Elden Ring: Nightreign Preview - IGN

While the bow serves as a versatile support tool in Elden Ring—ideal for luring enemies, weakening them from a distance before switching to your main weapon, or repeatedly farming runes from that one unfortunate bird—the Ironeye class in Nightreign transforms it into a true centerpiece. This class offers a distinct playstyle compared to Nightreign's eight other classes, embodying the closest experience to a dedicated support role. Take a look at the Ironeye in the exclusive gameplay video below.

Immediately noticeable with the Ironeye is their fragility. While they can wield any weapon, keeping a bow equipped is essential for staying at a safe distance from combat. Taking hits is particularly dangerous early on, as it doesn't take much to be defeated. Thankfully, the starting bow is quite reliable. It delivers respectable damage and comes with the Mighty Shot skill, enabling attacks from extremely long range, dealing bonus damage and significant poise break.

It's important to note that bows have been substantially reworked in Nightreign. They now fire much faster, and you can move more swiftly while targeting a locked-on enemy. A welcome change is the removal of the need to carry arrow supplies, though you are limited to the arrow type inherent to your bow. This eliminates the worry of running out of arrows during a crucial boss encounter. Other notable improvements include a new firing animation after a roll, the ability to perform acrobatic moves like running up walls and leaping off to fire an arrow for flair, faster movement and no forced first-person view in manual aiming, a strong attack that fires a spread of three arrows to hit multiple targets, and the new capability to backstab or perform a visceral attack on a downed enemy with an arrow. Essentially, Nightreign addresses nearly every limitation that prevented the bow from being a viable primary weapon in the base Elden Ring experience.

When you’re playing as the Ironeye in Nightreign, the bow is the heart and soul of the class.“

The Ironeye's primary skill, Marking, is a rapid dashing dagger attack that phases through enemies and applies a debuff. This mark increases all incoming damage to the target. With a very short cooldown, it can be kept active on bosses almost continuously with proper timing. It also serves as an excellent mobility tool, allowing you to dash through enemies to escape dangerous situations.

The Ironeye's ultimate ability, Single Shot, is precisely what it sounds like: one immensely powerful shot. Think of it as Mighty Shot amplified. Although it requires a brief charge-up time, you are completely invulnerable during the animation. Upon release, the projectile deals massive damage and pierces through almost everything in its path, making it exceptionally effective for clearing groups of enemies simultaneously.

What makes Ironeye shine on a squad is how good they are at reviving allies from a safe distance.“

Where the Ironeye truly excels in a team, however, is their unparalleled ability to safely revive allies from range. In Nightreign, when a teammate falls, a segmented circle appears above them. Attacking your downed ally gradually depletes this circle; once empty, they are revived. Most classes must endanger themselves by getting close, spend mana on a ranged spell, or even use their ultimate to attempt a revive. The Ironeye can accomplish this safely from a distance without consuming any resources. This capability is incredibly valuable and can often determine the success or failure of a mission. The drawback is that each time an ally falls, an additional segment is added to their revival circle. While the Ironeye excels at reviving allies who have fallen once or twice, they struggle to revive someone requiring all three segments to be cleared due to their lower long-range damage output—unless they dedicate their ultimate solely to the revival.

Though they may not match the raw damage output of some other classes, the Ironeye's impact on a squad is consistently significant. From their Marking ability that amplifies the entire team's damage, to a passive skill that boosts item discovery for all members, a crowd-clearing ultimate, and their unique capacity for safe, easy long-distance revives, the Ironeye's utility is virtually unmatched among the nightfarers.