Elden Ring Nightreign classes: What we know so far

Elden Ring Nightreign was one of the bigger surprises to come out of The Game Awards 2024 since it had been previously announced that the base game would only have one DLC.

It’s a slightly different take on the traditional soulslike experience, throwing you into a limited-time experience that can be shared with two others.

Classes do make a return though and here, we’ll reveal what we know on the Elden Ring Nightreign class system so you can get an idea of who you’ll choose come launch.

While we’re still in the early phases of learning what Elden Ring Nightreign brings to the table, since many media outlets have gotten hands on, there are some key details we can dive into.

Taking a look at what IGN has reported based on its experience with an early build of Nightreign, the game will feature a total of eight classes but these aren’t what we’re used to in the traditional FromSoft experience.

Instead, these new variants are akin to ‘heroes’ that have specialized abilities which can be utilized in either an offensive or defensive manner.

This replaces the class system we’re used to where each differs based on the levels of various attributes.

There were only four playable classes in the playable preview – Wylder, Guardian, Duchess, and Recluse – giving us a sneak peek into how different they actually are.

Here’s a brief description of what each of the Nightreign classes are like:

• Wylder: A balanced all-rounder class, combining solid speed and attack power for versatile combat.
• Guardian: A durable tank class with heavy-hitting attacks and enhanced damage resistance, ideal for soaking up damage and protecting allies.
• Duchess: A swift and agile class, excelling in fast attacks and utilizing a quickstep ability for evasion and speed.
• Recluse: A ranged mage class, specializing in powerful magical attacks to deal damage from a distance.

Each character in Nightreign also has a unique skill and ultimate attack, both on cooldown timers, which are crucial for survival and teamwork. Wylder uses a hook shot to pull in smaller enemies or dodge boss attacks, Guardian conjures a mini tornado to disrupt swarms, and Recluse places a damage marker on enemies to convert attacks into HP boosts.

The key to success lies in combining these abilities with squadmates’ moves. For example, one effective strategy involves Guardian’s divebomb ultimate followed by Duchess’ Restage skill, which replays the last attack for double damage. Coordinating abilities maximizes effectiveness in tough battles.

This is all we know so far but as we get closer to the Network Test, we’re sure we’ll get some more snippets of info on the above classes, and maybe even a look at the additional unseen four.

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