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There are eight Nightfarers inElden Ring Nightreign, each of which comes with a set of unique character abilities, stat scalings, and other strengths that create eight unique playstyles. Thoughevery Nightfarer in the gameis perfectly capable of beating every Nightlord, and there is no single worst class inNightreign, the best classes have high damage, utility, or other benefits that make them worth picking over others.
The best classes inElden Ring Nightreigncan finda home for themselves on any team compositionthanks to synergistic abilities, useful party utility skills, or sheer damage output that puts them a head above the rest. This bestNightreignclasses tier list ranks each character based on these aspects and explains why everyNightreignclass is ranked at its particular place on this list.
8B- Tier: Guardian
A Great Tank That Lacks Power & Variety
Guardian isunparalleled as a single-target tankwhen he can attract enemy attention toward his shield and take advantage of his special Guard Counter when wielding Halberds. His Whirlwind skill is useful for dealing with groups, and Wings of Salvation will revive allies if you land near them and grant a temporary defensive boost.
All of this sounds like a pretty good combination of defensive abilities. But Guardian is one of the worst classes inNightreignbecause it’s slow, it doesn’t do much damage, and other classes can tank just as effectively with the right setup. Plus, you won’t be in many one-on-one situations where Guardian’s strengths come into play.
Ultimately, there are no bad classes inNightreign, and if you get certain Relics and master the class, you’ll be able to beat any Nightlord. But Raider, Wylder, and Executor all have more damaging and more varied abilities that are useful outside of boss encounters.
7B Tier: Duchess
Requires Team Coordination To Play Well
The Duchess isone of the best classes inNightreignwhen played well, but a lot of this class' potential depends on your teammates and your ability to effectively communicate. Her Magnificent Poise passive lets her dodge twice in quick succession, which is great for diving in and out of combat, and her Finale Ultimate Art will shroud the whole team in invisibility, allowing you to revive each other or heal up without drawing aggro.
The Duchess' character skill is what gives her the potential to be so strong, but it’s also her major weakness. Restage repeats the damage dealt over the last few seconds, and if you’re able to time it directly after both of your allies deal a chunk of damage, you’ll shred through HP bars. But if you aren’t able to communicate with teammates and don’t time it well, it’s not nearly as impactful.
6B+ Tier: Revenant
Low HP, No FP Regeneration – But Summons & Ult Are Great
Certainlyone of the most unique classes inNightreign, the Revenant can summon three different spirits to aid her in combat, summon the spirit of defeated enemies to her side temporarily, and can imbue her allies (and summons) with temporary invincibility with her Ultimate Art. Her Ultimate is one of the few that can revive allies from a three-bar downed meter, too.
The Revenant has two downsides: her low HP and FP regeneration, and her lack of options if her summons die in a major encounter. While the Recluse can regain FP from gathering Affinity Residue, Revenant has no such ability and must rely entirely on Starlight Shards to refill her FP bar in combat. Her spirits have HP, too, and if they die, it takes some time for them to regenerate enough to become available to summon again.
If you can get a strong Sacred Seal with good Incantations, and are able to find plenty of Starlight Shards to fuel your spells while your summons distract enemies away from you, Revenant can be a huge asset to any team composition.
5A- Tier: Wylder
A Balanced & Agile Melee All-Rounder
Wylder is the “default” class inNightreign, and though it’s far from the best class inNightreign, it’s certainly not the worst, either.Wylder is a very balanced classthat is able to wield any armament effectively, but especially Greatswords which will unlock an alternate weapon moveset exclusive to Wylder.
His Sixth Sense ability will prevent one deadly blow, and his Onslaught Strike Ultimate is one of the few that can interrupt any boss (when charged). Claw Shot is a nice mobility option that can be upgraded to deal Fire damage with an early relic, and is useful for closing the distance to enemies or traversing the open world a bit faster.
Wylder has good melee damage, an easy-to-learn moveset, good mobility, and a useful Ultimate (which can also revive allies), which makes him one of the best starting characters inNightreignand one of the most balanced classes in general.
4A Tier: Raider
Has Two Ways To Interrupt & Great Stance Breaking
While Wylder can effectively wield just about any melee weapon,Raider is a bit more of a specialist. A colossal man who wields Colossal Weapons, Raider is one of the best classes inNightreignfor two major reasons: he has two abilities that can interrupt bosses easily, and he is the best character for breaking Stance.
