All Elden Ring Nightreign Nightfarer character classes and abilities

Unlike the original Elden Ring, which lets you toy with sliders in the character creator, choose a starting class, then assign skill points to suit your intended build, Elden Ring Nightreign has six pre-determined classes. This all plays in the whole three-player session-based RPG flavour of the new multiplayer spin-off. No faffing about. Pick a class and off you go.

These are called Nightfarers and fit into several archetypes such as a knight, a ranged archer, a spellcaster, a hawk-headed tank, and so on. Each comes with its own set of skills and abilities (one passive ability, one character skill, and one ultimate art) that promotes a distinctive playstyle. You’ll need to carefully synergise these into your three-person squad to take down the Nightlords at the end of the three-day cycle that forms Nightreign’s core loop.

For those after quick, check just below. Further down, we’ll go into what each Nightfarer class is all about and run through their respective suite of abilities and skills.

• Raider
• Ironeye
• Wylder
• Guardian
• Recluse
• Duchess
• Revenant
• Executor

Raider

• Passive Ability: Fighter’s Resolve – Taking damage boosts Retaliate potency, cannot be knocked down while using it.
• Character Skill: Retaliate – Assume attack stance and pummel vigorously. A defensive posture which reduces incoming damage. An enhanced skill which causes even larger enemies to recoil.
• Ultimate Art: Totem Stela – Drive gravekeeper’s wedge into earth to summon a giant tombstone.
• Starting HP: 260
• Starting FP: 55
• Starting Stamina: 64

Described as a powerful sea-farer who favors enormous weapons, the Raider is akin to a strength-focused build in the original Elden Ring. A tank-barbarian-bruiser sort then but with a twist – his passive and character skill are focused on sustaining damage to buff retaliatory strikes. The Totem Stela Ultimate Art calls down a massive tombstone that can be used defensively, as a vantage point for ranged heroes, and buff nearby allies.

Ironeye

• Passive Ability: Eagle Eye – A keenly observant eye discovers more items to obtain from foes. 
• Character Skill: Marking – Cut foe with a dagger, creating temporary weak points.
• Ultimate Art: Single Shot – Fires a powerful arrow that surpasses sound and ignores any defense.
• Starting HP: 200
• Starting FP: 55
• Starting Stamina: 56

The Ironeye is Nightreign’s ranged archer class and will suit those that like to pummel enemies from a distance with split-second judgement and pinpoint accuracy if the official blurb is anything to by. The Eagle Eye passive helps score better loot from enemies, while Marking creates windows of vulnerability for team mates to swoop in for bonus damage. Lastly, the Single Shot Ultimate Art is sure to come in handy in tense boss fights.

Wylder

• Passive Ability: Sixth Sense – Cheat death a single time.
• Character Skill: Claw Shot – Launch grappling claw to rope foes in or move swiftly by retracting.
• Ultimate Art: Onslaught Stake – Powerful single attack that launches an iron stake with a great explosion.
• Starting HP: 240
• Starting FP: 65
• Starting Stamina: 58

The Wylder is Nightreign all-rounder, designed to offer versatility, especially for new players that need a gentler introduction to FromSoftware’s brand of combat. Claw Shot lets you rope in enemies towards you or leap to them for an added bit of mobility. The Sixth Sense free revive is a boon in anyone’s book. His ultimate is an exploding stake that explodes. Hard to argue with that. He’s a great pick as starter class. As the official description goes, he’s easy to handle, challenging to master.

Guardian

• Passive Ability: Steel Guard – Plant feet and brace with shield for a more powerful guard.
• Character Skill: Whirlwind – Beat wing to whip up a wind-churning cyclone that launches enemies into the air or knocks them back.
• Ultimate Art: Wings of Salvation – Leap up and dive back down to raise protective area.
• Starting HP: 280
• Starting FP: 55
• Starting Stamina: 64

The Guardian is a hawk-headed support tank that’s most comfortable on the frontline, brushing off attacks and keeping enemies distracted while other classes can do their thing. He lugs about a hulking shield and his toolkit is chiefly aimed at defense capabilities: his Steel Guard passive boosts his guard while his Wings of Salvation ultimate has you soaring up and diving to plop down a protective AoE area to keep teammates safe.

