Elden Ring: Nightreign Revealed in IGN First Preview

Bows have always been a powerful tool in Elden Ring, though traditionally they serve as a secondary option—useful for drawing enemy attention, weakening foes from a distance before engaging up close, or repeatedly farming runes from that one unfortunate bird. However, playing as the Ironeye in Nightreign shifts the bow into the core of the class, delivering a playstyle distinct from any of the eight other Nightreign classes—and arguably the closest the game comes to a true support role. Take a look at Ironeye gameplay in the exclusive video below.

One immediate observation when playing Ironeye is their fragility. They can equip any weapon, but keeping a bow ready is key—it lets you engage from a safe distance and avoid incoming attacks, which can drop you surprisingly fast, particularly in the early stages. Thankfully, the starting bow is quite reliable. It offers solid damage and comes with the Mighty Shot skill, allowing you to strike from extreme range while dealing extra damage and posture break.

It's also important to note that bows have been extensively reworked in Nightreign. They now fire more quickly, and movement speed while locked onto an enemy is significantly improved. Another welcome change: arrows are no longer a consumable resource. While this means you're limited to the arrow type tied to your bow, it removes the stress of managing ammo or running out during a tough boss encounter. Other quality-of-life enhancements include a new shooting animation after rolling, acrobatic moves like running up walls and firing mid-air for style, faster movement and aiming in third-person view, a strong attack that releases a three-arrow spread for hitting multiple targets, and—yes—even the ability to perform backstabs or visceral attacks with arrows. These changes effectively address past limitations, making the bow a truly viable primary weapon in Nightreign.

When playing as the Ironeye, the bow truly becomes the heart and soul of the class.

The Ironeye's primary skill, Marking, is a swift dashing dagger attack that phases through enemies and applies a debuff, increasing all incoming damage. With a very short cooldown, you can keep this debuff active on bosses with relative ease. It also serves as an excellent mobility tool, letting you pass through enemies to escape dangerous situations.

Ironeye's ultimate ability, Single Shot, is exactly what it sounds like: one devastating arrow. Think of it as Mighty Shot amplified. It requires a brief charge-up, but grants full invincibility during the animation. Upon release, the projectile deals massive damage and pierces through nearly everything in its path—ideal for clearing groups of enemies at once.

Where Ironeye truly stand out in team play is their ability to safely revive allies from range.

In Nightreign, reviving a fallen teammate involves attacking them to gradually deplete a segmented circle above their body. Once emptied, they're back in the fight. Most classes must endanger themselves at close range, expend mana on a ranged spell, or even use an ultimate to revive. The Ironeye, however, can perform this role safely from a distance and without expending resources. This unique utility often proves crucial to mission success. The downside: each time an ally falls, an additional segment is added to their revival circle. While Ironeye excel at quick revives after one or two downs, they struggle to clear all three segments without using their ultimate—their standard ranged damage isn't sufficient otherwise.

Although they might not match the raw damage output of other classes, the Ironeye's impact is consistently felt. From their Marking ability that boosts team damage, to a passive that increases item discovery for the whole squad, to their crowd-clearing ultimate and unmatched ability to safely revive allies, the Ironeye offers utility that few other Nightreign classes can rival.