Raider’s character skill and passive are intertwined – Fighter’s Resolve grants extra damage to Retaliate as you take damage and prevents being knocked down while using the skill. The Retaliate skill makers the Raider rear back and headbutt his target, but if you have taken enough damage and are glowing grey, you’ll wind up an open-palmed strike that will knock down all but the strongest bosses. His Totem Stela is useful too, especially if you have a Recluse, Revenant, or Ironeye in the party who can take advantage of its height.
3A+ Tier: Recluse
An Extremely Powerful, But Extremely Complex, Sorceress
One of the best classes inNightreign, but also one of its most complex, is the Recluse. This witchy character can effectively use both Staves and Sacred Seals and is, for all intents and purposes, the game’s default spellcaster character. Though the class can effectively wield Incantations and Sacred Seals alike, her class skill Magic Cocktail is what makes her complexity and damage ceiling so high.
By absorbing one of four elements from enemies and allies (after they are hit by Magic, Fire, Holy, or Lightning attacks), you will restore a little bit of FP and gain one of three colored sigils. Gather three sigils and you will cast a spell depending on the combination of Affinity Residues you gathered.
There area total of 14 Magic Cocktail spells, and if you want to master the Recluse, you’ll have to know all of these by heart.
Her Ultimate is useful as it marks enemies for a short time, which makes allies' hits recover HP and FP. But the class' main weakness, and the main weakness of all spellcaster builds inElden Ring, is an extremely low HP pool.
Be careful not to draw boss aggro, and learn every residue combo to take full advantage of Magic Cocktail, and you’ll shred through enemy HP bars with a neverending onslaught of spells.
2S Tier: Executor
Perfect Deflect Mechanics & Unparalleled Status Effects
The Executor is thebest melee class inNightreign, and one of the best classes in the game in general, for a few major reasons. Most notably, the Executor is the only class in the game with access to a perfect block mechanic. With the Cursed Sword drawn, the Executor can block just before an enemy hit to completely negate HP loss, refund block Stamina, deal Stance damage to the attacker, and break open the Cursed Sword slightly.
The Executor also starts with an S scaling in Arcane and high Dexterity scaling, which makes him the best class for inflicting status effects in the game, especially if you can get two Katanas with different status effects to dual-wield. The Aspects of the Crucible: Beast Ultimate is one of the game’s most awesome skills, and when active, you get a whole new moveset with wide swipes, powerful slams, a roar attack, and even a “weapon skill” that lets you slice through enemies with a holy blade.
Executor is not an easy class to play, and you’ll have to learn how to wield the Cursed Blade and time perfect blocks right to master it. But when you get the hang of the Executor, you’ll be able to face off against any enemy in the game without taking damage.
1S+ Tier: Ironeye
Low Damage, But It’s The Most Reliable Class In Nightreign
Ironeye is the best class inNightreignnot necessarily because of his damage output, but because of the sheer amount of utility and party synergy he brings to the team.Ironeye is a ranged Bow expertwho can stay safely out of range of melee attacks and shoot enemies – or revive teammates – from afar.
His passive ability Eagle Eye increases item rarity for the entire team, which is useful for any team comp, and his Marking skill will mark enemies, which increases damage done to them. When enough damage has been dealt, the mark will shatter and deal an enormous chunk of damage similar to a Bleed proc.
Notably, the dash Ironeye performs when he uses the Marking skill has i-frames for almost its entire animation, making it an exceptional defensive and offensive tool in his kit.
Ironeye’s Ultimate ability Single Shot deals an enormous chunk of damage to its target and everything in between Ironeye and his mark. It can go through any terrain and will tear through everything within about a five-meter radius of your Single Shot path. This skill also is one of the few that can interrupt bosses.
Ironeye is an asset to any team he is on, as long as your other teammates can pump out the damage and keep attention away. His ability to easily revive teammates from a distance, his passive item rarity increase, his useful and protective Marking dash, and his interrupting Ultimate make him the most reliable class and best character inNightreign– even if he can’t pump out DPS like some other classes in the game.