Recluse

• Passive Ability: Elemental Defense – Discover affinity residues that can be collected to replenish FP.
• Character Skill: Magic Cocktail – Collect the affinity residues of targets to fire an affinity-exploiting magic cocktail.
• Ultimate Art: Soulblood Song – Unleash forbidden blood chant to brand nearby foes with blood sigils.
• Starting HP: 200
• Starting FP: 80
• Starting Stamina: 54

The Recluse is Nightreign’s spell caster class – wizard, sorceress, magic-wielder, or whatever way you want to put it. Mastery of cursed sorcery gives the class both offensive and support capabilities despite being one of the most fragile classes in the game. The affinity business might sound confusing at first but all it means is that the Recluse can combine gathered affinities to access a wide range of spells.

Duchess

• Passive Ability: Magnificent Poise – Attack and dodge optimally, dodging repeatedly when necessary.
• Character Skill: Restage – Stage reprisal of recent occurrences to damage nearby foes.
• Ultimate Art: Finale – Obscure self and surrounding allies to hide from foes.
• Starting HP: 220
• Starting FP: 75
• Starting Stamina: 54

Think of the Duchess as Nightreign’s spin on an agile assassin-ninja with a gothic Bloodborne-esque flair. She’s skilled in the art of evasion thanks to Magnificent Poise transforming the bulky dodge roll into a rapid dodge step. Restage is a neat skill that mimics a teammate’s most recent attack. The Duchess can render the entire squad invisible with her Finale ultimate – a nifty illusion tool that has both offensive and defensive uses.

Revenant

• Passive Ability: Necromancy – Raise enemy ghosts to fight as allies. Ghosts are summoned to fight, but are fleeting and dissipate after some time. Detonate corpses by holding summon command.
• Character Skill: Summon Spirit – Play lyre to summon fallen family to rally in battle. Choose to summon Helen the agile page, Frederick the burly cook, or Sebastian the doting butler.
• Ultimate Art: Immortal March – Release vengeful ire to make self and nearby allies immortal. Revives near-death allies, and transforms family into immortal warriors.
• Starting HP: 200
• Starting FP: 80
• Starting Stamina: 54

The Revenant class is Nightreign spin on the summoner archetype. Fueled by revenge, she has the ability to summon three different spirits – Helen the page, Frederick the book, and Sebastian the butler – to fight her name. Alongside, her Necromancy passive allows her to summon ghost allies. Though weak and fleeting they can be detonated to cause damage toe enemies. Finally, the Revenant’s Immortal March ultimate art renders her, her summoned spirits, and nearby allies immortal for a short time while also reviving any allies in a Near-Death state.

Executor

• Passive Ability: Tenacity – Receive boost after recovering from status ailments. Effect boosts attack and stamina recovery speed.
• Character Skill: Cursed Sword – Draw a cursed sword that can deflect enemy attacks. Repeated deflections reveal blade, enabling powerful attacks with the living sword. Cannot run while at ready with enchanted blade.
• Ultimate Art: Aspect of the Crucible: Beast – Assume the form of the primordial beast. Use unique attacks in beast form that drain the Ultimate Art gauge. Activate again to quickly undo transformation.
• Starting HP: 220
• Starting FP: 55
• Starting Stamina: 54

Last but not least, we have the Executor. Inspired by FromSoft’s Sekiro, this dex-based class has the ability to riposte and parry enemy attacks courtesy of his Cursed Sword skill, resulting in glitzy on-screen flashes as metal clashes and powerful attacks. His ultimate art sees him transform into a hulking beast with heightened attacks and damage.

For more about Nightreign, check out our tips and tricks for those diving in for the first time, how to unlock the Duchess and Revenant classes, and full breakdown of all location on the Limveld map, including Shifting Earth events.