Elden Ring: Nightreign - Ironeye Preview - IGN First

In the world of Elden Ring, the bow has traditionally served as a support weapon, ideal for drawing enemy attention, softening foes from a distance, or executing strategic moves like causing a bird to plummet for rune farming. However, in Nightreign, when playing as the Ironeye class, the bow transforms into the core element of your playstyle, offering a unique experience distinct from the other eight classes. This class represents Nightreign's closest approximation to a support role. Dive into the exclusive gameplay video below to see the Ironeye in action.

One of the first things you'll notice when playing as the Ironeye is their vulnerability. While they can wield any weapon, the bow becomes indispensable for maintaining distance from combat, crucial since they can't withstand much damage, especially in the early game. Fortunately, the starting bow is robust, offering solid damage and equipped with the Mighty Shot skill, enabling long-range attacks with additional damage and poise impact.

It's important to highlight that bows in Nightreign have been significantly revamped. They now shoot faster, and you can move more swiftly while targeting locked-on enemies. Additionally, the need for arrow supplies has been eliminated, although this means you're limited to the arrow type of your equipped bow. This change is a boon, especially in intense boss battles where running out of arrows could be disastrous. Other enhancements include a new animation for shooting during a roll, the ability to perform acrobatic feats like running up walls and shooting mid-leap, faster movement without entering first-person mode, a strong attack that releases a spread of three arrows for crowd control, and the option to backstab or perform visceral attacks on downed enemies with an arrow. These updates make the bow a formidable primary weapon, addressing many of the limitations it faced in the base Elden Ring game.

As the Ironeye in Nightreign, the bow is not just a tool but the essence of the class. The main skill, Marking, is a swift dagger dash that pierces through enemies, marking them for increased damage from all sources. With a short cooldown, this skill can be consistently applied to bosses, enhancing your team's effectiveness. It also serves as a mobility tool, allowing you to escape dangerous situations by passing through enemies.

The Ironeye's ultimate, Single Shot, is a potent, charged shot that offers invulnerability during its animation. Once released, it delivers massive damage and penetrates through obstacles, ideal for clearing groups of enemies.

The Ironeye's true value in a team setting is their ability to revive allies from a safe distance. In Nightreign, reviving a fallen ally involves depleting a segmented circle above their character through attacks. Most classes must risk close combat or use resources like mana or ultimate skills to revive teammates. In contrast, the Ironeye can perform this task safely from afar, without expending any resources, which can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. However, reviving an ally with multiple segments requires more effort, and the Ironeye may struggle without using their ultimate for this purpose.

Although the Ironeye may not match the raw damage output of other classes, their utility on a squad is unparalleled. From enhancing team damage through marking, boosting item discovery, to their crowd-clearing ultimate and unique revival capabilities, the Ironeye's contributions are vital and highly valued among Nightreign's nightfarers.