
- Scales best with Intelligence, Dexterity, and Faith
- Can use a range of melee weapons, Sacred Seals, and Staffs, but prefers Daggers
While the Duchess’ kit looks as though it is built with Dexterity in mind, her strongest stat is actually Intelligence. This means that while you’re evading attacks and slashing at foes with your dagger – or whatever melee weapon you choose – you should also be on the look-out for Magic infusions, Staffs, or even Sacred Seals (given that Duchess has a decent Faith stat too).
The Duchess is ideal for those who want to be up close and personal with enemies, with her agile dodges and Ultimate – which turns her and her team invisible – being great for securing Critical Hits. And given that the Duchess attacks quickly, using a weapon capable of inflicting Frost, Sleep, Bleed, Poison and/or Scarlet Rot doesn’t go amiss either, as she can stack these status ailments quickly.
Her Restage Skill also allows her to reprise nearby events and deal additional damage to foes, so you’ll want to activate that whenever you pull off a Critical Hit or a huge stack of Bleed, Frost, or whatever other ailment you’re going for.
Here’s how to unlock the Duchess in Nightreign if you haven’t already.
Recluse
- Scales best with Intelligence and Faith
- Can use a range of Staffs and Sacred Seals (but should always be armed with at least one melee weapon, just in case)
Recluse is a Nightfarer dedicated to spellcasting in Nightreign. With her top stats being both Intelligence and Faith, she’s capable of using a mixture of Sorceries and Incantations, and while I recommend picking up a melee weapon for her just in case (as using spells to revive downed teammates isn’t the safest or most FP-efficient idea), you’ll largely want to be slinging spells when playing as her.
As foes are killed using Magic, Fire, Lightning, or Holy damage, the Recluse stores their affinities and restores a slight amount of FP. These affinities are then used as part of the Recluse’s Magic Cocktail Skill, which allows her to dish out various attacks based on the affinities she has collected so far.
The Recluse’s Ultimate, Soulblood Song, marks enemies with Blood Sigils which increase their damage taken and restore both the HP and FP of the Recluse. This can be bolstered using Recluse-specific Relics, such as one which causes the Recluse to suffer Blood Loss when casting her Ultimate in exchange for a temporary boost to her attack power.
All in all, the Recluse is one of the more complicated Nightfarers to master, especially if you’re hoping to learn the ins and outs of her Magic Cocktial Skill. You should always be paired with someone tankier who’s able to keep aggro away from the mage as she slings spells.
Revenant
- Scales best with Faith
- Can use a range of Staffs and Sacred Seals (but should always be armed with at least one melee weapon, just in case)
The Revenant is a very squishy support character when you first enter an Expedition with her, but don’t be fooled. She can get very powerful, very quickly, and her arsenal of summons are brilliant for drawing aggro, stacking Bleed, and with some luck, they’ll even revive your teammates for you.
The Revenant is ideal for those who want to play a more supportive role in Nightreign, with her summons doing the brunt of the work for her. That said, she has a very high Faith stat that should not be ignored, as with the right Sacred Seal, she can fire off various Faith Incantations – be it Fire, Black Flame, or Thorn Sorceries – and deal a very impressive amount of damage with them.
I also had the Revenant wielding various weapons, such as the Royal Greatsword and Envoy’s Greathorn, which aren’t ideal for her kit, but still packed a punch anyway, which goes to show how versatile – and powerful – this support Nightfarer can really be.
Here’s how to unlock the Revenant in Nightreign if you haven’t already.
For more on Nightreign, take a look at our Nightreign tips and tricks, how to unlock outfits for your Nightfarers, and what The Crater event is in Nightreign.